December 2014

Dear Parents and Caregivers
What a great week we have just had. The Carnival was fantastic! Thank you so much for the support you gave to this great event. We enjoyed meeting you on Monday and Tuesday to discuss the progress your child has made throughout the year and where they are heading next in their learning. Some new parents attended the 'Starting school at five' evening and our visitors from the Education Review Office were very complimentary about what they saw in classrooms while they were with us.
Now for next week ....

It is our Education Outside the Classroom Week (E.O.T.C.) and we have planned a variety of learning experiences for your child. 
Monday December 1st  - Te Papa
All children in rooms 1,2,3,4,5,6 and 17 will be travelling to Te Papa by bus to take part in a range of activities. They will visit the marae, Naturespace, Bushcity and Xray room. We will be leaving school at 9 a.m. and returning by hometime. 
Your child needs to bring - morning tea, lunch, drink of water, sunhat, suitable shoes and a warm sweatshirt. Please make sure that they leave any toys and their book bags at home.
If you work in Wellington and would like to join us at 12.30 p.m. for lunch you would be very welcome to do so. We will be on the tiered concrete area beside Bushcity. 

Tuesday December 2nd  - Cricket and Zippity Zoo at school
Some of the players from Wellington Cricket will be giving coaching sessions to each of the classes throughout the morning. The children will be having a go at some ball and striking skills.
Each class will also have a time to visit the animals from Zippity Zoo during the morning. The owner will be talking about how to care for animals and then the children will be allowed to pat and feed them.
Please note - Your child must wear closed in toe shoes when visiting the animals.

Wednesday December 3rd - Junior School Athletics Sports on our school field
Each child will be taking part in the following activities - long jump, high jump, vortex, shotput, sprints and relays over the course of the morning.
Please make sure your child has a sunhat, and wears suitable shoes and clothing for these activities - they can dress in their 'House' colours. 
Parents and caregivers are warmly invited to come along and watch the children do the activities.

Thursday December 4th 
Last preschool visit to room 17 for this year will be from 8.40 to 11 a.m.

In the afternoon we will be having an author, Moira Wairama, speaking to the children about the legend of the taniwha in Wellington Harbour at school.

Friday December 5th - Rotation of Eastbourne Pool, Bishop Park and the beach 
At 9.30 a.m. we are leaving school to do activities at each of these places and returning to school by 1 p.m. Parents and families are very welcome to join us.
Your child needs to bring morning tea, cut lunch, drink of water, sunhat, warm sweatshirt, swimming suit and towel, named beach toys that they will be responsible for and wear suitable clothing and footwear.

Over this week your child will not be bringing home their usual reading and spelling homework. They may have a browsing book, or copy of a poem or song or they can do Mathletics. If the weather is wet we will be staying at school and doing different activities.

'Celebration of Learning'
This will be held on Thursday December 4th in your child's classroom from 3 to 6 p.m. This is an opportunity for your child to explain their learning to you and what they are working on. This involves rooms 2,3,4,5,6 and 17. Room 1 had theirs last Monday.

Junior School Christmas Concert and Afternoon Tea
Our annual Christmas concert will be held in the hall on Thursday December 11th at 1.30 p.m. Please come along and join us. Bring a cushion to use on the mat area as seating on chairs is at a premium.
Your child needs to wear Christmas 'colours' i.e. red, green, gold, silver clothing and bring along a plate of food to share. They need to put them on the trestle tables beside the hall kitchen in the morning. Please note that the food you send along does not contain nuts. 

Lost Property
We have a lot of clothing belonging to the children. Please check the containers in room 2 and 3 corridor or under the room 10 stairs. 

Plastic Bags
Your child will be bringing home lots of work and their exercise books shortly so please send along any clean, plastic, supermarket bags that you might have that we would be able to use for this.

Resources
If you have any school reading books at home could you please send them along to school as soon as possible so that we can do an inventory?  We would like to sincerely thank the Home and School committee who gave us $2,600 towards replenishing some of our reading books. For this amount we got one carton of books as each one costs about $14 per copy so any copies of books at home we would really appreciate getting back. 

Classes for 2015
On Friday, December 12th your child will bring home a letter advising you which class and teacher they will have next year. Please do not ask for the letters earlier than home time and please do not open them in the school grounds as some children and parents may initially be disappointed with the placements that have been made. I am available on the following Monday for any appointments if parents wish to make one but not on Friday. 

Visiting new classes
On Monday, December 15th your child will go to their usual classroom and during the morning they will visit the classroom that they will be in next year. They will meet their new teacher and the children who they will be learning with. They then return to their usual classroom for the rest of the week. 

Last day of the term
School will be finishing at 1 p.m. on Thursday December 18th. so your child only needs to bring morning tea and a drink of water with them to school that day as they will be going home for lunch. We will be having an assembly for all those Year 8 students going to College along with those who are leaving us to live in new places and attend different schools. 

First day of Term 1 2015
We start school on Monday February 2nd. Your child needs to bring their stationery with them on the first day. You will get a list of requirements before the end of the year to go online and order. I will send out a newsletter again just before school starts. 

On behalf of the Junior School team I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for your continued support in whatever capacity you gave. Your efforts have been really appreciated. We have had wonderful adult helpers listening to children read during the "Hooked on Books' programme and also in classes along with testing spelling, listening to Word Walls, making resources, transporting students, to name but a few. We are very grateful and look forward to continuing to build our home school partnership. The students are very lucky and have made great progress with this extra support. 

Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year! I do hope you have a wonderful relaxing holiday with your children and we look forward to working alongside you next year. 

Yours in partnership 
Maureen Buckley
Deputy Principal