News

Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Matthew 4:4

For everyone who asks receives he who seeks finds and to him who knocks the door will be opened.
Matthew 7:8

Mission Statement
Westminster Christian School, through the Spirit of God, educates the children of Christian
parents for time and eternity by providing a Christ-centred academic curriculum
founded on a Biblical World View.

Our Vision
To be a leading primary/intermediate school in New Zealand Christian Education, built
to full capacity and reaching out to those in need.

Welcome back to 2012. I hope you are all rested and ready to go as together we see what God has in store for us this year.

This newsletter is being distributed in paper format (as well as via email) as it is the first one of the year, however subsequent newsletters will be issued fortnightly via email only. A copy of the current newsletter is also available on our website.

Room 1:     Mrs Trollip            Year 0
Room 6:     Mrs Fernandes    Year 0 / 1
Room 7:     Miss Frost            Year 1 / 2
Room 14:   Mrs Cleary           Year 2 / 3
Room 15:   Mrs Freymark      Year 3 / 4 (Middle Syndicate Leader)
Room 10:   Mr Popping          Year 4
Room 9:     Mrs Wilkins           Year 5
Room 12:   Mr Trollip             Year 6 / 7
Room 11:   Mrs Breytenbach Year 7 / 8 - Deputy Principal Senior
                   Mrs Wallace         Year 7 / 8 (on Thursday and Friday)

Teacher Aides:                          Mrs Kavermann (Part-time)
                                                  Mrs Trower (Part-time)
                                                  Miss Lee (Part-time)

We are thrilled to have two new teachers join us - Mr Trollip (Room 12) and Mrs Wallace (Room 11). Mr Trollip has been teaching at Murray’s Bay Primary School and Mrs Wallace has been teaching at Rangeview Intermediate in West Auckland

Our class sizes are very encouraging and we do not have a lot of vacant spaces – except at our Year 0 level which will continue to grow as the year goes on. As in previous years, Room 3 will be started to support Mrs Trollip as the number in this area grows.

Syndicate Change
Mrs Freymark will be overseeing Rooms 14, 15 and 10. This will free up Mrs Ragg for other duties including teacher release and Maths / Reading groups.

Proprietors
Our Proprietors have been very busy painting areas and doing maintenance on our buildings over the holidays.

The two new rooms have arrived next to the Library and eventually Mrs Wilkins and Mr Popping will move into these new rooms – hopefully towards the end of Term 1. This will release two spaces for teachers to use for class work (arts subjects particularly), meetings, interview spaces and teacher aide spaces.

Interviews / Meeting with Teachers
We set aside Tuesday afternoon each week for you to arrange a meeting with your classroom teacher to discuss any matters concerning your child’s progress. We start interviews from 3.10pm.

Please ring the office to make an appointment through Mrs Curtis. It is often not possible for teachers to conduct spontaneous meetings at 3.00pm as most afternoons they are already committed to IEP’s or staff / syndicate meetings.

IEP (Individual Education Plans)
These are directed through Mrs Ragg our SENCO Leader. If your child is on an IEP, Mrs Ragg will keep you fully informed of your child’s progress and IEP Meeting times.

Complaints
We try to do our very best but we do make mistakes and we ask that you allow God’s grace as we want to provide the best education for your child.

If you are concerned about your child, please raise your concerns in the following order – firstly your child’s teacher and then the Syndicate Leader (Mrs Ragg – Rooms 1, 6 and 7, Mrs Freymark – Rooms 14, 15 and 10 or Mrs Breytenbach – Rooms 9, 12 and 11).

Devotions
This term we are studying the gospel of Matthew. Each term we will be studying a different gospel. Term 2 will be Mark, Term 2 Luke and Term 4 John.

Each week we will have a new memory verse for the children to learn and these are placed in our newsletter each fortnight so you can help your child learn these.

All of Room 14 got 7 / 7 Memory Verses which was an amazing result. This class has been consistently learning all Memory Verses – well done Room 14.

Room 6
Zach Kingston                  7 / 7                Bryan Quach           7 / 7
Joshua Sussex                 7 / 7                Reuben Mountain    7 / 7
Rachana Reid                  6 / 7                Joel Wong               5 / 7
Rubyrose Dale                 4 / 7                Sophia Snelgrove    2 / 7

Room 7
Asher Tribe                      7 / 7                Joelle Lu                 7 / 7
Nadja Kumerich                3 / 7                Leo Ni                      3 / 7
Nnamdi Unamadu            3 / 7

Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees will be having their first meeting for 2012 on Tuesday 21st February at 7.30pm in our Staff Room.

