Week 3, Term 1 Newsletter

Week 4 – Friday 13th February, 

In this newsletter:

1.  A message from the Principal
2. Welcome to new whānau and ākonga
3. Fundraising Committee
4. Important Dates and Reminders
5. Introducing our new health nurse – Roscelyne
6. School Events
7. From the classrooms – Room 1
8. Writer’s Corner
9. Sport at DSS
10. Lunch Update
11. Community Noticeboard

Nau mai haere mai e te whanau whānui! After a couple of shorter weeks, we are now back into the flow of school with classroom programmes amping up over the last few days. Our Roll currently sits at 181, which is the highest it has been at the beginning of a school year for some time. For the first time, we held our Pōwhiri on the very first day. This was a good test of our processes and how embedded the Pōwhiri kawa is for our kura. I was thrilled with how our tamariki responded and stepped up on the day to provide manaakitanga to our guests. 

We held a fantastic Whānau Picnic on Wednesday night at kura. It was pleasing to see our school grounds buzzing with energy as families mingled with staff and one another, strengthening the whanaungatanga that makes our community so special. The atmosphere was a good vibe and proved once again that our school is more than just a place of learning—it’s a place where we all belong. The tug-of-war challenge proved popular amongst adults and students. Raumanuka Cafe was kept incredibly busy, and it’s a good reminder to whānau that the cafe is open daily from 8:10 am. Please come down to support Raumaunka when you can. This evening was just a taste of things to come as a precursor to the Whānau Fun Fridays we’ll be launching later this term. We can’t wait to see you all there again!

As we look forward to a busy season of sports with both Touch and Netball starting this week, I’d like to remind families that official sports tops and uniforms are available for purchase directly from the school office. While the school maintains a limited supply of uniforms to lend out for events, we are strongly encouraging all tamariki who intend to represent Dyer Street School to purchase their own kit. Having their own gear builds a sense of pride and ensures they are always ready for action. We also know that school costs can add up, so please remember that payment plans are available to help lighten the load—feel free to have a confidential chat with the office staff to set this up. As an added bonus, the sports uniform is designed to be versatile; it dovetails perfectly as an everyday school wear option, a choice many of our students already find comfortable and practical. 

This year, I will be undertaking professional development through the Springboard Leadership programme. The purpose of the programme is to support principals in developing change leadership and strategic planning through the guided support of other principals and a capacity partner from a company outside of education. I’m looking forward to learning in this space, and know that we will have a revitalised strategic plan as a result for 2027 and beyond. In the meantime, we will continue to consolidate the current strategic plan for 2026 and stick with the four pou of Culture, Mātauranga, Environment and Identity.  

I look forward to a positive and productive year ahead at our kura and working in partnership with our community again. 

Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou,

Lee Ewington, Tumuaki (Principal)

Week 4 Principal’s Award Winners

Welcome to our new students:

Room 1 – Adhvika, Kaden, Luca, Micah, Nicole, Preston, Sairaa

Room 2 – Eli, Manaia

Room 5 – Kanona, Teina

Room 6 – Mikey, Talorna

Room 9 – Rylee

Room 10 – Dejahna-Lee, Kaleigha

Room 11 – Lance

We are so happy to have you join our school community.

Dyer Street School has a small but friendly fundraising committee that works together to raise funds and put on fun events. We are in need of some more people to come on board this year. There is an active Facebook group as well as a mailing list to receive posts on Hero. The committee has plans for more online hui this year to make sure those who can’t attend in person meetings can be more involved.

The next meeting is Monday March 2nd at 7:30 p.m. in the school library. The main focus of this meeting will be coming up with plans for a fun mini-gala/community event to be held in October – tentatively called the Pumpkin Party. We’d love anyone who would like to be involved to come along. If you can’t make it but have ideas or would like to be kept in mind as a volunteer, please email megw@dyerstreet.school.nz or have a look at the post in the Facebook group: 

Week 4

Tuesday 16th February – Board of Trustees Meeting

Friday 20th February – Capital Basketball sessions weekly for 6 weeks    Week 5

Tuesday 24th February – Ako Nui trip to Petone Settlers Museum

Wednesday 25th February – Assembly (Room 10 hosting, Room 2 sharing)

Week 6

Monday 2nd March – Fundraising Committee Meeting – 7:30 p.m.

