Inspiring every child to: Imagine Believe Create
Transcription
Inspiring every child to: Imagine Believe Create
Halswell School 437 Halswell Road Halswell www.halswell.school.nz Halswell School ph 322 7038 2014 150 Years 1864 to 2014 Many Hearts make a School. Newsletter No 7 Kia Ora Parents and Caregivers, In my opinion: “Happiness is not the absence of problems; it's the ability to deal with them.” Matters of Significant Importance The front field has been closed by Naylor Love for soil exploration and testing. ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free I am thrilled to be able to report that Naylor Love is making excellent progress with the remaining three teaching blocks. We are on still on track to have access, to all three blocks within the next seven weeks. To those of you who haven’t had an opportunity to have a look around the two blocks we will offer you a chance in the new term. We are delighted in how the Year 5 to 8 children and staff have adapted to the new environment and how well the buildings are working, providing the flexible learning spaces we had desired. The physical shift, which involved 14 class rooms, was completed on the Thursday and Friday prior to Queens Birthday Weekend by the senior children. The children were wonderful, applying themselves diligently throughout. Although getting into the new Learning Centres had been eagerly awaited by all concerned, I had a huge cloud of apprehension hanging over me: would the children like the spaces; would the teachers be able to make the huge transition; would the acoustics measure up and meet our expectations. I am thrilled to be able to report that the children’s learning appears to be thriving in the new spaces; the teachers are all very positive about working in the spaces; and the acoustics have surpassed our wildest expectations. We, the Board, staff and children are sincerely grateful to all of those who have combined to achieve these brilliant facilities, but in particular our Architects, Peter Davidson and Danielle Foulkes, board members Justin Busbridge and Brent Crammond, MoE New Schools Karen Pederson and the Naylor Love Team and their subcontractors. Term Ends this Friday 4th July Term III starts : Monday 21st July. Changes of Clothing The office is desperately short of track pants sizes 5 to 10 for our awesome Year 2’s to 4’s who fall over while playing on QV. Yesterday and today we had a great game of Crusaders Bull=rush (As taught by Sam Whitelock – touch not tackle). The children wishing to play should bring a change of clothing. Term Dates for 2015. Term 1 Tuesday 2 February to Thursday 2 April Term 2 Monday 20 April to Friday 3 July Term 3 Monday 20 July to Friday 25 September Term 4 Monday 12 October to Friday 18 Dec. International Guests Arriving. Interest in spending time at our school from International Fee paying students is at last picking up. We will start the new term with 13 children from South Korea, China and Japan. Prior to the earthquake we were hosting up to 30 children at any one time. The income generated from this was at time in excess of $200,000 per year. Income invested has allowed us to maintain our staffing levels and some programmes that are Board funded, over the last three years. This income stream is vitally important to us if we are to maintain current staffing and programmes without increasing school donations. These children also provide our children with the opportunity to have direct contact with people from other cultures. The best Social Studies lessons available. We desperately need to increase the number of people on our homestay register. If you have a spare room and would welcome a paying guest of a similar age to your own children please contact Viv in the office. Many thanks to those of you who are already registered. A great way to help our school. We are already coming under pressure to host visiting groups in the spaces. The following is our current response to requests: ‘Sorry, but we are having a visitor free period, at least until we have had an opportunity to; establish new systems, create the safe supportive learning environment we desire in which all children are clear on expectation and feel emotionally safe. We need time to: reflect on our thinking and actions, to facilitate shared, collaborative and co-operative learning across the Learning Centre, and implement the planned changes to teaching approaches, developed during our professional learning programme - the approaches that we believe will consistently have a positive impact on all children’s learning and best utilise the spaces. Creating a supportive learning environment, for all children, in these new spaces is critical to them being the positive influence on progress and achievement that we all desire. We recognize that children learn best when they feel accepted, when they enjoy positive relationships with their fellow students and teachers, when they are able to be ACTIVE learners, and visible members of the learning community. We want the new environs to help enhance learning in the broadest sense and equip