The Board will elect their new Board Chair for 2012 at this meeting and I will let you know the outcome following their decision.

Mr Fuchs (Elected)                                  Mrs de Wet (Seconded On)
Mr Batchelder (Seconded On)                Mrs Hanson (Elected)
Mr Ploeg (Proprietor)                              Mr D Hoek (Proprietor)
Mr R Hoek (Proprietor)                           Mr Meyer (Proprietor)
Mrs Ragg (Staff Representative)            Mr Wilson (Principal)

Mrs de Wet has been seconded on to the Board of Trustees to replace the vacancy left by Mrs Read, who resigned as the Board Chair at the end of 2011.

Pastor Han has also resigned his position as a Board Member as his children have now moved on to other schools. We will be looking to fill this position for 2012 only as Board of Trustee Elections are due to be next year.

Car Park Safety
As most of our children travel home by car, we ask parents of children in Rooms 1, 6, 7, 14 and 15 to collect their children from outside their classroom each day. Please do not ask your child to wait for you outside the Office on the steps – with many children waiting this prevents our visitors from being able to enter and exit the Reception area. Children waiting in these areas will be asked to return to their classroom and wait for their parents to collect them. This is particularly important during the winter months as all the classroom decks are protected from the rain and therefore provides a dryer area for children to wait after school.

Children being collected from school must wait within the school grounds. They are not permitted to wait outside the gate on the street. Once children are off the school grounds they are no longer under our care and responsibility.

Our car park can be a real danger – especially when it is raining and we ask that you keep your speed to within the designed speed limit and park only in the designed parking areas AT ALL TIMES.

Children Walking Home
Children who are walking home need to ensure that they immediately leave the grounds following their release from class at 3.00pm. They are not permitted to play at school after this time. Please ensure that you have discussed personal safety with your child if they are walking home and go over the road rules which will keep them safe ie. staying on footpaths, looking left and right when crossing roads.

All children should be picked up from school by 3.15pm. While staff are on site they are often attending meetings and can not attend to your child’s needs or inquiries. It is also not fair to your child to be waiting at school after a long day.

Occasionally incidents occur which might prevent you from picking your children up on time. If this is the case, please call the office so that we are aware of the delay.

Children are not permitted at school prior to 8.00am. Teachers do not start playground supervision until 8.30am and therefore any incidents prior to this time may not be attended to.

If your child is continually being picked up late, I will suggest to you it is more appropriate that your child be in the after / before school care facility to ensure the safety and wellbeing of your child.

Mrs Fuchs runs an excellent before and after school care on site and her contact details are 021-210-5221 or creationstation777@gmail.com.

School Hours
9.00am                                    School Starts
10.40am – 11.00am                Morning Tea
12.40pm – 1.30pm                  Lunch
3.00pm                                    School Ends

Signing Children In and Out of School
Should your child be late arriving at school – anytime after the second bell at 9.00am has rung – you will be required to sign them in at the office - children are not able to sign themselves into school if they are late. Children who are late will receive a late slip to take to their classroom teacher.

Parents are also required to “sign out” their child when they are removed (for whatever reason) during school hours. If they return to school after an appointment, you are required to sign them back into the school.

For the safety of your children, all parents are required to come directly to the office to collect children when they are being removed during school hours. Children will be asked to meet you at the office. Parents are not permitted to uplift their child from the classroom.

Parents who are dropping off forgotten items ie. lunches, books, musical instruments etc. are asked to leave these items at the office – these will be delivered promptly to your child. Please do not deliver items directly to your child or their classroom once the 9.00am start bell has sounded.

Parents are not permitted within the school grounds during school hours, unless signed in at the Office, as this presents a health and safety risk in the event of an emergency or evacuation.

Uniform
We will be ensuring correct school uniform is being worn by our students. If your child is found to be wearing incorrect uniform a notice will be sent home detailing the correction required. We are proud of our school and want this reflected in the tidy appearance of our children in their correct uniform. Details of the uniform requirements are displayed in all classrooms. For further information regarding the uniform, please contact Mrs Breytenbach.

Second Hand Uniforms
All inquiries regarding second hand uniforms should be directed to Hanlie Kiers on 476-6047.

Hats
The children are at real risk of skin cancer in these next few months. Therefore, hats must be worn at all times while outside. No hat means your child will not be allowed out in the open playground. Hats are to be Westminster Christian School hats only.

