After School Care

After school care is run at Rāroa Intermediate by YMCA.
For more information check out their website https://ycentral.nz/portfolio-items/raroa/

Health Education Statement

Rāroa Normal Intermediate will implement a programme of Health Education based on the New Zealand Curriculum and aligned with our school’s wellbeing philosophy, charter, ASPIRE values, Principles and Fundamentals of learning and our Principles of behavioural education.

In health education, students develop their understanding of the factors that influence the health of individuals, groups and society. The curriculum areas include: Personal growth and development (including puberty), Personal identity, Challenges and social and cultural factors, relationships, interpersonal skills

Rāroa Normal Intermediate acknowledges the special character of the intermediate aged students and the increasing influence of their peer group and the developmental stage they are at. Since the NZ curriculum was written in 2007, social media has grown and become a much bigger influence in our daily lives. This can be a complex area and education will be woven throughout the year.

The school continues to look for experts in the field to work with both staff and parents to understand health needs of this age. This has included Dr. Denise Quinlan (Wellbeing), Nathan Wallis (Neuroscience), Jocelyn Brewer (Digital Nutrition)

Parents will always be given an opportunity to discuss the content of the puberty health education and information presentations may be given. A parent has the right  to withdraw their child from the programme by writing to the school.

Home Learning

We do not believe in homework for homework’s sake. We do subscribe to the idea that we want our students to develop the skills and attitude of revision and additional practice with things learned at school – at home.

We believe homework should be purposeful and relate to the needs of the students and to the learning which is going on in the classroom. We believe it is an advantage to begin to set up a place for quiet, reflective study at this age. Homework may not necessarily be given every night and it should never be oppressive – 30 – 40 minutes is sufficient. Where appropriate, the use of digital technologies is promoted to increase our ability to communicate effectively with parents about student progress and current areas of learning.

We encourage students to share and discuss their learning with their whanau and celebrate their schoolwide achievements. This is complemented by two student-led conferences during the year.

Kindo Payments

Working together with Kindo, Rāroa Normal Intermediate School offers you a fantastic way to view and pay for all your child’s school needs online.

No cash, no paper, no hassle! Shop anytime, anywhere with our Kindo online school shop.

It is our preferred method of payment and we encourage you to set up your account today.

Please use our Kindo School shop to make your school payments.

It is our preferred method of payment, and available 24/7.

Payment can also be made online 12-3223-0077412-00 using your child’s surname and room number as a reference.

The link for you new users button: click here

The link for your registered users button: click here

Lost Property

Please label all items carefully and clearly with a full name. While it is inevitable that items of clothing may be lost at Raroa the task of ensuring that they are returned is made easier if the items are clearly named. With over 600 students in the school, a first name or initials only on an item is inadequate. Please be aware that the use of vivid and /or biro are not good for labelling as these wash out with constant washing. Local shops do have a labelling device or pens for the clear labelling of clothing and items. This will make it easier to ensure clothing is returned to the rightful owner.

Should your child lose an item please remind them that they can look in the lost property cupboard at the end of block two. You are most welcome to check the lost property when you are visiting Raroa. Please remember that space does not allow for the storage of items term to term. That means that at the end of each term all items will be donated to a charity.

If you have any further questions about any general information contact the school here.

Rec Support/Duty

Rec support aligns with the Rāroa Behaviour Principles – Teachers in teams organise activities that support building relationships, model positive ASPIRE qualities, and promote wellbeing. Teachers are also welcome to rove, enter into positive conversations, and interact positively with students.  A morning tea roster outlines teachers on rec support during morning tea and lunch.

Session Times

Start of school – 8.45am

Block 1 –  8:45am – 10:30am

Morning break – 10:30am – 11:00am

Block 2 – 11:00am – 12:45pm

Lunch break – 12:45pm – 1:30pm

Afternoon session – 1:30pm – 2:50pm

End of day – 2.50pm

Student Houses

Raroa Intermediate runs a house system with four houses and each student is assigned to a house when they arrive. If they have had an older sibling through the school then they will be in the same house. There are several events during the year when the house shield is up for the taking. The events vary from sporting, cultural, fun, community, and lunchtime recreation and can be either highly competitive or purely fun and participation. The Houses are named NGA Hau e Wha o Te Raroa (the 4 winds of Raroa) Rawhiti – East (white) Raki – North (black) Uru – West (green) Tonga – South (red)

Student Travel

Bikes

Bikes brought to school are brought at students’ own risk and should be locked. Bikes are not to be ridden up or down the drive. Students are not allowed access to bicycles during class time.

