WEDNESDAY 21 DECEMBER 2016

Kia Ora, Talofa Lava, Greetings, Malo e Lelei, Kia Orana, Bonjour,


FROM THE PRINCIPAL
It’s hard to believe that the end of the year has arrived and that this will be my last Maureen’s Musings. What an amazing two weeks we have just had - It’s certainly been full on, but lots of fun and fabulous learning has also taken place.


We’ve welcomed Bec and her family with a lovely powhiri and our Kapahaka group did a wonderful performance for this. Our Year 8’s have been to Abel Tasman for an amazing adventure and have enjoyed a wide range of farewell activities on their return culminating in the fantastic formal evening held in their honour. Thank you very much to those people who gave up their time to decorate the hall, which looked magical and for making and serving the food and refreshments.


The following prizes were awarded to our Year 8 students.


Class of 61 Cup - “Outstanding Contribution to Muritai School” - Yasmin Kerr
Kirsty and Isabella Clarke Cup - “Positive contribution to Muritai School” - Emma Littlefair
Abel Tasman Cup - “Risen to the challenge” - Nina Owles
Booth Family Cup - “The Student’s Student” - Nina Owles
Newton Family Cup - ‘Service to the School” - Shannyn Thompson
Beck Family Cup - ‘Sporting successes” - Boy - Tom Griffiths Girl - Laura Hardy
The Mills Cup - “Contribution to the Arts” - Nina Owles
Swain Family Cup - “ Leadership and Contribution to Sport” - Fletcher Tornquist
Environmental Leadership - ‘Earthcare award for endeavour in environment” - Auriel Lewis
Debbie Bertaud Memorial Cup - “Commitment to Science and Technology” - George Travers
Stotter Family Cup - “All round student who excelled in the sporting and cultural life with a smile and positive attitude” - Charlotte McFarlane-Karl
Jacobsen Cup - “Excellence in Mathematics” - Boy - Ethan Hester Girl - Emily Braithwaite
The Broadbent Cup - “Excellence in Literacy” - Mia Lowe
Principal Cup - “Determination, resilience and loyalty” - Saxon Forbes
Eastbourne Community Trust Leadership Cup - Emma Littlefair
Teacher’s Cup - “A joy to teach and an asset to the Senior School” - Fergus Hart
Board of Trustees Award - “Improvement in Year 8” - Boy - Daan Tokeley Girl - Holly Fahey
Endeavour Award - “Tried their best in everything - academic, sports, the arts, conduct” -
Boy - Tom Griffiths Girl - Nina Owles
Kyle Sturgess Cup - Music - Nina Owles
Academic Prize - ‘Consistent academic excellence across a range of subject areas”
Boy - Joshua Toomath Girl - Lea Pummer
Nicholas Bahler Award - “Empathy and Kindness to others who have physical, mental or social challenges” - Boy - Daan Tokeley, Girl - Shannyn Thompson
The Malama Cup - “The inspiring visionary - strives to be the best they can be through hard work and determination” - Tilly Potter
Reliability Cup - “Pou Whirinaki” - Tilly Potter
Kapahaka - Tom Griffiths
Pointin Cup - “Speeches and debating” - Mia Lowe
Overcoming Difficulties with enormous success - Tim Michael
Creative Flair - Laura Tucker
Personal Growth - Katie Beevers


The rest of the school have been involved in a fabulous array of Education Outside the Classroom activities - The Year 7’s had a wonderful camping experience at Mt Holdsworth, while our Year 5 and 6 students were involved in triathlons, bumper ball, fencing, a talent show, Master Chef, the Amazing race and activities at Day’s Bay.


The Year 3 and 4 team did a bike and ride day, a ‘smarts’ day, played water games, made sunhats and healthy sandwiches along with doing some fun craft activities.


The Junior School did their athletics, had a lovely Christmas concert, made Christmas crafts, visited and had fun at the new Avalon Park playground and also had a party.


Our students are so lucky and a huge thank you goes to all the parents and other adults who have helped out with any of these activities.


The reports, class lists and stationery have gone home and the students have met both their old and new friends who will be in their 2017 classroom as well as meeting their new teacher.  Our classes may be organised either as a straight class or as a composite class. This is due to uneven numbers of students at each age level. Research shows that composite classes, which are two year levels, e.g. Year 5 and 6 together in one classroom, achieve as effective learning as those in single level classes. A child works at their ability level, irrespective of their age. Next year room 4 will be a Year 1 and 2 composite class and all students in Years 5 to 8 will also be in composite classes.


