Weekly Wrap - 22 March 2024

Kia ora koutou

It has been summer sports tournament week this week and we have had students participating in a range of events including canoeing, waka ama, tennis, cricket, volleyball and 3x3 basketball. There have been some great results, congratulations to:

Trilaine - 3rd place U19 W1 250m Waka Ama
Katya - 4th place CRNZ 16&U K1 250m Canoe Racing
Boys 3x3 - 4th place basketball
Boys Volleyball - 5th place Division 5
Girls Volleyball - 1st place Division 6

Well done to our tennis teams and cricket teams who played some great tournament games over this week and continue to go from strength to strength. A massive thank you to coaches, managers and staff that have helped this week be the success it has been. We appreciate everything you’ve done and the time you have given. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou!

This week we hosted a group of 45 students from Japan and it was great to enjoy a meal together with them and their host families on Wednesday night. A huge thank you to all our wonderful host families. We really appreciate you opening your homes to our international students.

Phones away for the day

Next term we'll be fully implementing the new Government policy requiring that cell phones are “away for the day”. In preparation for that we will run a transition period over the last two weeks of term. While students are able to bring a phone with them into school they must remain in their bags, turned off or to silent mode. This includes during break times.

This will mean a change in the ways parents expect to have contact with their young person and this is where we are asking for your help. We know currently parents will message students during the day expecting a response. That is now going to be much more difficult. Therefore, it is going to require a real shift in practice and expectations from our parent community. Please do not expect responses to messages sent to your child’s phone during the day as they will be expected to have their phone in their bag. Urgent messages can still be sent through the office.

“Phones away for the day” will start after Easter, with the final two weeks of term being the “adjustment phase” before the policy is fully implemented from the start of Term 2.

Easter Holiday Weekend

Easter falls during the school term this year and therefore all students get to enjoy a long weekend. The Easter break for schools runs from Friday 29th March to Tuesday 2nd April, inclusive. School will recommence on Wednesday 3rd April. Please be aware the school will finish early at 2.15 pm on Thursday 4th of April due to junior parent interviews.

Upcoming Events

JUNIOR (YEAR 9 & 10) PARENT/TEACHER INTERVIEWS

Junior Parent/Teacher interviews will be taking place on Thursday 4th April from 3pm - 6pm. Information was sent out on Monday 18th March to parent(s)/Caregiver(s) by email and is also on our college website.

The interviews will be face-to-face on-site here at Paraparaumu College. To make an appointment for these interviews, please log onto the website https://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and use the access code an377 (or follow this link https://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/code/an377. Bookings will be open until 9am on the day of the interviews.

Students are encouraged to attend the interviews.

All the best to students and staff away on the Year 12 Geography trip to the Central Plateau departing this Sunday!

A reminder that we use our School App and Facebook page for any urgent messages and to highlight student success and we would love you to follow us. You can find the links at the bottom of this newsletter along with a link to our Instagram page and Youtube.

Have a great weekend.

Ngā mihi nui

Craig Steed
Tumuaki / Principal