Kia ora e te whānau,

The beautiful Ōnuku Marae, Akaroa.
Image from www.onuku.nz

I hope you all had an enjoyable weekend and were able to spend some time in the sunshine! 

Last Monday some of our students represented our kura at the Kowai Swimming Sports. Congratulations to Lily and Kaisa who have qualified for the Canterbury Primary Schools swimming competition. 

We had a wonderful Teacher Only Day at Ōnuku Marae in Akaroa on Friday. The focus of the day was Cultural Identity and we spent time learning about significant historical events of our local area.

Ngā mihi
Sally Mickleson and Penny Vincent
Acting Tumuaki/Principal
principal@omihi.school.nz

School Notices

Strike on Thursday 

You will all be aware of the strike which is planned to take place this Thursday 16th March. Omihi School will be closed for instruction on this day.
Tamariki across New Zealand need a quality education. And we want to give that to them. Unfortunately, the funding for our schools and kindergartens is not enough for us to give us the time we would like to support all our kids to thrive.  

We need to attract and retain educators by ensuring that teaching is a valued and attractive profession.

Principals and teachers in primary and area schools and kindergartens have considered at length offers from the government to settle our respective collective agreements. The offers did not meet our expectations, nor make sufficient steps towards the changes we need for our children to succeed.

A decision was made to take industrial action on 16 March. It’s the last thing we wanted to do and the decision was not taken lightly. We felt that this was the only way the government would listen and recognise that when they support our children to learn and succeed, we are supporting whānau and communities to thrive.

We look forward to another great year in 2023 – and together with your support, building the case for better investment in our tamariki. 

On Thursday 16th March, we hope you will join us at our local public event in Rangiora, likely to be from midday. We would love to see you and your children standing with us – together we are a community and we can make a difference. We will advise you of further details when they are confirmed.

The Naked Baker Pie Fundraiser  

This year we have two ski trips planned to Mt Lyford which the whole school goes on. Year 5-8 also have their school camp in Christchurch. We are looking for a parent that would be willing to facilitate the pie fundraiser for this year. For more information about the fundraiser please go to thenakedbaker.co.nz/product/family-pies-fundraiser/

If we have a parent who is willing to organise this, all money raised comes directly off your own bill.  You will make $2.60 from each pie you sell.

Preschooler Morning

We invite you and your preschooler to our preschool morning this Wednesday in Paemoana from 9:00-10:30am. Please bring some morning tea for your child. 

Senior Assembly 

This Friday we invite you to our senior assembly at 2:00pm. Our students are excited to share our learning with you all.

3 Way Learning Conferences

Our 3 way learning conferences will be held next week 8 on Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd March. 

Reports 

Your child will receive a Maths, P.E and Inquiry comment in Week 10 of this term. These will be available to view on Hero. If you need any support with your Hero account, please contact your child's teacher. 

School Docs 

Each term we review some of our school policies.  These are reviewed by staff, BOT and our community.

Here are our latest policies that are open for review:

• Legislation and Administration Policy

• Student Attendance

• Enrolment

• Privacy

• Official Information Requests

• Uniform / Dress Code

To review, go to http://omihi.schooldocs.co.nz Username: omihi password: glenmark

Lunches Online
This week it is Subway. Please use this link to place an order. 

Key dates

Wednesday 15th March - Preschooler Morning
Thursday 16th March - Strike (school closed)
Friday 17th March - Senior assembly 
Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd March - 3 way learning conferences
Monday 24th April - Teacher only day (first day of term 2)

Community Notices

House for rent

Do you know of a house for rent between Greta Valley and Waipara? Our lovely new teacher Kelly is looking for somewhere in this area. Please get in touch with Kelly on 0277330022 if you know of somewhere available.

Our Canterbury Triathlon qualifiers, Zac, Lily, Kaisa and Taylor.

Kia ora e te whānau,

Our thoughts are with Hawkes Bay and the extended North Island as they come to terms with the devastation of Cyclone Gabrielle. It’s hard to believe that a storm of that magnitude has taken place in New Zealand. It always amazes me to hear heartfelt stories of strangers helping strangers and doing the ‘kiwi thing’ to support everyone to get through this difficult time.

To show our support, we will be hosting a black and white mufti day this Friday 3rd March. Children are invited to come to school wearing black and white. We ask that students bring a gold coin donation. All money raised will go to Hawkes Bay and Tairāwhiti schools. Please see the flyer attached and note the date we are holding this is different due to swimming sports on Wednesday.