The senior management team presented the Achievement data in reading, writing and mathematics to the Board of Trustees at their recent meeting. I am extremely delighted with the strong results in each of these curriculum areas right across the school. The teachers and students have worked extremely hard and have raised the achievement to an even higher level than last year, which is absolutely incredible. Thanks also goes to the parents and families who have continually supported the learning of their child at home on a daily basis. Please ensure that your child continues to practice their skills over the holidays.


We had an amazing leavers assembly for both staff and students who won’t be returning to Muritai next year. We send our best wishes to all the students going onto other schools whether local or overseas. Special thanks to those parents and caregivers, particularly those whose last child is leaving us -  thank you for your contribution to Muritai School over the years in whatever capacity that has been - fundraising, on the stalls at the Carnival, a Home and School committee or Board of Trustee member, playing taxi to your child and their team mates for the arts or sporting events, adult help on camps and class trips, baking, making props etc - the list is endless. It has been very much appreciated.
Staff members that we farewelled and thanked were Mr Richard Dobson, Ms Imogen Wallace, Mrs Lesley Lowe, Mrs Robyn Wellwood, Mrs Alison Furminger, Mrs Liz Knowles, Mrs Carol Algar, Mrs Fiona Ranchod, Mr Carl Woodhams, Mrs Barbara Griffiths, Mr Brent Skinnon and Mr Jack Griffiths for their commitment and work undertaken that has made a difference to our students. We wish them all the best in their future endeavours.


We welcome the return of Mrs Heather Mawby, Ms Nicolette Fisher, Ms Jessica Cowley, Mrs Christa Pitman and Mrs Raewyn Roberts who joined us during this year. We are also looking forward to Ms Melissa Coton coming back after her six month Science Fellowship.


It is also my pleasure to announce the appointment of a new teacher, Mr Anton Norman who will be teaching a Year 5 and 6 class in room 12 not room 14 as previously stated.


Anton has a bubbly personality and is passionate about teaching. He particularly enjoys teaching science, inquiry learning, extension mathematics and drama. He loves the theatre and music and is an accomplished opera singer. He is also interested in psychology, both brain and behavioural along with international cultures and speaks Swedish fluently. We look forward to him joining our teaching team next year along with Bec.


The Menz shed are currently building a boxed garden for our Sensory Garden. This will be planted early in the new year with thanks going to the Brownsword family for their donation of the design plan, plants and time. The finished garden will be on the field next to room 17 and be of benefit to all our students.


I would like to take this opportunity to warmly thank all the parents, caregivers, staff and students for your support this year and especially during the past six months while I have been acting Principal. I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and it has been a pleasure to work alongside you and get to know more students from the wider school. I feel very happy at what has been accomplished this year and look forward to teaching in room 3 again next year.  Thank you so much for the lovely words, generous gifts and your kindness. I have really appreciated it. I am available by email over the summer if there is anything you wish to discuss. Thank you also to the Board of Trustees for all the work that they have done this year too. They have done very well, as they are all new to their roles. It is a huge responsibility and extremely time consuming. Last but not least, I give my sincere thanks to Carole and Jo in the office who are absolutely outstanding and have been wonderful to work with.


Best wishes to all our parents and families for Christmas and 2017. I hope you manage to have a wonderful holiday with your children and that they come back refreshed ready to start on Thursday February 2nd.


Kind regards
Maureen Buckley
Acting Principal


FROM THE BOARD


Many thanks to Maureen Buckley for her steady hand over the past five months as acting principal through earthquakes and floods. Also huge thanks to Carole and Jo in the office for stepping into the breach & leading a vibrant carnival despite weather challenges - along with the wonderful carnival committee of volunteers.


Thanks also to all teachers, aides, learning support teachers, support staff and parent volunteers who work so hard to support our school and children's learning, you are so very much appreciated.


Learning support and reading recovery have been particularly effective this year, supporting more students than ever to successfully progress their learning.


Student achievement in 2016.
Muritai students continue to achieve at a high level across reading, writing and maths - those areas which must be tracked against national standards. Of course they also achieve wonderful things in sports, arts, science, engineering and caring for each other and our environment too.


In 2016, our school-wide aspiration was to have 95 percent 'at' or 'above' national standards in reading; 90 percent 'at' or 'above' national standards in writing and 90 percent 'at' or 'above' national standards in maths. These were higher targets than previous years and do reflect very high aspirations when measured against  the New Zealand-wide average of 78 percent at or above in reading; 75.4 percent at or above in writing and 71.4 percent at or above in maths.