Assembly
We hold a full school assembly every Monday at 10.00am – 10.40am and you are always welcome to attend. If your child gets an award outside of school or something special happens to them, please let us know as we also like to celebrate their achievements at our assembly.

Absences
All absences need to be reported to the office by 9.10am either via message on the absentee line (444-1983) or email admin@westminster.school.nz. For every child who is not in school, Mrs Curtis needs to make a phone call to find out their whereabouts and this can be extremely time consuming. Absences not advised to the office will be marked as an “Unexplained Absence” until a reason can be established. If you know that your child will be late, please also advise the Office of this.

We are frequently audited on our absences by the Ministry of Education and those children with a large number of unexplained or unjustified absences may be referred onto to further services. Therefore, please ensure you advise us as soon as possible of any and all absences.

Any child who is absent for more than five days in a row due to sickness requires a Doctors Certificate which will be placed on their file to explain the length of absence. For other absences over 3 days ie. holiday etc. written notification to the principal is required as soon as possible prior to the absence .

Term Dates
Term 1    January 31st – April 5th
Term 2    April 23rd – June 29th
Term 3    July 16th – September 28th
Term 4    October 15th – December 14th

Lunch Orders
We are currently looking into a new and exciting Lunch Order Menu, however, until this is confirmed, we will continue with Subway Lunch Orders on Friday lunchtime.

Subway Order Envelopes are made available to your child on Monday of each week (except those weeks when a Sausage Sizzle is available). Order envelopes need to be returned to school by Thursday morning with the correct money enclosed. Please ensure your children hand these envelopes into their classroom teacher. Orders are collected by Subway on Thursday lunchtime – any order not handed in by that time will be unable to be delivered for that week.

Personal Information
Personal Information Forms went home with your child last week. Please ensure that these have been returned to your class teacher if you have not already done so.

Sports
We have a variety of sports available at our school and Mr Popping will advise you of your upcoming choices this term.

Mr Popping is the sports director for our school and all sport inquiries should be directed to him.

ESOL
The ESOL (English Speakers of other languages) department, Room 5, would like to welcome you and your family to Westminster Christian School for 2012.

Your child's English attainment and well being is important to us. In conjunction with mainstream teaching, ESOL will endeavour to provide a programme suitable for your child should they require it.
We look forward to working in partnership with you. Lee Bennison and Mel Burtenshaw (ESOL)

2012년 저희 Westminster Christian School, Room 5, ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages)부에 오신 모든 학생들과 가족 여러분들을 진심으로 환영합니다.

ESOL부는 여러분의 자녀들의 영어 교육과 향상을 위해 힘쓰고 있으며, 앞으로도 학교의 정규 수업과 더불어 각 필요한 학생들에게 적합한 프로그램을 제공하기 위해 노력할 것 입니다.

여러분들의 많은 관심과 참여를 부탁드립니다. Lee Bennison 과 Mel Burtenshaw (ESOL부) 드림

Westminster Christian School英语辅导部, 第五教室全体教师在2012年初之际向我们所有学生及其家长致以热烈的欢迎!
您孩子的健康成长和英语学习将是我们的工作重点. 我们将尽全力为学生们设计一套英语辅导课程为学生在其它科目中的学习扫清语言障碍.
我们期盼着学生家长的支持与配合.
英语教师： Lee Bennison ，Mel Burtenshaw

School Finance
At the end of 2011 our school finances were in a very serious situation. Only two areas were out of budget and this was our personnel area as the Board of Trustee had covered the costs of some staffing which was not covered in our Ministry Funding and this has left our school struggling at the end of 2011. This will impact our school for the start of 2012, but if we are careful for the next six months we will bounce back.

This unfortunately means we need to reschedule our Junior Swimming from Term 1 until Term 4.

Our staff are an awesome staff and together God will meet us. We were told at our last ERO review that we are extremely well resourced and the staff are well up-to-date with their teacher development. So we will carefully manage the next 6 months.

We appreciate our school community and may God bless you as you support our school in the finance area particularly by paying your voluntary donations. Please pray for our Board as we plan for 2012.

ASB School Banking
If you have not done so already and would like to register your child for the ASB Banking Programme, information packs are available at the school office. Banking is a great habit to encourage in your child. Banking day is Friday.

Mufti Days
We try to hold one Mufti Day per term to fundraise for a chosen special cause. This term we are fundraising for Children’s Cancer.

