March 17, 2010

NAU MAI E TE WHANAU O TE KURA MURITAI

TENA KOUTOU KATOA

Welcome to our new newsletter format. This format will give you quick links around the school if you want to investigate any information further. We welcome Cella Connell, Lachlan McLachlan, Maz Cameron and James Downing to Muritai.

BUSY TIMES

The last 2 weeks seem to have been a bit of a blur. Staff have been very busy with school events as well as analysing student achievement information. Each team has had a day together to look closely at the children in their team and to develop action plans around the next steps for various groups within syndicates. This moderation and team approach helps team leaders to focus their staff on planning to best meet the needs of the children in their classrooms. Although our achievement at Muritai is generally very high, each team has identified key focus targets in reading, writing and maths for the year. These will be discussed with the Board and published shortly.

DYSLEXIA

As a staff we meet weekly for professional development, school planning or moderation of student work. On Monday we had an excellent session with Laughton King on learning difficulties, his experiences growing up with dyslexia and what it was like coping in a language heavy school environment. He painted a very clear picture of living in a world of pictures, not words. If you have visited Sarah Richardson's blog you would have seen the work we are doing to become better educators at working with dyslexia and other learning difficulties. We have invited Laughton back to Muritai because we think many parents would value hearing his message.

We are running an evening for parents on Tuesday the 30th March from 7-9 p.m. with Laughton King who will speak about dyslexia, learning difficulties and also cooperative parenting. Despite having learning difficulties Laughton has a masters degree and is a practising psychologist, mediator, author, public speaker and trainer. His personal story of overcoming his own learning issues is inspiring and informative.

There is a suggested koha of $5 per person to cover Laughton's travel costs and this represents excellent value.

YEAR 5 AND 6 FOREST LAKE CAMP

The Year 5 and 6 Team are home after a very successful week at Forest Lakes Camp, just north of Otaki. The weather was very kind to us, especially on the Tuesday and Wednesday. The students took part in a wide variety of exciting activities including the infamous mudslide and waterslide, horse riding, kayaking, abseiling, the flying fox and confidence course. Several Year 6 students opted to sleep in tents on Wednesday night (only to be woken at the crack of dawn by the local noisy rooster!) Thursday was spent at the beach in Waikanae, then a visit to Nga Manu Bird Sanctuary. A special thank you to all the fantastic parents who gave up their precious time to spend the week with us. We really value your help as the camp would not have been successful without you. (Stu Devenport)

If I may pay tribute to Stu Devenport and his team of Lisa, Ruth, Holly, Pete, Matt, Romy for their organisation, goodwill, dedication and enthusiasm to provide such a supportive environment for the children. Thanks team (Andrew)

SWIMMING SPORTS

We have held 2 very successful swimming sports recently. The Year 5-8 sports, coordinated by a team led by Mikaela Cody, went off without a hitch and was much enjoyed by the children who really gave it their all, showing a high level of skill. Congratulations to Cook for winning the house relay and Charters for being champion house overall. You can view action footage of the swimming sports here. The year 3-4 swim carnival at Eastbourne pool was equally successful. A real team effort from the year 3-4 teachers saw the sports run smoothly with great support from parents. The quality of the swimming augurs well for the future. You can view some action photos on Mrs Chao's class blog.

Year 5-6 Swim Champions

Year 8 - Jack Griffiths and Scott Manson, Jessica Woodnorth; Year 7 - Levi Walton; Lily Giles; Year 6 - Hayley Griffiths; Xavier Manson; Year 5 - Harry Crawford; Dorrie Brennan

Year 7-8 Zone Sports

Raihania Chadwick took a team of 25 year 7-8 children to Huia Pool where they overwhelmed the other schools in their zone comfortably securing champion school status. Many of the zone place-getters will represent Lower Hutt in the regional champs later in the term.

Year 5-6 Zone Sports

We wish Peter Hull and his team of year 5-6 swimmers well next Tuesday at the Central zone swim champs at Huia Pool.

PARENT EVENING - NATIONAL STANDARDS

Matt Skilton and I ran a parent meeting on how National Standards will integrate with Muritai School. We had about 35 parents in attendance and were able to get some dialogue going around how our current assessment processes fit with national standards requirements. We will continue to keep parents informed going forward on our National standards/ new curriculum blog . We have posted Matt's slideshow from the presentation for parents to view.

BOARD OF TRUSTEE ELECTIONS

Our Board of Trustee elections are coming up. You will have received a letter of information from our returning officer Sue Fieldes with an enclosed nomination form. Nominations need to be received by NOON on Friday 23^rd April 2010. If you are interested in joining the School Board of Trustees and would like further information there is a useful section on the NZSTA website called ‘What is a trustee?’ or feel free to contact Tim Wake, Chairperson or Andrew Bird, Principal.

WHEELS AND DOGS

We are currently reinforcing a rule that no one will be riding on wheels before school and directly after school. Wheels need to be walked through the school. There are so many people in the playground and it is very slow to clear as people stay and enjoy each other’s company. For the record this involves bikes, scooters, street-surfers, long boards, skateboards, bikes and unicycles - (wheel chairs and prams need to be driven with care). Parents – please set a good example. Wheels are allowed after 3.15 and in weekends.

