Ficino School Letter Week 1, Term 1 2018

Welcome to a new year. It has been wonderful to witness the arrival of the children and see the effect their energy has on the School. A school wouldn’t exist without its pupils. All the preparation before the opening day always has a ghost-like feel until the arrival of the students, when it all seems to snap into place.

In our assembly this morning, we introduced our school leaders and awarded badges for the various roles they will each undertake. The two qualities that were most evident as they all stood on the stage were strength and unity. Their confidence and openness were obvious to the whole school, and the sense was that they were keen to have a purposeful year with the opportunity to serve the school.

All parents will have received a letter from the Class Teacher, giving an outline of the breadth of experiences on offer in the coming term. These include trips to Tiri Tiri Matangi, the Pop-Up Globe, Rotoroa Island and Kelly Tarltons.

We look forward to an excellent term. It’s a long one of 11 weeks, however there is a break for Easter at the end of March.

Upcoming Events

Class 1 & New Parents Parents Lunch – Wednesday 21 February – 12.30pm

A finger food lunch for all parents of children in Class 1 and any new parents in the school, will be held on Wednesday 21 February in the school villa from 12.30pm. This will be a wonderful opportunity to socialise with the Principal and other parents. A notice will be sent home with the children next week.

School Picnic – Sunday 25 February – Long Bay – 10 – 2pm

A notice will be sent home with the children next week. In the meantime, please mark this date on your calendar.

Parents Meeting – Monday 26 February – 6pm – 7.30 pm – School Hall

The Parents Meeting takes place on Monday 26 February at 6pm in the School Hall. Drinks and finger food will be served from 5.30pm. The main purpose of this evening is to provide an opportunity for you to hear what is in store for the year ahead from the class teacher. The evening will begin with an address by the Principal. A notice regarding the meeting will be sent home with the children next week.

School Tour and Preschool Open Morning – Friday 16 February

School Tours for prospective parents will resume on Friday 16 February. There are typically one to two tours a month. They run from 9.15 – 10.15 and offer an opportunity for parents to hear from the Principal, meet current parents and have a tour around the school.

Ficino Preschool is holding an informal Open Morning on Friday 16 February between 9.30 and 11.30. Prospective parents are invited to drop in with their children.

It would be appreciated if you would pass this information on to any friends or family you think might be interested in attending.

Notices

Sports Notices

Please keep an eye out for a hockey letter in your child’s bag today. It is for hockey in Terms 2 and 3 but we need to get the teams sorted in the next few weeks.

If your child did not bring a form home and you are interested – there are spare copies in the office.

The netball information is not out at this stage.

Safety in the School Grounds – Morning

The cones that are put in the car park spaces outside the main school door in the morning are there not only to keep access ways clear, but also for safety. There is no parking available at all in front of the villa. You may stop and let your children out, but if you wish to accompany them into the school, please park in the rear car park and come through the back ramp door.

Children arriving after 8.25 am will need to come through the main villa door entrance and register as late at reception. Please ensure that when exiting the property you slow right down before crossing the footpath both in the morning and afternoon to ensure no pedestrians are at risk. The speed limit in the school grounds is 5km per hour.

Traffic

In order not to have queues of traffic running down View Road at the end of the day, please do not get out of your car for any length of time, e.g. to speak to other parents or the teacher whilst in the traffic queue.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Website Calendar

Please note the School Calendar of Events can be found on the website. There is also a permanent link to the calendar in this newsletter.