FRIDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2018

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

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Kia ora koutou,

Thank you for your support today with our Teacher Only Day - I know the staff have appreciated having the additional time in finishing any marking, data analysis, and of course using this information to work on the end of year report writing for you and your children.

Staffing 2019

Below you will find our staffing picture for 2019.  I am absolutely delighted to present our stunning teaching team for 2019:

Teaching Staff - Muritai 2019

Bec Power - Principal

Maureen Buckley, Jamie Power, Deane McKay  - Associate Principals

Jessica Richards, Jon Mackie - Team Leaders

Classroom Teachers:

Korora

Room 1          Yr 1                 Jessica Richards

Room 2          Yr 1                 Nicolette Fisher

Room 3          Yr 1/2              Alison Furminger

Room 5          Yr 2                 Michelle Hollard

Room 6          Yr 2                 Morag Roberts/Jo Salisbury

Tui

Room 10         Yr 3/4              Kate McLean

Room 11         Yr 3/4              Jamie Power / Kate Salisbury

Room 13         Yr 3/4              Kelly Williams

Room 14         Yr 3/4              Holli Williams

Kereru

Room 7           Yr 4/5/6           Felicity Lovell

Room 8           Yr 4/5/6           Greer Dalziell

Room 15         Yr 4/5/6           Anton Norman

Room 16         Yr 4/5/6           Deane McKay / Jess Davidson

Kahu

Room 21         Yr 7/8              Steph Lamborn

Room 22         Yr 7/8              Jon Mackie / Ruth Hooke

Room 23         Yr 7/8              Chantel Lyons

Additional Teaching  Staff

 Ruth Hooke                            Gabrielle Heath                    Jess Davidson

Hayley Crawford                     Liz Sullivan                              Jo Salisbury

Kate Salisbury                         Eve Owen                               Penny Orbell

Year 7 Camp - Next Week

As we excitedly anticipate our upcoming YR 7 EOTC week, we are taking part in some different activities this year for the children to experience co-operation and challenge in the outdoors.  With a full complement of a range of activities including Adrenalin Forest, Mini Golf, A Zoo adventure and sleepover, as well as some local activities - it’s looking like it will also be exciting and a lot of fun!  Let's just hope the sun shines so we can enjoy our local environment.

This is a great opportunity for the year 7 students to demonstrate our school values in action, and for the children to demonstrate their leadership potential and capabilities in a different setting, as some of these students will be selected early next year as our school leaders for 2019.  

SchoolDocs

Last week we announced our policies are now under SchoolDocs, a company who work with schools to create a website link for our policies and procedures.

Each Term there are policies that you are invited to review as parents - this term it is: Improving Educational Outcomes for Māori Students

How to review a policy as a parent:

1. Visit the website http://muritai.schooldocs.co.nz/
2. Enter the username (muritai) and password (muritaischool).
3. Follow the link to the relevant policy as listed. (Improving Educational Outcomes for Māori Students)
4. Read the policy.
5. Click the Policy Review button at the top right-hand corner of the page.
6. Select the reviewer type "Parent".
7. Enter your name (optional).
8. Submit your ratings and comments

Bec Power

Principal

FROM THE SCHOOL

Scholastic

Our last scholastic catalogue for the year should have arrived home this week or you can find it at https://www.scholastic.co.nz/parents/lucky-book-club/ Issue 8 orders will close on Friday the 30th of November in order for purchases to be received before the end of term. Orders can be made online at https://mybookclub.scholastic.co.nz/Parent/Login.aspx or by returning the order form along with a cheque made out to Scholastic NZ to the school office. Sorry we are unable to accept cash orders. If you would like to order gifts for your child please select this online and these will be left in the office for your collection rather than given to the student.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support of Lucky Book Club through the year as this has enabled us to purchase many new books for our school library for all our students to enjoy.

 

Hutt Hamper Elves - Christmas Themed Mufti Day

Christmas can be a really hard time when you’re already struggling to make ends meet. That’s why, for the past four years, The Hutt Hamper Elves been fundraising to provide hampers of food for families in need across the Hutt Valley at Christmas.

Muritai School is supporting the elves this year through a Christmas-themed mufti day on Friday 30 November. Come dressed in Christmas colours and clothing and bring a gold coin donation to support the Elves. Some Elves will also be running a bake sale in the office, so come prepared to purchase some delicious home baking!

All of our work is done by volunteers, so every dollar you give goes straight to the families who need it most.

This year, we are aiming to help over 150 families this Christmas, so every little bit counts. If you would like to provide a further donation to the Hutt Hamper Elves project, you can donate at our Givealittle page: [https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/hutt-hamper-elves] or contact Claire Turner on 0275585641.

