Newsletter – Week 8 Term 2

Term 2 Week 8: Friday 16 June 2023

Important Dates
All of June – PTA 30 Days of Prizes Raffle Drawn Daily
Wednesday 21 June – Early School Closure at 12:30 pm for Parent Teacher Conferences
Wednesday 21 June – Parent Teacher Conferences 1:20 pm – 7:00 pm              Wednesday 21 June – PTA Meeting 7 pm in the Staffroom
Thursday 22 June – Parent Teacher Conferences 3:15 pm – 5:30 pm
Friday 30 June – End of Term 2
Monday 17 July – Start of Term 3
Friday 21 July – PTA Fundraiser – Matariki School Disco

IN THIS ISSUE:
Positive Behaviour for Learning
Parent Teacher Conferences – Early Pick Up
Spotlight on Years 1 & 2
Mental Health Update
Sports Registration: Flippa Ball & Table Tennis
Positive Parenting – After the Disaster – continued
PTA Update: 30 Days of Prizes Raffle
Enrolments at Sunnybrae
Request
Community Notices

The PB4L focus for Term 2 Week 9 will be on: 
Excellence: Playgrounds and Fields; consider the needs of others and demonstrate sportsmanship.

Parent Teacher Conferences & Goal Setting
21st and 22nd June 2023
We are holding our Sunnybrae Parent Teacher Conferences and Goal Setting on the 21st and 22nd of June. For these conferences, students are encouraged to come along. We believe it is important for the children to be part of these conversations, so they can reflect on their strengths, achievements and take ownership of their learning goals in the coming term. We hope that all of our Sunnybrae families and whanau will value this time to build home-school connections.

Bookings
Please book an appointment with your child’s teacher. You will be able to book a 10-minute interview. If you have more than one child, we recommend that you leave a 10-minute gap between appointments to allow yourself time to move between classrooms. 

Bookings are now open for both of these evenings and can be made electronically through www.schoolinterviews.co.nz using the School Event Code tjx43. If you need support to make a booking online, please see your child’s teacher. 

If you need a translator, please book a slot that coincides with the interview time that you have booked with your child’s teacher. 

Please be aware that children will need to be picked up at 12.30 pm on Wednesday the 21st of June. 

YMCA will be offering after-school care from 12.30 pm. Click here to book your child into YMCA.

The Year 1’s and 2’s have been very excited about the Junior Playground opening.
The rain at the start of the year caused the grounds to be muddy, and we had to get new mulch to make our playground look fresh and ready for winter. The Year 1’s have been learning how to use the equipment safely. Each class had a timeslot to use the playground and to discuss as a class the expectations related to the use of the playground.

These are some of the expectations that our students came up with using our school values:
I can show Respect by looking after the playground and using it the right way.
I can show Cooperation by giving my friend a turn on the flying fox.
I can show Independence by talking to the peer mediators when I need help.
I can show Excellence when I cheer my friends on.

Part 3 of 5
Mana Motuhake

Children need to believe they can be successful and that they can achieve at school by setting goals, being persistent, and taking responsibility. Supporting children involves providing positive role models that they can aspire to together with setting high expectations and showing them how to succeed.

Mana Motuhake develops when children know:

• who they are and where they come from. 
• they have positive role models they aspire to be like. 
• their language, culture and identity are an asset.
• that many people from their cultural group have achieved success.
• how to manage their time to get important work completed.
  

Children demonstrate Mana Motuhake when they:

• feel proud to be a member of their cultural group.
• come to school regularly, on time and ready to learn.
• communicate with clarity and confidence.
• set goals and complete tasks to the best of their ability.
• use creativity and imagination to problem-solve and innovate.
• self-assess and make improvements.
  Ref: Mitey, Sir John Kirwan Foundation

SPORTS REGISTRATION:
Table Tennis
Would your child like to play Table tennis for SNS on a Wednesday evening. Games are played at the North Harbour Tennis Centre behind the YMCA in Akoranga Drive, from 5pm – 7pm every week. Year 5 and 6 only students only. 
Please CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR TERM 3

Flippa Ball
Is your child interested in playing Flippa Ball for SNS on a Sunday afternoon? Games are played at the Millenium Centre in Albany between 1pm & 6pm. Students need to be strong swimmers to play Flippa Ball. Year 4, 5 and 6 students only. 
Please CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR TERM 3

Natural disasters can be frightening and distressing experiences for children, teenagers and adults. Extreme weather conditions are part of the natural landscape in many countries. These events can be overwhelming and terrifying when they happen. The loss caused by natural disasters can be significant – including the loss of a family member or friend, a pet, a home or belongings.

