Calendar of Events - through to early Term 2:

Reminder - 

We close early at 12:30pm on Wednesday and Thursday next week, for Learning Conferences.

After School Care will operate from the usual time on both days. If you are unable to collect your child(ren) at 12:30pm we will provide supervision in our hall. It is important you let us know by emailing office@westernheights.school.nz

Farewell Assembly for Nic Yelash:

And language programme that develops areas of the brain that assist them to master language, fully develop their brains, and become prepared for formal learning.

Below is Nic in the original PMP room. Because her programme was so brilliant, we built her a purpose-built room and she made it awesome - then left us. Teacher Aide wages are set very low and eventually Nic had to find a job that made best use of her exceptional business, management and people skills, and paid enough to make working worthwhile. Our loss is AIGs gain.

For her final Assembly Nic led our school in signing our National Anthem.

Our seniors sang her a beautiful song and Mario and Patrick made heartwarming speeches to her.

Patrick presented flowers, Adele thanked Nic, gave her a lovely present from us all and shed lots of tears.

In her farewell to us Nic also shed lots of tears. She talked about the challenges of her new job - very few fun days, no Pyjama Days and the morning teas don’t measure up to our Friday ones. She misses us and her children terribly but she gained a lot from her time here that really helps her in her new job - like perseverance, growth mindset and similar.

It’s not all sadness though. Nic is our new Board Chairperson - up until Board Elections which happen around mid-year. She is great to work with and has previous Chair Mark Sullivan in support as Deputy Chair.

I am - and have been - incredibly fortunate and privileged to work with them both.

Bookings can be made online at www.schoolinterviews.co.nz

You can change or cancel interviews at any time by returning to the website. If you haven’t got access to a computer, you can ring our office on 8361213 and ask them to make the booking for you, at a time that suits. Conferences start at 1:30 on both days. The final time slot on Wednesday is 7:30pm and 5:15pm on Thursday. Interviews last 15 minutes. We look forward to seeing you all at your Learning Conferences.

PLAYBALL will commence at the normal time of 3pm - 4pm on Thursday 14 March 

Wheels Wednesday Now Wednesday and Friday:

Just a reminder that we have Wheels Wednesday every Wednesday - supervised by Mrs Marshall - and now every Friday too.

We encourage children to bring skates, roller-skates, skateboards and scooters - all with an accompanying helmet of course.

Knee pads and similar are optional.

Unfortunately we can’t have bikes as they are too big and make it unsafe.

Board of Trustee Election Year:

As stated by Nancy Bailey in an article titled “Setting Children Up to Hate Reading”, Politicians, venture philanthropists, and even the President, make early learning into an emergency. What’s a poor kindergartener or preschooler to do when they must carry the weight of the nation on their backs—when every letter and pronunciation is scrutinised like never before? Unfortunately, many kindergarten teachers have bought into this harmful message. Many have thrown out their play kitchens, blocks, napping rugs, and doll houses believing it is critical that children should learn to read in kindergarten! Kindergarten, according to studies from the American Institutes for Research and the University of Virginia, has become “the new first grade.” And, based on my observations, preschool has clearly become the new kindergarten. The directors and teachers in private preschools all around the country tell me that parents are putting increasing pressure on them to switch from play-based to academic-oriented curriculums. If the schools don’t submit to the parents’ wishes, they risk losing enrolment to those schools that do favour early academics. The belief that earlier is better has become deeply ingrained in our society—whether we’re talking about academics or athletics. Parents are terrified that if they don’t give their little ones a jumpstart on the “competition,” their children will fall behind and end up as miserable failures. Politicians pander to the ridiculous notion that education is a race. And teachers—from preschool to the primary grades—are being forced to abandon their understanding of what is developmentally appropriate and teach content they know to be wrong for kids. And what happens to the kids? They’re too often stressed and miserable. Depression among children is at an all-time high. Children taught to read at an early age have more vision problems, and those taught to read at age five have more difficulty reading than those taught at age seven.