them all for success in the 21st century. Girl power was deployed to unpack a container and move resources into storage in the old classroom in the corner of our grounds We want a Halswell graduate to be ... an enthusiastic and self-directed learner able to apply what they have learned to real life situations able to think critically, communicate effectively, and work collaboratively. confident and respectful in dealing with a wide range of interpersonal relationships a divergent thinker: inquisitive, creative and open minded a proactive, future focussed, globally aware citizen able to confidently interacts with a variety of tools including ICTs to support their learning possess core academic skills and the ability to access, synthesize and apply new knowledge. possess the personal qualities needed to be a selfassured, responsible and empathic young person who acts with integrity aware that learning involves taking risks, making mistakes and accessing support when needed open minded and reflective If these attributes are developed from Year 0-8 through our ACTIVE curriculum and our school values therefore students are inspired to: imagine believe create succeed. Our hockey crew dragged the removed, tussocks from around the library, to outside Room 17, ready to be potted up for replanting in the new school. Inspiring every child to: Imagine Believe Create Succeed Our Halswell children must remain at the centre of all that we do. Meanwhile the building project rumbles on. At present the remaining three teaching blocks are nearing completion, with two blocks fully enclosed and the third about to be. The handover of these buildings is planned to be in the middle of August; a handover that includes the entire central area, containing the sealed court areas. To allow this to happen we surrendered more of our front lawn on Friday to allow the contractors to move the soil pile, soil needed for the later part of the project. For those entering the school via the Memorial Gates you will find your access blocked. This is to allow some testing to be carried out on the area for its future development as our playing field. Hopefully we will have it back for the new term. The demolition of the Library, the Room last used for music, Rooms 18, 19 and 20 is due to start shortly. Over the holidays the Admin building and Rooms 11 to 14 should be removed. Helping move the Tuck-shop provided lessons in the laws of levers,’ in order for a see-saw to balance the torques must cancel each other’ and that wheels on a sack barrow reduce the force required to move heavy objects. An Email I recently received. Good morning I was one of the judges at the RoboFest competition yesterday. We had a large number of students from a variety of schools but your students in particular stood out for their teamwork and the way that they interacted with, and helped students from other schools throughout the day. I was also impressed by with their robotics expertise and exemplary behaviour and manners. They were excellent ambassadors for your school. Well done Claire Horncastle (teacher) The following are the group of wonderful children who did such an outstanding job of representing our school and modelling what is most important here. These outstanding young people have a surprise in store from me, which can be claimed on Friday at lunchtime. Team 1 - The Robusters - came 6th out of 15 teams Jamie Hogan Sam Garters Ieuan Edwards Team 2 - Soph and Bre Bot - came 1st Sophie Hill Breanna Gatehouse Term 3 - Toxic X-Press - came 4th Thomas Seex Braydon Ransley Sam Packman Inspiring every child to: Imagine Believe Create Succeed Team 4 - RoBobs - came 3rd Charlotte Lamb Alex Airay To access the full report log into: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U5INbYuuTaVweNdJ5DEvcg2xEBqz_1tXFhshXbYAlzE /edit?usp=sharing Traffic Hazards We are well aware of the traffic congestion around our school, but I’d like to again ask that everybody exercises ‘Fair Play’ and uses the drop off zone on School Road as it is intended – drop and go. If you wish to go into school with you children this is not the place for you. If we as parents want our children to grow up as law abiding citizens we need to be excellent role models. Parking on yellow lines and double parking are both illegal, even if just dropping off. A far more learned person than me recently suggested: ‘It’s a wellknown psychological syndrome that parents dropping off their kids at school lose all common sense and concern for the safety of those around them.’ Not that I necessarily agree, but I am being supplied with photographic evidence that would suggest that he could be correct in some cases. Our Health and Safety Policy states: any identified hazard is eliminated, or isolated, or minimised, which leaves me in a slightly compromised position. Enjoyable Term Break Many thanks for your unwavering support, patience, tolerance, understanding and encouragement during this term. Your children have again had to put up with ongoing change and disruption, but to their credit have handled everything thrown at them and now deserve a fantastic two week break. They all know that with the passing of each day we are a day closer to having a whole new school. This afternoon the Year 3 and 4 teachers inspected the nearly completed Year 3 and 4 block and were busy planning how they’d like to set it up. Like your children, our staff has faced a tumultuous term and they too have risen to each and every challenge; rather than seeing obstacles as stumbling blocks they have used them as stepping stones. We are fortunate to have such a professional Team, both teachers and ancillary support staff. Let’s hope they all enjoy a relaxing couple of weeks and are recharged for next term. Take care, especially if you are travelling a distance on winter roads and enjoy your children’s fabulous company. Ka kite ano Bruce Topham Inspiring every child to: Imagine Believe Create Succeed News from the Board of Trustees In June we reviewed our: Guidelines for Raising an Issue with the School These are recommended guidelines for raising an academic or non-academic issue concerning the school and/or the school environment. If your issue concerns a staff member, contact the person involved and discuss the matter. We ask that parents make this direct approach as soon as possible. Be prepared to make a time to discuss your issue if the staff member is unable to talk with you straight away. Be open to listening to the other side of the story to avoid communication breakdowns. If the matter is a general issue or you do not wish to contact the staff member concerned, or you are unhappy with the outcome of your initial meeting, contact a senior staff member or the principal to discuss further resolution. If the matter concerns the principal and you have not first resolved it by discussion, or feel uncomfortable directly approaching the principal, contact the chairperson of the board of trustees. If you do not feel comfortable approaching any of the above alone please feel free to bring along a support person of your choosing. This maybe another parent, a teacher or a board member. If bringing a support person please inform the other party of your intention to bring a support person and who the support person will be. If you raise your issue with a board member, you will be encouraged to resolve the issue with the guidelines above, and the board member will inform the principal and the board chair. If a staff member is the complainant (including issues with colleagues), the same procedure must be followed, commencing with an initial discussion with the people concerned to try to resolve matters. If an informal meeting does not resolve your concern or issue, you can make a formal complaint. This will be updated on our schooldocs site in coming weeks. Cookbook Photo Permission When each child enrolled at Halswell School we asked for permission to use images of that child in school material such as the website and newsletters. The PTA will be publishing a cookbook this year which will include some photos of children at the school. If the image is a clear shot of an individual child, specific permission will be asked of the parent for the inclusion of that image. If the child is in the background, is obscured or not in focus, then it is not intended to ask for specific parental consent. If you are concerned about the possibility of a photo of your child being used in this way please let us know. Contact Juliet Pullar at [email protected] 322 7422 Inspiring every child to: Imagine Believe Create Succeed The most Important News, including articles and stories from your children, including some stunning pieces. . On Tuesday the 20th May - Thomas and I went to Lincoln University for the Lincoln Rotary Club General Knowledge Quiz. We started off with a great finger food dinner; wedges, pizza, pies, etc, etc. Oh, and I couldn't forget the all you can eat magnum ice cream tray). After the dinner, we went into a room next door; it had many rows of seats and a massive lectern in front of a large projector screen. All the pairs of students from different schools had allocated seats all over the place; obviously so no one could cheat. Most of the questions were medium, or high difficulty. The question I remember the most would have been... 'What are nimbus, stratus, and cumulus types of?' I thought it was easy, as both Thomas and I got the answer straight away, but there were murmurs from most of schools that had no idea. We were both pretty proud. After a lot of questions that varied in topics, we had completed the first section of questions. The scores were showed up on the projector for the first section. We were so surprised! Amazingly we were in third place just behind Tai Tapu and Little River. We went through the next section of questions, the new score tally was shown on the projector. We were now in second! Both Thomas and I were full of confidence for the next two sections. By the end of the third section, we had managed to maintain second place. After finishing the last section, the Quiz Master read out the placings and gave out the prizes. " In first place... Tai Tapu