A warm welcome to the New Entrant classes!
Welcome to the wonderful New Entrant area. We have two classrooms, Room 6 and Room 7. Abby Hunt is
the teacher in Room 7 and Heather Hames is the teacher in Room 6.
We are looking forward to getting to know your child and learning about them from you as well. Each child
is encouraged to bring in their profile folder from kindergarten so that we can get to know them better
and so they can have a piece of home with them at school.
You can help your child settle into school by setting up a morning routine that will ensure enough time to;
hang up their bag, bring in their water bottle, book bag and have a little time to play or show you
something. Most children tend to arrive in the New Entrant classrooms around 8:30am. School starts
promptly at 8.45am and ends at 3.00pm.
We welcome any parent helpers to assist with gluing activities into books, cutting, laminating and returning
books, etc. If you are available to do this please come and talk to Abby or Heather.
Things to bring everyday:
 A waste free lunch box with easy to manage food (healthy food is always encouraged).
Brain Snack : small portion of fruit/vegetables. Morning tea : two small snacks.
Lunch : something healthy and substantial, eg. Sandwiches. Waste free lunch ideas are on display.
 A named water bottle (to be brought into the classroom each morning).
 A book bag (to be brought into the classroom each morning).
 Named shoes or sandals that your child can do up themselves.
 Spare, named clothes just in case of an accident!
 Hats are essential in Terms 1 & 4 (and optional in Terms 2 & 3). These must be clearly labeled.
Important things to let us know are:
 Any health issues, problems or worries that your child has.
 If your child attends post school (OSCAR) or goes on the walking bus, it is important that we know
which days they go so we can help them remember this routine.
 If there are any changes to your child’s regular pick up and drop off routine we need to be made
aware of this.
 We expect parents to wait outside the classroom at 3pm each day to pick up their child unless we
are otherwise notified.
Clothing/Personal belongings
Please make sure everything your child brings to school, including clothing, is clearly named. Your child
needs sandals or shoes that they can do up themselves - or you need to make sure they know how to tie
their own shoelaces. The lost property box for Rooms 6 & 7 is on the deck outside our classrooms.
It is a good idea for your child to have a school bag that is big enough to fit their book bag, lunch box and
any spare clothes that they take off during the day.
Lunches
It is a good idea to point out to your child which food is the ‘brain’ snack, morning tea and lunch. This
avoids your child eating all their food too early. As there are some children in the school with life
threatening allergies, we ask that you reinforce our policy that we wash hands before and after eating at
school. Please make sure they can open and close their lunch box and school bag and can un-wrap/open
food items. We encourage and reward waste free lunchboxes at Gladstone school. Ideas are displayed in
our classrooms.
House Groups
At Gladstone School we have four house groups; Totara, Kowhai, Rimu and Kauri.
These house groups are made up of children across the school from Year 0 to Year 6. Children have daily
fitness with their house, house competitions and scheduled lunchtime activities. Each child will be placed
in a house group when they start school with siblings going into the same house.
Resources
We are always in need of paper, cardboard, newspapers, ice-cream containers and other plastic containers,
trays and jars, cardboard boxes and rolls (excluding toilet rolls, egg cartons, or peanut butter jars),
magazines, collage materials and dress-ups. So please think about us before recycling day!
Swimming
At Gladstone Primary School we participate in a swimming programme that is compulsory for all children.
This will occur on a Wednesday in their PE lesson time and if your child cannot participate for some reason
they must bring a signed note explaining why they will not be participating. The programme is packed with
lots of fun activities and the children are taught in small groups. Each Wednesday your child must bring
their togs/rash vest and a towel in a separate swim bag (goggles are optional). Should your child feel
more comfortable wearing a wetsuit they are welcome to do so. In addition to this, confident swimmers
will be given the option of swimming during the lunch period on Junior swim days. We will keep you updated
on which day/s this will be available.
It is our job to ensure that the start to school is a smooth transition for
your child and you! Please feel free to email Abby or Heather if you have
any questions or feedback that you have in regards to this.
Kind regards,
Abby Hunt
Heather Hames
Abby Hunt
Room 7 teacher
Heather Hames
Room 6 teacher