7/2016

26 May 2016

Quote: - Matariki - Matariki can be translated in two ways – Mata Riki (Tiny Eyes) and Mata Ariki (Eyes of God). (http://www.tetaurawhiri.govt.nz/assets/LanguageResources/MatarikiBooklet.pdf )

ACTION LIST Can you attend our Internet Safety Presentation, 2 June, 6:30pm, in the library? Have you received your child’s writing report? (If not please email me.) Are your contacts (phones, email, address) up to date? Kia ora koutou This term started off with a bang and a rush, but is now tracking along well. Again this week I draw your attention to the same three main items, but each of them have progressed a little since the last newsletter. These items are: 1. Voting for our school Board of Trustees. 2. Parent information evening next week. 3. Reporting websites. Board of Trustees Election. Board of Trustees nominations closed last Friday. We have a good field of candidates and will be holding an election. I sincerely want to thank all those people who have allowed their names to be put forward. I realise it can be quite a challenging process to put your hand up in front of the parents of all the children in school and allow yourself to be scrutinised and voted upon. Kia kaha! Whatever the outcome of the election we appreciate that you have stepped up to serve the school. Yesterday, Wednesday 25 May, Hela sent out voting packs. These will contain voting forms and profiles of the candidates. Please take the time to read the profiles and reflect on which candidates will be the best kaitiaki (guardians) for the wellbeing of our school. You have five votes, but don’t have to use them all. We would however like as many parents as possible to participate in the election to make it as representative as possible. Voting closes: noon Friday 3 June Voting forms can either be returned by post or deposited in the post box in the foyer at school.

THORNDON SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Parent Information Evenings: Online Safety Presentation, Andrew Cowie: 2 June, 6:30pm, library. We think that this is such an important issue that we are flying a presenter down from Auckland for the evening. Jessie Gregory attended a presentation by Andrew Cowie at the Ulearn Conference last year and was very impressed. Every child who uses the internet will experience opportunities, but also risks. Parents are often unprepared for secretiveness and sophistication of what their children get involved with online. Andrew’s presentation will cover:  Different paths children can take on the internet – dangerous or learning enhancing?  What you can expect your child to be looking at / doing online?  How better understand what they are doing on the internet and to keep them safe.

The presentation will target the needs of the Year 5 – 8, but will be very useful to the parents of younger children, giving them a sense of what might lie ahead. Reporting Websites. I am hoping that you have all now been able to access your child’s reporting website. (If you have not gained access yet, please email me [email protected]) I recommend that you look at the writing sample with your child and share the next steps together. You could also check out the link to each of the Writing progressions, so you can see how far your child has come and where s/he heading to. Progression area

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6

Year 7 Year 8

Content and ideas (explanation) Sentence formation (explanation) Structure (explanation) Vocabulary (explanation) Language Features (explanation) Spelling (explanation) Punctuation (explanation)

Nga mihi Alistair du Chatenier

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THORNDON SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Term 2 Calendar May 26 May 27 May 30-31 June 2 June 6 June 9 June 29

Page 1

Board of Trustees

Page 2 Parent Evening: Online safety, Reporting Websites

Online Safety Presentation 6:30, Library Queen’s Birthday Holiday

Page 3 Calendar, new children, Wala

Pink Morning Tea

Page 4

KiVa launch

Page 5

‘Pink’ morning tea.

Gardasil Immunisation Year 8 Girls (2nd dose) + Year 7's Boostrix Last day of term.

July 8

Dec 4

CONTENTS

WALA Concert for whole school 9:00 in hall. Chess Tournament Newlands Intermediate World of Maths

Page 6 Home Stays, Thorndon Fair Page 7 Zealandia Trading Card Launch

Thorndon Fair

New Children We have enrolled four new children since the last newsletter. Emma is the younger sister of Abby. Poppy is returning to Thorndon after a break of a few years away. Chase’s mum, Mahina, was also a student at Thorndon. We would like to welcome these students and their whanau. Emma McKenzie

R12

Kaapuka

Chase Puketapu

R12

Kaapuka

Poppy Svenson

R11

Taupata

Heather O’Neill

R5

Rata

Wala, the Spirit of Ghana This morning the whole school enjoyed a performance by two exuberant and talented performers from Ghana. Using a range of hand-made drums and flutes, Wala really engaged their audience, even getting the teachers up onto their feet.

