Thanks to all those whānau who get in touch and tell us what is going well and let us know if anything is not working well. We will be starting our next Whānau Feedback surveys at our Show Day next term.
Congratulations to all of our Seniors who represented Ruakākā School at the Zones Cross Country at Maungaturoto. We are so proud of your determination and papahueke!
Our Juniors are currently training for their Cross Country which will be held next Tuesday. Ka mau te wehi!
Last week I was invited along to the PTA meeting to give an update on what is happening around school. We so appreciate the PTA for their support for our activities. They have donated funds to our library for a new trolley and they are also supporting the set up of our new STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art and Maths) Room. This room (the pink classroom near the side gate) will be avauilable for teachers to book
We were really thrilled to have 30 Whānau at our information hui last week. It was great to hear your views on how we report to you and I have had feedback that you really appreciated the time teachers put into explaining their subject areas. Our goal is to create a report that gives the basic information that everyone needs and then to find ways to provide the additional information that some whānau might want.
Have a fabulous weekend!
Ngā mihi Helen
Attendance Update
We know that our tamariki can only flourish in their learning and relationships when they are attending regularly.
Overall average attendance is 85%. Whaea Helen is currently meeting with whānau of all tamariki whose attendance is below 70% to make a plan for improvement. Attendance of 75% means a child has missed 1 whole term by the end of the year. We understand that from time to time many issues such as physical or mental health, financial hardship and other challenges can affect attendance - if you need support or advice please give us a call. No judgment - just support!
How do Staff Only Days work?
I have been asked to explain how Staff Only Days work. I first want to reassure you that our Staff Only Days are within the rules set out by the Ministry of Education:
Each Primary school must be open 384 half days in 2024 ie 192 full days.
In 2024 schools have to take 2 extra Ministry of Education school closure days because of changes to our curriculum. These are:
4 June - Conference Day (All Bream Bay schools were closed on this day)
25 October - Shared Bream Bay Staff Only Day
In addition, we also have 2 Staff Only Days for our own school staff development. These were:
22 July - Mana Potential training (we chose this day so that we could make sure the school was safe after the building demolitions)
8 August - One Tree Point and Ruakākā Maths training. (BBC was also closed on this day)
Some schools may only have 1 Staff Only Day during the year - they will then start the year a day later or finish the year a day earlier than we do. For example: Waipu School are only taking 1 Teacher Only day during the year, they are finishing on Tuesday 17th Dec - 1 day earlier than us.
I do know how challenging it is as a parent to manage school holidays and Staff Only days. In Bream Bay we are trying to work together so that schools take days together where we can as this makes it easier for whānau with older children.
At next week's BoT hui we will confirm our 2025 calendar and let you know the dates ahead of time.
Leadership Wananga
Students from Bream Bay College recently hosted a Leadership Wānanga for year 5 and 6 leaders from Ruakākā, Waipu and One Tree Point schools. Ten tamariki who display leadership potential were selected from each school. The event consisted of a range of workshops and activities that focus on an element of leadership. All involved had a great time and it was awesome to see students for all kura getting stuck in and working together.
Whangārei Mathex Finals
Mathex is a challenging and fast-paced mathematics contest where kura from across Whangārei compete against each other in teams to answer questions as quickly as possible.
This year we sent a year 5 team and a year 6 team to compete. The teams selected had finished first place in the Ruakākā School Mathex competition.
The finals were exhilarating. Both teams did extremely well and were proud of their efforts. We look forward to sending more budding mathematicians next year.
This week, our top senior runners participated in the Bream Bay Interschool Cross Country competition, held at Maungaturoto School. Everyone ran their hearts out and had a fantastic time! A special congratulations to Jessica Hansen, who won the 8-year-old girls' race, and Evie Webb, who finished first in the 9-year-old event. Thank you to all the whānau who came to support, and a special mention to Jae and Katrina for helping with transport. Great job, team!
If you are not in a hurry and would like to save on shipping costs, there is a link on the website to a form to fill in to place your order. When we have 20 orders we will process them and get them all delivered to the school.
Thank you to Emma for offering the Hoodies and Tees at cost price to our school whānau.
Exciting news! Whānau t-shirts can now be ordered online for each of the whānau (Piroa, Taranga, Te Whara, Manaia, Pukekauri). These have been made available on the Design by Em website. A huge shout out to Emma Scobie-Jennings for providing us with this opportunity. T-shirts can be found at this link. In other exciting news, Emma has also made Te Whānau Harakeke kākahu available on her website. These can be found at this link. These are not being done as a fundraiser and are being sold at the lowest possible price for you all. Happy shopping.
Spare Change of Clothes / Kākahu mō te pēke
Please make sure your tamariki has a change of clothes in their bag every day. We only have a small amount of clothes in the office in case of emergencies, so we may need to call you to bring in some clothes for your child.
Lifewalk
We are really fortunate that Becky from Lifewalk will be supporting our kura as a Wellbeing Mentor. She will be available for 4 hours each week to meet with any students who are needing extra support in a low key way to chill or chat. Becky is a chaplain for LifePoint Church. All conversations/sessions will have parent permission prior and no religious aspects will be part of the sessions. If you would like your tamaiti to be able to talk with Becky please contact the office so that we can set that up.
Introducing Becky: It is a privilege to be available to support the students and amazing teachers here . My whānau : I am a grand-mother, wife, and mother of 3 children & 2 mokopuna . I live in the Bream Bay area and have enjoyed this beautiful local area for 17 years. I understand how tough some of life's challenges are and that is why I am here as a listening ear to any student that wishes to meet up.
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