Wednesday 25 June

Kia ora koutou,

As term 2 draws to a close we are very excited about the commencement of the construction of the school library. This is a 3-stage project that involves a new library, the conversion of the old library into a teaching space with break out rooms, and a large ‘learning deck’ off the lower floor of the middle block. You can see the plans of the project by clicking here. The expectation is the new library will be up and running by the end of November with the new classroom and deck finished by the beginning of term 1 next year.

MRS RYAN

We are very proud to congratulate Barbara Ryan who has been awarded a Primary School Teaching Fellow Alumni Award. The award is worth $10,000 split between some PD opportunities for Barbara and some science resources for the school. This is the culmination of some outstanding leadership from Barbara at Muritai to promote and drive science curriculum learning opportunities across the school. Well done Barbara.

MID–YEAR REPORTING

We are just putting the finishing touches to our reporting to parents and on Friday mid-year written reports will be issued for all students (except Mrs Ryan's class). Children in year 1, 2 and 3 who are around their anniversary/birthday, and therefore have completed 1 year, 2 years or 3 years, will receive an anniversary report indicating their overall attainment below, at or above the national standard.  Most of our children will receive a progress report indicating how they are tracking toward achieving the National Standard for the year that they are in.

The written report identifies your child’s progress and achievement using a 5 point scale ranging from well below to well above against the expected year levels of the NZ curriculum. Rather than just focussing on reading, writing and maths, we aim to cover all areas of the curriculum, including work and study skills and the key competencies. The report gives you feedback as to how well your child is tracking towards meeting the end of year national standard.

Next Thursday from 3:00-6:00 we have our ‘Celebration of Learning’.  Children will guide their parents through their learning journeys. Teachers will be on hand for any clarification required. These sessions take place next Thursday 3 July from 3pm until 6pm.  Children's day-to-day learning and class work is a very important part of reporting improvements for the children. It gives them a chance to share their achievements with you, to reflect on their own growth and helps them self-review their own progress  together with the teachers report.  

The key thing however is to continue those ongoing conversations about your child's strengths and weaknesses and understand future learning goals for the next phase of learning. So far we have a 98% parent contact rate throughout the year and this frequent contact is appreciated. As always, if at any time you would like to meet your child's teacher to discuss any issue or progress, please feel comfortable to contact them directly to set up a suitable meeting time.

MR. MCMILLAN

Congratulations to Murray McMillan and his partner Kate who welcome their new daughter Rose to their family last week .

SENIOR SCHOOL OPEN AFTERNOON

The Senior School will be holding an open afternoon next Thursday from 1.30 to 3pm. This is an opportunity for parents of Year 5 and 6 children (or parents at other levels) to come along and get a taste of what goes on in our Year 7 and 8 area. For this afternoon session our students will be involved in their 'Multi-Curriculum' rotation, which involves Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Science and Physical Education. 

Just after 3pm we will be running a short presentation in Room 21 which will give you further insight into our programme.  Our bi-annual Science Fair will also be on show in the school hall on this afternoon. You are more than welcome to attend any or all of the events outlined above. Here is a summary of how the afternoon is set out :-

1.30 - 3pm: Senior School classes open for you to visit.

3 - 3.45pm: Senior School presentation with Stu Devenport and school leaders

From here you can go on to the 'Celebrations of Learning.'

BOOK FAIR

Next Monday to Wednesday from 3pm to 4pm we will be holding our Scholastic Book Fair and Thursday, the book fair will run to coincide with our Celebration of Learning - 3pm to 6pm.  This is a great opportunity for parents to browse and purchase Scholastic books with the school receiving 30% of all sales.  Last year the school sold over $3,000 of books and received almost $1,000 worth of books for our Library.

We are looking for volunteers to help run the Book Fair between 3 and 4pm.  Please call the office and leave your name with Carole or Jo if you are able to help.

YEAR 5 AND 6 SPEECH FINALS

Today the Year 5/6 syndicate are hosting their annual Speech Competition semi-finals.  This marks the conclusion of a long process where every child was required to plan, prepare and deliver a 3-5 minutes speech to their class.  Finalists have been selected from each class and will present their speeches to the whole syndicate.  We look forward to letting you know the results in our next Bird's Eye View.

KAPA HAKA GROUP

After an excellent performance in assembly on Friday the Muritai School Kapa Haka roopu went to Randwick School on Monday for another performance in preparation for the Polynesian Festival. It was great to see another school’s group in action and to see our students rise to the occasion. We now have a much better idea of the standard expected of us and will make sure we shine at ‘Polyfest.’ 

The Polynesian Festival is a 2-night festival at Walter Nash Stadium celebrating the wide variety of cultures within schools in the wider Hutt Valley. Muritai School will be performing alongside 8 other schools on the second night, Wednesday 2^nd July, 6:00-8:00. 

ENVIROSCHOOL - DUNE PLANTING

On Friday 20th of June, the Senior Enviro Ambassadors and a small handful of year 3 & 4 Dune Leaders went down to the beach near San Antonio School and weeded a small patch of dunes that we have “adopted”. We met up with Judith, who is a member of the Eastbourne Dune Protection Society, and we weeded around the dunes. It was a fun and educational experience. Over the next few weeks we will be planting more native dune plants in our patch. 