Friends of Westminster
Friends of Westminster (our PTA) are planning a Food Fair and Family Fun night on Friday 30 March 2012 and we need your help.
I know that many of you are working during the day and cannot attend our meetings or be actively involved in the planning and preparation, but you might have skills or contacts that we can use. At this early stage we are looking for the following:

I will keep in close contact for the next 8 weeks and hope to hear from you soon.

Blessings
Arina Grobler
Chair: Friends of Westminster
groblers@orcon.net.nz Ph 413 5433

Mums in Touch
One of the most vital parts of our school is this wonderful group of parents who meet once a week to pray over our school, pupils, staff and families.

Mums In Touch will continue to meet from 9.00am – 9.30am every Wednesday in the Music Room.

Valuables
Valuable items are to be left at home ie. these may include ipods, gaming machines etc.

Cellphones
Any child who has a cellphone at school is required to leave this at the office for the duration of the school day and collect this after the 3.00pm bell.

New Families Information Afternoon
On February 16th at 2.00pm in our staffroom I am having an information hour about our school. While this is an opportunity for new families to ask any questions regarding your child’s education at Westminster, anybody is welcome to attend.

Communications
Please be aware that a lot of our communication from teachers / office staff to parents will be conducted via email.

Please ensure that we have your correct email address and please check your emails regularly as we send important information pertaining to your child and their education at Westminster Christian School.

School Cellphone
Over the school holiday break our school cellphone was damaged. This cellphone is loaded with all your cellphone details so that in an emergency where we have no power or telephone lines available, we can communicate with you effectively.

If anybody has a good condition phone (with charger) they would like to donate to the school we would appreciate it.

May God richly bless you over the year as we support each other to educate your child Christianly in our wonderful school

Room 6                   Harrison Jones
Room 7                   Eric Ntahonkiriye
Room 9                   Alicia Isherwood
Room 10                 Esther Lee
Room 11                 Luke Haythorntwaite
Room 12                 Catherine Correia
Room 14                 Daniel Murray
Room 15                 Kathleen To

A reminder to ask your children to bring their Achievements to the School Office for inclusion in our newsletters as we like to recognise hard work and achievements outside of our school also eg. Players of the Day, Most Improved etc.

Details of important dates are also available on the School Calendar section of our website.

Week 2
6 February - 10 February
Monday 6th Waitangi Day – School Closed
Thursday 9th Open Day

Week 3
13 February - 17 February
Thursday 16th Afternoon Tea for new families

Week 4
20 February - 24 February
Tuesday 21st BOT Meeting at 7.30pm
Wednesday 22nd Life Education Starts (until 29th February)

Week 7
12 March – 16 March
Friday 16th Kids Cancer Fundraising Mufti Day

Week 8
19 March – 23 March
Tuesday 20th                 Christian Schools Swimming Sports
                                      (West Wave Aquatic)
                                      BOT Meeting at 7.30pm
Friday 23rd                     Athletics Day

Week 9
26 March – 30 March
Thursday 29th Open Day
Friday 30th Friends of Westminster – Food Fair

Week 10
2 April – 5 April
Thursday 5th Easter Service at 11.30am
Term 1 Finishes at 3.00pm

Details of important dates are also available on the School Calendar section of our website.

Contact Details
If you have moved to a new address, changed telephone numbers (including cell phones) or email address recently, could you please send a note to the school office or email admin@westminster.school.nz so we can update our records.

Guitar Lessons
Musiqhub, formerly 4Front School of Guitar, have been running Guitar Lessons at Westminster Christian School for 6 years. Over that time many students have enjoyed developing the ability to play the guitar. Guitar lessons are available on Tuesdays at the School. If you are interested for your child to start guitar lessons in term 1, 2012 please contact Dave Gatman on 021 222-1456 or email dave@musiqhub.co.nz. Or for more information, visit www.schoolofguitar.co.nz.

Dance Dimensions
Celebrating 20yrs of dance at dance dimensions enrol now for term 1. Hip Hop / Jazz, Theatredance, Lyrical. Check out our website www.dancedimensions.co.nz, ph : (09)478-5898 or e-mail ann@dancedimensions.co.nz to request our latest price list

Toolbox Parenting Groups are small groups run by trained facilitators, run over 6 weeks, 6 x 2 hour sessions per course. They are positive, practical and fun. The cost is $67.50 per person or $90 per couple. Subsidies are usually available – please ask.
For more info check out the website below or talk to Jenny.
Parents Inc. | Jenny Jackson | Auckland North ToolBox Coordinator | P 09 479 7442 | M 021 167 0308| www.theparentingplace.com | www.ParentsInc.org.nz | akldnorthtbx@parentsinc.org.nz