And of course reading isn’t the only skill children are being asked to acquire too early; requirements in all content areas have risen as curriculum is “pushed down” from higher to lower grades. Anxiety rises as children fail to meet their parents’ and teachers’ expectations—because they’re developmentally incapable of doing what’s asked of them. All of this does nothing to endear them to learning.

So, whether we’re talking about moving or learning, two things children are born loving, the end result is often the same: loss of motivation. Demanding that children perform skills for which they’re not yet ready creates fear and frustration in them. Moreover, children who are “trained” by adults to develop at a pace that is not their own tend to become less autonomous people. And here’s the punchline: child development cannot be accelerated. Moreover, there’s no reason to try to accelerate it. The research shows that usually by third grade, and certainly by middle school, there’s no real difference in reading levels between those who started reading early and those who started later.

In another study, fourth graders who had attended play-oriented preschools in which children often initiated their own activities had better academic performance than those who had attended academic-oriented preschools.

But no one in charge is paying attention to the research.

 Given that, here are some of the concerns I have: 

Children  become burned out from all the pushing and pressure before they’ve even reached puberty

Causing them to miss the magic of childhood, means finding the magic necessary to cope with the trials and tribulations of adulthood will be impossible.

What will become of the childlike nature adults call upon when they need reminding of the delight found in simple things—when they need to bring out the playfulness that makes life worth living? At what cost will all of this “pushing down” come? 

Childhood is not a dress rehearsal for adulthood. It is a separate, unique, and very special phase of life. And we’re essentially wiping it out of existence in a misguided effort to ensure children get ahead. When did we decide that life was one long race? When, exactly, did life become a competition?

Tour Diary Snippets and Stories 

Secondly for what it stands for - hope and a new life for those who came to New York with nothing but that hope. I am sure Lady Liberty would echo the sentiments of the Black Panther who exhorts us to build bridges not barriers at that movie’s conclusion.

One of my absolute highlights involved a walk through Central Park in New York. It’s funny how things can work out. We were supposed to bike it, but changed our minds at the last moment. We took a wrong turn or two and then got diverted to a tunnel where a young lad was playing the violin - using the under-bridge as a sound chamber. There was a young girl - maybe 5 or 6 years old - 

standing in front of him simply transfixed by his music. I recorded it as much for the impact it had on her, as for the music itself. It is a powerful image that will long stay with me.

As a result we ended up in an area where there were several softball diamonds. Jacq said we should rest awhile on the grass and watch. One team had a guy wearing a shirt with a zig zag pattern just like Charlie Brown, so we rooted for that team. They started out badly and looked as though they would get a hammering, but then the tide began to turn and they edged ahead. The Charlie Brown guy appreciated our support and came over for a chat between innings. 

Next thing I know he says he has to leave early and could I sub on for him. Wildest dream, at that point in time, comes true.

They put me in at short-stop, which was showing real faith in someone they had just met. Unfortunately in my first bat I hit to third and got out,  but I made a comeback later with two hits out of the park. I also managed to take the last two outs of the ninth inning. Game won and the guys had all made me feel really welcome. I felt like a five year old in a candy store - just so happy and enthusiastic. The guys stayed on for batting practice so I ran down everything I could to show my appreciation. I finished up with some batting practice of my own and thus ended an absolute highlight of the whole trip for me. Afterwards the guys asked a bit about New Zealand and my job came up. One of the guys was a teacher, as was his wife, who was retiring. They were both utterly frustrated and fed up with the endless compliance paperwork - loved the kids, hated the paperwork, compliance and meetings. 

Following on from that, I met a trainee teacher, completing his Masters, who works part time at an Apple Store as a salesperson, tech help and educator for school groups when they visit. I gave him my card and he has emailed me already as several of his friends came to New Zealand to study and then never left. He’s keen and I liked him as a person immediately, so we shall see…

Community News:

David Pogue’s Life Hacks - A Series - The Car:

Catch Ups:

Kindness is the Key:

Welcome to our Newest Western Heights Whanau: