Wednesday 12 March

Kia ora koutou,

As we approach week 7 next week we can see that we are on the other half of the term. Time really does fly at a primary school.  We welcome Briar Dupont and Ethan Cowley in Room 3 who started at Muritai School recently.

Towards the end of this term we have our first reporting to parents phase. For parents in year 3 - 8 we will share results from term 1 'testing' and feedback progress the children are making this year. For the year 3 children requiring anniversary reporting on national standards this will be done at this time. These will be held in week 10 and are set for Tuesday 8th and Wednesday 9th April. Booking times will be available in the next newsletter.

We are pleased with how much dialogue we have with parents on student progress. This is a key issue nationally - parental engagement. While Muritai has plenty, some schools have very little. Evidence shows that when parents show a strong interest in their children's education, children progress well. 

We appreciate the children being well prepared for school and keeping up the other aspects of learning after school, such as playing sport, doing things as a family and being active in their community. Please keep an eye on their tiredness. Kids do get tired very easily and we need them fresh and focused at school to progress in their learning. School is very busy and the children do a lot during the school day.

As you can see from this newsletter the event schedule is starting to build up. A date to book into your diaries is the school cross country which we are holding at the end of this term on Tuesday 15th April. Extra activities fit within the category of education outside the classroom. For many children these special events are the things they love the most and provide a good chance for the children to 'grow' in different ways. We do try to manage opportunities so they don't impinge too much on classroom learning.

Overall we are thrilled with how the children and the school is sitting after the first half of this term and we look forward to a successful run through to the holiday season at Easter.

Upcoming events -

Friday 14 March - School assembly 1.40

Wednesday 19 March - Starting school at 5  at 7.00pm in the staffroom

Wednesday 26 March - Life Education bus here / Zone swimming sports for Y4-6

Friday 28 March - School assembly 1.40

Friday 28 March - Touch Finals

Wednesday 3 April - Y4/6 Inter Zone Swimming Sports

Tuesday 8 April - Y3-8 student achievement family interviews

Wednesday 9 April - Y3-8 student achievement family interviews

Friday 11 April - School assembly 1.40 

Tuesday 15th April - Whole school cross country event 9.30ish

Thursday 17th April - last day of term.

FOREST LAKES CAMP 2014

Forest Lakes Camp was a fabulous success.  Despite the weather looking a little harrowing at times, the children had a great time, pushing their boundaries, experiencing new things and building relationships within the year 5/6 community.  Some of the highlights this year included yet again another fabulous parents skit where parents dressed up as the teachers and proceeded to dance mightily to “what did the fox say”. The main highlight for the children was of course the water activities including the mud slide, water slide and raft building.  All the children returned exhausted but invigorated and the parents and teachers worked well together to create yet another great camp experience.

We would like to say a very big thank you to our year 5 and 6 syndicate teachers for all their hard work and enthusiasm at camp.

GOVERNMENT HOUSE

On Friday 7th March our school student leaders went to the Government House in Wellington, to learn more about the role of the Governor General as a leader.

Our tour guide’s name was Heather who showed us around the beautiful house. Firstly, our tour guide explained what the Governor General does and what Government house was all about. We learned that the Government made the laws and passed them on to the Governor General who then decides whether to allow this new law or not. When we walked into the house we were amazed at the beauty and the perfection of everything! The Governor General had just arrived home from Auckland. We knew this because the flag was at the top of the mast and we met his chauffeur who just dropped him off in his very fancy car!

(Todd Wellwood)

ZONE ATHLETICS INTERMEDIATE

A wonderful day at Hutt Rec yesterday where 34 Year 7-8 children took part in the local Zone Athletics competition.  We had some great results as follows:-

Year 7 Girls	100m	Macey Caughley 1st
		Helena Cvitanovich 4th
	200m	Macey Caughley 1st
		Sofia Dickson 3rd
	400m	Ella Giles 1st
	800m	Macey Caughley 1st
	Long Jump	Helena Cvitanovich 4th
	High Jump	Angelina Hardy 2nd
	Vortex	Paige Schroder 3rd
	Relay	First
Year 7 Boys	100m	Alexander Cox-Turk 5th
	Relay	Fourth
Year 8 Girls	200m	Mia Treadwell-Burke 5th
	400m	Mia Treadwell-Burke 5th
	800m	Milly Griffiths 5th
	High Jump	Emeline Gray 3rd
	Shot Put	Brianna Kirkham 4th
	Relay	Third

Well done to all our athletes.  

CROSS COUNTRY

Children will be swapping their togs for running shoes next week as we start preparing for our Cross Country running competition scheduled for Tuesday 15 April.  Can you please ensure your child wears appropriate shoes for their training every day.

HEALTH

With the onset of colder weather we are seeing more absences with children suffering from colds and some kind of tummy bug.  As a rule, children should not return to school in the 24 hours following vomiting or a bout of diarrhoea.  This helps to limit the transmission of bugs.  Please remember to let the school office know that your child is away sick.

The Ministry of Health has also asked schools to pass on messages about measles, an outbreak of which has occurred in the northern North Island. The Ministry says that between late December 2013 and 24 February 2014, there have been 47 confirmed measles cases reported in New Zealand: 29 in Auckland, fifteen in Bay of Plenty/ Lakes, and three in Wellington. Some of these cases have been in pre-school aged children. A total of eight cases have required hospitalisation to date. They say that most cases have occurred in unimmunised people, and immunisation remains the best way to prevent infection and spread within the community. There is further information on the Ministry of Health website. 

CHANGES TO SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB

Muritai School has been chosen to pilot Scholastics new book club procedures.  You will still receive brochures as per normal BUT now you DO NOT need to send the order forms back to school.  It's all done online and Scholastic have made it really easy.  Once you have registered at https://www.txtpay.co.nz/VPos/ScholasticOrder.aspx  then it's just a matter of logging in for each order.  Follow the simple steps to select the item you want with payment via your credit or debit card.  

FOUND

One gold bracelet, found on the school grounds a couple of weeks ago.  If you are missing a bracelet, please see Carole or Jo in the office and see if it is yours.

COMMUNITY NOTICES

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Lost Scooter

Tim Michael has had his scooter taken from school - a blue Grit scooter with his name underneath.  If you find it, can you please bring it to the school office.

Wellington Festival of Education

Be inspired by a fun and free day out at the Wellington Festival of Education, 10am – 4pm, Saturday March 29, at TSB Bank Arena, Shed 6 and Frank Kitts Park. Enjoy performances from NZ’s Got Talent winner Renee Maurice, K-Pop singing sensation Emily Mwila, and local Wellington school groups, alongside fun activities, interactive demonstrations and talks from world experts in education – all FREE. Other highlights include learning a language in just fifteen minutes, brushing up on cycle skills with Pedal Ready, making seed bombs with Wellington Zoo and story time with a well-known Wellingtonian. Come celebrate our innovative education sector!