Friday 26 March 2021

Kia Ora, Talofa Lava, Greetings, Malo e Lelei, Kia Orana, Bonjour, Nǐ hǎo, Hallo, Hola, Kon'nichiwa, Namaste, As-salāmu ʿalaykum

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Tena koutou Muritai families, 

We are now at the end of week 8,  of an 11 week term.  This term has the unusual addition of Easter being within the term, and not tacked onto the school holidays as it does most years.  All schools are closed on Easter Friday, Monday and Tuesday. 

This time exactly one year ago, I was writing to you with new information about school closures and the imminent ‘Learning at Home’ as we began our Alert Level 4 Lockdown.  I’ll never forget the moment of locking up the school for the final time before lockdown. It was silent, eerie,  and felt like a bizarre historical act to be undertaking. I believe it was the first time the school had been closed for a substantial length of time since the school closures during the Spanish Flu. I’m sure you’ll all remember your final tasks too, before we locked down. 

It’s hard to believe it's been a whole year since then! It seems a world away from the current abilities we have to continue with life in a manner that’s pretty close to being back to normal.  I have been reminded of this over and over during the past weeks as we’ve felt so fortunate over and over to have held many different sporting events, assemblies, Board meetings, Home and School meetings, our mihi whakatau welcoming ceremony for new learners, parents and staff,  parent meetings for camp and for our new entrant ‘Starting school at 5’ parent education meetings.  Thank you all for the part you continue to play in signing in with the digital Covid tracing app when you enter the school grounds, we really appreciate the effort our community continues to make to keep us all safe. 

We wish Kererū well as they head off on camp on Monday, and when they return next Thursday it will be just in time for our Easter break.  I hope our children, teachers and parents enjoy their Makahika outdoor adventure, fingers crossed for wonderful weather for your all. 

 

Our playground repairs have been completed, and we thank those parent volunteers who came down and collected some top soil, and especially those who helped to carry and rake out the new loads of soft fall bark across all playgrounds, now it’s time to enjoy! Thanks to our caretaking team Kevin and Dan who have worked hard over the past weeks in getting the play space ready to launch! The playground is open to all ages, and we invite you to come and have a go yourselves, I can highly recommend having a go on the slide…although it was a little faster than I’d anticipated! Enjoy!

 

Ngā manaakitanga,

Bec Power, Principal

FROM THE SCHOOL

                      Kapa Haka

We are starting a school kapa haka rōpū for any student who would like to join.  Sessions will be from 8.30 am to 9.30am in the school library every Wednesday from Term 2 and run by Hilary Bevin and Ruth Hooke.  This is an opportunity to learn Te Reo, waiata-ā-ringa (action songs) hīmene (hymns) and kēmu (games).  Whānau are welcome to participate also.  There will be performance opportunities (Hutt Fest, etc) during the year.

Notices have been given to children who are interested and extra copies are available in the school office.  These need to be signed by parents and returned to the office. 

Capture the Flag

On Tuesday a group of approximately 70 students from years 5-8 went to Hutt Park to participate in the Capture the Flag tournament. The students had a great time playing in the sunshine! All teams did extremely well and showed a real sense of sportsmanship and team work! A special mention goes out to Max Bentley and Meg McIntosh for receiving individual spirit awards. Well done to everyone who participated in the day!

Basketball

Basketball registrations are open.  Click on the following link to go to the registration page.  Please read the form for all information before registering your child   https://forms.gle/ZMR5hLZisBzjt1mE6

TERM 1 CALENDAR DATES

29 Mar to

1 April    Kereru camp at Makahika

1 April Tui whole school assembly at 1.30

2 April Good Friday - school holiday

5 April Easter Monday - school holiday

6 April School holiday (Tuesday after Easter)

9 April School Assembly

13 April Room 2 visiting East Harbour Kindy (TBC)

13 April BOT Meeting at 6.30

14 April Room 1 visiting East Harbour Kindy (TBC)

15 April Cohort 3 School visit 9.30am

16 April Kahu whole school assembly at 1.30

16 April Last day of Term 1

TERM DATES 2021 

Our Term dates have been agreed for 2021 as follows: 

Term 1 4 February to 16 April

Term 2 3 May to 9 July

Term 3 26 July to 1 October

Term 4 18 October to 16 December

 

 

 

COMMUNITY NOTICES - Please  Note the following notices have been requested to be published and are not necessarily  endorsed by us as a school.  In the spirit of community we include these digitally for you to peruse. 

