Naumai e te whanau o te kura Muritai
Kia ora koutou
Welcome to our new students who have arrived at Muritai at the end of last term and this week ...Sophie Olliver (R12), Eric Yang (R3), Logan Coby (R4), Guy Marshall (R3), Lucia Jurgens (R3), Archie Valladares (R1), Nixon Frost (R2), Isaac Beckett (R2), Dilyan Kusnadi (R2), Eli Wylie (R2), Elodie Dent (R2). Our current roll stands at 437 with 17 children to come before our final day seeing the school finish nicely at 450.
We also welcome Liz Sullivan and her new class in room 2 that has just begun. Because Liz is now full-time we welcome Sue Steele into room 3 for Maureen Buckley’s release and we welcome Sally Ingram into some junior school part-time teaching. In the holidays we sadly received the resignation from Margs Mills, teacher in room 4. Replacing Margs through to the end of the year is Ruth Vaughan. We will celebrate Margs time at Muritai later in the year but we recognise her wonderful service to Muritai School over the last 21 years.
As we begin the run to the end of the year we have a big plan to make it as beneficial as possible for the children. There is a lot to get through in term 4 as we try and close off the year and feedback on the progress the children have made over the last 10 months. The term has begun quietly and the children are straight back into their learning with teachers and children setting goals to achieve this term. This nice atmosphere reflects how well the students are focused, organised and into a nice rhythm from their previous terms. The school is very settled and in good heart.
Term 4, and the run through to the end of the year, is always very busy. Our term plan looks very manageable but the teaching staff do have a number of administrative requirements to attend to as we close off 2015 and prepare the school for 2016. The senior management team is putting the finishing touches on our school structure for 2016 so if your plans are changing for next year, please let us know as soon as possible. We really appreciate those that have informed us of change already - it helps us enormously for our budgeting and employment.
This term often passes very quickly. There is much to be done and over the next few weeks the children will be required to continue to do their best work to show that they deserve a good quality report at the end of the year. This should not be too tricky as we always try hard to ‘be the best that we can be'. As always the work will be a little bit tougher, and a little bit faster, to keep up with the momentum of progress and growth. There will be a healthy dose of fun, exploration, creativity and interest mixed in with it all to keep the children engaged with their schooling.
One thing remains important however and that is to keep in close contact with your child's class teacher. Our next reporting round is at the end of the year with learning celebrations and written reports but you may feel that it is necessary to touch base as the term progresses to get feedback on your child's progress. Our doors are always open for this to happen and we note that it is actually a regular occurrence.
SAFETY TO AND FROM SCHOOL
I received a message from the principals’ group yesterday about a child approached on the way to school by a man in a car in Wellington. The child did all the right things in response but it serves a reminder to us all about how important it is for our children to be empowered to stand up to unsafe situations such as this. These reports are very few but show that there is always a risk. In this instance... if they do not know the person then they should say ‘no thank you’ and move on heading towards their ‘safe’ place. The home and the school need to work together to ensure children have the power to do the safe thing.
SHAKE OUT DAY
Yesterday, along with much of New Zealand, we simulated an earthquake and evacuated the school up McKenzie Track. The practice went very well. We sent 2 texts as part of our communication strategy, which we hope you received. One thing we found was that our text messaging system only went to one caregivers’ cellphone, where ideally it should go to both contacts. We will rectify this for when it it is required.
SCHOOL ENROLMENT ZONE
The Muritai School Board of Trustees invites applications from parents who wish to enrol an “out of zone” student at Muritai School for 2016. Enrolment at Muritai is governed by an enrolment scheme, details of which are available from the school office.
Applications are to be made on the official enrolment form, which is also available from the school office.
The deadline for receipt of applications for ‘out of zone’ places is Wednesday 4th November, 2016.
The Board has determined that up to 10 spaces are available at year 7-8 level and 6 spaces are available at year 3-4 level. If the number of out of zone applications exceeds the number of places available, students will be selected by ballot. If a ballot is required it will be held on Friday 6th November, 2016. For enquiries please phone Andrew Bird, Principal, 562-8049
HATS
Term 4 signals warmer weather (hopefully) and the return of hats at school. Can you please ensure your child comes to school with a wide brimmed hat to be worn at all play times. You may also like to consider putting sunblock on them before they come to school.
100 DAYS AT SCHOOL
On Wednesday room 3 celebrated their 100 days at school by taking part in a wide range of curriculum activities involving the number 100. As part of this day each child brought in their collections of 100 items. They were also really lucky as Jagger Lissette's nana, Sandra, brought along her uncle to meet the children. Her uncle, Cyril Maylor, is 100 years old and he talked and answered questions about his days at school and his life.