If you have the chance to go to the beach down that way, please admire the hard work and effort put in by the students

Willow Forbes - Enviro Group Leader

YEAR 4-6 ZONE CROSS COUNTRY

Our students did a fantastic job representing our school and the Central Zone at the InterZone Cross Country event yesterday at Sladden Park. We had some awesome results.  Congratulations to our place getters:-

Year 4 Girls - Greta Woolloff - 2nd Place, Esme Daley - 12th Place

Year 4 Boys - Harry Rookes - 5th place

Year 5 Girls - Chelsea Summers - 5th place, Emily Jones - 6th place

Year 5 Boys - Jack Evans - 6th place, Henry Evans - 10th place, Ryan Swift - 12th place

Year 6 Girls - Charlotte Humphries - 1st place, Samantha Woolley - 4th place, Zali Young - 10th place

Year 6 Boys - Theo Jones - 10th place.

The following students have been selected to represent the LHPSSA at the Regional Cross Country event, in Waikanae, next week:

Greta Woolloff, Harry Rookes, Chelsea Summers, Emily Jones , Jack Evans, Henry Evans , Charlotte Humphries , Samantha Woolley , Zali Young, Theo Jones.

MEASLES

We have received notification from the Regional Public Health that there has been a worrying increase in the number of measles cases in the Waikato region, with a large outbreak of 53 cases at Fraser High School anc cases at other schools in Hamilton.  There have been 182 measles cases in New Zealand this year; 33 of these people had to go to hospital.  There are no cases of measles in the Wellington region at the moment.

Before people develop the measles rash they are very infectious and can pass the illness on to others.  Outbreaks of measles in other regions of New Zealand could start quickly.  Parents should be mindful that travel to and from Wellington in the July school holidays could means families and children are in contact with measles, especially if:

·       People are traveling to Auckland and Waikato, or have children from these areas coming to stay

·       Your child is involved in inter-school sports touranments and events or going to ski field

·       You are planning travel to Vietnam or the Philippines where there are on-going measles outbreaks.

More information can be found at PublicRegional Health.

AFTER SCHOOL CARE HOLIDAY PROGRAMME

There are limited spaces available for the up-coming holiday programme.  Hangdog Indoor Rock Climbing  and Indoor Rollerskating, Gross Out Day and Dynamic Drumming are just a few of the events.  You can book on-line or pick up a brochure from the school office.

Upcoming Dates

Friday 27 June          Assembly 1.45; Reports go home

Monday 30 June       Matariki

Tuesday 1 July         Kapa haka roopu walk through at Walter Nash

                                  Year 4-6 regional cross country in Waikanae

Wednesday 2 July    Kapa haka roopu perform at Lower Hutt Polynesian Festival 7pm

Thursday 3 July        Year 5-6 Speech finals

                                  Year 7-8 Open afternoon

                                  Celebrations of learning 3pm – 6pm

Friday 4 July             Last day of term

Next terms dates -

Term 3 =  Monday 21 July - Friday 26 September

Term 4 =  Monday 13 October - Thursday 18 December

The next teacher only day in 2014 is at Labour Weekend

COMMUNITY NOTICES

California Dreamers presents "The Fabulous Swingers Party"

Saturday 28 June - 7pm at the Days Bay Pavilion.  Sexy Cocktails, Fab 60's Food, Groovy Music.  Tickets $55pp for a Champagne Cocktail, Fondues, Horse D'oevre and a World-Class Show!  Tickets Strictly Limited.  Book at the Pavilion, Ph 04 562 775.

Learn to Play Tennis - Holiday Programme For Primary School Children, supported by HVTA.

Dates: Monday 14, Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 July, 2014. (wet or fine)

Venue: Mitchell Park (Mitchell Street, Lower Hutt)

Timetable:     9.00am-10.00 am- Girls from 5-8 years old

                      10.00am-11.00 am- Boys from 5-8 years old

                      11.00am-12.00 noon- Girls from 9 years +

                      1.00pm-2.00 pm- Boys from 9 years +

Cost: $32-00 for the 3 days. Money to be paid on the first day.

Registration: Contact Gary Nelson –Ph. 5897178 or Email - a.nelson@xtra.co.nz

Note: Enrolments must be received by- Monday 7 July, 2014. EARLY ENROLMENT is advised as this programme is very popular and the first 12 enrolments in each age group will be accepted.

Babysitter Available

My name is Jasmine Henwood.  I am available to look after your kids anytime.  I am 33 years old.  Please give me a call on 562 7009 or text me 021 171 6721.  The rate is $10 per hour.

Fun Lunch time French

Now taking enrolments for Term 3 2014, starting in week 2.

Classes are held once a week at lunch time, on Tuesday or Thursday. Lots of games, fun activities, crafts, and music to help learning. The best way for kids to learn a language is through play.

For more information or to register ring Stefi Plimmer-Blattner on 562 8211 or email:  stefi@funlanguages.co.nz