Kia ora koutou.

Today we have our last group of students attending the Lion's Reach Awards at the Harvest Centre for the year. These students have have put a lot of effort into their learning and the award is one of the ways we recognise their achievement.

Yesterday's trip to the Waitomo Caves was very exciting for many students and parents who have never been before. The boat trip through the glow worm grotto was one of the highlights, along with the Ruakuri Bush Reserve tramp. Thanks to the parents who gave up their time to support the trip.

On Tuesday I accompanied our group of students who attend RDA. I was really impressed with the confidence shown by our students as they maneuvered their horses through the different activities. Special thanks to the RDA volunteers who give up their time twice a week to make the rewarding sessions possible.

Tomorrow we have our Book Fair and Arts Day, please feel free to come along and support the two events. Arts Day viewing begins at 12:30pm. We are looking forward to seeing students dressing up as their favourite book character.

Next week the seniors are off to their camps. Year 7s are heading to Lake Whakamaru and the Year 8s are heading off to Papamoa. We will make sure that there are plenty of photos to share with you.
 
Thanks to the families who have filled in the pre-school enrolment survey for 2024 and beyond. The survey can be found here if you are yet to fill it in. It really helps us out with future planning.
 
Ngā mihi,

Scott Lincoln

Principal

Ōtorohanga South School

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

NOVEMBER:
Friday 17th - Arts Day - Viewing starts at 12:30pm
Friday 17th - Book Fair - In the Library - 11am to 3:15pm
Monday 20th - Thursday 23rd - Senior Camp

DECEMBER:
Wednesday 6th - Rainbow's End trip & Year 8 College Day
Friday 8th - Pen Assembly
Tuesday 12th - Junior Prizegiving - 11:15am
Tuesday 12th - Senior Prizegiving - 7pm
Friday 15th - Last Day of Term

Our values focus for the second half of this term is Trustworthy.

Our school-wide values are explicitly taught in all our classrooms and across various settings. These value lessons are also supported by our school councillors sharing messages and role-playing at assemblies, as well as value reminders over the school intercom each morning during our daily notices.


Below is an example of our school-wide expectations of effort in one of our settings.

Self-trust is a foundational element for healthy emotional and social development in our tamariki. It forms the basis for confidence, resilience, positive relationships, and the ability to navigate the complexities of life with a sense of autonomy and agency. Parents, whanau, and educators play a crucial role in nurturing and supporting the development of self-trust in children through encouragement, positive reinforcement, and opportunities for independent decision-making.

Congratulations to our junior students who received Tier 1 and Tier 2 KETE awards last week. Our Tier 2 recipients enjoyed a waffle breakfast with Mr Lincoln for exemplifying each of our four KETE values to a high standard - Ka Rawe!

 

Hats off to Reading!  We're having a Scholastic BOOK FAIR!

Start your Christmas shopping!
Date: Friday, 17th November
Time: 11am - 3:15pm
Where: Otorohanga South School Library
All parents and caregivers are invited!

This coincides with Art day so that you are able to come and see your child's awesome artistic creations and also take advantage of exploring a huge range of affordable books featuring characters and subjects kids love and want to read about . This will be held in the Library and students will also be encouraged to dress up as their favourite book character or wear a funky hat on the day.  

If your child was awarded a school cup or trophy last year, please return it now so that they can be engraved in time to be presented to this year's recipients. 

We are experiencing an increase in the number of sick children at school.

Ministry of Health Guidelines:
Many illnesses are infectious, meaning they can be spread easily from one person to another.
To stop sickness from spreading, it is important for you to keep your child at home when they are ill, and not let them go to school or Early childhood education centre. How long they should be home depends on what illness they have.

When your child catches an illness, there will be an incubation period before they show symptoms. Some illnesses are infectious before symptoms show; some are infectious even after symptoms have disappeared.

Click here to view the Infectious Diseases table on the HealthEd website. It describes the symptoms and exclusion periods for some common childhood illnesses.

You can call Healthline free on 0800 611 116:

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. 

 

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.

School Account:
Oto South BOT
01-0391-0023110-00