Alliance Francaise

Entertainment Books There are still 38 Entertainment Books with families to be returned to school or paid for. If you are one of these families please either return the book to the school office or make payment for the book on our online payment page at http://www.entertainmentbook.co.nz/orderbooks/ 10628b0

Would you like to learn some French? Come and join us! If you are in Year 2 to Year 8, come and have fun with us after school. A native French teacher from the Alliance Française will be happy to come and teach you. Courses are interactive and include learning, while playing and singing. For any inquiries, please contact the Alliance Française at 04 472 12 72 or [email protected]

We have additional books available at the office if you know of anyone who wishes to purchase.

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THORNDON SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

KiVa Launch On Tuesday 17th March we launched the KiVa anti-bullying programme at our school. This just so happened to coincide with anti-bullying week which was perfect. The whole school went to Katherine Mansfield park for a picnic lunch. In the evening we held a KiVa parent meeting to share information about the KiVa programme and how we have chosen to implement this at Thorndon School. If you were unable to attend this meeting then please click on the link below to look through our presentation: https://docs.google.com/a/thorndonprimary.school.nz/presentation/d/1aLgFG320zuly6gJqc3dv8UZHHs BT9nEMfIYrgf2j--w/edit?usp=sharing You can also access more information via the KiVa website in the parent information section. Here is the web address for you; www.kivaprogram.net/nz/parents

Ngā mihi KiVa Team

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THORNDON SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Student Initiated Fundraising Activity Some of our senior students approached me to ask if they could organise a fundraiser to support the fight against breast cancer. They seemed very organised and determined, so of course they got the go ahead. It is very satisfying to see students apply the skills they are developing to a real world project.

Pink Morning Tea All of Thorndon is invited to a pink morning tea to fundraise support and awareness for the fight against breast cancer. This will be a bake sale morning tea with unique food and prices ranged from 50c - $3.00. Where: Old Room 8. Time: 10:30 - 11:00am (morning tea). When: Thursday 9th of June (week 6). Thorndon school. We would be really happy if anyone who is wanting to help would contribute some baking for the cause. Just drop off at old room 8 that morning. Maya Haydock, Zoe, Eleanor Mazey

Thorndon Fair Sunday 4th December 2016 will be the 40th Thorndon Fair, and if the Newtown Fair can celebrate 20 years, we can do even better with our 40. The 40th anniversary is an opportunity to link the School, Thorndon, the Fair and its history and we'd like to work with groups like the Thorndon Society, who set up the original Fair in 1977. The Fair Committee will continue focusing on making it a great day out with a range of quality stalls and food, so we need an additional small team to get involved in adding something extra special to mark the occasion. If you have idea, an interest in the arts or history, perhaps skills in event management or marketing, or just enthusiasm, we'd love to hear from you. There's an opportunity to apply for council funding to support a one-off special activity so we need to get thinking about this now. Contact Fair Committee Chair Karen Smith: [email protected] or 027 340 1977.

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THORNDON SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Homestays From time to time we get inquiries about providing homestays for short term international students. Currently we are developing a connection with Wellington Girls. They have relationships with a number of schools and agents outside New Zealand who send short stay international students to them. Some of these students have younger siblings (Years 7/8) who would like to attend Thorndon School. We would like to build up a database of names of families who might be interested in hosting a short stay international in the future. This will allow us to respond quickly when an opportunity comes our way. Host families can charge in the range of $250 - $300 per child. Please let me know if you might be interested: [email protected].

