Newsletter – 14 February 2024

Cockle Bay School

School Newsletter

Children and their learning at the heart of all we do.

Principal’s Message

Dear Parents

HAPPY YEAR OF THE DRAGON!

龙年快乐 Lóng Nián Kuài Lè

We wish members of our community a happy and prosperous Chinese New Year and we look forward to celebrating this special time with you.

TRAFFIC AROUND SCHOOL

A reminder about the following:

for the safety of students and drivers please use the pedestrian crossings
P2 means a drop off only – please do not park or leave your vehicle
it is illegal to stop on yellow dotted lines – please do not stop in these zones to drop off your child

WALKING SCHOOL BUS

We are very keen to see more families walk to and from school rather than driving a vehicle. Congestion around the school is always a problem. Soon we will be starting Walking School Buses and will need parents help. Please think about becoming involved with the Walking School Bus (routes to be shared later) and and this is a great way to relieve some of the pressure on our local roads.

PROPERTY OVER THE HOLIDAYS

School was a busy place over the break and you may be interested in recent school improvements. Room 25 had significant work done to ensure good air circulation and the base was reclad. We now have a staff toilet adjacent to Room 28. The temporary portacoms were given a second deep clean, then one was recarpeted. The Peterson Block was painted internally. The field has been sprayed and irrigated. Caretakers have worked hard to do regular maintenance and help teachers as they got classrooms ready. Our school has never looked so smart and we are very proud of our environment.

VOLUNTEER GARDENING

If you enjoy gardening and could volunteer with us an hour or two on a regular basis, we would love to hear from you. Our Garden to Table programme relies on growing vegetables, and all the planter boxes need some love and attention. Please email principal@cocklebay.school.nz or let the office know, if you would like to contribute to the beautification of our grounds in this way. Thank you.

Kind regards

Dorothy Bigwood

Your Kindo Account

School donations and contributions towards excursions, camps, etc, should be made through Kindo. If you do not have an account, please log in to Kindo and create one.

Health & Safety

If you wish to record people who are authorised to collect your child (including any older siblings) in the event of an emergency, please email the office (office@cocklebay.school.nz) with details – this is in addition to the emergency contacts you would have provided on enrolment. Please include their name, relationship to you, and mobile number in your email.

Dates for your Diary:

Thursday, 15th Feb – ‘Getting to know your Child’ conferences

Thursday, 22nd Feb – Swimming Sports (7/8 Yr Olds)

Friday, 23rd Feb – Swimming Sports (9/10 Yr Olds)

Thursday, 22nd Feb – Board of Trustees

Monday 26th Feb – Uniform Shop Open (8:30am-9:15am & 2:30pm-3:15pm)

Wednesday, 6th Mar – Year 5 Carey Park Camp

Quick links to our school website:

School Calendar

Term Dates (At the bottom of website home page)

School events

KiwiSchools is our main means of communication. You can register an absence and locate all up-to-date information, as well as access current/previous newsletters. The app is located in your phone’s app store and is called KiwiSchools Connect – use the QR code to the left to download this.

Once you have downloaded the app, search for Cockle Bay School and then save this as your school of choice. You will then be able to keep up to date with regular communication and notifications. Please ask at the office if you have any problems accessing the app.

BOTANY TAEKWONDO

Botany Taekwondo has been training the ITF style of Taekwondo at Cockle Bay School for over 15 years.

Come and have some fun with us get fit and learn a new skill with qualifications that are recognised around the world.

We operate a 2 week free trial. Want to know more? Visit our website at botanytaekwondo.co.nz or just turn up at 6:00pm on Wednesday nights and say “hi”. All ages and abilities are welcome.