Wednesday 5 September

Naumai e te whanau o te kura Muritai 
Tena koutou katoa

Welcome to our new students - Arleena Lamb (room 16), Lucy Dungan (Room 9), William Dungan (room 16), Barney Marsden (room 15) and Jack Marsden (room 3)

I can't believe that it is week 8 already. The school is jumping along with a full range of activities in the last week or two that has seen children in and out and round about. This time of year sees a bit of a juggling act for the teaching staff as they keep the learning going while still developing such a major school production. It's a nice challenge and we often see 'different' children shine in this different environment. It is a lot of fun too!

With artsplash next week and then the school production we are all going to have to manage our children's tiredness. With the longer days arriving we often add an extra event to our day but please remember that the children have a very full day at school and need plenty of time to recharge their batteries. We would rather the children rest at home and have energy for school than have a full on after school and evening and then have to rest up at school!

NEW ZEALAND SHAKEOUT

Muritai School has registered to participate in the 'New Zealand ShakeOut' on 26th September at 9.26 am.

This will be the largest ever earthquake drill in New Zealand. The students will practice Drop, Cover, Hold and discuss safety procedures. This is an opportunity for us as a school to rehearse our procedures in the event of a significant earthquake and to practice our knowledge of what to do if one occurs.

You may like to check out the website to make sure you, your family and your co-workers know what to do when the next earthquake happens by registering to take part in this event using the link below.

http://www.shakeout.govt.nz/register/index.php

SCHOOL PRODUCTION - UNO'S EFFECT
The school production rehearsals are well underway with children practising their moves everyday.  This is the world premiere of Graham Base's book - Uno's Garden, a very popular book about the environment that most children have read or been read to. Everyone is gearing up to present a fantastic show.

Tickets are on sale at the school office.  Adults are $7.50, senior citizens and children are $5.00 each.  A child is classified as anyone at of pre-school or school age.

Show times -
Tuesday 18 September - matinee 1.00 and evening 7.00
Wednesday 19 September - evening 7.00
Thursday 20 September - evening 7.00

HOME AND SCHOOL
Home and School will be serving nibbles and providing drinks at the school production. They need some help with preparing and serving the food. If you are able to help in any way, either on the night or with preparations, please contact Michelle Fisher on 04 562 8877 or email michelle.fisher@xtra.co.nz or leave your name with Carole and Sue in the school office.

NIWA WELLINGTON REGIONAL SCIENCE FAIR

Last week the 12 finalists from the Muritai Senior School Science Fair went into Victoria University to exhibit their projects at the NIWA Wellington Regional Science Fair.  These students were chosen because of their outstanding achievement at our school Science Fair in Term 2

Each student spoke to a pair of judges, answering questions about the scientific method they used and the conclusions they drew from their research. 

We are proud to announce that Finn Connell won the New Zealand Chemistry Association Prize in recognition of his outstanding project on how Vitamin C deteriorates in different milk.  Also Margo Montes de Oca received a Highly Commended award for her investigation on whether finger prints are inherited. 

A special thanks to Melissa Coton for organising the day and supporting students throughout the process.

BP CHALLENGE

Last Thursday Muritai School competed in the Lower and Upper Hutt BP Challenge at Hutt Intermediate School. The BP Challenge is a hands-on competition where students work in groups of four to design and develop solutions to problems using easily resourced materials.

This year Muritai School entered a year 4 and year 5/6 team in the competition. Before attending the event both teams worked exceptionally hard to prepare themselves for the day they were also required to complete a 'known' challenge, which was a bird feeder. Once at the event both team's bird feeders were judged according to a set of criteria, they also needed to complete an 'unknown' challenge in a limited amount of time. Both teams were very successful the year 4 team were awarded first place for their bird feeder and the year 5/6 team were awarded third place for their bird feeder.  Congratulations to both our teams -
Year 4 - Rufus Rusholme-Cobb, Flynn Healy, Fergus Hart, Bennett Parker
Year 5-6 - Ella Tait, Pablo Montes de Oca, Charlotte Wilson, Grace Ogilvie

ROOM 7’S GARDENING CREW

I have been so impressed with Shannyn and her group of helpers – Mia, Samantha and Rachel.  For the past two weeks they have been cleaning out all the winter growth in the Year 3-4 Garden and preparing the garden for new spring plants.  What impressed me most was the fact that they were self-motivated to make a difference, without any prompting from myself or other teachers.

Well done girls, you are showing how students at Muritai School, no matter how young, are making a difference and contributing towards our being a ‘Green-Gold’ Enviro-School.                         