Wasteless Wednesday The Earth Nuts introduced Wasteless Wednesday 2 weeks ago. We love the improvement so far and we would like you to help our school become wasteless every Wednesday . Wasteless Wednesday is a day of the week when we aim to have no food rubbish brought to school excluding compost. It has many benefits such as; saving you money when buying in bulk. It also helps support our environment and hopefully improve it! Please make a pledge to be wasteless every Wednesday, maybe every day, Whoa that would be awesome!! Thank you, we appreciate your help. The Earth Nuts

KiVa Up-Date What could parents do to reduce bullying? • •

•

Take any bullying situation seriously Cooperate with the school – inform the school about a bullying case – trust in the school’s ability to handle the matter Discuss bullying with your child even if s/he is not being bullied or s/he is not bullying others – what should be done if you notice bullying?  Let’s encourage children to not join in on bullying, to support the victims, and to tell adults about bullying!

Parents’ Guide http://www.kivaprogram.net/parents/

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THORNDON SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Zealandia Trading Card Game Launch One of our parents has alerted me to the development of an educational trading card game based on the animals of Zealandia. This game is being launched on Monday 6 June (Queen’s Birthday weekend) from 11:00am to 1:00pm. This free event will be held at the Zealandia visitors’ centre. Children can learn how to play and trade. There will be a knockout Tournament 12pm. Visitors will get a sneak preview of new card sets and spot prizes will be distributed.

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THORNDON SCHOOL NEWSLETTER COMMUNITY NOTICES LUNCHTIME FRENCH CLASSES TERM 2 2016 The lunchtime French lessons are held every Friday in the school library at lunchtime, children bring their lunch with them. Games, songs, drama and stories are taught in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere with the emphasis being on FUN! Language resources available to support parents at home! OTHER CLASSES AVAILABLE: After-school French classes are also held in Thorndon, Karori, Khandallah, and Hataitai. Spanish and Mandarin also offered subject to demand. New this year: Easy Online Registration. Contact: Annick on 021 462 042 or email [email protected] or visit www.lcfclubs.co.nz for more information.

Onslow College presents West Side Story This Year Onslow College is performing Bernstein’s West Side Story. A modern day Romeo and Juliet; West Side Story spins a tale of two young people from rival gangs. Maria and Tony, both desperately fighting for survival, find solace from a world of gang warfare in each other, but as with any Shakespearean tragedy there are dire consequences. Directed by Sarah Delahunty MNZM, and aided by the musical direction of Justin Pearce, the show draws on the many skills of the students at Onslow. 8 – 11 June, 7:30pm in the Onslow College School Hall Tickets: $10/$15 Ballet Training En Pointe Dance Academy is a newly established Royal Academy of Dancing Classical Ballet Training facility for ages 3 years to Adults with three purpose built studios. For more information please visit www.enpointe.co.nz or phone Cindy on 021 705 122

Frozen Sing Along! Sunday 29th May 1:15pm, Embassy Theatre Wellington. All tickets $15 Nota Bene Chamber Choir is giving you the rare opportunity to sing along with Frozen on the big screen! Please dress up and join this fundraising event. Prizes for the best costumes. Booking online only at www.eventbrite.com- search 'Frozen Singalong'. For more info please email [email protected] Link to booking: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/frozen-singalong-tickets24499549813?aff=ebrowse

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THORNDON SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Wellington Boys’ College 2016 Key Dates for Enrolments for Year 9 2017 Wellington College is able to receive in-zone applications at any time during the year prior to enrolment, but preferably by the closing date for the ballot to allow planning for out-of-zone numbers. However, out-of-zone applications can be posted, emailed, faxed, or delivered to the College Reception by the ballot closing date. Monday 1 August 2016

Saturday 25 June 2016 Monday 27 June 2016 Thursday 17 November 2016 Thursday 24 November 2016

Applications for Year 9 out of zone must be received by 4.00pm at the Wellington College School Office. Open Morning for Year 9, 2016 10.30am Open Morning for Year 9, 2016 9.30am Year 9 2016, Induction Day Year 9 2016, Parents Evening

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