Thursday 5th March – Hearing and Vision Testing

Week 7

Wednesday 11th March – Assembly (Room 9 hosting, Room 3 sharing)

Week 8 

Week 9 

Wednesday 25th March – Assembly (Room 6 hosting, Room 4 sharing)

Week 10 

Thursday 2nd April – Last day of Term 1 

                                     – Whānau Fun Friday – Easter special!

Friday 3rd April – Good Friday (Public Holiday, School closed)

Important Reminders from the School Office – 

• Please send your child to school with a change of clothes, ideally with a wet bag for wet or soiled clothes. All children in Ako Iti need to have at least spare underwear and pants, please.
• Update any changes in contact information – have you moved house, got a new phone, or have your custody or care arrangements changed? Do you have a change of emergency contact? Please update these as soon as possible – email office@dyerstreet.school.nz and feel free to check in to see if we have your most up-to-date information.
• Please update us if your child has any changes to their dietary requirements, especially allergies. Our school lunch provider can cater for all dietary needs.
• Medication – we can only give a child medicine at school if there is a current medicine form signed and held at the office. If doses, medicine or timing changes, the form must be updated.

Sensory Garden volunteer form link: Volunteer Form

Our whānau picnic was a lovely afternoon of whanaunatanga and reconnection. It is always nice to have our ex-DSS students who are now at intermediate come back and say hi too! Here are some photos.

Room 1

As part of their syndicate-wide unit on local history, Room 10 has been learning about some of the local taniwha.

Dear Diary,

If I were a taniwha, I would live in Wellington because it is more peaceful here. Also, I would have sharp claws, grey scales and sharp teeth. I will attack the prey immediately. I will also throw fire at the enemy. This would make everyone frightened of me. I would also have sparkly crystals on my body. Although I am a ferocious taniwha, I would not stand a chance against orcas and sharks.

By Darsh (Room 10)

When I woke up this morning, I dug up out of the sand. Then I went hunting for fish, and I caught some big ones, then went back to my burrow. Then I tried to catch some people by using my tail. But just then, I heard some digging at my hand, and then I grabbed three men and pulled them under the sand. So I said, “I’m going to have a feast tonight”, while the men were trembling in fear. Once I ate the men, I went to bed. That’s what I would do if I were a taniwha.

By Joshua (Room 10)

Please send any contributions for Writer’s Corner to megw@dyerstreet.school.nz – this can be work created at home or at school, and from any year level.

Touch and Netball are underway! Please keep a close eye on Hero for any notices and updates. Remember you can check the draws yourself – this can be the quickest way to get the up-to-date information, especially during the school day when school staff are quite busy: for touch –  www.totaltouch.org.nz

and netball – https://www.netballhuttvalley.co.nz/Draws-Results/futureferns-year-1-to-4-1

Urgent – We have many sports tops that have not been returned from last year, please return these so that we don’t have to spend precious school funds on replacing them. If you are able to purchase a top for your child to have as their own, this is very helpful – this can be done via the school office, either pop in, or email office@dyerstreet.school.nz

Our new lunch service has been running really well. Teachers and students are enjoying the flexibility of being able to serve individually, and it is nice to see the students sitting up together, conversing and developing their table manners. Some meals served so far have been spaghetti and meatballs, asian chicken and rice, chop suey, chicken pasta bake and of course, the famous butter chicken. Many children who have not always been keen to try the school kai are finding it much easier to give it a go with smaller portions being possible and the ability to try just parts of the meal, well done on showing aumangea! We really appreciate whānau speaking positively with their tamariki about trying new things, thank you.