Richard Dobson 

YEAR 5/6 SPEECH COMPETITION FINAL

All year 5-6 children have been participating in their annual speech competition. As you know public speaking is not everyone;s cup of tea but it is a skill to learn. Even just writing a speech is a challenge. From 120 speeches 8 children were selected for the finals - 
Year 5 - Phoebe, Lucy, Andrew and Max
Year 6 -  Milly, Louie, Hannah and Harrison

 The quality of the finalists was excellent and it was very tricky to pick winners but congratulations to Andrew Sutcliffe who won the year 5 category and Milly Griffiths who won the year 6 category.

The overall 2012 Year 5/6 speech champion and the winner of the R.L. Harrison Cup is Milly Griffiths.  

ICAS SPELLING AND WRITING

We are very pleased with our latest ICAS Exam results in Spelling and Writing. We have some extremely talented writers at Muritai!

Writing:

High Distinction

Margarita Montes de Oca 

Distinction

Yasmin Kerr, Rufus Rusholme Cobb, Rachel Vass, Sally Bird

Credit

Ethan Hester, Bruno Penney, Lucy Crawford, Tim Harris, Samantha Morphew, Rose Scott-Billing, Maya Hahn, Harry Crawford, Lauren Redpath

Spelling:

High Distinction

Margarita Montes de Oca 

Distinction

Rose Scott Billing, Kia Jewell, Ella Tait, Lauren Redpath, Pablo Montes de Oca

Credit

Seth Patel, Ruby Brandwood, Grace Olsen

ENTERTAINMENT BOOKS

Thanks to everyone who bought an Entertainment Book this year.  We sold 143 books in total, raising $1,716 for our school.  If you haven't already registered the card that came with your book, it's a good idea to do so as extra bonus offers will be sent to you via email.  The Home and School Committee are planning to put the money raised towards a fantastic sandpit for the children to enjoy.  So thanks again for your support.

MEET THE AUTHOR
On Monday, some year 7 and 8 students went to Chilton to meet an international author called John Boyne. John is an Irish novelist who has published many books but is best known for his incredible book ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas', which many Y7-8 children have read.  He was really interesting and had some really great advice about being a writer. While we were there, we were able to have a glimpse from his latest book called ‘The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket’. At the very end, we were lucky enough to have some books signed by John Boyne himself and donated to our school library.  Thanks to Mrs Allen who organised and to Emma Daley who helped with transport. It was a great way to spend the afternoon!

By Celine Malama

EX MURITAI STAFF AND NEW BABIES
The last month has seen many of our ex staff welcome new additions to their families. Some of you may remember these staff - Kate Donnelly, Kim Cookson (Thompson), Holly Edwards (Fulforth) and Stephen Eames - have all had newborns in the last 2 months. Mothers and fathers all coping reasonably well!!

SPORTS

Central Zone Hockey Tournament

Last week a group of year 5/6 students represented Muritai School at the Central Zone Primary Hockey Tournament. The girls squad played exceptionally well winning all of their round robin games to claim the top spot in the girl's section. The boys squad narrowly lost their first game but rallied well to win their remaining games to claim second place in their section.

The combined efforts of both teams ensured Muritai School finished as the overall champions on the day and thus were deservedly awarded the Central Zone Cup!

MURITAI DIARY

Wednesday 12 September - Artsplash rehearsal 11.30 and performance 7.45
Friday 14 September - School assembly 1.45
Tuesday 18 September - Production - matinee 1.00 and evening 7.00
Wednesday 19 September - Production - evening 7.00
Thursday 20 September - Production - evening 7.00
Wednesday 26 September - Great NZ Shakeout 9.26am
Friday 28 September - School assembly - end of term assembly

COMMUNITY NOTICES

Junior Tennis
Registration day for playing Junior Interclub Tennis is on Saturday September 15th at the clubhouse between 10am-12pm and Wednesday September 19th between 4pm-5pm. The cost payable at registration is $90. The interclub competitions are played on Saturday mornings starting on October 20th.  
Any questions please contact Sue McCormack -mccormack@muritai.school.nz 

If you are interested in tennis coaching for the summer season, please contact the coach Andy Wheeler directly -  andy@capitalcoaching.co.nz

House Wanted

Christchurch family of five (3 primary-aged children) seek house to sit/rent in Eastbourne for a few days next holidays.

Arrive Oct 4th (evening) - depart Oct 8th.  Non smokers - clean, tidy and respectful. 

Happy to feed pets : )

Please contact John  021 417 289.  Thank you!!!!