‘Me mahi tahi tātou mō te oranga o te katoa’

We should work together for the wellbeing of everyone

School Values: RESPECT (MANA) INDEPENDENCE (MANA MOTUHAKE) & COMMUNITY (WHANAUNGATANGA)

Newsletter 2, 2019 Thursday 21 February

MCS Roll: 237 students

Tēnā koutou katoa Parents and Caregivers,

Term 1 School Value Focus: COMMUNITY Term 1 Events Calendar

Learning Focus for Term 1: ‘Healthy Communities’ - Ngā hapori ora

What an amazing few weeks of celebration and learning we have had this year already. The launch of the Bike Track; the

hosting and Powhiri for the 12 Eastern Zone Principal’s of Kāhui Ako Motu Kairangi; Life Education and learning about

positive relationships and healthy relationships; Kelly Sports Gymnastics programme and the Meet the Teacher evening -

wow! Coming up is our 28th Ethnic Food Fair on Friday 8 March 5.00pm - 7.30pm which will be an awesome celebration of

our great school and a key fundraiser for the year. We are a ‘healthy community’ and learning how best to work together

for the wellbeing of everyone. This whakatauki (above) is a focus for our staff this year.

Bike Track Official Launch (Thursday 14 February 3.15pm -5.00pm)

Firstly thanks must go to Nathan Meyer (BOT and Parent) and Rebecca Hesketh (Parent) who co-ordinated the most

awesome Bike Track at Miramar Central School from concept to launch. They were supported by many individuals of our

school community (staff, students, parents and whānau) and the amazing FaCE team (Fundraising and Community

Engagement). The event also raised a valuable $1,680 from the sale of gelato, nachos, sweets and sausage sizzle - tino pai

FaCE. Together we have achieved so much and I thank everyone for their efforts from organisation, practical help, financial

donations, time and energy - ka pai. We have signs going up for our give-a-little page to pay for the remaining costs

associated with the project. Our teachers have their training at Monday’s meeting with Tessa and her team from Pedal

Ready and then the Bike’s In School programme will commence from week 6 onwards.

A great day was had by all. Thank you to everyone who made the event such a memorable one.

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‘Meet the Teacher’ evening Thursday 7 February

This was a well attended event with 110 parents and tamariki present. Thanks to our brilliant teachers for the effort they

put into building stronger home-school relationships, and for Wendy Turvey doing a great job on the BBQ.

Term 1 lnquiry Focus: Healthy Communities -

‘Harold and Life Education’ and the Kelly Sports Gymnastics programme have commenced at MCS where tamariki are

learning about positive relationships and looking after themselves through exercise, skill building and co-operation.

MCS Parent Netball Motu Kairangi Co-ordinator

Help is required for a parent co-ordinator for our Netball teams for the Motu Kairangi School lead. One parent is needed to

go to the meetings and liaise with Motu Kairangi and MCS. If you could assist please email me:

principalmcs@miramarcentral.school.nz. Thank you

Filming at MCS for New Zealand Transport Agency’s new Road Patrol presentation - Wednesday 13 March

In collaboration with NZ Police, the NZ Transport Agency is undertaking a remake of the 2006 school traffic safety team

training DVD. This new resource will be accessible on-line to all schools in New Zealand. After consultation with students

and other stakeholders, a script has been written, and the video will be filmed in March. Four schools in the Wellington

Region will take part and Miramar Central will be one of them! Selected students from the school will be filmed as road

patrollers or pedestrians and background shots of the school grounds and buildings will be taken and incorporated into

the video. The NZ Police and the NZ Transport Agency are excited to work with the wonderful staff and students at

Miramar Central School and are very grateful for their cooperation. More information to come.

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Powhiri and Kahui Ako Motu Kairangi Eastern Zone Principals - Tuesday 19 February

What an awesome display of whanaungatanga for the 12 principals who attended the powhiri. Our tamariki were

simply amazing. Thank you to Mrs Bathard, Whaea Fiona, Whaea Nessa and staff for making this an amazing

welcome.

Sun Hats – a reminder these must be worn in Term 1 and 4. Our ‘MCS wide brimmed hats’ can be purchased

from the office for $15 each. Please refrain from your children using ‘baseball caps’ as these do not protect the

back of tamariki necks nor their ears. Let’s be sun smart. Each class has sunscreen in their classroom to use.

However, if you child has allergies with a certain sunscreen product please send them to school with the

sunscreen they can apply. Ka pai.

March is Coming – Let’s Get Movin!’ - 1st to 29 March This year we are participating in Movin’ March, a region-wide event celebrating students who walk, cycle, skate or scooter to school and the parents, caregivers and teachers who support active travel. This month long event is run by Greater Wellington in partnership with local council and is FREE for everyone. Make the most of the beautiful weather and encourage your child to Walk or Wheel to and from school.