school with 33 points! " That was followed by large applause whilst the team went up to get their prize each of a $50 Paper Plus voucher, a certificate, and a book. " And in second place with 26.5 points is Halswell School! " Both of us were both super excited as we walked up to gain our prizes. For second place they gave us a $30 Paper Plus voucher, a certificate, and a book each. I was so happy after that, considering we both thought we would lose! The photographer took our photos before we left for home at 9.00pm. It was a great and memorable night! ~ Nakita ~ Inspiring every child to: Imagine Believe Create Succeed Canterbury Primary Schools Cross Country Wednesday 18th June At Halswell Quarry this week the year 5-8 students from across Canterbury took part in a very muddy competition. The weather was fantastic, the sun was shining but underfoot it was rather muddy. Check out the recount from James Sheridan below... The starting gun went, everyone was off. Round the corner, mud in every direction. People slipping over and people trying to stay upright .As most of the track was mud we all had at least one slip over. Some people even tried skating across the slippery brown muck. Many of the people tried to go up on to the grass which worked but took you longer. As we approached the finish line we sprinted up the small little hill and through the finish. It felt like a glory moment going through the two poles that had the word finish on it. If you would like to know the results go to http://www.primarysportscanterbury.org.nz/. Inspiring every child to: Imagine Believe Create Succeed Tangaroa’s Gift Once a long time ago there was a black blob called Paua who lived in the sea with sea creatures that would taunt him and say you look ugly and his protection was seaweed. He never felt happy and was always upset every day Tangaroa the God of the sea watched him get his feels hurt. One day Tangaroa just had heard so much of Paua crying that he couldn’t stand it any longer so Tangaroa went down to talk to Paua. When Paua told the story, Tangaroa decided that Paua needed something special so Tangaroa said ‘I give you the coolest blues of the ocean and ask my brother God of the Forest for the freshest greens, a tinge of violet from the sunset, a blush of pink from the dawn and overall a shimmer of mother of pearl with the most intricate patterns’. The plan worked everybody was paying Paua attention. But because they were so envious they picked at the delicate colours till Paua was back to the same black blob. Once again Tangaroa found Paua crying and did the same thing but this time Tangaroa put layer upon layer so it was a hard shell so Tangaroa said it once again ‘I give you the coolest blues of the ocean and ask my brother God of the Forest for the freshest greens, a tinge of violet from the sunset, a blush of pink from the dawn and overall a shimmer of mother of pearl with the most intricate patterns layer upon layer’. With that Paua had one very hard shell. The next day when the sea creatures saw Paua they knew better than to believe it was a new creature when the animals couldn’t pick at the shell they decided to lift it and it worked so creatures in the sea could taunt him and make his life a misery. Yet again Tangaroa heard Paua crying so he went down to talk to Paua. Paura said ‘All animals say even though I am beautiful on the outside I am still ugly on the inside and I’m so conspicuous everybody can find me’. Tangaroa didn’t like the animals who made his life a misery so Tangaroa gave Paua some protection. ‘From the rocks I take a drabness for you to be one with them’ and that was the coat that went over his conspicuous shell and for the rest of his life was spent nice and peaceful hiding in the rocks and to this day Paua still hides in the rocks to this day and blends in with the rocks. It was only at the end of Paua’s life that the people found Paua’s beautiful inside. Written by Kate Matthews, Room 21. Tangaroa’s Gift Once upon a time, there lived a lonely rubbery black Paua who had no friends. Paua had no protection from his predators. One day Paua was crying and Tangaroa the god of the sea heard him. “Paua why are you sad,?” boomed Tangaroa. At once Paua recognised that voice. Paua said “Tangaroa I’m so ugly and lonely that all the other sea creatures make fun of me,” Tangaroa said “Then I give you the coolest blues of the sea,the freshest greens from the forest,a tinge of violet from the sunset, a blush of pink from the dawn and a shimmer of mother of pearl that come together to make the most intricate patterns.” The next day all the sea creatures could see Paua, he started crying again. “Tangaroa.” said Paua “I love my new shell but I’m too conspicuous and everyone is envious of me.” “Then I’ll give you a rocky cover over your shell so no one will see you,” boomed Tangaroa. And for the rest of Paua’s life he was ugly on the outside and beautiful on the inside. BY JOSH REA RM 21 Inspiring every child to: Imagine Believe Create Succeed Why we have Cook Straight Tautoru the trout was always tired swimming all the