Wednesday 20 March 2013


Naumai e te whanau o te kura Muritai 

Tena koutou katoa

Dear Parents and Caregivers

Welcome to Max Inskeep who has started at Muritai in the last fortnight.


As we head towards Easter things have quietened down nicely. Rest assured that children are busy in their classrooms working solidly through the learning programme. 

We have made some changes to our reporting to parents programme this year. National standards requirements have meant that we now have to have separate student achievement reporting cycles for year 1-3 and year 4-8.

Year 4-8 will have goal setting interviews at the end of this term. Achievement from standardised testing will be shared and the main focus goals for improvement will be discussed with parents and children. At the end of term 2 a written report will inform parents about how children are progressing towards the end of year national standards, and parents will be invited into class by the children to see their portfolio of school work. Teachers will be available to meet with parents at this time, or in more depth on request. This process will be repeated at the end of the year with the written report informing parents of children's achievement against the national standards in reading, writing, maths, and their performance in other curriculum areas and key competencies. Again parents will be invited in by the children who will share their learning experiences.

For year 1-3 there will be two interviews and two written reports, in the middle of the year and at the end of the year. Depending when the child started school, parents will either have a progress report toward the standards or an anniversary report. A child who started school before July will have an anniversary report in the middle of the year and children who started school after July will have an anniversary report at the end of the year. 

This means that parents are getting feedback of student progress every 6 months during their time at school. These structures allow our teachers to gather information and be able to report to parents in an economical way. It takes about 90 minutes to produce each child's assessment profile (collate data, report, interview) so does require a lot of effort. Of course teachers are available to discuss student progress at any time and most parents take up this option during the year just to keep in touch with their child's learning progress.

So in summary, for this term, there will be achievement feedback and goal setting interviews for children in year 4-8 in week 11.

EASTER
Next Friday is Good Friday and school will be closed. A reminder that there is an Easter Tuesday and so children return to school on Wednesday 3 April.

BOARD ELECTIONS
In May the Board of Trustees election will be held. This is an opportunity for parents to help play a part in the decision-making process of Muritai School.  Information with nomination forms will go out to the parent community by the 15th April with the election date being 30th May. NZSTA have a useful website which provides a background to becoming a trustee. Click here to get some useful information.


SENIOR SCHOOL SWIM SPORTS
We have rescheduled the Y3-8 swim sports to Huia Pool on the 19 April. This is the last day of the term and events begin at 9.30 and run through to 12.00. The programme will be very tight but we should manage. This event is traditionally a hard fought competition, in particular the inter class and inter house relays.

YEAR 5-6 CAMP
This week our year 5 and 6 team are at camp at Forest Lakes in Otaki. Thank you to the parents who have volunteered some time to help out. This is always a very successful experience for the children and I am sure they will have a great time exploring the many challenges that camp brings.  Thank you to all parents who have paid the $220 fee, or made arrangements with the school  office .  

CONGRATULATIONS
...to Frankie Middleton who has continued to shine in her Equestrian field by firstly placing and then placing 6th out of more than 50 entries at the Showhunter Class, a National Equestrian Event.

ASSEMBLY THIS WEEK
Despite year 5-6 being out this week we will have an assembly this Friday at 1.45pm.

UKULELE GROUP
Well done to our year 7-8 ukulele orchestra who performed at the Shona McFarlane rest home recently. They were very well received by the patrons.

SAFE PARKING
We have been informed that parking wardens are scheduled to visit our school between 25-28 March.  Initially they will talk with parents who are stopping to drop off / pick up pupils, and hand out copies of their parking brochure.  Later in the week, if any parents are slow to get the message about parking safely and legally, they are liable to receive a ticket.

WHACKY HAIR DAY
The Senior School Charity Group are holding a Whacky Hair Day on Thursday 28 March to raise money for Kids Can.  Children can 'dress' their hair as whacky as they like and bring a gold coin donation.

AFTER SCHOOL CARE
The Muritai School Board of Trustees has resolved to raise the daily rate for children attending Muritai After School Care as permanent enrolments from $15 to $16 per child per day.  The daily rate for casual enrolments will remain at $20 per child, per day.  This will take effect from 1 April 2013.  


LOST PROPERTY
We have a huge collection of lost property at present and will start putting it out for viewing. Lost property is kept under the stairs near room 7. At the end of this term all lost property will be donated to the children at Natone Park School, a non KidsCan funded school in Cannons Creek.