Why Movin’ March? Not only does walking or wheeling to school reduce congestion and chaos at the school gate, it also provides an opportunity to slow down and get in some quality time with our tamariki. Walking or wheeling to school solo or with friends can be a real confidence boost. And, as one parent put it last year, the fresh air and exercise before school helps ‘get the wiggles out!’

Students will receive a WOW (Walk or Wheel) Passport Challenge to encourage walking, scooting and biking to school. Each day they walk or wheel TO and FROM school between 1-29 March their card will be stamped in the classroom. Here are some of the great prizes up for grabs: ❏ Individual student cards go into the draw to win one of six $300 Avanti Vouchers. ❏ The school with the highest percentage of participation in each local council area will win a $100

Prezzy Card. ❏ Art Challenge winning entry receives a $30 Warehouse Stationery voucher. ❏ Spot prizes handed out at school throughout the month. Let’s get out there and start Movin!

School Policies

All our school policies are located on School Docs. Please follow the below steps to view these policies. A hard

copy is printed for all school policies and available on request from the school office.

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MCS school policies are linked to school docs. To access, please follow these steps

1. Go to www.schooldocs.co.nz

2. Click Search for your school - Miramar Central School

3. Start typing the school’s name and then select it from the dropdown list.

4. Enter the community username and password.

Username: miramarcentral

Password: park road

5. Go to Policy Reviews and make a review after reading the policy.

Each term we review policies on using a 3 year review system. School Policy Reviews for Term 1. Please help

review our current policy:.

● Alcohol/ drugs and other harmful substances Review by: BOT, Staff and Parents

Predator Free Miramar - New traps have been purchased and Miss Ross (Rm 3) will be heading this up for MCS

and working with some Year 5 and 6 students and Zealandia and Miramar Pest Free on our trapping programme.

Updates will come through soon. In our Weta Hotel, Barry, continues to reside rent free and enjoy the ‘digs’. Tui

are singing sweetly throughout the school and we have plenty of silver eye around.

Weetbix TRYathlon - Sunday 17 March 2019 (Kilbirnie Park). A school team is being put together by Georgie

Miles (BOT Chairperson). If you are interested in your child participation please have a look at the details on the

website and then email you interest to Jane in the office: office@miramarcentral.school.nz.

Term 1 Events Calendar

All our school events for term 1 have been put on a calendar and are available to view on the website.

School newsletter update February 2019 – It’s Time/Kua Tae Te Wā You may remember that teachers and principals took strike action twice last year to send a message to the

Government that more needed to be done to fix the teacher shortage and make teaching a more sustainable

and attractive profession.

After conversations with government in January, our union, NZEI Te Riu Roa, has agreed to return to formal

negotiations with the Ministry. The Government has continued to state that there is no more money to settle

the agreements but we are continuing to campaign for a quality public education for every child. We believe

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that winning more time to teach, a significant pay jolt to attract and keep people in teaching, and better

resourcing for children with additional learning needs is as important as ever.

Any progress in negotiations will be reported to teachers and principals at paid union meetings around the

country in the week of March 18-22nd. These meetings will be held during school time. At Miramar Central

School, school will resume as normal and ½ of our teachers will attend the Tuesday afternoon paid union

meeting 1.30pm - 3.00pm and ½ will attend the Thursday 1.30pm - 3.00pm meeting. Further details will come

closer to the time.

Public polling has showed continued strong support for what we are trying to achieve for our students and the

future of the teaching profession. Parents in particular see the struggles we already face in hiring teachers and

finding relievers when teachers are sick.

We greatly appreciate your continued support as we continue our campaign to ensure every child gets the best

possible teaching and learning.

Bookclub

Issue 1 closes at school on Friday 22nd February.

If you are buying books for presents and would like them to be a surprise for your child email

jones@miramarcentral.school.nz . The books will be kept at school and you will receive a phone call when

they arrive. Ordering can be done either online or bring the money to the school library before 9.00am.

Ethnic Food Fair - Friday 8 March 5.00pm - 7.30pm

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Community Notices:

Evans Bay Intermediate Board

As you may well know the Triennial Board Elections are going to be held this year. EBIS are looking for parent

representatives to stand for election and want to encourage you to be part of the governing body of the school.

We currently have a wonderful Board who have been very supportive of the school, but unfortunately some are

standing down as they no longer have children at the school.

If you are interested in standing this year, and are keen to support the management and direction of the school,

we would love to invite you to come along to a wine and cheese evening on 9 April at 6pm in the school

staffroom. The purpose of this is for you to meet our current trustees and talk to them about what is involved in

trusteeship.

We would also like to invite you to come along to the next meetings of the Board which are on 18 March 6pm, 9

April 7pm or 14 May 6pm.

All meetings are held in the school admin block. This will give you the opportunity to see how the Board

functions, and give you an understanding of the responsibilities that the Board has in the governance of the

school.

If you have an questions about becoming a trustee, you are more than welcome to call two of our trustees: Tai

Paul 04 3808285 or Shelly Reet our current Board Chair on 0275618614

The election date this year is 7 June and voting closes at 12 noon. As a trustee you have a say in the direction of

the school, so if you are interested this is a great opportunity for you to be involved.

