Newsletter 201823 - 1 August 2018

Welcome

To our new children and their whānau, nau mai haere mai ki te Kura Rāwhiti!

Welcome Kahu Maihi, Tamati Davis, Missie and Jerney Brown.

NZEI Strike Action Day

Teachers and principals appreciate the inconvenience of strike action on some families. Members do not take the decision lightly. Primary teachers have not taken industrial action in New Zealand since 1994 and the fact that we are taking such a step now shows the grave concerns we have for the future of quality public education. The government needs to take courageous steps now!

On Thursday 15th of August all Primary School Teachers who are in the NZEI union will be striking therefore our school will be closed.

Some of the reasons for strike action are:

• • we need to make teaching more attractive to prospective teachers.

  • we have very few people who take up teaching as a career choice amount of work teachers are continually faced with.  

  • despite what many think, teachers don’t stop working in the school holidays, they continue to work and plan on programmes for the terms ahead, attend meetings and training courses during this time.

  • in comparison to other career options pay rates for teaching is very low for the qualifications and ongoing training required.

  • our numbers of trained teachers are low due too so few people entering the teaching profession, which is making it hard to fill vacancies.

We would like:

• • more resources and training opportunities for teachers to help reduce workloads.

  • more teachers in schools so we can reduce the number of children in classrooms and provide the absolute best for children and give them more attention.

  • A Special Education Needs Coordinator person staff in every school so we can support children with additional learning needs.

  • funding schools so that they can employ and pay for additional skilled support staff

Please read and watch all you can about the proposed Strike Action so that you are fully informed.

We need your support to help improve conditions for all our tamariki.  

Shakeout Day

Our school has registered to participate in the National Shakeout Day planned for this term.  All children will participate.

Early closing Friday 24th August

On Friday 24th of August school will be closing at 12pm so that all staff can attend a professional development afternoon at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Kaikohe with all the other staff from the schools within our community of Learning, Te Arahura.  Buses will be running early and we will be expecting all children to either be collected by 12pm on this day or walk home.

Science Roadshow