Tena Koutou katoa
Naumai e te whanau o te kura Muritai
A warm welcome to Heiran Kamburan - Chittenden who has started school in room 2.
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Our students are so lucky to have such a myriad of opportunities to take part in and I am always amazed at the wonderful things that they achieve on a daily basis. The following is a small snapshot of some of what’s been happening this week.
It was indeed a great pleasure to see our students enjoying themselves on stage at the Michael Fowler Centre this week. They sang beautifully in the Artsplash Choir on Wednesday and danced superbly in Dancesplash last night. Thank you to all of the students for their efforts and to those staff and parents who have supported them.
Thank you also to room 6 and our year 7 and 8 students who had superb visual art works on display there as well. A huge thanks goes to Ruth Hooke, our Performing Arts teacher, for her incredible organisation of this event and for teaching the students their songs and movements. We are very fortunate to have her on our staff.
I would also like to thank Chloe Bothwell who played the guitar and sang ‘Love yourself’ at assembly today along with Yasmin Kerr and Luke Thompson who accompanied ‘He Honore’ on guitar as well as the school song.
Our Year 5 and 6 students took part in Mathswell this week with our teams from Year 7 and 8 being involved during the previous week. Mathswell is an annual competition across multiple year levels to promote the study of mathematics at schools through the use of problem solving. The first round involves answering twelve problem solving and fifteen multi-choice questions. After this the top ten teams are announced and they compete for a cup, while the others compete for a plate. Another round of twelve Problem solving and fifteen multi-choice questions follow. We are delighted with the efforts of all our students especially as it was their first time taking part in the competition. Thanks go to Mr Carl Woodhams and Mrs Michelle Hollard for giving up their time to prepare the teams and to Mrs Julie Small and Mrs Jordana Phillips for marking and supervising on the night.
It is very exciting to announce that Jessica Park in Year 5 has earned a medal in the recent ICAS writing. Only one hundred students from New Zealand and the Pacific Region have been awarded medals this year. Our warmest congratulations to Jessica for this outstanding achievement!
Congratulations to Elodie Dent, Year 1, for completing her Reading Wordwall and Lucy Wray, Year 2, for completing her Spelling Rocket. Great effort Elodie and Lucy!
As part of the Civil Defence ‘Exercise Tangaroa’ testing everyone’s ability to respond to and recover from a major tsunami, we had a practice which involved all our staff, students and visitors leaving school and going up the McKenzie Track on Wednesday. I was very impressed with the way everyone responded and followed our procedures. I received the alerts from Emergency Headquarters. Parents and caregivers are able to download the Red Cross Hazard app and also the Red Cross First Aid app to your phones. Thank you also to our community for your patience while waiting as we all crossed the road.
It is very important that the contact information we have from parents for their children is up to date so if you have changed phone numbers at home or at work please let our office know as soon as possible. We are also in the process of renewing our emergency supplies so we would ask that each child bring a tin of baked beans, spaghetti or fruit to the school office. Thank you for your support with this.
It was lovely to have visitors from East Harbour Kindergarten visiting in room 2 on Tuesday and we look forward to them coming again. Thanks goes to David Excell, our local dentist, who came in to talk to the Junior School about the benefits of drinking water, ensuring that they brush their teeth and for showing the students how much sugar is in food and drinks and ways they could reduce this.
Thank you to Mr Carl Woodhams and Mrs Emma Travers who took the students to the NIWA Science Fair. The students also enjoyed Mr Woodhams showing them around the places he studied when he was at the university as a student. Warmest congratulations to Emma Littlefair who won a prize from the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology.
With the season now at a close, I would like to congratulate all of the students who have been taking part in the winter codes. Congratulations to our year 4 team netball team who have been together for two seasons and have won all of their games. An impressive effort!
It was lovely to see Room 12 down at the dunes planting out the plants that they have cultivated to help stop the erosion of our beach.
