Wednesday 15 May


Kia ora koutou,

Welcome back to another exciting term of teaching and learning. I trust you all enjoyed a restful break and were able to find some quality time to spend together as a family.

Welcome to our new children and their families who have joined the Muritai School Community recently.  Welcome to Oliver Carian, Tilly Rookes, Sacha and Maya Houthoofdt, Matty Miller, Joshua Herbert, Mia and Liam Alderson and Hannah and Erin Davies. Our roll today stands at 427.

TE POU
We had a wonderful ceremony on Thursday to reinstall Te Pou in the school. I am sure you will all agree that the restoration has breathed new life into them and they now stand guard over our children nestled in between their learning and play space. We were able to powhiri the whanau roopu from 2001 and our friends at Kokiri Marae. Kaumatua Alam Mihaere spoke to the children and blessed the pou.  He spoke about the connection of the pou to Ranginui (the sky) and Papatuanuku (the earth) and the strength that they give the school and its people.  They are a wonderful asset to the school. 

JUNIOR SCHOOL LEARNING CELEBRATIONS
On Wednesday at 1.40 the year 1-2 children parents and caregivers to the ‘Celebration of Learning’ afternoon.  Children will share some of their work and explain their current and next learning steps. The children have been very busy and I'm sure parents will enjoy seeing what they have been up to with their learning.

WELL DONE MARGO

We are all very proud of Margo Montes de Oca for her achievement in winning the RSA trophy for her essay for the second year in a row.  She walked away with some impressive prizes and a fantastic trophy.


This was no easy challenge and Margo is to be admired, not just for the quality of her work but the persistence she displayed in getting the job done. It really is an extremely high quality piece of work.


CROSS COUNTRY
The children are now training for the school cross country which will be held for year 3-8 students at Williams Park next Tuesday 21st May with a 9.30ish start. The long term weather report indicates a southerly coming through.  We have a postponement day of Thursday 23rd May and will keep our fingers crossed.

HOUSE KEEPING
·                Please ensure your child is dressed for the colder weather. Our recent building renovations have made the classrooms much warmer and cosier but we do encourage the children to get out as much as possible.
·                Please make sure that if your children are unwell that you do not send them to school. Sickness spreads very quickly in a school environment. Please don’t forget to inform the school office if your child will be away.
·                Please don't send or drop off your child to school too early. Realistically 8.15 is an appropriate time for children to be arriving at school.
·                Please pack away the sunhat until term 4 and make sure the slippers are at school so children have dry footwear in class. No shoes inside in terms 2 and 3.
·                Please be courteous when parking the car. Our disabled car park is for children with disabilities. Double parking around the school is unacceptable and places our children and pre-schoolers in danger.  The bus stop on Oroua Street should be kept free for the school bus.

HOME AND SCHOOL
The Home and School will be holding their AGM on Monday 20 May in the staff room at 7.30.  If you would like to be involved with our Home and School, please come along  The Home and School Committee organise fun events for our children and fundraising events throughout the year.  

SPORTS UNIFORMS
You will now be aware that the Board has decided that children should have their own sports uniforms from Term 2.  With the school budget stretched it has become too costly and time consuming for the school to manage sports uniforms and with some children having access to the uniforms for 20-40 times a year the Board considers it is appropriate for children to own their own uniform rather than school supplying the uniform for children.  This is in line with all other schools that children from Eastbourne attend.  The sport T-shirts will also be used on school trips, cultural events and whenever children represent the school at the numerous events throughout the year.  Accordingly all children in years 3 to 6 will need to have one. 

Please come to the school office to size a uniform for your child/ren.  Costs are:-

T-shirt             $33
Shorts             $20

Children will be participating in Cross Country shortly, a football tournament for years 5/6 with Zone Cross Country shortly after.  We would love to see as many children purchase their sports uniforms as soon as possible to alleviate the pressure of supplying uniforms for these events.  We will be placing an order with our suppliers on Friday 24 May.  

PRIMARY SCIENCE WEEK
Next week we are having our annual science week. This week is put together by our science team and draws children towards the amazing world of science. There will be lots of little experiments that have that 'wow' factor and hopefully a big bang on Friday! 

On Wednesday May 15th parents and caregivers are invited to our 'Celebration of Learning' afternoon from 1.40 p.m. This afternoon involves the children sharing their work and explaining their current and next learning steps to their parents. 

HOOKED ON BOOKS
Maureen Buckley has had a good response from parents and friends of the school who are prepared to give up an hour a week or alternate weeks throughout the term to be part of the Hooked on Books programme. This programme is amazing and is very valuable as it supports the children's learning and is also very rewarding for the adults as they see how much progress the children make with their help.  If you are interested in doing this please contact Maureen either in person or by email.