 

 

Term 1 Lunch time French at Muritai

• Experience French learning the fun way! Children speak French from the first lesson


• For all ages, lessons once a week, lots of interactive activities, role play, crafts, active games and music


• Free trial lesson.  


• Includes a membership starter pack of materials to use at home


• For more details contact Stefi on stefi@lcfclubs.co.nz  or 021 178 2099


• see website www.lcfclubs.co.nz


 

Anyone for Tennis?

 

How about making some Me Time and joining us for Mid-Week Tennis on a Tuesday morning?

When? Tuesdays 9.30am – 12 noon (all year)

Where? Muritai Tennis Club, 356 Muritai Rd

Who? Women and Men of any age or ability

 

Why? Because it’s fun!

 

How? Try before you buy! Just turn up – casual attire.

 

Morning tea provided!!

Lessons available

 

Enquiries: Carol 568 5360 or Merryn 562 0236

 

‘Girls Got Game’ is a fun and friendly basketball programme for girls in Year 1 – 8. Basketball is a fantastic sport for girls, helping to develop movement and thinking skills in a fun social team environment. 

 

Girls Got Game aims to grow sporting competence and self confidence to help young girls lead an active and healthy lifestyle. The programme focusses on developing three key areas including: Fundamental Movements, Basketball Skills and Traits of Great Players. 

 

Open to girls across Lower Hutt. Coached by experienced and accredited youth basketball coaches from Capital Basketball. 

 

When: Tuesday’s in Term 2, starting 11 May

Where: Chilton St James, 124 Waterloo Road, Lower Hutt

Times: Year 1 – 4: 3:30pm – 4:15pm,  Year 5 – 8: 4:15pm – 5:20pm

Cost: $30pp

Register via email: adennehy@chilton.school.nz

 

For any questions please contact Scott Richardson from Capital Basketball on: training@capitalbasketball.org

 

Friday 5 March 2021

Kia Ora, Talofa Lava, Greetings, Malo e Lelei, Kia Orana, Bonjour, Nǐ hǎo, Hallo, Hola, Kon'nichiwa, Namaste, As-salāmu ʿalaykum

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Tena koutou Muritai families, 

It’s hard to believe that next week we will be half way through term 1!  The term is flying by, and although we are currently under Alert Level 2 conditions, there have been plenty of wonderful learning experiences and opportunities throughout the week. Thank you all for your cooperation, kindness and support with the requirements to sign in and/or remain outside the school gates.  Please do also remember to not enter the classrooms under Alert Level 2, as this is a key component of our COVID-19 safety strategy.   Thank you all for the many warm smiles, happy emails and waves from afar as we keep our school gates closed during school hours. 

I will update you if our Alert Levels change over the weekend, I know we all have our fingers crossed for Level 1!

Several parents have mentioned how much the self management and independence of our students has grown with the drop and pick up at the gates - do feel free to continue with this system regardless of the Alert Level if it works for your child, as we here at school also see an increase in student self management under Level 2!

Head Students 2021

This afternoon we have announced our Head and Deputy student leaders for 2021.  

There were so many outstanding candidates who bravely put themselves forward for consideration this year, and it was a very difficult decision for us to make.  I congratulate all candidates for their thoughtful applications and also their confident and poised answers throughout the interview process.  We have such a depth of talent this year, it’s going to be an exciting group to watch as our Year 8 students take on other leadership roles such as School House Captains, Learning Ambassadors and Sport Leaders which will be selected and announced next week. 

The students we have selected as our Head & Deputy student leaders this year have a very diverse range of skills, talents, experience in leadership and energy to burn! They are passionate about Muritai School, about making a difference and about making a positive impact in their final year with us.  I am delighted to introduce to you from left to right: Luca Marshall Head Girl, Isobelle Fogerty and Jemima Tito Deputy Head Girls, Scott Barlow Head Boy and Max Bentley Deputy Head Boy. 

Home and School Meeting

Come along and connect with our great group of parents who assist the school with fundraising and community connection opportunities at the Still Room  on Tuesday the 9th March at 7:30pm. 

Road Safety - Let’s keep all of our children safe

Please do take note of the yellow lines around the school when you are parking or pulling over at drop off or pick up times.  I have had parents emailing me very concerned about some driver behaviour recently and I ask you all to be cautious, considerate and careful to keep our children safe.  

