Week 3, Term 2 Newsletter

Newsletter Contents:

1. Message From the Principal

2. Fundraising Committee

3. From the Board

4. Welcome to new whānau

5. Important Dates and Reminders

6. From the classrooms – Room 3

7. Sports @ DSS

8. School Events

9. Community Notices

Kia ora e te whānau,

Being only a 9-week term, things are moving fast with lots of exciting things happening around our kura. I want to thank the team at kura who held the fort while I was away in Week 2, and coming back this week, it doesn’t take long to get back up to speed. We had some awesome moments this week with the Whole School Cross Country, Support Staff Week, and Pink Shirt Day to name a few. 

I want to take a moment to acknowledge and celebrate our wonderful support staff here at Dyer Street School. Your mahi, care, and mana-enhancing approach towards supporting our tamariki and teachers is deeply valued. So much of what you do happens behind the scenes—often unnoticed—but it makes a huge difference every single day. Whether it’s helping in classrooms, supporting individual learners, managing resources, or keeping things running smoothly, your contribution is the backbone of our kura. We simply couldn’t do it without you—ngā mihi nui for all that you do!

At the end of this term, you will receive an update on your child’s mid-year achievement and progress in their learning. This year, we are excited to be using the HERO app to share this important information with you. While there is currently a lot of discussion in the political space around changes in education, here at Dyer Street School, we are focused on using the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum indicators in Literacy and Mathematics to guide our judgments around your child’s progress and achievement in Reading, Writing, and Maths. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be sharing more details to help you understand the new reporting format and how to interpret the information. One of the major benefits of this new format is that you will have access to richer, more detailed insights into your child’s learning, presented in clear graph forms that show progress over time. Keep an eye on HERO for updates and further information about mid-year reporting.

Ka rawe tamariki mā! Congratulations to all our tamariki for showing incredible aumangea (resilience) at yesterday’s school cross country. For some of you, it was a real challenge, but everyone stepped up, gave it their all, and made us proud. A huge thank you to our wonderful whānau who turned up in droves to cheer on and support our tamariki – your encouragement made all the difference. A special thank you to Mr Ranchod for his outstanding leadership and organisation of this very successful event. And finally, congratulations to the students who have qualified for the Central Zone Cross Country – ka mau te wehi!

We’re excited to announce the arrival of our brand new Dyer Street School sports tops and hats! Those who placed orders in Term 1 should have received their items last week—if you haven’t received your order yet, please check in at the office. In addition, we now have a stockpile of sports tops and hats available for purchase directly from the office. These are perfect for school events, sports days, and showing off your Dyer Street pride—so come and grab yours while stocks last!

One last request, if anyone has smaller bikes or scooters at home that they would like to donate to our kura, that would be greatly appreciated. Please drop them into the office foyer if you can contribute. 

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone. 

Ngā mihi

Lee Ewington

He tumuaki o te kura o Dyer Street

Week 2 Principal’s award winners

The Fundraising Committee is next meeting on Monday, 9th of May 2025 at 7:30 p.m. in the school library. 

This year, Hero is being used to communicate about meetings and opportunities to contribute to fundraising and support for the school. If you would like to receive these posts, please let Ms Waghorn know – megw@dyerstreet.school.nz. We also have a Facebook group where information from Hero is duplicated, and some discussion between meetings happens: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1QS2HYTXXz/

Upcoming Fundraising Events:

The Fundraising committee needs support from parent volunteers to run the disco. Please see the post on Hero to volunteer, thank you.

Welcome to the new students and their whānau who joined us over the term:

Room 1: Amaia-Rayne

Room 2: Pita

Room 3: Anahera

Room 10: Mauao

Room 11: Cathareya, Luca and Kaiden

Sports Tops

We have school sports tops in a variety of sizes available for purchase from the school office for $40. Payment can be made in cash or online banking. 

Term 2

Week 4

Wed 21st May – Assembly 2:15 p.m.

Week 5

Tue 27th May – Interzone Cross-Country

Week 6

School’s Pride Week

Samoan Language Week

Mon 2nd June – King’s Birthday Public Holiday – School Closed

Tue 2 June – Samoan Independence Day celebrations

Wed 4 June – Assembly 2:15 p.m.

Fri 6 June – School Disco

Week 7

Wed 11 June – Future of DSS meeting – Strategic Plan community consultation 3 p.m. 

Week 8

Thu 19th June – Matariki Whānau Evening

Thu 20th June – Matariki Public Holiday – School Closed

Week 9

Wed 25 June – Assembly

Thu 26 June – Hutt Fest 

Fri 27 June – Last day of term 2

Room 3

Cross Country

Our cross-country was held this Thursday. It was a great event. 

Congratulations to those who placed and those seniors who qualified for zone cross-country.

 Results:

Pink Shirt Day is about working together to stop bullying by celebrating diversity and promoting kindness and inclusiveness.

It’s about creating a community where all people feel safe, valued and respected, regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, religion or cultural background.

 

To learn more about bullying prevention visit: https://pinkshirtday.org.nz/prevention/explained

St Bernard’s College Open Day

St Bernard’s College will be holding an Open Day on Saturday 24 May 2025 from 10.00am until 2.00pm. Prospective students and their parents are invited to visit during these hours to find out more about St Bernard’s College and what it can provide. St Bernard’s College is a Year 7-13 Catholic boys’ college.

For further information please see our website: www.sbc.school.nz

or contact the office at:

183 Waterloo Rd Lower Hutt Ph 560 9250

Email: office@sbc.school.nz

Have a hmmm and only drive phone free

Driving needs your full attention. You can’t focus on the road if you’re texting your mates, trying to find that one song, or looking at a navigation map app. Show someone you care by ghosting them while driving and arrive safely.

Turn your phone off

It is always safest to turn phones OFF when driving. It’s illegal to send or receive messages or calls, take photos, or browse social media on hand-held mobile phones while driving. This includes when you’re stopped in traffic or at an intersection.

Only use your phone once you’ve pulled over and parked safely.

Use Do Not Disturb

Set your phone to ‘Do not disturb while driving’ before you head off. Text messages and other notifications are silenced or limited, but you can still play music and get navigation assistance.

Watch these videos on how to turn on Do Not Disturb for both Apple and Android users.

We’re excited to announce that enrolments are open for our Kids’ Term 2 Classes at The Learning Connexion! Whether your tamariki are into painting, drawing, sculpting or just love to get creative, our classes offer a fun and supportive environment for them to explore their imaginations and build new skills.

️ Term classes run weekly and are designed for ages 5–16.

• Young Artists on Tuesdays at 3.30pm (age 5-10 years)
• Tween Artists on Thursdays at 3.30pm (10 – 14 years)
• Teen Artists on Thursdays at 6pm (11-16 years)
• HomeSchool classes on Tuesdays at 10am (5-12 years)

 Led by experienced, passionate tutors.
Price: $180 for 9 weeks.

Spaces fill quickly, so don’t miss out!

https://www.tlc.ac.nz/study-with-us/kids-art-holiday-classes/classes-kids/