TERM 4 2018 DATES
23 Nov	Teacher Only Day
26-30 Nov	Year 7 EOTC Week
30 Nov	Christmas-themed Mufti Day
2-7 Dec	Y8 Abel Tasman Camp
6 Dec	BOT Meeting
10 Dec	Y8 Gardasil Kororā Athletics Day
11 Dec	Kororā Christmas Concert and afternoon tea
13 Dec	Year 8 Formal
18 Dec	Last day of the year Leaving Assembly

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 - Please note: Friday the 23rd November - Teacher only Day

TERM DATES FOR 2019

Please note our term dates for next year - 2019

Term dates for 2019 have been confirmed by our Board of Trustees as follows:-

Term 1  Monday 4 February to Friday 12 April

            Teacher only day on Friday 15 February

Term 2 Monday 29 April to Friday 5 July

Term 3 Monday 22 July to Friday 27 September

Term 4 Monday 14 October to Thursday 19 December

THURSDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2018

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

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Kia ora koutou,

Reminder - Tomorrow school is closed

Tomorrow, Friday the 16th November our school is closed due to the Teachers and Principal's strike.

We thank you for the support shown to us as we continue to negotiate better working conditions for our teachers, more teachers for your children (lower class sizes), more support for our students with additional needs, and a pay rise for teachers wages in the hope to address the teacher shortage.

It has been uplifting to receive messages of support and we do apologise for the inconvenience this strike causes you and your children.

We hope that an agreement can be reached between NZEI and the Government very soon, so that we can get back to what we love doing here at Muritai School.

MADE Awards

We wish our finalists the very best of luck in the national Media and Digital Excellence Awards which are held tomorrow night in Tauranga.  Our Digital Technologies leader Jamie Power will be travelling up to the awards with two student finalist representatives - Lachie Cook and Fraser Neilson.  Keep an eye on our school Facebook page for any live updates tomorrow evening!

Water

Next Thursday one of our parents Greg Claridge will be visiting our classes (and offices) to deliver a gift to each of us….a sustainable bottle of water. Greg has been impressed with our ongoing learning around sustainability as an Enviroschool and was inspired to do something himself.  If you would not like your child to receive one, please let their classroom teacher know before Thursday.  Check out more about the sustainable bottled water here.    http://forthebettergood.com/

Emergency

On Tuesday we had an evacuation due to our fire alarms sounding.  The builders were cutting a large beam through the staffroom roof which is currently being replaced.  The vibrations of this activated the heat sensor  in the roof and the fire alarms sounded.  It's great to know they work! This meant a hold up right on the end of the day as we were held on the field whilst the school was checked by the fire service. We appreciated you leaving the children where they were and waiting for us to be evacuated by the fire service appropriately.  

On the rare occasion we have an emergency evacuation to the field again, please do wait outside the school gates or come and join us on the field with our other visitors.   

SchoolDocs

Our school has been working with SchoolDocs to create a website for our policies and procedures. We are excited to announce that the site is now live and available to our school community.

The school works on a subscription basis with SchoolDocs to maintain, update, and review our policies. SchoolDocs provides us with a comprehensive core set of policies which have been well researched and follow the Ministry of Education National Administration Guidelines. The policies and procedures are tailored to our school, and the school supplies specific information such as our charter, and procedures for behaviour management, reporting to parents, etc.

SchoolDocs updates, modifies, or creates policies in response to changes in legislation or Ministry guidelines, significant events, reviews/requests from schools, and regular reviewing from the SchoolDocs team. Our board of trustees has the opportunity to view changes/additions and comment on them before they are implemented. We will advise you when policies are up for review and how you can take part in the review.

We invite you to visit the site at http://muritai.schooldocs.co.nz/ (note that there's no "www"!). Our username is muritai and password muritaischool .

Absences

If your child is absent or late please do phone us at the office, as it takes our office staff a very long time to call and check on where all students are each morning.  Please do not email us regarding the absence on the day of the absence, as we can be very busy at that time of the morning in the office. 

Dental Statistics 2019 :

I attach a note from our dental service regarding their visits to Muritai this year.  It makes for interesting reading.  Keep up the great work Muritai, and remember the advice below regarding the sugary drinks.

Teacher only Day - Term 4 2018

In Term 4 we have our final Teacher only day of 2018.  This will be Friday the 23rd November, and school will be closed.  Our final Teacher Only Day this year will be used by teachers for professional development together as a whole staff, and also a portion of the day as administration and report writing preparation time for teaching staff.  

Bec Power

Principal

FROM THE BOARD

BOT would like to say a HUGE thanks to staff for all their hard work and extra hours preparing for the AMAZING production - very much appreciated and enjoyed by kids and audience alike!

Reminder please, if you haven't already, to pay your 2018 donations before the end of term. While voluntary, these contributions provide us with extras like our Performing Arts teacher, our librarian, our eLearninig and digital technologies, our teaching and resources and much more - benefitting our students hugely.

Educational consultant Mark Sweeney who has been working with many of the teaching staff and the Senior Leadership Team, recently gave the Board a presentation about "moving schools" - schools which are responsive to changing environments, innovative and open to new ideas. He said change can be uncomfortable but is necessary at times - and rewarding in the long run.