It was great to support our year 5-8 students at the Kowai Triathlon last week. They all did so well and I am always proud of them for pushing themselves out of their comfort zones and working hard to complete the task at hand. Congratulations to Kaisa, Taylor, Zac and Lily who have qualified for the Canterbury Triathlon. 

Ngā mihI
Sally Mickleson and Penny Vincent - Acting Tumuaki/Principal
principal@omihi.school.nz

School Notices

New Kaiako 

You will all be aware by now that we have a new staff member joining our team. We are excited to be welcoming Kelly Fletcher-Jones to our whānau. Kelly will be teaching the seniors in Tūpari. 

Please see the message below from Kelly.

Kia ora Whānau,

I am incredibly pleased to have the opportunity to teach at Omihi school, especially having been a student here myself many moons ago. I’m looking forward to a fun filled year full of exciting learning opportunities and experiences.

I have been teaching year 7&8 students for the past four years at Cheviot Area school and prior to that, years 1 to 4 at Pegasus Bay. I live in Cheviot and have three gorgeous daughters Georgie, Tilly and Scarlette who are currently either flatting, studying andboarding at Christchurch Girls High School.

During the weekends I enjoy playing music at some of the local cafes and wineries as well as swimming and cycling. I love to get out and about in nature and have recently taken up fly fishing but am yet to catch that elusive first fish!

I have a passion for teaching and learning that guides my pedagogy and core beliefs within education. It is my belief that every child is unique and has their own individual needs and that one learning journey will never be the same as another. To see a student excited by their latest experience or newest understanding and to share the joy of a colleague in helping a class or peer achieve their goal is a wonderful reward in itself and I look forward to meeting and getting to know the Omihi whānau in the coming months.

Ngā mihi
Kelly Fletcher-Jones

Omihi Raffle

Thank you to those who have brought in items for our raffle. These are due into the office by the start of next week, Monday 6th March. 

The fundraising money helps us to employ an extra teacher so we can have three classrooms. 

We have asked for each family to please donate an item.  Minimum value $10.  We are happy to take items, or vouchers, and can bundle them together where needed.  

Each child is then asked to sell 20 x $5 tickets.  We will be sending these home before the holidays, and we encourage children to take ownership of selling the tickets as much as possible.  They could call or visit family, grandparents, aunties, uncles, neighbours, friends.

Omihi School Library

Did you know our library is open to the public? Yo, our librarian, opens our library to the public every Monday afternoon, 2:30-3:30pm. 

Camp 

This year we will be taking Kurt Sloss, Anna Williams and Patrick Hughes-Games. Permission slips and student agreements went home this week, please go through these with your child and return them ASAP. 

Small Schools Swimming Sports

We are looking forward to this year's Small School Swimming Sports on Wednesday 1st March. Tracy will be driving the bus to and from the Amberley Pool. We have limited seats on the bus so if your child needs transport to swimming sports, please add their name to this doc. You should be able to edit the document now to add your child’s name. Apologies if you haven’t been able to do so. Let me know if you have any issues with this. If you are planning on transporting your own children on the day, please let me know. Children will need to be at the pool at 9:15. The day aims to finish at 12:30.

3 Way Learning Conferences

Our 3 way learning conferences will be held in week 8 on Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd March. This is an opportunity for parents to share in their child’s learning, set goals and have a general chat with their child's classroom teacher. Please use this doc to make a booking with your child’s teacher.

Lunches Online

This week it is Subway. Please use this link to place an order.  Please note that year 4-8 students will have Small Schools Swimming on Wednesday. Their Subway will be dropped at the Amberley Pool. The other orders will be at school.

Key Dates
Wednesday 1st March - Small Schools Swimming Sports 
Friday 3rd March - Black and White for the Bay Mufti Day
Friday 3rd March - Union meeting
Monday 6th March - Kowai Swimming Sports 
Friday 10th March - Teacher only day 
Friday 17th March - Senior assembly 
Tuesday 21st - Wednesday 22nd March - 3 way learning conferences
Monday 24th April - Teacher only day (first day of term 2)

Community Notices

Our Year 8 leader, Macy.