Miramar Rangers AFC 2019 Football Season

Miramar Rangers has a proud and rich football history of 112 years in the Eastern Suburbs. Are you interested in playing junior football this coming season? Registrations are now open for all age grades and close 28th February 2019.

We cater for boys and girls of all abilities in the following junior age groups: ● First Kicks 4-6 year olds – those born 2013-2015 ● Junior 7th-14th Grades – those born 2012-2005 ● Girls Only Sunday Leagues 7th-14th Grades Trials for our competitive teams in the 9th-14th grades are due to take place from 4th March, so please make registering a priority. To register please use the following link - http://miramarrangers.co.nz/registration-1/

For further information and details on how to register please either see our website www.miramarrangers.co.nz/juniors or contact our administrator Rosie Telford – miramarrangersafc@gmail.com

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SPCA Wellington Centre Open Day - Saturday 16th March, 10am – 3pm.

We are super excited to announce that our Open Day is back again! And this year it also coincides with our

building - the Wellington Fever Hospital's - 100th birthday!

We want you to join us at our Wellington Centre to celebrate on March 16th, where you will get a sneak peek

into the life at SPCA’s Wellington Centre!

As well as having the opportunity to see animals and go behind the scenes at SPCA, visitors will get to enjoy food

trucks on site, as well as performances from Taikoza Wellington, the Wellington Ukelele Peace Network, and

dance students from Te Auaha.

Saturday 16th March, 10am – 3pm.

SPCA's Wellington Centre, 140 Alexandra Road, Newtown.

Gold coin entry.

Principal Award certificates get presented in school assemblies held every even week on Mondays 2.15pm - 2.45pm in

the School hall. Principal awards are given to tamariki for consistent improvement in learning, behaviour, culture or

sport; a positive attitude towards their learning; contribution to school life; displaying the school values in action; and

empathy towards others.

Tino pai to Wk 3’s Recipients: Rm 2: Bonnie; Rm 4: Kathleen; Rm 13: Avaniah, Rex; Rm 15: Sophie. These Principal

Awards will be presented on Monday 25 February at 2.15pm in the School Hall.

In 2018 a total of 7,361 C-cards were awarded throughout the year! Which House will it be in 2019?

This term’s C-card colour is GREEN. The colour changes each term, so that tamariki don’t carry over a C-card to a new

term, as well as, we want to display the colours of each of our four Houses throughout the year. Our Term 1 target is

1,500 C-Cards for a school-wide award. Currently 220 C-cards have been awarded. Well done Whataitai who are the

leaders for Wk 3.

Motu Kairangi Ngake Whataitai Roto Kura

51 39 67 63

Wk 3- Wk 10: Gymnastics school-wide programme starts on Wednesdays and Thursdays 9.00am - 12.30pm in the Hall.

Wk 4: Yr 5-6 Eastern Zone KiwiCricket, Miramar Park. Wednesday 27 February

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Wk 7: Year 5-6 Eastern Zone Futsal Tournament, ASB Stadium. Tuesday 19 March - more details to come.

Wk 8: Year 5-6 Eastern Zone Football Tournament, Miramar Park. Thursday 28 March - more details to come.

Board of Trustee Notices

The Miramar Central School Board of Trustees is made up of the following personnel: Georgie Miles (Chairperson);

Nathan Meyer (Parent); Peter McFarlane (Parent); Julie Griffin (Parent); Tim Robinson (Parent); Rachel Burke (Staff

Representative); and Ed Trotter (Principal). Board of Trustees: bot@miramarcentral.school.nz

Elections will be held this year in May for new positions on our BOT (further information to come).

Recent documents which have been approved and will be posted on the Ministry of Education’s portal and our school

website are: 2018 Analysis of Variance, 2019 School-wide Student Targets; School Charter and 2019 Annual Plan.

The next BOT meeting will be Tuesday 19 March 7.00pm - 9.00pm in the staffroom. Parents and Caregivers are

welcome to attend.

The Board of Trustees has confirmed the following term dates for 2019:

Term 1: Monday 4 February - Friday 12 April (10 weeks)

Term 2: Monday 29 April - Friday 5 July (10 weeks)

Term 3: Monday 22 July - Friday 27 September (10 weeks)

Term 4: Monday 14 October - Wednesday 18 December (9 wks 2 ½ days)

Contact Us

MCS Office: Jane Scadden - (04) 9390684 or email: office@miramarcentral.school.nz

MCS website: www.miramarcentral.school.nz

Principal: principalmcs@miramarcentral.school.nz Ed Trotter

Deputy Principal: nemet@miramarcentral.school.nz Lara Nemet

Assistant Principal: shanks@miramarcentral.school.nz Tracy Shanks

Kowhai Leader: millen@miramarcentral.school.nz Raph Millen

Ngā mihi nui,

Ed Trotter Tumuaki

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