Welcome to MRI – Newsletter, 10 February 2023

Whakapuāwai – To Thrive

MRI Update, 10 February 2023

Key Dates for Term 1:
Meet the Teacher evening – 5.30pm – 6.30pm, Thursday 16th February
Board Meeting – 7pm, 20 February
Photolife School Photos –  13 March
Year 8 Education Outside The Classroom (EOTC) Days – 15 -17 March
Board Meeting – 7pm, 20 March
Talanoa Ako Parent Teacher Learning Conversations –  28 & 29 March
Last day of Term 1 – Thursday 6 April
Easter Good Friday (holiday) – Friday 7 April

Message from the Principal 

Ngā mihi o te tau hau,

Welcome to all of our new families and those who have children returning to our wonderful school.  It has been a great start to the school year and fantastic to see so many parents here at the school on the first day. 

We hope you and your child found the Pōwhiri welcoming.  Thank you for choosing to send your child to Mount Roskill Intermediate School (MRI), we really look forward to working with you!

The last three years have been a challenging rollercoaster ride with lockdowns and restrictions as we lived through the making of history. As a school we have worked hard to maintain a richness of learning and opportunities in as many ways possible.

Our community has been hit hard again with the recent floodings.  I would like to acknowledge the impact and loss that many of you and your families have faced and continue to face over the coming months. Please let us know if you have been impacted so that we can support you and your child as they start the new school year. 

We are stronger together. 

We want all our students to be happy here at MRI, feel safe, know that they are valued, and experience great learning. We will be working hard together for this to happen. 

An Intermediate School offers many opportunities and it is really important to make the most of them and try new things. There are many sporting and cultural activities as well as areas to help out in such as the library and leadership roles.  All of these add to your child’s education, because learning happens beyond the classroom as well and these experiences build skills and confidence. 

Please let us know if there are any specific areas that you are keen to be involved in.  We can make a big difference to your child’s learning when we work together to support them. 

Meet the Teacher/Staff: We would love to meet you on Thursday 16 February 5.30- 6.30pm
This will be an opportunity to meet your child’s new teacher, wider school staff and members of the School Board, along with other families.  It is an informal meeting time where there will be a short presentation in the classroom that will answer any of your questions.  Please see the attached flyer below.

We are fortunate to have appointed additional high quality staff to our team.  We welcome:

Mrs Zainab Ali – Year 7 Teacher

Miss Ellen Bingham – Year 7 Teacher

Miss Alyssa Golding – Year 7 Teacher

Mrs Leanne Christensen – Finance Officer

Mrs Faatu Leleisiuao – Cleaner

At the end of last year, we also welcomed our new Deputy Principal, Mr Jesse McBride to our school.

We have a wonderful team of staff here at Mount Roskill Intermediate. We all love this school and community and are excited to work with you.

We look forward to working with you this year.

Ko ia kāhore nei I rapu, tē kitea. He who does not seek will not find.

Kristen Walsham
Principal – Tumuaki

Thank you to Riya Mehta and Tane Jones who spoke at our Pōwhiri, welcoming our incoming students to MRI.

MRI Communications

Our main means of communication to you comes via email and through our School App.   All communication can also be found on our website.
Our School App provider is SchoolAppsNZ.  On Monday, an email will be sent to you from SchoolAppsNZ which will have a specialised link to enable you to access our App.
If you are already set up with our App, you will not need to do anything.

Helpful information for the school year:

Attendance
Children are expected to be in their rooms by 8.45am, ready for school to begin at 8.50am.  Punctuality is important.  Any absences need to be explained. If your child is unwell and won’t be in at school for the day, please ensure you report their absence as early as possible through either our Website, School App, by email to the class teacher and office@mri.school.nz or by phoning the office on 09 620 8508.  You can leave a voice message if you call outside our office hours.

Uniform
All students are expected to arrive and leave school in their full school uniform.  They should bring their PE gear in their bags for the days that this is required.
If for some reason your child cannot wear the correct uniform, they need to advise their teacher with a note or email from their parent/caregiver

Sun Hats
We strongly encourage our students to wear a sun hat while outside during break times and when participating in PE and sport.  Plain black caps are available to purchase for $10 each at the school office.

Naming of your child’s uniform
Please clearly name your child’s uniform.  This helps us greatly with enabling us to return misplaced garments back to their rightful owner.
Unclaimed items at the end of each term are repurposed or disposed of.

School Lunches
MRI are a water only school so students are not to bring juice, fizzy or flavoured drinks to school.  Your child can bring their own named water bottle or we have hands-free water fountains available for use around the school.

We work with Ezlunch who provide quality, fresh-made food to purchase. If you order by 9am on the day, your child’s lunch will be delivered to the school by lunchtime.  Click the link to find out details on how to order and to view their menu HERE

NO Driving onto the school campus grounds
For the safety of all our students, as well as our neighbouring Primary and Grammar students, no one is to drive into our school grounds/carpark.  If you drop off or pick up your child, this must be done on one of the surrounding streets.  Only staff are allowed to drive onto school grounds.

Our Denbigh Ave bridge is still closed to vehicles but is currently open to pedestrians.  Remedial or replacement work will be required which may close the bridge completely for some time, but we will keep you informed on when this will take place.

Term Dates 2023
Term 1 : Tuesday 7 February – Thursday 6 April
Term 2 : Monday 24 April – Friday 30 June
Term 3 : Monday 17 July – Friday 22 September
Term 4 : Monday 9 October – Friday 15 December