This year, Muritai students achieved:


Reading: 91 percent at or above the standard (compared to 90 percent last year)
Writing: 84 percent at or above the standard (compared to 81 percent last year)
Mathematics: 85 percent at or above the standard, (compared to 83 percent last year)
Maori students achieved high equity across these areas.
It is also worth mentioning that 100 percent of year twos achieved at or above national standards in reading.


This is a great result, especially as behind these statistics lie complex realities involving a range of learning needs. While our aspirational targets have not always been met, there have been significant shifts across all year groups particularly in junior reading and writing, and the results reflect a very high-performing school.


The broader progress of individual students during the year is captured in their class reports.


2017
Next year, staff are planning to introduce a wider range of teaching techniques around writing, particularly for boys who continue to lag behind girls generally in this area.  Teachers have expressed desire to develop their teaching skills with ongoing professional development in many areas.


Professional development in mathematical problem-solving approaches using Numicon will include teacher aides next year as well as teachers, to better reach students with special needs.


Learning support teacher Lisa Allen, who works with more than 50 Muritai students, is being supported to undertake SPELD training for dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities such as ADHD, dyspraxia and dyscalculia in 2017 which is a huge commitment for her and will be of great benefit to Muritai.


Science is also a big focus next year, with the return of senior syndicate teacher Melissa Coton from her Royal Society fellowship at Zealandia, Along with junior syndicate teacher and leading science educator Barbara Ryan, also a previous Royal Society fellow, she will be running workshops for other Muritai teachers, supported by the society, using the new STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) room.
Finances:
Firstly a huge thank you to all who have paid their donations this year. We have received to date 76 percent, or $92,568. As a decile 10 school we receive little government support and rely heavily on the support of our community - that's you! For the 24 percent yet to pay, we would hugely appreciate receiving it in the new year - that's another $30,000 we can invest in teachers, aides, professional development and other resources.
Next year, we will be investigating more convenient options for payment.
Keeping classes sizes down and inclusiveness continues to be a priority for this board. However, with carnival income down by more than 50 percent on 2014 due to poor weather, lower donation rates than previous yeas and the high number of teacher aides required to support all students, small classes have not always been possible in 2017, particularly in years 5 & 6.
Facing a tough financial position, the board opted for four classes in the late 20s rather than five in the early 20s. Some late arrivals have also bumped up the numbers. Maureen is available to discuss any issues with parents.
Finally, your views on Muritai - the good, the bad & the ugly - have been shared with the incoming principal and will be addressed in the year to come, once Bec has had a chance to settle in. We will keep you posted. Have a fantastic break, and - in the words of acting principal Maureen Buckley - "stop the summer slide". so keep those children reading and writing - and maybe even doing maths -  while they laze at the beach, pool or bush!


FROM THE SCHOOL


HOME AND SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Muritai Home and School committee is an enthusiastic, energetic group of parents who support Muritai School throughout the year.
Our objective is to provide a link between the children, the home and parents/caregivers, the school and Board of Trustees. We also support the school through fundraising and social events.


Joining the Committee is a great way to meet new friends, particularly for those who are new in school or the area and who have an interest in the activities of their children at
It is a fantastic way to support your school and become involved in your children's education.


We are looking for a new chairperson for 2017 and some additional new members, there will be a meeting at the beginning of term 1 next year.


Please contact Hannah Watkins via email at hanniwatkins@gmail.com or mobile 0221306640 if you are interested or would like more information


Do you have experience applying for grants? maybe you have applied for a grant through a Playcentre , Kindy or School.
Muritai Home and School Committee are looking for you!
If you are interested in this role please contact Hannah Watkins at hanniwatkins@gmail.com or mobile 022 1306640.
Many Thanks, Home and School


SCARLET FEVER
Please be aware that there have been a couple of cases of children with scarlet fever at Muritai School.  Scarlet fever is an illness that sometimes occurs when your child gets strep throat. Kids with scarlet fever have a sore throat, high fever, rash, and a ‘strawberry tongue’.  Kids from five to fifteen are most at risk for contracting scarlet fever. Scarlet fever was once considered a life-threatening illness, but antibiotics have made it far less intimidating.
Scarlet fever can be prevented with thorough hand washing and by avoiding people who have the illness.  Teach your children to wash their hands often and don’t share drinking cups and eating utensils.
Scarlet fever is a serious condition so please see your doctor immediately if your child has any of these symptoms.  If your child has scarlet fever, keep them home until they are better to prevent the illness from spreading.


