Greetings and a warm welcome to our Big Bava Family! Due to regular power outages causing the normal operations we have not been able to come out to share with you any earlier! Now that the weather has stabilised and the school as well it is time to share what your children have been doing! The first two weeks gave us all time to settle the children down. Four weeks into Term 1 a lot has already happened especially when the normal classes began to take shape in the past week and a half! Be pleased to know that they have now settled into their normal classroom routines and are enjoying their learning experiences. Before I take you inside to share with their own class teachers, let me share some important information you need to take note of.

1. TERM 1 DATES:  10 Weeks Duration – January 25 – April 2 

•  End of Term Friday April 2 /Good Friday/Public Holiday.
• School retires on Thursday 1st after the end of Term Concert.
• End of Term Concert April 1 on same day (specific details to follow later.)
• Easter Monday  April 5 – Public Holiday & start of Term 1 Holiday for only One Week. From April 5 – 9 .

2. TEACHER IN-SERVICE: 3 days during the holiday period.

3. TEACHER-PARENT INTERVIEWS: consult the front desk with Mrs Tione to make an appointment with your child’s teacher during the holiday period. *Must coincide with the 3 days when they are at school. You will be advised.

4. SCHOOL UNIFORM DAYS: Monday-Thursday. *Compulsory Sports Uniform is only for Friday. (Children are assessed for their reports. Please kindly adhere to help your dear little ones!)

5. LATE ARRIVALS: 8 am is already late.

• Please make an effort to take it seriously to train your children to come to school ready and excited.
• Do you know that they feel awkward walking into an assembly or into a classroom already in progress? This can be disturbing & interrupting. Please do help both the teacher and his pupils.

6. SCHOOL BAG: An essential item for all students.

• It is essential that a child walks into school carrying his bag with all his little needs and usually there is homework or a library book to return. 
• It is part of the school training to get the child to unpack his own bag so he feels empowered and responsible to care for himself and his belongings.
• Tag/label every item brought inside school
• No expensive toys, sharp items and money including mobile phones are to be handled or brought in by children.
• No money is to be handled by teaching/admin staff except Mrs Tione who is authorised. Nobody is to expect any staff to buy from shops outside. Thank you.

7. EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES:

• Swimming – The pool is ready but permission is necessary. It is not deep and all children can use it. Proper swimwear must be worn. The lower & the middle teachers do assist with their children.
• Colgate & Port Moresby Nature Park Calendar – depends on weather & situation on Advice by Covid-19 Regulations.
• Valentine Day – We hope you liked what your children made for you.
• Birthday Celebrations – Children may share with friends at school. *Last week the Preschool celebrated Jaylani’s 5th birthday with her cake! All had a little bit of fun!

8. COVID-19 RULES: All though in general the public and many of our parents/guardians are not wearing masks.

• It is compulsory for all students/parents/guardians to wear them upon entry please. Especially when entering inside the main hall area until further notice.
• Children are taken and trained in preparation and we expect our parents to help us do this for all of us for our health and safety.

9. 2021 REGISTRATION/ENROLMENT FORM: This is compulsory. Parents who have yet to fill them in must make sure to do so. This certifies and confirms that your child/ren are officially registered with the school.* Daily and weekly assessments are done!

10. TERM TWO DATE: April 12 – June 18 (11 weeks duration).

11. PLAY-PRESCHOOL — LOWER SECTOR:

Hello from the lower section. It is nice and exciting to have these little children from the first day of school and already we are sharing the 4th week! What have they been learning:

Jolly Phonics

• Children are learning volume 1: s a t i p n – they now have the confidence to sound and do the actions.
• They also can identify the pictures and sound to sing the songs. All is good.

Maths

• Children are now confident to identify the 4 shapes and the 4 primary colours:  red, yellow, green and blue.

Science

• We are now learning the parts of our hands.
• They have learned the parts of their heads.
• All are confident to identify learn what is on their heads, eyes, ears, noses & mouths.
• Last week we learned the parts of our hands, arms, hand and fingers. They did well.

 Social Studies

• Children learned about me, myself and I.
• They now know their own names, ages, size, who they live with etc.
• Last week they learned about their family trees and made some crafts on them using their hands. My dad, my mum, my brother, my sister.

Health

• The children learned about the stages of childhood to play-preschool stage now, they know that they come to school, eating by themselves and etc.
• Children learned the steps of washing their hands and what else they can use to wash their hands like water and soap.