After a disaster, it is common for children of all ages and stages of development to become distressed. Parents’ own emotional reactions may be complicated by worrying about how their children are coping, what their children’s reactions mean, how serious they are, and how to manage children’s emotions and behaviour. The following information will help parents understand children’s reactions; know how to encourage children to naturally resolve their distress, and answer their children’s questions.

This is Part 6 of a 7 part series…

ANSWERING CHILDREN’S QUESTIONS
Children’s fears and worries about the event are often conveyed through the questions they ask – Am I going to die tonight? Is our house safe? Why did children die? These questions can be hard for parents to answer. Here are some general guidelines for how to respond to children’s questions:

• Answer truthfully. It is generally better to be direct and honest even if the answer is painful.
• Give your child your full attention and listen carefully to what the child is asking.
• Avoid providing too much information.
• If you do not know the answer, offer to find out. Use the internet, talk to friends or neighbours who may know the answer.
• If your child has lost interest in the answer in the meantime, don’t press the information on them.
• Clarify the child’s thoughts about the answer to their question. Sometimes their imaginings are more frightening than the reality. Have peers or an unreliable source told them other information that is frightening?

Here are some ideas to incorporate in your answers. You will need to use your knowledge of your children (their personalities as well as their stage of development) and your own family beliefs to make your answers fit with your children.
Question: Am I going to die tonight?

Key points:

•   Think about the past few days. There has been no danger.
•   Think about now. There is no current threat.
•   Think about how Mum and Dad are acting. We’re not frightened and it’s our job to look after you.
•   We get warnings about dangerous weather and there are no warnings.
•   We have a family plan.

WHAT NEXT?

If you’ve tried these strategies and you’re still concerned about how your child is coping with the disaster, seek professional help. Speak to your family doctor, health practitioner or child’s teacher.

For the small number of children who do not recover naturally, psychological help is useful. Trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy is the psychological approach that has the strongest evidence base. This therapy helps children manage their frightening memories, overcome avoidance and be less fearful. Article to be continued in Week 9

PTA UPDATE:
30 Days of Prizes Raffle
Raffle winners this week are: Ruth Samau,  Puawai Ruka Tepania, Karen Lin, Hongmin Sun, Lan Zhai, Michael Frenchman, Crystal Xu, Quayle Peng and Alex Langley. Please check Facebook for up-to-date notifications of all the daily winners.

REMINDER:
Parking on Campus for Staff Only
Please refrain from driving in and parking in the Staff Car Park. Thank you. Safety First! We are asking that all parents/caregivers be considerate of our many neighbours by ensuring that you leave their driveways clear when you are dropping off or picking up your child/children. For security, please lock your vehicle at these times.

REQUEST:
Dehumidifier Needed
If anyone in our school community has a spare dehumidifier to loan to the school to use in the Staff Workroom, please email office@sunnybrae.school.nz. The paper in our copiers sticks together, and the machine malfunctions due to high humidity levels.

Kind regards
Lorene Hurd, Principal
SUNNYBRAE NORMAL SCHOOL

REMINDER:
Please note that all children are to be collected from school by 3.00 pm. If you are unable to collect before this time, you may be interested in booking your child into the YMCA after-school club held in the hall.  

CLICK HERE TO BOOK 

COMMUNITY NOTICES:

Brain Play teaches science & technology classes to Kiwi kids aged 5 – 13, right across the country! We offer holiday programmes, online classes, in-person after-school classes, in-school classes, and free events for communities. Our topics include 3D printing, coding, animation, STEM experiments, LEGO & more. Free trials are also available for new students. This term we are in Stanmore Bay, Huapai, Parnell and Hobsonville (as well as online)! Check out our website to learn more about what’s on at Brain Play & book in today – https://www.brainplay.co.nz/.