Kia ora e te whānau,

It was so nice to see many of you at our whānau picnic last week. We have had a great start to the term here at school. We have had Waiswim here last week and I have been blown away with the progress our students are all making in the pool. The swimming instructors will be with us for the rest of this week and the teachers will continue swimming lessons in the weeks to come. Sue Graham will be working across all classes to support with differentiating maths at Omihi. Sue is an ex-principal of Omihi and an expert in all things maths. She has a lot of experience in working with schools and teachers and we always enjoy having her here.

I would like to introduce our year 8 leader this year, Macy.

A message from Macy: Hi i’m Macy, I am 12 years old and I’m the only year 8 student at Omihi this year so I’d like you all to know a bit about me. I have 1 brother, Leo. He is in year 5. I love to go horse riding, play netball, and do schoolwork which not many people like doing! In my spare time, I listen to a lot of music and go to the beach. I am really excited to go off to high school next year but I will definitely miss having a small amount of kids to fit in with! I am looking forward to seeing what new things our teachers bring into this school year and bonding with our new teacher. Thank you for reading.  

This term we welcome our new entrance students, Arty, Theo and Mabel to Paemoana. We also welcome Isla who will be in Awaawa. 

Ngā mihi
Sally Mickleson - Acting Tumuaki/Principal
principal@omihi.school.nz

School Notices

Omihi School Bus 

We are looking for someone to help share the load of our bus runs. Tracy and Fi are sharing this job at the moment and we would appreciate it if anyone is able to help out with this, particularly in the afternoons. A class 2 drivers licence and passenger licence is essential, however if you do not meet this criteria and are keen to help, please contact Sally.

Teacher Only Days

Significant changes are occurring to strengthen our schooling curriculum and assessment systems. To support these changes, the Ministry confirms four additional teacher only days are available for primary and secondary schools - two in 2023 and two in 2024.

We have 4 teacher only days planned into our calendar this year.  Our school is open for the same amount of days as all other primary schools as is required by the Ministry of Education.

We like to give our community plenty of notice so you are able to plan for these. Please see below for our teacher only dates this year.

• Term 1: Friday 10th March 

• Term 2: Monday 24th April 

• Term 3: Date tbc 

• Term 4: Thursday 16th November

Small Schools Swimming Sports 

A reminder to please add your child’s name to our transport doc if they require a seat on our bus either to or from the event. Tracy will be driving the school bus, leaving school at 8.50am and then driving back at 12.30pm. A big thank you to Sofia, Aimee and Pip for offering to help out on the day.

Please see this link for information about how the event will run.

Kowai Triathlon

On Tuesday 21st February (postponement date Wednesday 22nd February) our Year 5-8 children will be attending the Kowai triathlon. This will be held at the Amberley Domain/Amberley Pool. Parents will need to arrange for their child and bike to be transported to the domain. Children will need to be at the Domain by 12.30pm for a briefing and races will begin at 1pm.

Please let Penny know if you are having difficulty with transport or your child does not have a bike. If we do not hear from you, we will assume that your child has transport for themselves and their bike organised on the day.

We welcome whānau to come and support our tamariki on the day. Parents can take their child(ren) home after the race but please let a teacher know first.

We are looking for one parent to help marshal on the day. Please let Penny know if you are able to do this. 

Camp (Year 5-8) 

Bryleigh will be invoicing parents for camp this week, The cost will be $250. We understand that this is a significant cost for many families so please contact Sally if you would like some support around payment options.

A reminder, if you are interested in coming on camp as a parent help, please fill out this Google form before Friday 16th February. 

Omihi Raffle

One of our major fundraisers is our Omihi Raffle. The fundraising money helps us to employ an extra teacher so we can have three classrooms. We are starting to collect prizes for the raffle now, and we ask each family to please donate an item.  Minimum value $10. We are happy to take items, or vouchers, and can bundle them together where needed.  Please send these into the office by Monday 6th March. 

Each child is then asked to sell 20 x $5 tickets. We will be sending these home before the holidays, and we encourage children to take ownership of selling the tickets as much as possible. They could call or visit family, grandparents, aunties, uncles, neighbours, friends. Feel free to come back to me with any questions.

3 way learning conferences

Our 3 way learning conferences will be held in week 8 on Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd March. This is an opportunity for parents to share in their child’s learning, set goals and have a general chat with their child's classroom teacher. Please use this doc to make a booking with your child’s teacher.

Lunches Online

This week it is Subway. Please use this link to place an order.