Firewise

Our Kororā and Tūī teams have been learning about being Firewise and as part of our ‘Village People’ WOW week we weren’t able to get out and about as much as we’d like, however we were able to welcome some of our local firefighters into the school today, along with their fire engine! 

 

Thank you to our ‘village people’ who have given their time to make our week of learning such a success!

Farewell Deane Mckay

Thank you to those who were able to join us last Friday as we farewelled Deane.  We had a wonderful farewell assembly and after school we held a present and past staff and Board farewell function and BBQ with Deane and his family. Today is Deane’s final day with us at Muritai School, and we wish him the best of luck in his move to Hamilton to begin his new role with Sport Waikato this weekend! All the best Deane!

Playground Repairs

Our playground is nearly back in action! The repairs are completed and we now await the dirt removal and arrival of soft fall bark before we open it back for use - hopefully by the middle of next week.  Thank you to all who have contributed to fundraising efforts over the past two years in order for us to repair and further develop our playground. 

Have a wonderful weekend, all and enjoy this lovely sunshine!

Good Quality Topsoil Available - this weekend only 

Do you need any topsoil? We are having the excess playground topsoil professionally removed on Monday, however if you would like to bring a car and a trailer (or a wheelbarrow and bucket!) into the school over the weekend please come on in anytime and take whatever you need.  We have removed the bollards so you only need to open the unlocked gates and drive on in. Please leave the bollards out for the next person. 

 

We ask that you please do not go onto the new playground or allow children onto the new playground as it is not yet safe without the soft fall bark underneath the equipment.  It is clearly fenced off with orange safety netting. 

 

 

Have a wonderful weekend, all and fingers crossed for Level 1 next week!

Ngā manaakitanga,

Bec Power, Principal

 

FROM THE BOARD

Hello Muritai Families,

The Muritai School Board of Trustees held its first meeting for 2021 this week and wish to update you on the outcomes.

Playground Update

You will have noticed that the playground refurbishment is well underway with the repairs being undertaken, and the addition of spin bars, the Pencarrow lighthouse and a fantastic new slide in place.  It is wonderful to see the children's design taking shape and we know they will be excited to get in there and try out the new equipment. We hope to have all of the soft fall bark delivered early next week, and to have the playground opened once this is placed under all equipment.  We will continue to further develop this space, with more additions and inclusive equipment that the children designed. 

Donation Information

You will be receiving your school donation and activity fee communication soon. As you are aware last year was very challenging for many families and continues to be so. This year we are introducing an option to make an additional contribution and any help you may be able to give will be greatly appreciated by the Board of Trustees and the wider school community.

Achievement Targets 2021 - Mathematics

Maths continues as our key focus area for 2021 both in professional development and as our achievement targets to closely monitor.  We continue to monitor all children’s progress in Reading, Writing and Maths, however for 2021 we will be looking closely at Mathematics with our targets as follows: 

1. Our goal is to accelerate the 17% of our students in Year 2-8 that are not yet achieving their end of year expectation in Maths  (65 students)  

2. Our goal is to accelerate the 27 % of our students in Year 4,  and the 28% of our students in Year 8 that are not yet achieving their end of year expectation in Maths (Year 4 = 14 students/Year 8 =  13 students)

3. Our goal is to accelerate the 30% of our students who identify as Māori in Year 2-8 that are not yet achieving their end of year expectations in Maths (9 students)

4. As part of our strategy in achieving these targets the teaching staff continue to work hard on their own Mathematical knowledge, understanding and practice too! An outline of the professional development focus with our teaching staff in Mathematics in 2021 is: 

• Upskilling our new and part time teachers in Term 1 
• Further building staff ability to connect knowledge into their classroom lessons
• The Maths team sharing examples of collaborative planning 
• The Maths team looking into Video analysis of maths practice for teachers
• Staff setting new maths goals for term 1 from the ‘Muritai Maths Teaching Matrix’
• Staff further developing their strand concept knowledge 
• Using the Maths Progressions created in 2020  to guide our own practice and use them alongside children to allow them to have knowledge of what they have learnt, what they are learning and what they are still to learn. 
• Noticing and Responding - Capturing progress and the effective use of formative assessment

Election of Board Chair

At the start of every year we elect a new Chair to act as our presiding member - except for the year when there are Board elections.  This year we congratulate Kaye Sherwin as she takes the role as our new Board Chair.  As our Board elections will take place next year, Kaye will remain our Chair right through until the new trustees take office.  We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Andrew Saunderson who has been our Board Chair for the last twelve months for his service and contribution to our school. Andrew will now be our Deputy Chair.  