way around New Zealand and so where all the other sea creatures. On the west side was all the yummy plankton and krill but on the east side was the soft coral. But Tangaroa noticed this so he pushed his strongest waves and currents and got his brother Tāne Mahuta god of land to cause earthquakes to make a gap. But the sea creatures realised that it was quite a small gap that only 1 whale could fit in there a time. So it took even longer to go though. Tāwhirimātea the god of sky noticed this from above and told his brother Tangoroa so tighter all 3 of them pushed all there effort to make a bigger gap. Tautoru was very delighted but all the krill escaped and there was only one thing to do... Tangaroa got a huge reef the shape of a semi circle to trap the krill on the west side of Australia which is now called the Great Barrier Reefo. But soon krill ran out at the Great Barrier Reef so Tautoru told. All his friends and family to spread out around the world for more krill and to spread the population. Tautoru siblings have now made the gap between Africa and Europe, plus the gap between Costa Rica and the Atlantic Ocean and Hudson Bay is another krill ground for trout. By Micheal. Why the South Island and the North Island aren't connected but they're still the same country. Once upon a time when the English settlers arrived in New Zealand they made camp up north. There were two groups of about 200 in each group.They would fight each other for more land, farms and growing crops, sometimes it would even involve killing each other for resources. The God of the forest Tāne-mahuta, God of peace Ronga and the God of earthquakes-Ruaumoko were watching over them. Eventually the English settlers had decided what to do, they would make a wall across New Zealand, like the great wall of China to separate the two groups. So half a dozen men went out to see how big it would have to be. The men crossed monstrous mountain ranges and raging rivers. They were astounded by how big New Zealand really was. After a couple of weeks they reported back to the other settlers but they didn't think they could build a wall that big because it would take them to long and they wouldn't get on with each other well enough. "I think you should do something about this," suggested Ronga to Ruaumoko. So Ruaumoko caused an earthquake and the land split apart so one group could have the south island and the other group have the north island. They would never fight each other, but now people will travel to each others island to visit family or just go on a holiday. By Callum Daly Inspiring every child to: Imagine Believe Create Succeed The Lonely Paua Once upon a time there lived a sad andugly Paua shell, at the bottom of the dark blue sea. Paua had no protection from predators. He also had a problem. His problem was he had no friends, he was very slow and ugly. One day Paua was crying.Tangaroa who was the god of the sea heard him. Tangaroa came up to Paua and gave him a gift. Paua was so happy because his gift was a Beautiful shell. But it wasn't in the best condition. The next day all of the other sea creatures kept on poking Pauas shell and it started to break. The next day Tangaroa came up to Paua and gave him a new shell colour. The colour of the shell was a browny rocky colour. The inside was beautiful colours of the sea! Then Paua lived happily ever after. By Toddy Rm 21 Tangaroa’s Gift There once was a lonely Paua Who had no friends. Paua had no shell so no protection against predators. One day Tangaroa god of the sea heard Paua crying, ‘Paua why are you so sad’ boomed Tangaroa. Paua couldn't see but he recognized the voice straight away ‘Tangaroa I’m so ugly and lonely and have no protection against predators’ cried Paua. Then i’ll give you a shell with the coolest blues of the ocean, the freshest greens of the forest, a blush of pink from the dawn, a tinge of violet from the the sunset and a shimmer of mother of pearl. ‘WOW this is amazing’ said Paua amazed and pleased. He was really happy until the sea creatures saw him, they poked and pushed against the shell, he was teased about how conspicious he was, thats when Paua started crying again. ‘Paua why are you so sad’ boomed Tangaroa. ‘I’m so conspicuous and all the animals are so envious of me’ cried Paua. Then i’ll give you a shell with the coolest blues of the ocean, the freshest greens of the forest, a blush of pink from the dawn, a tinge of violet from the the sunset and a shimmer of mother of pearl but this time a layer of rock to help you blend in’ said Tangaroa. So Paua lived a happy life, ugly on the outside and beautiful in the inside. By Ben Stewart Rm21 The big bad wolf In the depths of the cold windy woods lives a sly cranky wolf. If you ever set foot in the woods you should be aware of the big bad wolf. With his beady eagle eyes he follows your every movement as you walk past. You may never see him but the people say he lurks in the dark behind every swollen tree trunk waiting for the right time to gobble you up in one whole gulp! His ears prick up as soon as you take your first step into