FRIDAY 18 MAY 2018

Kia Ora, Talofa Lava, Greetings, Malo e Lelei, Kia Orana, Bonjour, Nǐ hǎo, Hallo, Hola, Kon'nichiwa, Namaste, G’day mate

A warm welcome to Kelli Jewell in Room 16, Keegan Field in Room 2, Charlie Ledingham Room 3 and Fraser Halman in Room 2 this week.

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Tena koutou katoa, warm greetings to you all

Gaming conversation - Fortnite

You may or may not be aware of the popularity around the digital game called Fortnite - Battle Royale.  Never before have we seen a game reach across every gaming platform including XBox, Playstation and as an app on any device.  At school we as a staff have been hearing much about this game from students of almost all ages, so it has caused us to dig into some thinking and considerations around the conversations and links to learning implications it may have at school.

We have had some rigorous discussions and looked into research around the game as a teaching staff over the past two weeks, and we have decided to not connect Fortnite to any learning conversations or activities e.g. writing recounts, due to the violent nature of the game, and the online chat facility.     

We will leave the discussions and conversations around whether your child is allowed to play the game or not up to you, however we encourage you to check out some of the literature surrounding the game - for example Common Sense Media recommend a rating of 13+ as an age to play the game.  https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/parents-ultimate-guide-to-fortnite#whatisbr

Bullying Free Week - Kia Kaha

This week is the nationwide Bullying Free Week.  Today is Pink Shirt Day where students have arrived wearing pink to take a stand against Bullying.  In New Zealand, Pink Shirt Day aims to create schools, workplaces and communities where all people feel safe, valued and respected.

Thank you for coming along to our parent meetings last week around our Kia Kaha programme.  Constable ‘Blue’ McCaffery outlined the programme and we answered any queries from parents in attendance.  If you would like any further information on this programme, please see your classroom teacher. 

We continue to strengthen our response to bullying as a staff by developing our school wide behaviour management plan. We have consistency as a staff and clear expectations as teachers and students around what is expected, and how we address behaviour we don’t want to see at Muritai School.   

Written Reports Mid Year

Thank you for your generous feedback on the reporting survey.  We have had an enormous amount of feedback which we will review along with the staff and student voice in the development of our written reports.   In Term 2 we will create a mid year reporting format, then ask for further feedback on the format following these going home in preparation for our end of year written reports.  

Nāku noa, nā

Bec Power

Principal

FROM THE SCHOOL

CROSS COUNTRY

There has been a change in venue for our Kororā (Y1-2) cross country event.  Students will now be running on the school field and playground.  There will be a warm up about 9am with the first event to commence soon after.  

The remainder of the school will be walking down to HW Shortt at approximately 9am with the first event starting at 9.45.  Children will be running around the Rec, down the promenade and back along the beach with the Kāhu syndicate (Y7-8) running first then year 3’s, year 4’s, year 5’s and year 6’s.  

TERM 2 2018 DATES
18 May	Pink Shirt Day
	Y7/8 Docs4Schools Visit
22 May	Y7/8 National Young Leaders Day
24 May	School Cross Country
28 May to	Dental Van visiting
21 May	Kia Kaha Programme begins
29 May	SE Zone Y4/8 Cross Country
4 June	QUEENS BIRTHDAY
7 June	Y7 Vision Testing
8 June	Y8 Gardasil vaccinations
25 June	Pizza Monday
3 July	Y4-8 Regional Cross Country
4 July	Kapa Haka Group at Polyfest, Walter Nash
6 July	Last Day of Term 2

TERMS DATE FOR 2018

Term 1 - Wednesday 31 January - Friday 13 April

Term 2 - Monday 30 April - Friday 6 July

Term 3 - Monday 23 July - Friday 28 September

Term 4 - Monday 15 October - Tuesday 18th December

COMMUNITY NOTICES

Yoga and Mindfulness support a child’s well-being with healthy movement and techniques to improve concentration and reduce anxiety and stress.  Kula Kids Yoga makes if fun with classes near you in Johnsonville, Lower Hutt
and Eastbourne. Check timetables at
http://kula-yoga.co.nz/kula-kids/
 for children ages 5-9, 9-13 and Teens or come to a Family Class on Saturday 23 June
http://kula-yoga.co.nz/events-retreats/