LUCKY BOOK CLUB
Issue 7 is now out. You can make your orders either online at https://mybookclub.scholastic.co.nz or by filling in the brochure form your child has brought home and returning this to school by Friday the 6th of November. Sorry we cannot accept cash orders however you can pay by cheque (payable to Scholastic NZ) or credit card.
TEACHER ONLY DAY
Muritai School has a Teacher Only Day on Tuesday 27 October.
After School Care will be running a programme for on this day. If you are interested in enrolling your child/ren, you can pick up a brochure from the school office or enrol online at www.muritaiafterschoolcare.blogspot.co.nz
MURITAI AFTER SCHOOL CARE ARE HAVING A BOOK SWAP PARTY AND EVERYONE IS INVITED!
WHEN: Tuesday 27th October, 1pm-2pm (TEACHERS ONLY DAY)
WHERE: Muritai School Hall
You can swap books by doing any of the following:
1. Bring books to Muritai After School Care any day between 4pm and 6pm. We are located in the Green Room at Muritai School (door next to the picnic table at the end of the netball courts)
2. Contact Mel at masc@muritai.school.nz or 027-503-7484 if you cannot drop books off and she will be happy to collect them from you.
3. Come along on the day with a book/s to swap and see what we have.
We will record each child’s name and the number of books they have given. On the book swap day they will be given tokens which they can swap for an equal amount of books.
NOTE: Please ensure that books brought in to swap are appropriate for children aged 5-12 years old and are in a good readable condition. We will not be swapping magazines.
Children attending must be accompanied by an adult if they are not part of the After School Care Teachers Only Day programme that day.
On the day there will be a free little book cafe set up so children cat sit, browse through books and enjoy some light refreshments.
HALLOWEEN PARTY
Hosted by Muritai After School Care.
WHEN: FRIDAY 30th October anytime between 4pm & 6pm.
WHERE: Muritai School, Green Room / Hall / Netball Courts
WHO: All children are welcome to attend.
COST: FREE
Children must be accompanied by an adult if they are not part of the After School Care Programme that day.
Come along and join in the fun!
· Freaky face painting
· Halloween themed games, Halloween Piñata & Mystery Sensory Boxes.
· A special Glow in the Dark room with awesome Halloween decorations and a spooky maze.
FACEBOOK AND TWITTER
With many parents now on Facebook you can access information and school news events via Facebook. Presently we have had about 330 'friends' which we would like to increase. You can sign up to Muritai School's Facebook page and therefore get regular updates of events. Click here to join up.
Alternatively, if you are not on Facebook you can also receive these updates straight to your cellphone via Twitter. Simply text 8987 and type in follow MuritaiSchool and you will receive updates, simple messages, reminders and cancellations direct to your cell phone.
ENVIRO-SCHOOL UPDATE
The enviro team has been working on several initiatives over the past term.
Firstly, thank you for reducing your lunchbox waste by choosing non-plastic wrapped items, and taking any rubbish home. We will be carrying out another lunchbox survey this term to ascertain how our behaviours are changing. There are many alternatives available instead of lunch wrap and individually wrapped items for lunch. How does your lunch box look?
You will see the completed mural on the sandpit which was created by a team of year 5/6s under the guidance of Mrs Borgonje. This represents Eastbourne with its connection to the sea and the bush and features Tane Mahuta (God of the Forest) and Tangaroa (God of the sea) with hands joined. It is a magnificent addition to our playground. Thanks particularly to our team of able parents who sealed and painted the back wall of the sandpit in preparation.
Our greenhouse is also up and running now with a collection of seeds housed here. There are baby Swan Plants which are being grown to support our Monarch Butterfly tagging programme, seedlings which will soon be transplanted into the Bee Garden behind the intermediate, and new Spinifex and Pingao seedlings we hope will take off over the next few months for transplanting on the beach next spring. You are welcome to visit our green house and orchard but please treat all plants with care.
Feel free to water them if it is a hot day and they need a drink.
Finally, we will be having a scarecrow building competition in the next few weeks. Hopefully in time to keep birds away from our newly planted fruit trees. Create your own scarecrow at home and bring it to school on November 6. So start gathering up some old clothes and see what you can create at home.
Keep thinking green!
MASSIVE MURAL MARATHON!
After two whole term's work, our new mural is finally up!
