WEDNESDAY 18 MARCH

Welcome to William Nelson, Connor Johnstone and Luke Sherwin to Room 1 recently.

As we approach the last fortnight of the term we are starting to reflect on the usual busy hustle and bustle of school life. No day is a dull day at Muritai and I take my hat off to the staff for enabling the children to enjoy the learning experiences of today's school life as we continue to embrace the wide scope of learning these days. The children are right into their stride though and the classrooms are building with colour as the teachers really get the learning momentum going.  With swimming finished, cross country training has begun and we look forward to seeing our children trying their very best at the school event on Tuesday 31 March.

PARENT INTERVIEWS

Next week we have parent teacher interviews. This is a chance to teachers to feed back to parents on achievement and progress of the first term. As we approach the 'gritty' autumn and winter terms 2 and 3 we can inform you on our focus goals for learning for the children. As usual school will finish at 2pm to allow the interviews to begin at 2.10pm and they are for 15 minutes each so that we can get through all parents and allow staff some breathing space through the afternoon and into the evening. You can collect your children at that time or arrange a play date and if you can't we will be supervising children until 3pm in the hall.

Please sign up a time by accessing this web address www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and enter the code 3TGMX and follow the instructions. Contact Jo or Carole in the office if you need support.

CAMP

Last week year 5 and 6 team thoroughly enjoyed the Forest Lakes experience. The children did so well to be involved in the high energy programme and are to be congratulated for their enthusiasm, tenacity, confidence and 'stickability' to achieve so much in such a short time. They had a real 'can do' attitude. It would be fair to say there were some very exhausted children (and adults) heading home of Friday afternoon. A camp wouldn't be possible without the generous support of our parent volunteers who gave up their time to support the children and assist the teachers in the day-to-day operation of camp. I need to thank and congratulate the teachers Deane, Annette, Shelley, Carl and Carol for their organisation and dedication to the Forest Lakes experience and for Rachel Evans for her role as the medical officer.

VOLUNTARY DONATIONS AND ACTIVITY FEE

The Board of Trustees issued a letter last weekend with information on school donation, activity fee and technology fee. Thank you to those that have paid so quickly but we have had some feedback from parents as to the clarity of the invoice. It is important to note, but we were just following what was recently stipulated in circulars to schools by the Ministry of Education. We will be reissuing the statements today and putting the voluntary donation and activity/technology fees on the same page to help you better understand the financial commitments to the school.

ZEBRA CROSSING

Please take extra care when travelling past the school during the day and especially around the crossing on Muritai School.  We have children using the crossing at all times of the day.  Last week a car stopped to let a child cross over and two cars coming the other way DID NOT STOP.  The child was already on the crossing when the second car crossed and if they had run across instead of walking, they very well may have been run over. We are urging our children to take extra care on the crossing when not patrolled as we just can't rely on drivers these days to look out for our children.

WORKING BEE THIS SATURDAY

Come and join us for a garden working bee at the Oroua St entrance to school on Saturday 21 March, 9am-12noon. Tasks we would like to do: - clear up the windblown rubbish around the Oroua St. side of the school, including behind the new library - tidy up planting on the Oroua St entrance, take out dead leaves and dead plants - prune back overgrown plants and take out any that are dead/ too big/ self-seeded - fork over some of the soil behind the library prior to planting next term. All help much appreciated even if it is just half an hour around weekend sports commitments. Thankyou! Please contact Kate Brownsword on 027 562 0177 if you have any queries.

SPORT

Cricket

Year 7&8The team started well with a win over Fergusson Intermediate.  This set up a must win game against Wellesley which the team lost after falling just short in the run chase. The team played well with stand out performances by Paige Shroder and Lincoln Moffat

Year 5&6

The team started well with a convincing win over Hutt Central and followed up with a loss to Wellesley winning in the next round against Karori Normal School.  A semi final has been organised against St Peters & Paul’s tomorrow. See the next newsletter to see how the boys did.

Touch Rugby

This is well under way now and all the teams are enjoying participating and competing for the school. We have playoffs and finals next Friday.

Athletics

Our top athletes (a team of 29 in total) recently competed in the Year 4-8 Regional Athletics with the following students placing in the top 3:

Macey Caughley - 1st long jump / 2nd 1000m

Year 7 Girls Relay - Macey Caughley, Helena Cvitanovich, Angelina Hardy and Sofya Dickson - 1st

Year 4 Boys Relay - Luca McKay, Harry Rookes, Fraser Belliss, Tom Brownsword and Joe Dickson - 3rd

Congratulations to all the team.

Wellington Schools Triathlon Championships 

Ben Cass finished 2nd in the Y7/8 boys race at the Wellington Schools Triathlon champs at Scorching Bay on Thursday 5th March.  This is an amazing result for Ben...well done!

JUNIOR SCHOOL VISITS

The Juniors were extremely busy last week with visits to Pataka Museum, their Swimming Festival and Festival of the Arts.

