Term 4 | Week 7
Kia ora e te whānau,

As we move through our last weeks at school for 2021, a number of classes and students are able to enjoy local field trips and, of course, the traditional Outdoor Education Week for our middle school. I am very pleased we’ve been able to craft these days to meet the Alert Level 2 regulations! Room 9 enjoyed a Science and Key Competencies Day at Twin Lakes with the support of DoC. Room 4 enjoyed an Agriculture and Key Competencies Day at the Newlands’ farm. The entire middle school will develop their problem solving and Outdoor Education skills in their week long programme from December 6th to 10th. This programme is based on, and off the school site.

Earlier this week, we interviewed students from Year 12 for the 2022 Leadership Positions. The quality of some of the applications and their interview responses show the development they have made over their years at Twizel Area School. The entire group were able to clearly explain their leadership experiences to date and their aspirations for the future. The panel was made up of teachers, school leaders and Board members. Although not familiar with all of the panel, the applicants held themselves with confidence and performed to a high standard. I know we’ll have a great team for next year.

Staff have been working hard to complete testing and reports for the end of the year. There has been a lot of talk in the community about class placements for 2022. The conditional class placement discussions do occur before the end of the school year, but cannot be finalised until the start of the new year as we do need to accommodate new enrolments. Last year, there were a large number of unexpected enrolments which did affect the groupings. We will continue to take a cautious approach to firm class placement decisions, this continues to be in the spirit of not ‘changing the goal posts’ for the students over the school holidays.

As well as preparing materials for students before the end of the year, the teachers are currently being consulted by the Ministry of Education on their thoughts for our professional learning at the start of 2022. The professional learning we have committed to for our first days at school is ‘Understanding Behaviour, Responding Safely’. This is in tandem with the potential to integrate ‘Positive Behaviour for Learning - School Wide’ (PB4L-SW). We have also confirmed 120 hours of professional development with Core Education throughout the 2022 school year to continue with our Digital Fluency learning and a fully funded Massey University approach to Mathematics Learning, Developing Mathematical Inquiry Communities (DMIC).

He waka eke noa,

Kate Staniford
Tumuaki | Principal


First Swim of the Season

With the Twizel Community Pool now open for the 2021/22 season, students in M1 and Room 9 took full advantage this week.

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Outdoor Ed Week 2021

Next week is Twizel Area School's Outdoor Education Week for 2021. All the details you require can be found here...

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Dragonflies In The Sun

The Room 9 pond study at Twin Lakes on Tuesday was a huge success with students exploring for two hours catching and studying pond life.

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Our Trip to the Farm

Room 4 ākonga spent the day on Tuesday exploring and having fun at the Newlands' farm. With a great day had by all, the students had plenty to write about.

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M4 Leadership

Ākonga in M4 have been building their leadership skills to prepare for being responsible for their groups in Outdoor Education Week, next week.

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Staff Changes for 2022

There will some staff changes at Twizel Area School when the new school year begins in February 2022.

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Traffic Light Framework

What does the new Traffic Light Framework mean for staff, students and visitors of Twizel Area School?

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Library Book Return

With less than 10 school days left of 2021, now is the time to return your library books. Look under your bed, down the back of your couch and in your school bag. There is a return point at the library door, opposite the main office.

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Final 2021 Lucky Book Club

The final issue of the Scholastic Lucky Book Club for 2021 is now available, orders need to be in by Wednesday 8th December. You can order through the Scholastic website or the Book Clubs Loop app.

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Reining in Screen Time: A Gentle Guide

2021 has been the year of the screen - with good reason! When it comes to pulling the plug, gently and thoughtfully is the key.

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TAS Prizegiving Assemblies 2021

Twizel Area School Prizegiving Assemblies will take place on Tuesday, 14th December 2021. Of course, this year will be different. In order for us to acknowledge our students in a manner that falls within the present health guidelines, we’ll be holding ‘in-school’ small events.

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Calendar | Wātaka

Click here to view the updated Google Term Calendar.

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Employment Roadshow Dec 21



Street Smart Timaru



Traffic Light System 2:12:21



Traffic Light System For Education



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