UPCOMING DATES

Tue 19 - Fri 22 Mar              Year 5 and 6 at Forest Lake Camp
Thur 21 Mar                           Year 1 - 4 at Capital E
Fri 22 Mar                              School assembly 1.45pm
Wed 27 Mar                          Year 4-6 Zone Swimming / BoT mtg
Thur 28 Mar                           Whacky Hair Day for KidsCan
Friday 29 Mar                       Good Friday
Mon 1 April                            Easter Monday
Tues 2 Apr                             School Easter Holidays – No school
Thur 4 April                           Junior school grandparents day
Wed 10 Apr                           Year 4-6 Inter-Zone Swimming
Thur 11 Apr                           Year 8 Gardasil immunisation
Fri 12 Apr                               School Assembly at 1.45
Mon 15 Apr                            BoT mtg
Wed 17 Apr                           Y4-8 Parent Interviews – Student Goal Setting
Thur 18 Apr                           Y4-8 Parent Interviews – Student Goal Setting
Fri 19 Apr                               Y3-8 Swim sports – Huia Pool /Last day of Term 1

Monday 6 May                       First day of Term 2 


School term dates for 2013
Term 1 - Monday 4 February - Friday 19 April - 51 days
Term 2 - Monday 6 May - Friday 12 July - 48 days
Term 3 - Monday 29 July - Friday 27 September - 45 days
Term 4 - Monday 14 October - Friday 20 December - 48 days

Easter holidays are Friday 29 March - Tuesday 2 April
Teacher only day 1 - Friday 31 May (Queens Birthday weekend)
Teacher only day 2 - Friday 25 October (Labour Weekend)


COMMUNITY NOTICES


Eastbourne Rugby Football Club Junior Rugby - final registrations are being taken for the 2013 season. If you would like to play junior rugby this year but haven't registered yet please contact Gary Crawford at gary.crawford@nz.pwc.com. The first game is on 13 April 2013.


LITERACY MATTERS
Private tuition with reading specialist sensitive to children's learning needs. A Speld trained, very experienced professional with 20+ years in schools (both primary and secondary) conducting literacy programmes, and using remedial teaching based on Audrey McAllen's work 'The Extra Lesson'. Contact Joanna Ponder at Rona Gallery - 5628062 / 0272628888 or email ronagallery@paradise.net.nz


Days Bay Play is an extension of Days Bay Playcentre that offers creative play-based education opportunities to all families in Eastbourne. Days Bay Play has a number of exciting creative arts classes and adult workshops organised for Term Two 2013, which will be run by local artists and specialist teachers. 

Wednesday 6 March 2013

Dear Parents and Caregivers

Welcome to our new students who have started in the last fortnight - Bruno Thompson, Finn Hosking, Monty Potter and Willis Guild.

As we approach the mid point of term 1, swimming is finishing and initial diagnostic testing is being wrapped up, our class timetables are returning back to normal. Teachers have developed a good understanding of how each child is doing and built relationships with their classes. The pace of work will pick up quickly and run through to the end of term. It is important that children are well prepared for the day with the right equipment, well rested and a good attitude to ensure they make the most of their learning programme.

Student Leadership
Each year we allocate leadership roles to our year 8 students. These positions are held in high regard by the students and are keenly contested. Congratulations to our newly appointed head boy and girl - Harry Crawford and Margo Montes de Oca and deputy head boy and girl John Woodnorth and Gabriella Turner. We appreciate that they have been excellent role models during their time at Muritai School and are sure they will continue to lead the school well. Supporting them will be the 8 House Captains -

Charters - Monica Sullivan and Uma Cheyne
King - Ella Littlejohn and Gabe Barber
Sanson - Kobe Luke and Ruby Burley-Smith
Cook - Oscar Sykes and Dorrie Brennan

M.A.T.C.H
At Muritai we have many children with advanced skills. With the NZ curriculum and our personalised learning approach allowing children greater diversity, most children are extended within their own learning programme in class. M.A.T.CH stands for Muritai Able and Talented Children. Obviously all children have gifts and talents in certain areas and Sarah Richardson has established a MATCH blog for children to access areas of interest and opportunity. You can access the blog by clicking on MATCH blog.

If you would like to read further on our Personalised Learning approach please click here.

Board Elections
In May the Board of Trustees election will be held. This is an opportunity for parents to help play a part in the decision-making process of Muritai School.  Information with nomination forms will go out to the parent community by the 15th April with the election date being 30th May.

Board communication around activity fees and additional teaching donations
The Board of Trustees has just issued its newsletter for parents around donations and activity fees. This will be in your letterboxes in the next couple of days. This year the donation is set at the same rate as 2012 and the Board puts this donation towards additional teaching resources for the children.  The activity fee has increased by $10 in 2013 to cover the increased costs incurred by the school for activities. A reminder that the school donation entitles you to a tax rebate of 33.3%.

Paid Union Meeting
A reminder that we have the Paid Union Meeting next Wednesday 13 March. There will be a small number of teaching and support staff available for supervision for those children unable to be collected at 12.30pm.

Junior Swim Festival
Thank you to our youngest children and their teachers for their efforts at the junior swim festival yesterday. It was a very enjoyable event and the children were able to show off their skills and enthusiasm and be the best that they can be.

Senior Swim sports
We have rescheduled the Y3-8 swim sports to Huia Pool on the 19 April. This is the last day of the term and events begin at 9.30 and run through to 12.00. The programme will be very tight but we should manage. This event is traditionally a hard fought competition, in particular the inter class and inter house relays.