TERM DATES FOR 2017
Term 1 = Thursday 2 February - Thursday 13 April (Easter)
Term 2 = Monday 1 May - Friday 7 July
Term 3 = Monday 24 July - Friday 29 September
Term 4 = Monday 16 October - Tuesday 19 December


We have a teacher only day at Queen’s Birthday on Tuesday 6 June


COMMUNITY NOTICES

FRIDAY 2 DECEMBER 2016

Kia Ora, Talofa Lava, Greetings, Malo e Lelei, Kia Orana

A very warm welcome to Leo Reed and Ruby Fenwick and their families as they join our school family. We also give a huge welcome to Bec Power and her family to Muritai.

FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Wow - it’s hard to believe that there are only two more weeks of the term to go. The time has certainly flown by and summer is finally here. Last weekend of course was the fantastic Carnival! A huge thank you to the committee for the tireless amount of work that they did to make it such a successful day in spite of the trying weather conditions that occurred during the morning. There was a lovely community feel and the students absolutely loved it and are still talking about what they did. We will now be able to purchase some amazing resources like robotics for example to use with students in our STEAM room, which will be very exciting indeed so thank you all very much.

Education Outside the Classroom programmes have been planned and are getting underway next week. There are a multitude of amazing activities for the students to do and classroom teachers will let you know the finer details. We wish our Year 8’s well as they are off on the ferry to Picton early on Monday morning for their Abel Tasman adventures while our Juniors are learning some songs in readiness for their annual Christmas Concert and afternoon tea next Thursday afternoon at 1.30 p.m. in the hall.

I have had the pleasure of reading over four hundred student reports in the past week and am delighted with the fantastic progress that students have made throughout the year. There are some comments regarding next learning steps for students to achieve so that they continue to attain their current levels and suggestions on what else they need to do to be above the National Standard. They will be bringing them home to you next Friday afternoon so please praise their wonderful efforts.

Thank you to all those parents and families who came to school on Monday night for the ‘Celebration of Learning.’ It was lovely to see the students so engaged in sharing their learning and is a very valuable part of our reporting process.

I would like to reassure our families that we have contingency plans in place for  emergencies whether this is earthquakes, fire, tsunami, lockdown procedures etc and we do drills to practice these on a regular basis with all the students. When the fire alarm goes the students automatically drop to the ground like a turtle and cover their heads and can be seen doing this both inside and outside in the playground. We can get all our students safely up the McKenzie track within seven minutes if necessary. Classrooms have emergency supplies and we supervise your child until you are able to safely collect them from us however long that may be. The engineers did a thorough inspection of our buildings following the large earthquake and all was good. If you would like to see the report please don’t hesitate to contact me. Some parents have been a bit anxious about going to the pool. The council has had the Eastbourne pool and buildings checked so our swimming programme has continued.  It is an opportune time, however, for everyone to ensure that Jo in the office has your correct cell phones numbers and emergency contact details. Please also read the notice further in this newsletter from the Eastbourne Community Board.

I have been working on the staffing for next year and this week reluctantly accepted the
resignation of Richard Dobson, one of our Associate Principals. He has taught here for the past ten years and will be greatly missed but we wish him congratulations on his new role in a Senior leadership position overseeing the Year 3 and 4 area at Kelburn Normal School. At the end of the year Mr Carl Woodhams and Mrs Carol Algar will also be leaving as they head overseas to teach for 2017 and return in 2018.

We also say farewell and a huge thank you to Lesley Lowe and Imogen Wallace who have been fantastic teacher aides supporting the learning of some of our students for many years. Lesley and her family are going back to Britain while Imogen and her family will be heading up to the Kapiti Coast allowing her more time to undertake further studies. I am in the process of interviewing for new staff and will let you know when these are confirmed.

Teaching staff have been sorting out the class placements for next year. This is a huge task  and one in which learning needs for each child are carefully considered. It is an extremely difficult and time consuming task but we do accommodate everyone within the constraints that we have to work around to the best that we can. We try to get a balance of gender, academic abilities and strengths in sports, arts, ICT for example in each classroom. We are looking at the whole picture whereas some parents tend to focus just on their child’s friendship groups while others focus on their academic learning or particular teachers. We know initially that some students and/or parents may be disappointed when they get the lists but this is usually temporary. Teachers work with the students to build their resilience and create a wonderful learning environment together while parents can support them by continuing with play dates outside of school and discussing change in a positive way. Copies of the class lists will be coming home to you next Friday afternoon with your child at 3 p.m. along with their report and stationery requirements for next year. Please refrain from opening the letters in the school playground after school and do not ask teachers for them earlier. Any student who is absent will have theirs posted out on Friday.