FROM THE SCHOOL

KELLY CLUB AFTER SCHOOL CARE:

The staff and myself have really enjoyed this week getting to know the children.   

Did you know we now have two sessions available to you?

2.55pm - 4.30pm cost is $12.00 (Includes Afternoon Tea and Activities)

2.55pm - 6.00pm cost is $19.00 (Includes Afternoon Tea, Activities, Snack Time, opportunity to complete homework and some free time)

You do not have to enroll for a full week, you can enroll for one or two days a week, or once a fortnight, once a term.

It's not too late to enrol for After School Care.  

Ways you can enrol:

1.  Online at www.kellyclub.co.nz/muritai (you have up til midnight the night before to enrol)

2.  Drop in and see us for an enrolment form

3.  Email us at muritai@kellyclub.co.nz

We take casual bookings which means that if you get stuck with childcare arrangements, we are here to assist you. If you have something pop up, we can take your child for that afternoon.

Stayed tuned to the schools facebook page to see our planner each week.  

ZONE Athletics

A BIG congratulations to all the students who have made it through to the Y4-8 Inter Zone Athletics competition, which is scheduled for Tuesday 27th November at the Hutt Rec.

Check this link for the results and qualifiers:

https://docs.google.com/…/1bKSvADYMpeaZshKp438sk2Myxf…/edit…

 

Registrations are open for the Hutt City Weetbix Tryathlon which is on Thursday 14th March 2019 at the Hutt Rec.

You can enter the Muritai School team via this link:

https://www.registernow.com.au/secure/Register.aspx…

More information about the event can be found here:

https://tryathlon.co.nz/locations/hutt-city/

Diabetes Day

On November 14th it was world Diabetes day. We raised $262 and 20c.  That money Is going to Diabetes youth Wellington.  Diabetes youth Wellington Is a charity supporting Diabetic youth and their families   across the Wellington Region.

One way of helping me with type 1 Diabetes Is Diabetes camp.Diabetes camp is where most people in Wellington come to a camp for a week and do fun actives.

Thank You for all your support.

Bella

Hutt Hamper Elves - Christmas Themed Mufti Day

Christmas can be a really hard time when you’re already struggling to make ends meet. That’s why, for the past four years, The Hutt Hamper Elves been fundraising to provide hampers of food for families in need across the Hutt Valley at Christmas.

Muritai School is supporting the elves this year through a Christmas-themed mufti day on the 30 November. Come dressed in Christmas colours and clothing and bring a gold coin donation to support the Elves. Some Elves will also be running a bake sale in the office, so come prepared to purchase some delicious home baking!

All of our work is done by volunteers, so every dollar you give goes straight to the families who need it most.

This year, we are aiming to help over 150 families this Christmas, so every little bit counts. If you would like to provide a further donation to the Hutt Hamper Elves project, you can donate at our Givealittle page: [https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/hutt-hamper-elves] or contact Claire Turner on 0275585641.

TERM 4 2018 DATES
16 Nov	Strike Day
21 Nov	Starting School at 5 evening - 7pm in Room 3
23 Nov	Teacher Only Day
26-30 Nov	Year 7 EOTC Week
2-7 Dec	Y8 Abel Tasman Camp
6 Dec	BOT Meeting
10 Dec	Y8 Gardasil Kororā Athletics Day
11 Dec	Kororā Christmas Concert and afternoon tea
13 Dec	Year 8 Formal
18 Dec	Last day of the year Leaving Assembly

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 - Please note: Friday the 23rd November - Teacher only Day

TERM DATES FOR 2019

Please note our term dates for next year - 2019

Term dates for 2019 have been confirmed by our Board of Trustees as follows:-

Term 1             Monday 4 February to Friday 12 April

            Teacher only day on Friday 15 February

Term 2 Monday 29 April to Friday 5 July

Term 3 Monday 22 July to Friday 27 September

Term 4 Monday 14 October to Thursday 19 December

COMMUNITY NOTICES

HUTT HAMPER ELVES

Christmas can be a really hard time when you’re already struggling to make ends meet. That’s why, for the past four years, The Hutt Hamper Elves been fundraising to provide hampers of food for families in need across the Hutt Valley at Christmas.

Muritai School is supporting the elves this year through a Christmas themed mufti day on the 30 November. Come dressed in Christmas colours and clothing and bring a gold coin donation to support the Elves. Some Elves will also be running a bake sale in the office, so come prepared to purchase some delicious home baking!

All of our work is done by volunteers, so every dollar you give goes straight to the families who need it most.

This year, we are aiming to help over 150 families this Christmas, so every little bit counts.

If you would like to provide a further donation to the Hutt Hamper Elves project, you can donate at our Givealittle page: [https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/hutt-hamper-elves] or contact Claire Turner on 0275585641.