the woods. He opens his mouth drooling as he smells you with his sharp pointy nose. As he plots a devious plan looking to make as much trouble as he can. So now you know your lesson if you ever run into someone with a sharp pointy nose, beady eagle eyes and ugly matted fur be sure to spring away as fast as you can before heartless old creature wolfe can eat you too... By Zara Flint Year 7 Inspiring every child to: Imagine Believe Create Succeed The Big Bad Wolf Lurking in an inky abyss deep in the outskirts of Moorland is Mr.Wolfe, the ‘baddest’ wolf ever known. Eyewitnesses report him devouring little children whole; and if he gets the chance, adults too. The cavern of darkness he calls ‘home’ has been hidden for decades, masqueraded in the dense plant named Devil’s Companion. Peering from Mr. Wolfe’s blood stained mouth are putrid smelling fangs that look fluorescent gold in comparison to his cold smoky eyes. His wiry fur is ashen like the encompassing Darkwood Forest that borders Moorland. Sneaking through the tiny town of Moorland, Mr. Wolfe manipulates everyone in his path; leading them to their death. His conniving resourceful behaviour almost resembles a very smart human, almost. For years and years Mr. Wolfe has been devouring little children and wielding their parents into his cunning plans. As he pounces on his prey you can hear the deathly screams of innocence itself. Nakita Bradley-Parry Year 8 The Big Bad Wolf Concealed under the wild forest thicket is the place where the big, bad wolf dwells. If you look closely between the entanglements of leaves from the undergrowth, you can make out two shifty eyes, green as freshly mown grass. Shaggy, worn grey brown fur hangs limply by his sides like an old, tattered coat, drenched by rain. His pearly-white, piercing teeth glint ominously in the single burst of sun, peeking through the canopy of trees above. Those who have met the wolf -and were lucky enough to escape alive- say he is the most impolite, sly, mischievous creature they have ever had the dubious pleasure to come across. Rumour has it he is very cunning- and could devour 3 poor old ladies WHOLE before you could say “Put those women down, Wolfe!” Stealthily, the wolf lurks behind the shadows, inspecting his surroundings for his next victim. Suddenly, a little girls singing voice breaks the silence. It sounds a bit distant, but definitely close. Maybe my Saturday acting classes will finally pay off this fine morning, the wolf thought, licking his lips greedily with his long, flat tongue. He quickly hatched a plan, and then thought to himself, Its time I had a little snack, me thinks. Old lady soup with a side of little girls, perhaps... Carmen Holiway Year 7 http://www.facebook.com/HalswellSchoolPTA Inspiring every child to: Imagine Believe Create Succeed COMMUNITY NOTICES Halswell/Wigram Junior Rugby – Our under 8 team is still short of players. If you have been thinking about playing rugby it is not too late to join the team for this season. Need to be 8 or under on 01.01.14 Please contact: Richard 0275097289 [email protected]. IMPACT DANCE STAGE SCHOOL presents HONK – a part of The Broadway Junior Collection. A contemporary retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ugly duckling with a Joseph’s Dreamcoat-esque score that young audiences will really enjoy! Wednesday 9th and Thursday 10 July - 10.30 a.m. / 1.30 p.m. / 4 p.m. The Aurora Centre, Burnside High, 151 Greers Road. Book online at: www.kidsfest.co.nz or at a CCC Service Centre. Children $10.00, adults $15.00 Kidsfirst Kindergarten Halswell, has places available for your child Halswell Domain, (behind the Aquatic Centre) Halswell Road. Flexible sessions offered to suit you: 8.30-11.30,or 8:30 till 2:30. (dependent on vacancies) ECE hours available You may be eligible for NO FEES – come and talk to us about it. You will find that all our teachers are fully qualified, registered and first aid certified. You are more than welcome to pop in for a visit and have a look around or contact us Ph:3228546. [email protected] Beautifully restored home for sale. 3 bedroom + study. Sunny, spacious with views, borders reserve land. 20-25 mins from Halswell. $279,000. Trade Me #742586592 Inspiring every child to: Imagine Believe Create Succeed Welcome to Ba Ba Baby!! I sew and sell baby and children's merino clothing. Tops, trousers, beanies, booties, swaddling wrap sets, also individual clothing requests. Also able to do general clothing alterations and repairs. After re-discovering the merits of merino wool for children’s wear with the arrival of our 1st son, I decided to take it a step further and share these with everyone. Not only did my friends like the stuff, but so did their friends and so on. Merino Wool insulates, absorbs body moisture, breathes and is soft & non-irritating to wear. `Nature’s love of us is like that of a mother for her child. ` Find Ba Ba Baby at www.babababy.co.nz https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ba-Ba-Baby/157117904458196 [email protected] Inspiring every child to: Imagine Believe Create Succeed