On Monday December 12th, all students will go to their usual classes and then they will spend time in the classroom that they will be going into next year to meet their next teacher and do an activity with their old and new classmates before returning to their usual class for the rest of the week.

On Tuesday December 13th I cordially invite all parents, families and members of our community who have helped with any of the learning programmes this year to join the staff and myself for morning tea at 10.30 a.m. in the library so we can thank you for your wonderful ongoing support.

We are looking forward to seeing you tomorrow morning at 9.20 a.m. as we welcome Bec.

Have a great weekend.
Maureen Buckley
Acting Principal

FROM THE SCHOOL

EARLY FINISH LAST DAY OF SCHOOL
We will be closing at 1pm on Friday 16 December.  There will be no school buses.  Please ensure you pick up your children at this time and have a wonderful Christmas holiday.

EPRO8 CHALLENGE
Muritai School are incredibly proud of all our Epro8 teams. One Year 5-6 and both Year 7-8 teams made it all the way through to the grand final! The Y7-8s placed 1st and 2nd in both the first round and semi-finals. These students displayed unwavering determination, resilience and sportsmanship. They gave it their all in the finals against incredibly tough competition from all over the Wellington region, which included teams all the way up to Masterton. There were 150+ teams competing in this tournament, with three Muritai teams placing in the top 12 of their respective tournaments.


REGIONAL ATHLETICS
Muritai School had a number of athletes (13 in total) compete at the Regional Athletics event on Tuesday.  It was a tough day with the best results being our Year 5 Girls relay team and our Year 6 Boys relay team placing 2nd in their races.  

Y6 Boys Relay team: Jack Roche, Fraser Belliss, Joe Dickson, Luca McKay


CONGRATULATIONS SAGE!
Congratulations to Sage Pettus who gained Distinction for her ABRSM Grade 3 piano exam. Sage gained 138 marks out of the possible 150. This is an extraordinarily high result. Awesome achievement Sage!

SCHOOL TRAPS
If you have a school rat trap at your home, could you please return it to school before the end of next week.
Thank you, Carol Algar

SOUTHERN RIMUTAKA AERIAL PROJECT
We have received information from the Greater Wellington Regional Council regarding the Southern Rimutaka aerial possum control operation.  This will be carried out from late November onwards in the area located south of Wainuiomata in the Rimutaka Ranges and the East Harbour Regional Park.  The operation is being undertaken by TBfree New Zealand, by BioWorks, part of the Greater Wellington Regional Council.

One application of prefeed baits will occur from approximately 28 November onwards.  This will be followed approximately one to two weeks later with an application of 1080 pellets.  However, both applications can only occur when suitable weather conditions exist, so some delay may occur.  

Baits will be applied by helicopter.  Prior to the application of 1080 baits, warning signs will be erected at all entrance ways where poisons are laid.  You are requested not to touch or remove any baits.  If you consider poisoning has occurred, please seek medical aid or call 111.

Do not bring dogs into the area until the warning signs have been officially removed.  Dogars are particularly susceptible to 1080.  They must not be allowed access to bait or poisoned carcasses which remain toxic to dogs until they have fully decomposed.  Free dog muzzles will be provided on request.  Please contact OSPRI on 06 353 2710 to obtain a muzzle.

If you require further information please don’t hesitate to contact

Debbie Viner, TBfree New Zealand, PO Box 9078, Terrace End, Palmerston North 4441, Phone 06 353 2712   debbie.viner@tbfree.org.nz
Graeme Butcher, Greater Wellington Regional Council, PO Box 41, Masterton 5740
Phone  06 826 1520    graeme.butcher@gw.govt.nz

DIARY DATES TERM 4 2016

5 Dec to
 9 Dec Y3-4 EOTC Week; Y7 EOTC Week, Junior EOTC Week
5 Dec to
 10 Dec Y8 Abel Tasman Camp
7/9 Dec Y5/6 EOTC Week
9 Dec Y3/4 Beach Day at Days Bay
12/13 Dec Y5/6 EOTC Week
16 Dec Leavers Assembly, Early Finish at 1pm as LAST DAY OF TERM