The project began as an Enviro-School / Art venture aiming to give a small group of keenly creative students an opportunity to get involved in a big piece of work which would be on display permanently. The Enviro-School brief was to include a Māori theme, while celebrating Eastbourne's unique location where the bush meets the ocean.
The group of students met every Monday lunch time. They began by brainstorming ideas and putting together a design, over six boards, which included ideas from all of them. Then it got messy!
Terms 2 and 3 were spent priming, sketching, painting background and then details to
create the desired effect. The students worked tirelessly! The wall also needed preparing and a wonderful group of Mums gave up their morning to paint the wall by the sandpit at the end of Term 2. Finally, at the end of Term 3 the border went on and we were finished! A shared lunch was enjoyed by all 'murallers' to celebrate and Roger and the Menz Shed got it all up perfectly during the holidays so everyone could enjoy it on their first day back. With a little help from a lot of kind volunteers the wall by the sandpit has a new lease of life!
ONE HEART DAY
So They Can is a committed group of philanthropists empowering communities through education, so they can break the poverty cycle, realise their own potential and meet their own needs.
We heard about how we can get involved in One Heart Day to connect with, learn about and help children at Aberdare School in Kenya.
One Heart Day is about students coming together, from around the world, to learn about each other and understand the importance of connecting with each other. The day celebrates the African concept of Ubuntu, that when you give you also receive, that we are all one and that we can all help each other.
As part of our One Heart Day celebrations we will 'fill our hearts' by completing a heart sheet to show the things that matter most to us. We can then compare our hearts with the ones completed by children at Aberdare Ranges School to see what we have in common and what is unique.
We'll also be contributing to 'Grow Our Story', an activity that all the classrooms taking part in One Heart Day will contribute to. Students at Aberdare Ranges Primary School in Kenya have started the first part of the story. During each round a different school will provide the next exciting paragraph to share with students in Kenya and New Zealand. At the end of two weeks we'll have created an entire adventure together.
After looking at what money can buy to support children in Africa, we have set ourselves the goal of raising $1500 in the next two weeks to buy a 1000 litre water tank for a So They Can project. Please consider donating to our give-a-little fundraising page to help us meet this goal.
SPORTS
Athletics Days
We have the year 3-8 Athletics Day on Monday 2 November with the Juniors holding their Athletics on Tuesday 1 December. Please ensure your children come to school with appropriate clothing and footwear to be able to practise their athletics.
MOVEMPROVE
Each Wednesday children in the Junior School take part in a movement programme. This programme is run by the coaches from Hutt Valley Gymsports and the children and improving their physical skills.
Weetbix Tryathlon entry
You can register online NOW! I have created a school group and you will be prompted in the registering process to choose our school. If you also enter before the early bird cut off, 12 noon Monday, 22 February 2016, you will get a further discount.
The Weetbix Tryathlon event will sell out quickly as there are limited numbers and if your child is keen to be involved it would be best for your to enter as soon as possible.
COMMUNITY NOTICES
Caterer Required for Big Trig
Call for family or small group to look after food at the Big Trig rogaine on Sat 28 Nov. Payment for services: to provide barbeque, to do buying of food, and to organise/pickup pizza. Finish time is 5pm. Location is Muritai School, Eastbourne. Reply to michael.wood@mapsport.co.nz Enquiries 04 566 2645.
Children's Athletics
Lower Hutt Athletics Club is currently taking registrations for the 2015/16 summer season. Based at Hutt Rec, the club provides competitive athletics for 7-14 year olds, plus a development programme for younger children. The club's season opens 28 October, and runs until mid-March.
For enquiries or to register, go to www.lhaac.org.nz and click on the 'Join Us' tab. Or contact simon@lhaac.org.nz for more information.
Weekly Indoor Netball League "Right Here" in "Eastbourne"
Indoor Netball is a fun and exciting way to exercise, meet new people, hang/bond with your friends or learn a Sport that you have only heard of...
What Night: Every Tuesday
Time: 6pm onwards
Address: Tuatoru Street (End of street), Eastbourne
To Enter:Email: EastbourneIndoorSports@gmail.com or Phone: 021 0281 6358
Questions: Nadine can I have some information about the League, Rules etc?
Can I enter as an individual player? YES! Contact me and I will sort you out!
Plant Sale - Pauatahanui School- Sun 25 Oct
Pauatahanui are holding their annual plant sale on Sunday the 25th of October from 9am to 3pm. Hedging ,Flaxes, Grasses, Veges, Perennials, Shrubs and Ground cover will all be for sale at bargain prices. Free parking available at top of school driveway. Bring the trailer!