Finally, although the year has started with some uncertainty we wish to acknowledge the calm and confident way the Muritai Staff have navigated the transitions in and out of Level 1 and 2. We are so fortunate to have such an amazing team at Muritai School who are working very hard to develop positive, supportive learning environments. It is a good time to reflect on how lucky we are here in New Zealand and respect the guidelines of the levels to keep our community and country safe and healthy. Above all remember to look out for one another - be kind.

Warm wishes 

Muritai School Board of Trustees

Kaye, Andrew,  Bec, Jeremy, Kurt, Lisa and Felicity.

 

FROM THE SCHOOL

MURITAI SPORTS

 

Non Stop Cricket

Non Stop cricket will now be held on Tuesday 9th March (fingers crossed).  Our teams have been selected with two Year 3/4 teams, two Year 5/6 teams and two Year 7/8 attending. We wish these teams good luck.

Capture the Flag Year 5-8 on 23 March

Notices went out this week and the cut off was today for the capture the flag teams. Unfortunately we are only allowed to select one team from each syndicate. We will be in touch if your child gets chosen.

Touch Rugby - Friday nights

We have had two weeks of Touch rugby. Muritai has 11 teams representing our school. This week was unfortunately cancelled due to COVID  except the Year 7/8 grade but hopefully the other years will be back next week. Touch teams at Muritai are put together in Term 4 and they play both Term 4 and Term 1 of the following year.

Winter Netball

Registrations are now open for winter Netball for Muritai. This competition is for Year 3-8. Please fill in the form if your child is interested in playing.

https://forms.gle/3tqYug7FXNg1RMHq8

 

TŪI AND KORORĀ SWIMMING 

What a great start to the year with Tūi swimming where children have developed their stroke technique and water confidence.  We celebrated the end of swimming this week with Tūi classes having some informal races and pool games! Children all had a blast and were excited to be able to do this at Level 2. 

Yesterday we ran the competitive Year 4 races. The children were amazing and were cheering and supporting each other during each race! Here are the places for the competitive races. 

Congratulations to all the children who took part in swimming this term. We look forward to the end of the year when we have lessons with the swimming coaches. 

 Team Kororā held their annual swimming festival this Wednesday at the Eastbourne Pool. The swimming festival celebrates the end of our swimming lessons and the events focus on water confidence and moving in the water. Classes went down to the pool one at a time and children participated in events in the junior pool. Children pushed a ball with their nose as they ran across the pool, they jumped along using pool noodles, kicked with a flutter board and dived for objects. Team Kororā did a fantastic job and had a lot of fun! Thanks to the junior teachers for a great event.

TERM DATES 2021 

Our Term dates have been agreed for 2021 as follows: 

Term 1 4 February to 16 April

Term 2 3 May to 9 July

Term 3 26 July to 1 October

Term 4 18 October to 16 December

Our 2021 Teacher Only Days are still to be set.

 

COMMUNITY NOTICES - Please  Note the following notices have been requested to be published and are not necessarily  endorsed by us as a school.  In the spirit of community we include these digitally for you to peruse. 

½ Price Kids Entry at Staglands on Children’s Day

 Staglands Wildlife Reserve will be celebrating Children’s Day on Sunday 7th March by offering ½ PRICE ENTRY into The Reserve for ALL CHILDREN.

In addition to their usual attractions visitors can enjoy free off-road tractor-trailer rides.  So if you are looking for a fun Children’s day outing for the whole family; meet at Staglands and Connect with Nature on Sunday 7th March.

*Offer is not available with any other offer.   Children (0-16 years) must be accompanied by paying adult.

For more information visit www.staglands.co.nz

 

Term 1 Lunch time French at Muritai

• Experience French learning the fun way! Children speak French from the first lesson

• For all ages, lessons once a week, lots of interactive activities, role play, crafts, active games and music

• Free trial lesson.  

• Includes a membership starter pack of materials to use at home

• For more details contact Stefi on stefi@lcfclubs.co.nz  or 021 178 2099

see website www.lcfclubs.co.nz