TERM DATES FOR 2017
Term 1 = Thursday 2 February - Thursday 13 April (Easter)
Term 2 = Monday 1 May - Friday 7 July
Term 3 = Monday 24 July - Friday 29 September
Term 4 = Monday 16 October - Tuesday 19 December

We have a teacher only day at Queen’s Birthday on Tuesday 6 June

COMMUNITY NOTICES

Do you want to learn to play guitar?  2017 Guitar Lessons at Muritai School
There are places available for new pupils from Years 3-8
Lessons will begin in Week 2, on Monday or Friday
The lessons are 30 minutes long, and will take place in groups of up to 4 pupils
The cost is $12 per lesson, and there are 9 lessons scheduled for Term 1
Each pupil will need a guitar to use at home, and a clearfile to bring to school
Please contact:
Charles Hazlewood
music.box@paradise.net.nz
(04) 934-2759, 029-9392759

Drum Tuition at Muritai 2017
There are spaces available for students (year 4 and older) who want to have a go at learning the drums at school, starting in term 1 2017. Please contact Andy via andyrussellmusic@gmail.com for more information.

LEARN TO PLAY TENNIS
Holiday Programme For Children From 5 years- 13 years - Supported by HVTA
Dates:  Wednesday 25, Thursday 26 and Friday 27 January, 2017. (wet or fine)
Venue: Mitchell Park (Mitchell Street, Lower Hutt)
If wet the programme will be held in the squash courts.
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:  $33-00 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- Wednesday 11 January, 2017.
EARLY ENROLMENT is advised as this programme is very popular and the first 12 enrolments in each age group will be accepted.

Notice from Eastbourne Community Board
EARTHQUAKE OR TSUNAMI IN EASTBOURNE
BE PREPARED!
Have a Get Up and Go Bag ready for each member of the family
Keep a torch and radio by your bed. Have warm jacket and sturdy shoes handy.
Know your zone
You can find a good clear map at
Where can you find out what’s happening?
Radio – make sure you have a battery operated or wind up radio.
Red Cross Hazards App – download onto your phone from the App Store or Google Play. Keep your phone charged!
WREMO Facebook – you do not need to log on to get access.                                                            Eastbourne Community Notice Board (Facebook) – locals post information
These will also let you know when emergency is over.
When to evacuate to higher ground
Sirens will NOT be used to signal evacuation or the all-clear. A siren, if it sounds, means something is happening. Turn on your radio or other information source.
If it’s a LONG (60 seconds or more) or STRONG earthquake (you’re knocked off your feet) you need to MOVE ON (above the Yellow zone). If you are unsure GO.
Who needs to go?
In Eastbourne, those on the coastal flat or red should go to higher ground.  No need to go to the top of hills. Above 2 storey houses on the flat will be fine in most cases. Use your common sense.
If you are can, walk.  Other Eastbourners will give you shelter
Leave car spaces for those with young children, elderly, infirm, immobileIf you are a “highlander” who lives above the coastal flats try to find a way to signal that evacuees are welcome to shelter at your place e.g. a light by the door (if you have power) yellow ribbon tied round your letter box, torch by the gate.  If you are a “lowlander” don’t hesitate to knock on someone’s door, particularly if it’s cold or wet.
* Please don't drive if you can walk to a safer level
* Streets or right of ways - if possible get together and arrange to let your neighbours know if you will be away so they don't spend time checking you if you are not home
* "Highlanders" those above the zones that need to evacuate do let "lowlanders" in your street know they are welcome to come to you for shelter if needed
* What about a higher street linking with a street on the flat as their "safe zone"? Bays could do the same.



Everyone’s Adventure wants to make outdoor adventures free for as many Wellington families as possible this summer. You can help them reach the target buy booking a fun kayak or bike experience for your family (child size available!), or buying vouchers for family and friends for Christmas.
Here’s how it works:
1. Make a booking at The Boatshed - Days Bay, The Bike Shed - Pencarrow, or Cycle Rimutaka, or buy a voucher for someone else to enjoy an adventure. Every dollar spent there counts - including drinks, ice creams and snacks.
2. The owners have calculated how much it’ll cost to safely operate those businesses over summer, and pay staff - it’s $300k.
3. Once the business' $300k summer costs are reached through your purchases, gear hire is FREE for everyone, for the rest of summer - til Easter weekend 2017.
If Wellington families get behind Everyone’s Adventure now, adventures will be free by the end of the summer holidays!


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