Thursday 13 June

Kia ora koutou,

Welcome to our new children and their families who have joined the Muritai School community recently Clem Clark, Max Bentley and Caleb Booth in Room 1. Our roll today stands at 436.

What is on top

As we near the end of week 6 the school has a real energy going forward. There is lots going on with numerous visiting speakers, excursions around leadership, sport, visiting shows, children running around with brains on their heads. The children have had a great experiences of late at school.

Thank you to the parents who put their name forward to be on the Board of Trustees and congratulations Stuart, Olivia, Nick, Craig and Julie for being voted onto the Board for the next 3 years.

We are so excited to receive some new ICT equipment at the school which has been funded from the last Eastbourne Village Carnival. 32 new laptops and some Ipod touches have been added to our ICT stock for use by the students and will be rolled out to the classes next week. A HUGE thank you to the Village Carnival Team and the Muritai School community  for their generosity. As always thank you to our tech whiz, Suzanne from Solved who has set them up for us and made them good to go!

National Standards information is topical at the moment and will be for the next month while the media positions itself to try and form league tables from the information released by the Ministry of Education.  A gentle reminder that while we acknowledge that we need to accelerate achievements for our lowest achieving students across the country, overall the New Zealand education system is very high performing in a global context.

Muritai School continues to return strong overall achievement and our student information can be viewed on our school website by clicking here. 

YEAR 3-4 SHARING AFTERNOON

Next Tuesday the 18th, year 3-4 are having a sharing afternoon. Parents are welcome to come into the classroom from 3pm to 5pm and the children will show them around their learning environment and explain what they have been doing in class so far this year.

HOME AND SCHOOL

Our Home and School Committee are holding a meeting on Thursday 20 June at 2pm in the staff room.  Please feel free to come along.

JACKET DRIVE

We managed to take 142 jackets to Naenae Primary last week. Their school community was completely overwhelmed and immensely grateful for our school community's generosity. Every jacket, hoodie, jersey and sweatshirt has gone to a child attending Naenae School which is wonderful.

Our senior charity group's next 'pay it forward' concept is a shoe drive for our friends at Cannon's Creek primary school. If you have some shoes to give away, the drop off will be in the school foyer next week for the rest of the term.

BRAIN AWARENESS

There has been quite a buzz this week as we have added a 'brain awareness' focus to our learning experiences. We started with a fantastic talk from Pascal Saker, a neuroscientist, and the momentum has gathered from there with lots of discussions around cerebellums, dendrites and neurons as well as creative learning experiences, some self-choice things. It has been very interesting seeing the children in different learning contexts.The Ipads have come into their own with plenty of really cool 'about the brain Apps' available for the children.

Those linked to facebook will have regular updates but you can check out a summary of daily experiences by clicking on Sarah Richardson's Learning Den blog.

ENTERTAINING THE ELDERLY

Our Year 7 and 8 students learn ukulele as part of their technicraft rotation programme. At the end of six weeks the students know a lot of songs and have a go at writing their own which is always a lot of fun. Once they have a repertoire under their belt it is nice for them to get out into the community and share some of the songs. A group of sixteen students visited the Woburn Masonic Village recently and performed to a group of elderly people. They thoroughly enjoyed the experience and one of the ladies in the home told the children that she had been to Muritai School as a young girl!

Another group visited the Shona McFarlane Home last term and got a very positive reception.

I was extremely proud of the students on both occasions and am certain they got a lot out of sharing their talents this way. I would like to thank the parents who provided transport for these visits, without you, we would not be able to do such things.

Ruth Hooke

YOUNG LEADER’S DAY

On Monday 10th June a group of 30 Year 7 and 8's went to the annual NYLD (or National Young Leader's Day).  It was an incredible experience, with fun activities and videos, and of course the inspiring speeches made by some amazing people. The focus for the day was "Heroes", and each speaker made motivational speeches about the qualities of a leader, or a hero.  The speakers there included Billy Graham, Rachel Tauleilei, Charlie Laumatia, Alison Mooney and Cam Calkoen.  These people were from all walks of life and all had encountered obstacles in their way, but they achieved great things because they aimed high and had faith in themselves.  We all had an amazing time and came back inspired and excited about our own potential as leaders.

By Margarita Montes de Oca

ENTERTAINMENT BOOKS

We would just like to remind all those who still have not returned or paid for their entertainment books to do so by this Friday.  The books are $60 and can be paid for online at by clicking here or with cash or credit card at the school office. If you do not wish to purchase your book, simply return it to the school office.

SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR

We require a volunteer co-ordinator to help organise the roster for the Scholastic Book Fair scheduled for Wednesday 10th July and Thursday 11th July. Please contact the school office - 562 8409 -  if you can help.

SPORTS

Congratulations to....Olivia Seymour who has been selected for the Wellington under 13 Hockey representative team.

Year 5/6 Football Tournament

In week four of this term students from the year 5/6 syndicate participated in the Hutt Central Interzone Football tournament. All four teams had a fantastic time and displayed high levels of skill and team work. Muritai School were unlucky not to finish 1st in the tournament after losing out to Waterloo school by 2 points! A big thank you to all the parents who supported the students with coaching, supervision and transportation.

Cross Country

On Tuesday, the top 10 runners from year groups 4, 5 and 6 from our school cross country  raced in the Central Zone competition at Boulcott School.  We had a great day with Muritai School children running their very best. Against tough opposition we came 3rd overall in the team points competition. As the smallest school in the cluster we continue to perform well above our weight.

We also had a few of our runners place in the top 3 in their races:

Chelsea Summers - 3rd place - Y4 Girls

Henry Evans - 2nd place - Y4 Boys

Charlotte Humphries - 1st place - Y5 Girls

Macey Caughley - 1st place - Y6 Girls

The following students, as well as those above, will now represent the Central Zone in the Inter-zone Cross Country.

Gemma Grant - 7th place - Y4 Girls

Jack Evans - 8th place - Y4 Boys

Josh Preston - 10th place - Y4 Boys

Samantha Woolley - 6th place - Y5 Girls

Theo Jones - 5th place - Y5 Boys

Monty Rookes - 8th place - Y5 Boys

Ella Giles - 5th place - Y6 Girls

Andrew Sutcliffe - 9th place -Y6 Boys

Max Hahn - 10th place - Y6 Boys

Last Thursday, 30 year 7 and 8 students attended HRSA Cross Country meet at Trentham Memorial Park.  Over 220 students from 17 schools attended.  Congratulations to Maya Hahn who placed 1st in the Year 8 girls' race.

UPCOMING DATES

June

Mon 17        ICAS writing

Tue 18         ICAS spelling and year 3-4 sharing afternoon.
Wed 19        Starting school at 5 mtg...7.00

Fri 21           Assembly 1.45

Tue 25         Inter-zone cross country

Wed 26        BoT mtg 7.30 staffroom

Fri 28           Assembly

TERM DATES

A reminder that term 2 finishes on 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

A reminder we have our second teacher only day - Friday 25 October (Labour Weekend)

COMMUNITY NOTICES

Eastside Fitness Boutique Gym

Eastside Fitness have a June/July Special with 12 months gym membership, no joining fee plus 1 month free.  All for only $25 per week.  Contact them at www.eastsidefitness.co.nz 

Kids Cross Country Series

Has your child been enjoying the school cross country season?  Do they want to take part in any of our Kids Cross Country races Athletics Wellington is running in partnership with local running clubs?  The Kids Cross Country Series is open to year 3's through to year 10's (so 7 to 15 year olds).  If they want to get a couple of friends together they have the option of entering a team of three.  It could be a school team or sports club team.  You don't have to do all four events - just one is fine.  Events being held in Karori, Tawa, Upper Hutt and Wellington.  For more details go to www.athleticshub.co.nz or email jo.athleticswellington@xtra.co.nz or phone 2329409.

Hutt Valley High School open evening

Hutt Valley High School is holding an information evening and tour of the school for prospective children and their parents tonight at 6.00. Click here for details.

Wellington Girls College School in Action morning

Wellington Girls' College are holding a School in Action morning for Year 8's on Friday 21 June. There will be three sessions - 9.00am, 10.30am and 11.30am. Prospectuses and application forms are available on their website -www.wgc.school.nz

Underground Market @ The Dowse Museum.

Held on the second Sunday of every month 10am-3pm. 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.

Indulge in coffee or brunch, 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.

Berhampore School Midwinter Knack Market

Spice up your winter and come along to one (or both!) of the midwinter celebrations of NZ handmade at knack! The coolest school fundraiser in town offers a wonderful range of original craft treats and gifts, with live music, delicious hot food and mulled wine on Friday evening. On Saturday there will be kids' activities, delicious baking and breads of the world, plus exciting and exotic hot food. Our regular barista will be on site too with fresh coffee. EFTPOS available both days.  Friday 14 June from 6pm to 8.30pm and Saturday 15 June from 9.30 to 1.30pm

For further information contact knack.market@gmail.com or phone Justine on 972 4099 or 027 381 3409.