Kia ora koutou. 

Gala planning is well underway. 

Next Monday we have Cat Levine and the Tractor Trek at school promoting student well-being. Students will listen to Cat talk about the different feelings we have and what to do when feelings become overwhelming. After that they will get to explore the range of tractors that they have with them.

Friday the 24th is our senior swimming sports date for middle and senior syndicates. Please feel free to come on up to the pools and support your child/ren. A sausage sizzle will be operating on the day.

Gala planning and promotion began this week. We have a dedicated Gala section in this newsletter, please have a read. It'll explain about how you can help out with donations and when and where to drop items off. Next week we are happy for grocery items and Monster Garage Sale items to start coming in, raffle tickets will also be distributed out to Middle and Senior students for sale.

Ngā mihi, 

Scott Lincoln 

Principal 

2023 TERM DATES

Term 1 - Thurs 2nd Feb - Thurs 6th April

Term 2 - Weds 26th April - Fri 30th June

Term 3 - Mon 17th July - Fri 22nd Sept

Term 4 - Mon 9th Oct - Fri 15th Dec

February
Fri 24th - OSS Swimming

March
Fri 3rd - Lower & Upper Junior Swimming
Fri 10th March - Gala
Mon 20th - Tues 21st - Parent & Teacher interviews

April
Fri 7th - Good Friday - School Closed

Introducing the Otorohanga South School Councillors for 2023 - (Back row) Alexis Neuhoff, Zoe Edwards, Lauren Reeve, Pianika Emery, Khloe Christison, Maz Wanden, Kaelin Hetet-Jacob, (Front row) Jordy Millin, Tiela Brown-Merrin and Emily Purdie. Congratulations team! We look forward to seeing you grow into your new leadership role.

We are so pleased to be able to bring this fun evening back to our community. It takes a huge team effort to get it together and we really appreciate your help. The donation of grocery and garage sale items, selling raffle tickets and giving your time on the roster on the night are all ways that you can help out. Please see below for more details.

· Groceries: We are accepting groceries now and request that each child brings in 2 non-perishable grocery items.  In order to receive a variety of items we ask that students bring in goods that start with the first letter of their first name and the first letter of their last name. The first class where all students have brought their grocery items to school will receive a prize. Please send your goods directly to your child/ren class, we greatly appreciate your support!
 
· Raffle tickets: These will be coming home with Year 5 - Year 8 students soon. 
Please return your sold raffle ticket butts and money ASAP. If you cannot sell your tickets please return them as we have other students keen to sell them. All raffle butts must be back at school by Friday 3rd of March.

· Mince: We need 15 kgs of mince for nachos . If you are able to donate any please drop it off to the school office.

· Talent Quest: Get your entries in now!

· Giant Garage Sale:  Now is the time to have a clean out! We will be accepting garage sale items from Tuesday 21st February. Details about what we can accept are included with this newsletter.

· Roster: We will be calling for volunteers to help on the gala day with manning stalls and activities and cleaning up after the gala. Even if you can only spare an hour. Keep an eye out for a survey to get your preference in quickly. If you want to get in quick and choose your spot now please call the school office - 873 8530.

· Sponsorship: The request for sponsorship below will be sent to our local businesses. If your business does not receive the email, but you would like to get on board, you are welcome to call the school office or email accounts@otosouhth.school.nz with your offer. 

 

 

Across all school settings (e.g. classroom, playground, library etc.) students are recognised for displaying our KETE values. Tamariki are given KETE tickets when they demonstrate a particular value, which then go into the class KETE.  

All the KETE tickets are collected and entered into our schoolwide Monday KETE draw and those drawn out  receive a reward from Mr Lincoln.

When our tamaiki have consistently demonstrated a particular  KETE value and have received a number of KETE tickets for this value, they are awarded either a  K,E,T  or E certificate at our Junior or Senior assemblies.

Once our students have continued to exemplify all four of our values to a high standard, they receive a complete KETE certificate, which is presented at our PEN assembly at the end of the term.

We are very excited to welcome back Cat Levine and the Feelings for Life Tractor Trek on Monday 20th February. Cat will be presenting sessions with both our junior and senior students.

The Tractor Trek involves:

Links to the videos can be found here:  Think and Be Me - YouTube

Headlice checks are being carried out next week. Please check your child/ren for signs of eggs and/or lice and treat immediately. Chemical treatment is available from the public health nurses and your child's doctor for free.

20th - 24th February

Ikura|Manaakitia te whare tangata is an initiative set up by the Ministry of Education to provide free period products in all state schools across New Zealand.  The main aims of this scheme are to support whānau with the rising cost of living and to make a positive impact on student wellbeing. If you would like to opt into the scheme, please contact the school office. 

 

The Scholastic Book Club magazine went out to students on Tuesday. Final orders are due in on Friday 17th February.

Many families now choose to spread the cost of the Technology fee as well as the Middle and Senior Syndicate Camps over many months by making small, regular payments to the school bank account via internet banking. These costs will be applied to your child's account early in the year and emailed to you so that you have all of the information on hand. The camp cost is not due until later in the year, but you are welcome to start making payments at any time. If you choose to take up this option, please use your child's name as a reference.