Buses

Buses begin leaving from the Rāroa front gate at 2.55 approx. for lower Cashmere and for Churton Park. Teachers ensure students are dismissed promptly at 2.50 as buses do not wait.

Train

Students travelling regularly by train will need a Snapper card. The Snapper green is permanently loaded with a child concession, so this card will always charge the child discount fare. Cards need to be topped up before use. Cards can be purchased at dairies and supermarkets or online. They can be topped up online, in-store or using the Snapper app.

Snappers work on all bus services and the trains for the Johnsonville line. 

Users need to tag on before boarding the train by holding their Snapper card to the card reader. At the end of their journey, they can tag off on the platform where they exit the train.

It is a condition of transport that students conduct themselves respectfully and with courtesy towards other passengers & Tranz Metro staff when on the train.

Sushi Lunches

Sushi lunches are available every Wednesday.

Place your order for Wednesday via www.ezlunch.co.nz. Orders are accepted up until 9.00am on a Wednesday morning. A full menu, prices and allergy information can be obtained via your ezlunch account.

Teams

Rāroa is divided into Teams (clusters of classes). Each team has a Learning Leader who oversees the teaching and learning within each class in the team. This enables students to identify with a smaller “school within a school.”

Whai Wāhi – Rooms 1 – 4

Mōhio – Rooms 5 – 8

Manawanui – Rooms 10 – 14

Motuhake – Rooms 15, 16, 17, 20

Whakaute – Rooms 21, 22, 23, 25, 26

Wheels

(Bikes, Scooters, and Skateboards.)

If your child intends on bringing wheels to school, they must have a padlock to lock it during the day as well as a helmet.

Students are welcome to use skateboards, scooters and bikes at break times, only on the ring road and on the Old Turf. Unicycles can be used safely anywhere in the school.

Wrapper-less Lunch

Rāroa Intermediate is a wrapperless lunch school!

A wrapperless lunch contains no single-use plastics and wrappers. The typical homemade wrapperless lunch is packed in a lunch box or backpack. The food is put in reusable containers rather than wrapped in disposable packaging. A drink is packed in a refillable bottle. Cloth napkins and stainless-steel utensils replace disposables. All containers are resealable so that leftover food and drink can be saved for later.

Why are we a wrapperless lunch school?

It is important for us as a school to take steps to become more sustainable. Being wrapperless is an effective way of doing this. By reducing our packaging waste we help support the positive effects associated with reducing our packagings such as reducing climate change, landfill production, and marine and terrestrial pollution. Buying in bulk or buying unpackaged foods for your child’s lunch box also saves you money!

What does this mean?

• Avoid using throwaway bags, plastic wrap, foil, polystyrene, single-use cans, cartons, and napkins.
• Pack lunches in lunch boxes, small packs, or cloth bags.
• Include items that can be purchased in bulk, so there is less packaging per item, such as dried fruit and nuts or big bags of chippies.
• Include items that come in their own natural biodegradable wrappings, such as bananas, oranges, carrots, and hard-boiled eggs.
• Pack water in a reusable bottle instead of pre-packaged drinks or juices (healthier and less expensive).
• Use reusable containers for food instead of bags or wraps and reusable utensils that will be brought back home and reused.
• Purchase or make honey wraps, perfect for replacing glad wrap.
• Make your own, if you have time this can be an awesome activity for children to get involved in, such as making your own muesli bars or sweet and savory treats.
• Prepare extra food at dinnertime and use it as leftovers for lunches

We don’t want to protect the environment, we want to create a world where the environment doesn’t need protecting” 

Reducing wrappers in lunch boxes with planning and commitment will be rewarding for your family and your future! Don’t forget that we are not alone in this, talk to family and friends to learn extra tips and tricks, pass on your advice,  and try to remain positive about the change you can make!

We understand that bringing a wrapperless lunch may be a big change for some families but we think it is worth the effort. Our planet is worth the effort!

We don’t need a handful of people doing plastic-free perfectly. We need millions of people doing plastic-free imperfectly”