On Monday morning the Junior syndicate visited the Pataka Museum in Porirua where children experienced life as it was in New Zealand 100 years ago.  They had a go at washing with a mangle, ironing clothes with old irons and then dressing up in period clothing.  They compared household technology today with that of 100 years ago and finished the day with a visit to the Art Gallery where they listened to and acted out an animal legend.

Tuesday was a stunning day for the Juniors Swimming Festival held at Eastbourne Pool.  The children used noodles, flutter boards and balls for their races.  It was all about having a go, being in a team and experiencing success.  We had a wonderful turnout of parents and family members to cheer on their children in their amazing swimming skills.

To cap it all off, on Wednesday they travelled into Wellington to experience three performances as part of the Festival of the Arts - Carnival of the Animals, Squaring the Wheel and Orchestra of Spheres.  All great shows.

A very busy and exciting week for our junior students who were extremely tired by the end of it all.

HOOKED ON BOOKS

The Junior School is looking for parents, grandparents or other adults in the area who would be willing to help with our valuable 'Hooked on Books' programme.  This entails coming to the Junior School once each week Monday to Thursdays, preferably afternoons - 1.30 to 2.40 p.m. to listen to children read.  Can you please email Maureen Buckley if you are able to help and let her know which days you would be available.  Maureen is hoping to start the programme from the beginning of Term 2.

DONATED BOOK

Neils Meyer-Westfield, a parent of the school, is a graphic artist and has kindly donated a copy of his new book "Land of Birds".

ICAS

The school offers to students the opportunity to partake in the Inetrnational Competitions and Assessments for Schools test for year 4-8 students. Tests are in Science (Y5-8), Writing, Spelling, English and Maths. An email has already gone out and information is available at the office if required. Close of dates for entries and payments are Thursday 2 April.

TERM DATES FOR 2015

These are the term dates for 2015. Please note the following - 

Term 1 - Monday 2 February –Thursday 2 April – 43 days

Term 2 - Monday 20 April - Friday 3 July - 53 days

Term 3 - Monday 20 July - Friday 25 September   - 50 days

Term 4 - Monday 12 October - Thursday 17 December – 47 days  

Please note that 

Monday the 27 April is a holiday as Anzac day has been Monday-ised.

Tuesday the 2 June is a teacher only day (this is the day after Queens Birthday.

Tuesday the 27 October is a teacher only day (this is the day after Labour Day)

Diary Dates

• Thursday 19th March - Year 3-4 and Year 7-8 Festivals of the Arts
• Monday 23rd and Tuesday 24th March - Parent Interviews - student progress (school closes at 2pm
• Wednesday 25th March - Y4-6 Inter-zone swim sports
• Friday 27 March - Year 8 girls Gardisal immunisation
• Friday 27th March - School assembly 1.40
• Tuesday 31st March - Whole school cross country at Eastbourne Rec
• Wednesday 1 April - Junior school Grandparents day
• Thursday 2 April - Term 1 ends at 2.55pm
• Monday 20 April - Term 2 begins

PYJAMA DAY

The Senior Charity Group are organising a Pyjama Day on Tuesday 24 March to raise money for Vanuatu after the devastation of Cyclone Pam. Come to school next Tuesday wearing your pyjamas and bring a donation. The money we raise will be donated to the Red Cross.

SCHOLASTIC BOOKS

The last day for the scholastic orders is Wednesday the 25th of March. Please ensure you pay either by cheque or fill out your details for your credit card as we post the orders and cannot accept cash.

COMMUNITY NOTICES

Kids' Yoga in Eastbourne! 

Kula Kids' Yoga is a creative and fun yoga class just for kids!  We weave story, song and games into the ancient art of yoga.  Classes include the physical poses that develop strength, balance and flexibility and simple mindfulness activities while we move from stillness to activity and back.  Email Jeanne at kulakidsyoga@yahoo.com to book or for more information, and like us on facebook.  See photos, links and weekly postings

Thursdays until April 2

Ages 5-9, 3:45-4:30 pm

Ages 10-13 4:45-5:45 pm 

$10 per class

51 Oroua Street, Eastbourne, just down the street from Muritai School! 

Jeanne Balding-Weinstock is certified through Yoga Alliance with specialty training in Kids' Yoga.  She has teaching experience in Early Childhood, and teaching Yoga in private schools, clubs, and studios in California, US.  References available

Sustainable Home & Garden Show 2015
Don’t miss this year’s Sustainable Home & Garden Show on 21 and 22 March.

There will be a huge range of eco-friendly products on display from over 95 vendors, talks in the No8 wire workshop and cooking demonstrations, vibrant school gardens, electric cars, a treasure hunt for kids and plenty of activities for them to try. Something for everyone.

Back by popular demand, a giant Lego® model of what Paraparaumu town centre might look like in 2035 will also be on show to enthral young and old alike!

Plus, great food will be available and entertainment will run throughout the weekend.

The event runs from 9am to 4pm on both days at Kapiti Primary School, Rimu Rd, Paraparaumu. Gold coin entry.

More information go to: www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/homeandgarden  

Babysitter

My name is Jasmine Henwood.  I am 32 years old and am available to look after your kids.  Please give me a call on 021 066 0536 or 562 7009.  Hourly rate $10 per hour