Key dates

Friday 24th February - Junior assembly 
Wednesday 1st March - Small Schools Swimming Sports 
Monday 6th March - Kowai Swimming Sports 
Friday 10th March - Teacher only day 
Friday 17th March - Senior assembly 
Monday 24th April - Teacher only day (first day of term 2)
Tuesday 21st - Wednesday 22nd March - 3 way learning conferences

Community Notices

Our teachers, with special guests Ada and Vuk, getting ready for students to return.

Kia ora e te whānau,

Nau mai, huki mai and welcome back to Term 1 of 2023. 

After a lovely holiday break spending time with friends and family, I’m looking forward to the buzz and excitement when our students arrive back on Wednesday. I always love hearing about their holiday adventures, books they have read, or a new found hobby they have picked up.

You will all know by now that I have made the tough decision to finish my time here at Omihi. After just over 4 years of teaching here at this special school, I have made the call to pursue a job opportunity in Australia. I am excited for change and looking forward to spending some time abroad. I feel privileged to have begun my teaching career at this school and I would like to thank each and every one of you for your ongoing support, trust and kindness. Omihi will always hold a special place in my heart. 

This year we welcome Ruby-Grace, Hugh, Luka, Noah and Jack to our Omihi Whānau. 

As a part of the Curriculum Refresh, from Term 1 of this year, all schools and kura in New Zealand will be implementing teaching of the Aotearoa New Zealand Histories which comes under the Social Sciences learning area of the New Zealand Curriculum. Our teachers have been working hard to develop their knowledge and understanding of this new content and have carefully developed an inquiry plan for our tamariki that is localised to them and of purpose. 

Ngā mihi
Sally Mickleson
Acting Tumuaki/Principal
principal@omihi.school.nz

School Notices

Waiswim 

Waiswim will be taking place Monday - Friday during weeks 2 and 3. We have trained instructors taking these lessons. In order for your child to get the most out of each lesson, please ensure that they bring their togs, towel and goggles to school each day. We encourage students to wear a rash top while in the water. The teachers will continue with swimming lessons for the duration of this term. 

Whānau picnic 

We invite you to our whānau picnic which will be held at school on Tuesday 7th February at 5pm. Please bring a picnic for you and your whānau to share. The BBQ will be available for whānau to use. 

Camp (Year 5-8) 

We can now confirm the total cost for our camp will be $250 per child. We will invoice parents in week 3 of this term. We understand that this is a significant cost for many families so please contact Sally if you would like some support around payment options. 

If you are interested in coming on camp as a parent help, please fill out this Google form before Friday 16th February. 

Omihi Raffle

One of our major fundraisers is our Omihi Raffle. The fundraising money helps us to employ an extra teacher so we can have three classrooms. We ask each family to please donate an item for our raffle with a minimum value of $10. We are happy to take items, or vouchers, and can bundle them together where needed.  

Basketball

Registrations for the Term 1 basketball competition are now open. Last year we were able to enter a Year 7/8 mixed team, Year 5/6 boys team and a Year 5/6 girls team. We are hoping to have enough players to enter our teams again this year. Please contact Sally if you would like your child to play this year. The cost is still to be confirmed, we will communicate this with you as soon as we know. The dates for games during the Term 1 competition are: 3rd March, 10th March, 17th March, 24th March and 31st March.

Miniball

Registrations for the Term 1 miniball competition are now open. Please contact Bryleigh if you would like your child to play this year. The cost for this is $49 per student, and runs for 7 games.

Weeding

Once again our septic tank area has bloomed with weeds over the summer break. If you have some spare time in the morning or the end of the day, we would really appreciate any efforts to help us keep the weeds at bay. Please ask Sally for a key to access the gate.  

Lunches Online 

We are awaiting confirmation from Lunches Online. Please keep an eye out in the teachers' newsletters for the link to place your order. Our first order date is Wednesday 8th February.  

School Docs

To review our Concerns and Complaints Policy please go to https://omihi.schooldocs.co.nz/. 
Username: omihi   
Password: glenmark
Search: ‘Concerns and Complaints’ > Concerns and Complaints

Key dates

Monday 30th January - Teacher only day 

Wednesday 1st February - First day of term 1 

Monday 6th February - Waitangi Day

Tuesday 7th February - Whānau picnic 

Friday 24th February - Junior assembly 

Wednesday 1st March - Small Schools Swimming Sports 

Monday 6th March - Kowai Swimming Sports 

Friday 10th March - Teacher only day 

Friday 17th March - Senior assembly 

Monday 24th April - Teacher only day (first day of term 2)

Community Notices