Homework

Children are all doing well with their homework. Please continue on helping your child with them. Do make any comments so we can follow through.

Ms Heagi & Ms Matui – Class Teachers

12. PREP-GRADE 1 — MIDDLE SECTOR:

Hello Parents, it is another learning experience for your child in this school. I am glad to have them in the Preparatory combined classes. I am sure your child is also excited and sharing few things they have been doing in school.

• We have done a lot of reading two, three and four letter words for the past 3 weeks now.
• They have been doing a lot of handwriting in letters and numbers.
• The children have been behaving well in class and are showing interest in all learning areas.
• The attendance and punctuality area is slowly progressing well.

Parents do please comment in your child’s home link book regarding your child.

Mrs Mea – Class Teacher

13. UPPER GRADES CLASS SECTOR:

Hello to all our wonderful parents and guardians, welcome!

Our Lessons

We began our 2021 school year with a lot of Enrichment work for the first and second week. The reason for this was to allow the students to settle in and get into school mode.

We have already started on our actual program for each core subject and I can assure you that our students are really keen and showing a lot of interest in their lessons. Our class atmosphere feels really good and we are all happy every day.

Home Links

This is a very important system because it allows both parents and teachers to communicate and address any issue or concern regarding your child. I am therefore urging every parent/guardian to check your child’s Home Link Book every week and do make comments.

Homework

Our homework days are Monday, Wednesdays and Friday. Please do assist your child with the homework provided and write your comments in his/her home link book. Very important!

Behaviour at School

Our students are expected to behave appropriately at all times. Any inappropriate conduct will be reported and recorded into their respective Home Link Books for parents to be aware of. This will have an impact on the final assessments of each term and final year reports.

Dressing

As the class teacher of the cluster grades, I want all my students to always be in their proper uniforms. Uniforms must be worn with proper footwear on Monday to Thursday. Shirts must be tucked in neatly. Fingernails must be short and clean.

Attendance and Punctuality

It is very important that children attend school daily as it can capture their interest in learning new things and ideas. Students also need to be on time and get picked up on time.

Thank you and we shall be in touch.

Mr Mea – Class Teacher

14. LIBRARY CORNER:

Hello everyone and welcome back to the library 2021.

I am grateful to take you through this year and am looking forward to reading and sharing. I am glad to report that our first library session went very well this week with students participating with excitement!

 I introduced the four main parts of a book based on our term theme:

• Me, Myself and I and explained to them the use of each part.
• Our library borrowing has started 0n 09th February 2021 with lessons attached.
• I will be more than happy to have more students participate and borrow.
• If your child has not started borrowing please do purchase a library bag from Mrs. Tione so that your child will not miss out on borrowing.

With this I look forward to seeing your child/children in the library and teaching them.

Thank you.

Ms Rutera – Librarian

15. FRONT DESK – MRS TIONE:

Welcome everyone, we do appreciate your trust and support in choosing us and our small school to care and educate your children. We treat everyone special. We love and care for them all. As our school motto says, “Learn to Care & Care to Learn. “

Last week saw the second week of real classroom teaching of Term 1. The first 2 weeks were allowed for children to settle down and familiarise with each other and get to know their class teachers. Nobody was left behind. Everyone is now settled and ready for classroom learning.

A Few Reminders!!

School Hours

Monday – Thursday: 7.30 – 02.30pm

Fridays only – Half Day School: 7.30am – 12.00 noon

Late Pick up Fees: K20.00

Transport

K550 for Drop offs. Both ways K1100.00.

Only within designated locations. No go zone areas include Rainbow, Gerehu, UPNG, Hanuabada, outside city limits.

Canteen Services Daily 

K20.00 (morning Tea and Lunch)

Uniforms

Girls Dress –       K100.00

Boys Set-             K100.00

Sports Set –        K100.00 set

Single –                K50.00                                                

Socks –                 K15.00 pair

Hat –                     K30.00

Library Bag –      K20.00

Thank you all and have great week.

Mrs Tione – Registrar

Please I urge you to find the time to read the contents of this Newsletter because the information is that important for you and your children. Finally let me thank you all for the trust and confidence you have in the management and the staff to care and educate your children in 2021! We will do our very best to serve you.

Until next issue, be healthy, stay safe and be vigilant and practice Covid-19 precautions always!

Sincerely,