We were very privileged to receive a gift of two fruit trees for our orchard. Thank you to Greater Wellington Regional Council for the plum and orange trees which will be planted next week.
It is exciting to see that computer coding has begun across the road in our senior school. The coding club is being run with seven students so far who are working with Mr Woodhams on Monday lunchtimes. They are absolutely loving it!
Just a reminder - Next week on Thursday September 8th teaching staff and support staff will be attending a paid union meeting at Walter Nash Stadium to discuss the proposed changes to education funding that have been announced. If you would like to collect your child at 12.15 p.m. and take them home for the afternoon then you are very welcome to do so. Please let your child’s teacher know if you are going to do this on Thursday morning. If not, your child will be supervised in the school hall for collection from there at the usual time.
On Wednesday September 7th, there will be a ‘Starting School at Five’ information evening at 7 p.m. in room 3 for parents and caregivers of preschoolers. If you have a neighbour who sends their child to preschool out of our area please invite them to come along.
Production practices are in full swing and the stage will be going up next Thursday morning. I need a few adult helpers to assist with this. If you are available to join us for an hour from 9 am could you please let Jo at the office know?
You may have heard about the ‘Golden Box’ from your child. Both teaching and support staff along with myself add students’ names to the box in my office and one name is drawn out at each full school assembly. To get your name in the box, your child needs to exhibit exemplary behaviour including ‘Kind words,’ ‘Kind hands’ and ‘Kind feet’ or through exhibiting our school values eg respect, integrity, or through quality work in their classroom. This week’s well deserved winner is Molly Mathewson.
Nga mihi nui
Maureen Buckley
FROM THE SCHOOL
On the 1st of September a team of very talented Y7 - 8 students attended the NIWA Science Fair held at Victoria University - Chlore Bothwell, Emma Littlefair, Tilly Potter, George Travers, Yasmin Kerr, Lea Pummer and Dan Walker. It was an excellent day featuring a trip on the ferry and cable car to get to our destination.
A big congratulations to Emma Littlefair who was recognised by The New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology. Emma is in the running to win a $100 prize at this weekend's prize giving!
The public are invited to view the exhibits on Saturday from 9.00am-12.00pm, with the award ceremony starting at 1.00pm.
YEAR 5/6 MATHSWELL COMPETITION
On Wednesday 31 August a team of mathematicians represented Muritai School at the regional Mathswell Year 5 and 6 competition. Our team consisted of Amber Reid, Myles Caughley, Connor Gatward, Alex Irvine, George Walker and Imogen Twose. They can be well proud of their efforts.
ENVIROSCHOOL - From Seed heads to seedlings.
Last year Room 12 went on a hunt for Spinefix seeds to see if we could begin growing our own plants to return to the beach. As part of the Enviroschool programme of sustaining our local community, the children learnt about coastal erosion and how the dune plants help to keep the sand on the beach.
We gathered, sorted and planted the seedlings under the guidance of an expert from Hutt City Council and have been tending them since September last year when they were planted into root trainers.
Room 12 went to the beach yesterday to plant out the dune seedlings that we propagated last year and are now just in time to begin planting this year’s seed haul. This work is carried out alongside the Dune Society and Judith McDougall as we learn how to look after our beach and reduce coastal erosion.
The Muritai School 'patch' is down on the right hand side of the Recreation Centre where we regularly weed, and tend to the dunes. Please look after it when you are at the beach.
VOLUNTEERS FOR HOTDOGS
Are you able to help make hot dogs? We are looking for volunteers for Wednesday 7 September and Wednesday 14 September. Please let Carole or Jo in the office know if you can help.
ZEALANDIA
Zealandia have kindly donated several traps to the Eastbourne Schools.
These have been donated for the specific purpose of protecting our native birds from rats, stoats, and other predators. At this stage we will not be setting traps around the school grounds we would like to offer these traps for use by the school community, to protect areas around their homes.