Year 5 and 6 camp
In two weeks our year 5 and 6 team head off to camp at Forest Lakes in Otaki. Thank you to the parents who have volunteered some time to help out and attended last night's meeting with staff. This is always a very successful experience for the children and I am sure they will have a great time exploring the many challenges that camp brings.  Thank you to all parents who have already paid the $220 fee.  Please be aware that payment must be received at the office by Friday 17 March.

Ex students - Scholarship results
Congratulations to our ex students from Hutt Valley High who have been awarded National Scholarships at the end of year 13:
  • Emma McCafferty - Outstanding scholarship in English
  • Matthew Gray (Statistics), 
  • Tom Walls (English), 
  • Jamie Brathwaite (English and History), 
  • Francesca Goodman-Smith (English) 
New Zealand Book Month
Every student will have received a $5 book voucher this week to celebrate New Zealand Book Month.  The voucher can be used for any book purchase of $10 or more at participating booksellers throughout March. To find out more about New Zealand Book Month's nationwide events, visit  www.nzbookmonth.co.nz

Muritai Munchies
A reminder that there will be NO Muritai Munchies this Friday March 8th and Monday March 11th. 

Reading Eggs
We have been offered the opportunity again this year to have the online Reading Eggs programme for children to take part in, both at school and at home on their computer. If you would like your child to do this please send along $20 to the school office by next Wednesday 13 March.  This cost covers their subscription through to February next year and is a cheaper price than their usual one of $89. The programme supports letter sound knowledge and learning to read and spell in a fun way. You can browse the Reading Eggs website for further information about what the programme involves by clicking here. If you have any queries about this please do not hesitate to contact me. 
Maureen Buckley, Deputy Principal

Upcoming Dates

Wed 13 Mar                          Paid Union Mtg 1.30 Collect

Fri 15 Mar                             Years 5-8 at Capital E Arts Festival
Tue 19 - Fri 22 Mar              Year 5 and 6 at Forest Lake Camp
Thur 21 Mar                          Year 1 - 4 at Capital E
Wed 27 Mar                          Year 4-6 Zone Swimming / BoT mtg
Friday 29 Mar                       Good Friday
Mon 1 April                            Easter Monday
Tues 2 Apr                            School Easter Holidays – no School
Fri 5 Apr                                School Assembly at 1.45
Wed 10 Apr                           Year 4-6 Inter-Zone Swimming
Thur 11 Apr                           Year 8 Gardasil immunisation
Fri 12 Apr                               School Assembly at 1.45
Wed 17 Apr                           Y4-8 Parent Interviews – Student Goal Setting
Thur 18 Apr                           Y4-8 Parent Interviews – Student Goal Setting
Fri 19 Apr                               Y3-8 Swim sports – Huia Pool /Last day of Term 1

Monday 6 May                       First day of Term 2 


School term dates for 2013
Term 1 - Monday 4 February - Friday 19 April - 51 days
Term 2 - Monday 6 May - Friday 12 July - 48 days
Term 3 - Monday 29 July - Friday 27 September - 45 days
Term 4 - Monday 14 October - Friday 20 December - 48 days

Easter holidays are Friday 29 March - Tuesday 2 April
Teacher only day 1 - Friday 31 May (Queens Birthday weekend)
Teacher only day 2 - Friday 25 October (Labour Weekend)

COMMUNITY NOTICES


Fun French at Muritai School
Fun French classes are starting up again.
Tuesday: - for year threes and up (les petits)
Wednesday: - for year one and twos (les grands)
Lots of games, fun activities, games crafts, music to help learning.
 - The best way for kids to learn a language is through play .
Free trials are available.
For more information or to register ring Stefi Plimmer-Blattner on 562 8211,
Museum of Wellington City and Sea
Purple High Tea - Sunday 10 March
Celebrate Purple Cake Day with High Tea at the Coronation Café. Come along to one of our four sittings for a marvellous selection of yummy Royal Windsor jelly scapes, crown jewelled sweets, club sandwiches with a twist and more. Purple Cake Day is an international day of action to help raise funds for children in education. This year it will support the Hilde Bach Education Foundation in Kenya. $30 pp.
Four sittings: 10.30am, 12pm, 1.30pm, 3pm
T: 04 472 8904 to book
Museum of Wellington City & Sea, Queens Wharf


Underground Market @ The Dowse. 
Second Sunday of every month 10am-3pm. Feb 10th and March 10th. 


Looking for that something different? Experience one of Wellington’s most exclusive shopping destinations brimming with beautifully made gifts and treats. Meet the designers, artists and crafters and 'unearth a little treasure' from our distinctive collection of market-only goodies.


Enjoy live music while you browse with friends, bring the family, or take time for yourself. Discover a unique array of locally made designer homewares, clothing, craft creations and gourmet food products.


Mid-Week Tennis at Muritai Tennis Club
Take some time out for yourself!!  Tuesdays 9.30am at 356 Muritai Road.  Summer & winter! Primary School Terms.  Women & Men welcome - Beginner to Advanced.  Regular or casual.  Dress informal.  Small playground for pre-schoolers.  Lessons available through club.

Just turn up! Morning tea supplied.  Enquiries: Merryn 562-0236 or Carol 568-5360

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