HERO and Home/School Partnership Hui

Kia ora Whānau,

Happy new year and welcome back to 2025! It’s set to be a great year ahead with lots going on.

I will send a more detailed newsletter out early in the term with information pertaining to the start of the year, outlining a few changes and mapping out the “happenings” in term 1.

This information relates more specifically to getting our parents logged in and ready to use HERO – our new communication and reporting system,  an online sharing platform with a complementary parent app. 

Hero allows schools to customise an online environment that enables teachers, students, and parents to view and share content anytime, anywhere on any device. The software is secure, easy to use and brings together all school-related information in one place. 

With Hero –  as we develop how we best use this tool –  you can:

• Read and comment on school notices sent to the class or groups your child is part of
• Respond to school notices such as surveys and trip permission requests
• View school term dates
• View a school calendar of events
• Notify the school if your child is absent or late
• Book your school interviews
• Navigate to other school-related web pages
• Customise your account by adding a profile image
• Select how you wish to receive notifications
• Read and comment on posts relating to your child’s learning
• View information on your child’s progress and goals

In time, learning posts combined with curriculum information and goal-setting will form an online report designed to build year-on-year so that over time you will have access to written posts, images, videos, work samples, and helpful resources all in one place. 

Over the coming year, staff and students will be posting rich content to our Hero software. We are looking forward to sharing this with you, including you in your child’s learning journey.

Ngā mihi

Shane Burgess – Principal/Tumuaki

principal@ngaere.school.nz

In order to get this up and running, we need your help to ensure that you have downloaded the HERO app and logged yourself onto the system. Please follow the instructions in the image below to get this done asap.

Please note the following:

• Without HERO, parents are likely to miss key information relating to school events and student learning as all personalized communication related to your child will only be found here. HERO will be a one stop shop for everything you need. The school website will provide a static overview of the school and Facebook will be used for promotional purposes only. By mid-term, SchoolLoop and eTAP will no longer be used. Seesaw has already been phased out.

It is essential that you have an updated email address loaded in our system so if you are unable to login, it is likely that we require updated contact details. If this is the case, please email: office@ngaere.school.nz

Parent/Teacher Hui – Home/School Partnership Meetings

Monday 10th January

On Monday 10th February between 8am and 8pm, we are looking to run Home School Partnership meetings with Parents/Caregivers and the students. This will provide an important opportunity to:

• Share aspirations and key information you’d like our teachers to know about your child/ren
• Co-construct and set goals for 2025 (alongside your child and their teacher)
• Map out a plan of what specific actions will need to take place in order for the set goals to be achieved
• Ensure that you’re set up with HERO app and troubleshoot any issues
• Discuss anything other relevant information

On this day, we are asking that the children stay at home and only come to school to attend the home/school partnership meeting. If this is not possible, and no alternative childcare arrangements can be made, please contact Karen in the school office to let us know your child/ren will be onsite for the day. We will have a small number of support staff available to look after these students. NB: I have also made myself avaiable for bookings for parents that have anything that they wish to discuss, so feel free to make a time.

We are aiming for 100% attendance, so please book your time slot by clicking “Bookings” on the SchoolLoop App. 

If you don’t have access to SkoolLoop, you can contact Karen in the office to book a time, but please attempt to use SkoolLoop in the first instance.

THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING MAJOR SPONSORS FOR THEIR SUPPORT TOWARDS THE SCHOOL PADDOCK