The traps come in a wooden box with a sturdy, easy to set trap. If you would like to borrow a trap. Please email me on algar@muritai.school.nz
Zealandia have a Conservation day coming up shortly with entry of only $2 and there are family activities planned.
There will be:
- Weed Swap (bring an invasive weed to swap for a free native plant!)
- Info stalls from conservation experts and local community groups
- Face-painting
- A pest feast (the only way we like our pests in Zealandia on the BBQ!)
We are looking for donations to our Carnival raffle. If you know anyone who has a business that can donate products (e.g. sports items, beauty products, food, DIY tools, toys…for adults or children) or tickets or vouchers - anything that we can raffle or auction for the carnival, please contact Virginia Saunderson (Tots) on totsandrew@gmail.com or 021 854 128. The raffle is a big part of the fundraising for the carnival so we would really appreciate any offers no matter how big or small. Thanks.
We are also looking for businesses/people to donate cash sponsorship to cover the costs of rides, stalls, etc. If you can help in any way, please contact Suzanne Keoghan on suzanne.keoghan@xtra.co.nz
Donations of toys and sports equipment, books, clothes and old crockery are also needed for the school stalls. These need to be of clean and complete (ie all pieces) and of good quality. Anything made up of pieces such as board games, jigsaw puzzles, etc need to be placed in a sealable zip-lock bag to ensure they all stay together. These can be dropped off at the school office. Plants and pots can be dropped off at 7 Rona Street (leave on the doorstep). It’s a great time to start potting up seedlings - get your kids involved. All plant types welcomed and ceramic or plastic pots (not the plastic kind plants come in from the nursery though).
DIARY DATES (staff may contact you with more details about these events)
Wed 7 Sept ‘Starting School at Five’ information evening
Mon 12 Sept Production Rehearsal
Tues 13 - Production - Matinee on Tuesday
Thur 15 Sept Production - Evenings
Mon 19 Sept Y1-2 Parent Conferences
Tues 20 Sept Y1-2 Parent Conferences
Y1-2 Jump Rope for Heart ‘Jump Off’
Y5-6 Zone Hockey
Thur 22 Sept PP Y5/6 Zone Hockey
LAST DAY OF TERM 3
TERM DATES FOR 2016
Term 3 = Monday 25 July - Friday 23 September
Term 4 = Monday 10 October - Friday 16 December
We have a teacher only day at Labour weekend.
Teacher only day two = Tuesday 25 October
TERM DATES FOR 2017
Term 1 = Thursday 2 February - Thursday 13 April (Easter)
Term 2 = Monday 1 May - Friday 7 July
Term 3 = Monday 24 July - Friday 29 September
Term 4 = Monday 16 October - Tuesday 19 December
We have a teacher only day at Queen’s Birthday on Tuesday 6 June
COMMUNITY NOTICES
TENNIS
Play tennis this season at Muritai Tennis Club
Registration for interclub is 4th September 11.00 - 12.00. Bring your racket and some friends and come for a hit or email michelle.fisher@outlook.co.nz. New family membership, discount for new members.
EASTBOURNE CRICKET
The Eastbourne Cricket Club would like to invite all it's current and any new members to the 2016 Eastbourne Cricket Club Annual General Meeting. The meeting details are as follows:
Eastbourne Cricket Club Inc - Annual General Meeting
Venue- Eastbourne RSA
Date: 28 August 2016
Time; 3pm
The future of the Junior Club will be discussed at the meeting on Sunday.
Literacy and Numeracy Support:
Is your child struggling with reading, spelling, writing or maths at school? I offer private tuition during or after school time. I am a registered NZ teacher and am SPELD trained.
Contact: Isabelle Lefrancq 021 17 46 993- isabelle.l@ihug.co.nz
Need a Babysitter?
Joanne Marsden is available for babysitting from 5.30 p.m. on Wednesdays to Saturdays as well as during the day on Saturdays. Text her on 0212327512 with your name and details. She charges $18 per hour.
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