PARENT INFORMATION EVENINGS FOR JUNIORS
Maureen Buckley is holding a series of evenings over the next three weeks to talk to parents of junior school children.  She will be explaining how we teach children and what parents can do to help support their learning at home in reading, writing and mathematics during their first two years at school. The first of these is reading and will be at 7.30 pm in room 3 on Thursday May 16th. Please come along and have your questions answered. 'Writing' will be on Thursday May 23rd and Mathematics will be on Thursday May 30th. They will all be in room 3 starting at 7.30 p.m. and should run for approximately an hour.

BOARD ELECTIONS
A reminder that nominations for the Board of Trustee elections close this Thursday the 16th at noon.

TEACHER ONLY DAY
A reminder that there is a teacher only day on Friday 31st May - this is the Friday of the Queen's Birthday weekend. School will be closed that day.

ICAS TESTS
These tests have been scheduled for the following dates -
  • Science         Wednesday 5th June
  • Writing           Monday 17th June
  • Spelling         Tuesday 18th June
  • English          Wednesday 31st July
  • Maths             Tuesday 13th August
 We have now registered all our entries for the 2013 ICAS Exams. If your child has been entered, they will be given a copy of a previous exam paper. This will give them an idea of what the exam looks like and an opportunity for them to practise at home. (If your child would like to try more papers, ask Sue in the office for copies, or alternatively you can find practice papers for sale online at www.eaa.unsw.edu.au/practice-online).

NIGEL LATTA
Our friends at Hutt Central School are hosting an evening with Nigel Latta as he presents his Politically Incorrect Guide To Raising Boys and Girls. It is on Tuesday May 21 at 7:30 at the Hutt City Church in Marsden Street. Tickets are $25:00 and can be purchased on line at tickets2013@yahoo.co.nz or at Hutt Central School. 

LUCKY BOOKS
Lucky Book Club magazines have been handed out to children.  These are due back to school by Friday 31 May.  Please note that you can write out a cheque made out to Scholastic Books or pay by credit card.  We cannot take cash as the orders are sent by post.

SPORTS
Waterpolo
Well done those year 5/6 students who have chosen to play primary waterpolo this year.  Waterpolo starts on Wednesday 22nd May. We will post up the draw as soon as it becomes available. 

Winter Sports
Netball started on Saturday.  We have 9 teams playing this year and we are very grateful to our teachers, parent coaches, parent managers and supporters who will give up their time to support the children doing their very best.  There has been recent public dialogue on sideline supporters, which appears to be getting increasingly mean-spirited and aggressive.  Please support our children in the weekend.  Children thrive on positive support and tend to lose poise with negative comments.  Often they are so busy trying to do the right thing they just don’t hear your advice, or indeed the many other suggestions that go on at the same time.  Let’s all make it an enjoyable experience so the children can learn and grow.

UPCOMING DATES
May
Wed 15        Junior school learning conferences
Thur 16       BOT nominations close at noon
Fri 17           Assembly at 1.45
Mon 20        Muritai School Science week
Tue 21         Muritai School Cross Country Y3-8 (postponement Thursday 23)
Tue 28         Year 1 at Carter Observatory;  Y5-6 Zone Football
Wed 29        BOT meeting 7.30
Thur 30       Year 2 at Carter Observatory
Fri 31           Teacher Only Day – School Closed
June
Mon3           Queen’s Birthday – School Closed
Wed 5          ICAS Science
Fri 7             Assembly 1.45

COMMUNITY NOTICES

Wellington Girls College
Open Day - Friday 21 June. Presentations start in school hall at 9am, 10.30am and 11.30am. Prospectus and Enrolment Forms are available online at www.wgc.school.nz.

The Destitute Gourmet
San Antonio present an evening with Sophie Gray cooking stylish, fashionable food that doesn't cost a fortune. Tickets are $30 which includes a glass of wine, tastes of some dishes and copies of the recipes.

At Petone Rugby Football Club, Udy Street, Petone on Thursday 13th June between 7pm-10pm. Tickets available from San Antonio School or by email sasoffice@xtra.co.nz

Fun French at Muritai School
Is continuing in term 2.  Some spaces are available.

Tuesday:  les Grands -  for year threes and up
Wednesday:  les Petits - for years one to three

Lots of games, fun activities, games crafts, music to help learning.The best way for kids to learn a language is through play .  For more information or to register ring Stefi Plimmer-Blattner on 562 8211 or email me:  stefi@lcfclubs.co.nz

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