Principal's Message...
Our Purpose: To prepare students to be active participants who will contribute to their community.
Tēnā koutou katoa, Talofa lava
I would like to extend my thanks to those of you who attended our Student Learning Conversations on Wednesday. Making the time to come and meet with their classroom teacher sends a direct message to your child that you are invested in their learning and the importance that you place on them having success at O.I.S. It also helps to keep building those positive home and school connections that are important in ensuring successful outcomes for your children. While I know some of our whanau could not make it due to illness, please make the time to do this when you are feeling better. Every student is expected to participate in a Learning Conversation with their whanau and their teacher.
Thank you for allowing us to take the day for these conversations. In the past, these conversations have happened over 3 nights from 2 pm - 7 pm. As you can imagine this is extremely tough on teachers who were expected to turn up the next morning to teach, carry out duties and juggle their own family life. I believe that this is a positive change for teacher well-being and student outcomes.
Illness
We have had a large number of children off school with colds and flu and students with head lice. If you need support with treating your child’s head lice please don’t hesitate to contact us, we do have access to products to help treat them. I appreciate that accommodating sick children is extra pressure on families however, we can not have sick children at school. It is really important that you phone, text or email the school to let us know your child is away.
Uniforms
Our school uniform fosters a sense of identity, belonging and pride in our pupils. It ensures that a consistently high standard of dress is worn by pupils throughout the day and provides a cost-effective and practical dress code. We are incredibly proud of our school uniform and have pride in how we look. Can you check your child’s uniform and make sure they're clean and tidy. Please take this opportunity to check your child's shoes as we have noticed that some students' shoes are not looking their best. Remember no canvas shoes! We have also noticed that non-regulation uniform items have started to appear. At O.I.S our rules regarding jewellery are
a watch
and a small plain stud in each ear.
nail polish, makeup and dyed hair are not permitted
Students are expected to have their PE gear at school each day but must come to school in their uniform.
Nutrition
At O.I.S each child is supplied a nutritional lunch provided by Pozzobon Catering, which means that our students only need to bring something for morning tea. To ensure we set our children up for success, it is important that students have breakfast and come to school with something for morning tea. Can we also ask that children do not bring big bags of chips, dry noodles, packets of biscuits, lollies or energy drinks. These foods are certainly not good for fuelling their brains over a sustained period of time. We also appreciate that some students do not eat the lunches provided, if this is the case, a healthy lunch must be provided from home. It is important that students fuel their bodies so they can continue to learn and be engaged in afternoon learning sessions.
Rebecca Meek, Principal