Dogs should not be on the property and need to be tied up outside school grounds even though this still presents a risk to children however. Often it is not the dog that is unpredictable but the children. 300 children leaving school at the same time can unsettle dogs and so the best solution is not to bring your dogs to school.

LANDSCAPING OF SENIOR SCHOOL

The senior school landscaping project is nearly complete. The goal was to provide an attractive entrance to the senior school and rearrange the play spaces. I am pleased with the concluding result. To complete the project there will be some fencing and some painting. In addition to this we are very lucky to have school parents, Nancy Barclay and Ellen Giggenbach constructing a mosaic for the entranceway. This feature will be a welcome addition to our growing collection of school art.

'THE ARRIVAL'

Shaun Tan’s picture book ‘The Arrival’ is an amazing story of a stranger in a magical land told through wonderful illustrations. The year 7 and 8 students have been exploring the many images and through literacy piecing together the fascinating story which you can view at their blogs - room 21; room 22; room 23. On Friday the Year 7 and 8 students went to see ‘The Arrival’ which is here as part of the Wellington Festival of the Arts. A wonderful and magical show. The New Zealand Herald review said .. "The Arrival held its audience in a state of rapture and curiosity". Muritai students and teachers totally agree and were thrilled with the experience.

HOME AND SCHOOL - HOT DOG HELPERS REQUIRED
Home and School are desperately looking for people who can spare an hour and a half, once or twice a term, to help prepare hot dogs that are provided as a hot lunch option every Wednesday for term 2 and 3. We are looking for new team members to replenish our team of experienced hot dog makers. Sadly we've lost a few of the team due to children moving on from Muritai this year, so if you are able to make a contribution of your time we would love to hear from you. Jo Salisbury is organising a roster and can help you with any queries if you would like to know more. You can email her at salisburyjo@yahoo.com.au or call on 589 8090.

YEAR 7 AND 8 ART WEEK

The Year 7 and 8’s have been exploring contemporary New Zealand painting. They discussed how New Zealand functioned in post war 1950’s and the idea of immigrating to New Zealand with a dream of owning a family home with a large section to raise your family on. They used objects reminiscent of this era and created still life paintings with 1950’s wallpaper designs in the background. The focus artist was Lex Benson-Cooper who’s painting “Quarter Acre” inspired the direction they chose to take during arts week.

Come and see some examples of their fantastic work which are displayed in the school foyer or you can view room 22's efforts here.


SPORT

Soccer

Congratulations to both Harrison Swift and Kenzy Cooper who have made it through to a professional youth development squad for Soccer. Well done!

Touch

Touch rugby has been going very well this term. All of the teams have experienced success. Here are the results from round 2 and 3. The Bears and Storm were the only 2 teams who started their round 4 games before a major storm hit 1-2 minutes into the second half!

Results so far:

Muritai Bears: Round 2: Won 3-1 Round 3: Won 4-2

Muritai Eagles: Round 2: Won 9-0 Round 3: Won 9-3

Muritai Sharks: Round 2: Lost 7-2 Round 3: Won 5-0

Muritai Storm: Round 2: Won 9-5 Round 3: Won 13-0

Muritai Rockets: Round 2: Won 4-0 Round 3: Lost 7-4

Muritai Flyers: Round 2: Won 5-1 Round 3: Won 7-0

Round 4 was called off due to the weather.


2010 Wellington Athletic Championships
Congratulations to some of our students who entered the Wellington Athletic Champs recently:-

• Phoebe Evans – 1st Long Jump, 3rd 200m, 3rd 100m, 3rd 60m, Finalist Discus and Shotput
• Macey Caughley – 2nd Long Jump, 2nd 100m, 4th 60m
• Maya Hahn – 4th Discus, Finalist 200m, Finalist Shotput and 2nd in the 4 x 100 relay
• Phoebe Evans also won the Wellington Interclub Championship for 2009/2010 season for 7 year old girls.

COMMUNITY NOTICES

Saxophone and Clarinet teacher Classical and Jazz Performance and Theory Lessons. Phone: 027 424 3869. Email: Lauryn_anne_williamson@hotmail.com

Little Lambie Nannies is an exclusive Nanny Agency based in Petone. We represent the very best Nannies - Nannies that ooze initiative and make life wonderful for everyone! We currently have a superstar Nanny who is looking for these hours in Eastbourne. 2.30 pm onwards, Monday to Friday, with occasional babysitting on weekends. Cushla will be able to collect the children from school, assist with homework and after school activities. Your home will be happy and calm when you come home! Contact: kate@littlelambienannies.com

Eastbourne Scouts Golf Tournament - Wainuiomata Golf Course 30 April 2010
A fundraising event with all profits going towards the Eastbourne Scouts Jamboree 28 December 2010. Tournament Information - Ambrose competition, Pre-match sausage sizzle, Spot Prizes, Refreshment carts on course, Celebrity foursome, After-match dinner and prize giving, Auction. Entry Fees (Includes dinner) $100 per player, $400 per foursome, $50 partners dinner.