December 2019 - Salisbury School · Salisbury Newsletter December 2019 Page 10 We started the term...

Salisbury Newsletter December 2019 Page

December 2019

Rau rangatira mā, tēnā koutou katoa,

It has been a pleasure and privilege to return to Salisbury School as Acting Principal for Term 4.

This excitement has been enhanced with celebrations at learning of the exciting future for our School.

In particular, the Government’s announcement that Salisbury is to be rebuilt on the same site,

beginning in 2021.

This news was closely followed by the appointment of Ellie Salcin-Watts, our Deputy Principal, to the

position of Principal beginning on 20 January 2020.

I would like to pay tribute to all the wonderful Salisbury supporters who have worked tirelessly to

achieve the on-going future of Salisbury School. A great outcome is the result.

Alison McAlpine

Acting Principal

Salisbury Newsletter December 2019 Page 2

News from School ….

And just like that the year seems to have disappeared and the Christmas season is rapidly approaching! What a year it has been for our students – so many successes to celebrate and so many new experiences. Our term newsletter will provide the opportunity to share some of these events.

This term we have warmly welcomed Jennifer McMahon onto our teaching team. Jennifer has an extensive background in education that has been enriched during her years in her home city of London and, more recently, here in Nelson. Jennifer brings particular skills in digital technology alongside positive behaviour management – not to mention her warm personality and delightful sense of humour! Nau mai, haere mai Jen!

A big warm welcome also to our newest student, Jorgia! We are loving getting to know you Jorgia.

Enjoy reading our updates

Salisbury School was proudly selected as one of three finalists in the annual Keep New Zealand Beautiful Sustainable Schools award. Although we were not the eventual winners of this award our finalist placing is a great achievement and one that the girls are feeling rightly proud of. A promotional film outlining some of the work that the school focuses on with our enviro efforts has recently been uploaded to our Facebook page – if you haven’t seen it yet do check it out!

Recently the girls participated in a community clean up morning as part of a wider Keep New Zealand Beautiful initiative. We were all rather shocked by the bags of rubbish we collected from sites nearby to our school, including around the local community bus stop. A great effort in keeping NZ beautiful!


Our senior students continue their SVA award efforts and each week dedicate volunteer time to a range of on-site and local community initiatives. Volunteering work gives a rich and authentic context for our students to strengthen their skills participating and communicating with others while deepening their community connections.

One of our senior students, Emilia, has recently begun weekly volunteering work at ‘Days for Girls’ in Richmond. Days for Girls is an international non-profit organisation that aims to end period poverty through the making of washable feminine hygiene kits. Tumeke Emilia!

Willow’s Art Exhibition One of our talented young art students has recently had the

opportunity to display her art work at one of our local

community cafés, Sinful Coffee.

Willow’s art work builds on her love

of quirky cartoon characters – each

with their own window on the world and emotional expression.

Willow’s drawings truly speak a thousand words and invite the viewer

to walk different journeys through different eyes. Great work Willow!

Thank you Sinful Coffee Richmond


Enrichment Curriculum

School days are always exciting days at Salisbury especially with the enrichment curriculum that

is weaved into individual teaching and learning plans for each girl. Some of the highlights of from

some of our enrichment curriculum feature in the photo display below:

Molly enjoys weekly ballet lessons with Peta and Phillipa on Thursday afternoons at Peta’s Nelson

studio. Ballet gives Molly the opportunity to work on coordination, focus and self management

skills while fostering her love of music and movement.

Emilia attends weekly lessons at

Golden Hills Riding School and is an

accomplished rider. Emilia is joined

by several other students for a

further morning of riding at

Motueka with the RDA programme

which focuses on individual social,

relational and phsyical targets which

each girl. RDA is one of the

highlights of the week for the girls.

Weekly yoga classes with Kris

Wilson are a further highlight for

the girls. The girls especially

enjoyed their recent visit to Kris’

Mapua yoga studio and the

opportunity to enjoy relaxation

outside in the sunshine!


Digital Technologies

Teaching staff have been upskilling knowledge in the new Digital Technologies curriculum strand throughout 2019. The team are excited about the roll out of this new area in 2020.

Special thanks to Karl Summerfield for his expertise in guiding us to shape a unique and bespoke approach to this curriculum strand for our students. Roll on 2020!

This term our ‘Plant to Plate’ Food Technology focus has been on exploring seasonal cooking using local harvest.

Key within teaching and learning this term has been introducing the girls to the concept of ‘food miles’ and understanding the environmental, social, and economic benefits of supporting our local markets and growing our own food.

It is great to see the girls growing in their passion and understanding of our sustainable green-gold enviroschool focus.

Work experience is a further enrichment offered at Salisbury.

Currently two students are engaged in weekly work experience – one

at Red Cross and one at a local kindergartern. Rachael has been

working Monday mornings at Richmond Kindergarten all year and

has been produly aceing all her work targets. Rachael says that work

experience “is the best opportunity ever”.


Outdoor Education Week

It’s been quite a hive of activity recently as we celebrated our Outdoor

Education Week at Salisbury. Several girls spent the week away

camping at Mangarakau in the Kahurangi National Park whilst other

girls engaged in a localised curriculum exploring several of our nearby

sites.

Enjoy sharing in some of our highlights from these experiences.

Mangarākau Camp

The Outdoor Education week at Mangarākau was

based on learning intentions for resilience, social

growth, preservation of local and native fauna and

species of the swamp, the surrounding beaches, and

the interesting historical details of the area itself.


There was a lot to take in and students were

constantly amazed at the diversity of what lives in

the area. Learning has continued as we are back in

the classroom reflecting on our experiences and

deepening our understanding of the Mangarakau

biodiversity.

Outdoor Education @ Salisbury

Students who engaged with this programme had focused

learning intentions on social skills and leadership,

participation with new challenges, and the development of

knowledge and personalised skills with outdoor exploration

and physical activity.

A camp environment was

set up at school with

tents pitched. An array of

creative crafts was

undertaken such as rock

painting alongside

several trips to local areas

including FlipOut,

McKee Reserve & Ruby

Bay, Miyazu Japanese

Gardens, Founders Park

and Eyebright. On our final day the students learnt basic water

safety skills at our local aquatic centre.


Further news from our school syndicates…..

Kimi Mātauranga

Students have completed their SPEC modules that they have been working on. Those modules involved recycling and upcycling objects that had been discarded.

Rachael modified a chair that would suit her specific needs.

She made many changes then upholstered her chair using material that would reflect her Indian Samoan culture so chose Indian cotton for the chair, in her favourite colour purple, and an island pattern material for her large cushion.

Willow’s motivation for her project was her collection of LPS toys. She researched and designed her own shelving system and using recycled rimu timber and an old frame from a mirror she made her own shelves. This was the first time that Willow had used workshop tools or had designed and made an item from start to finish, including varnishing.

Search for Knowledge and Wisdom

Rachael’s completed chair

Left: Willow at work on her shelves.

Right: Willow’s completed shelves


Emilia wanted to make a wheat bag but then as she came up with the idea to recycle used soft toys as the casing for her wheat bag. She worked quickly and has since decided that this could be a potential business to investigate.

All projects required the girls to use many skills, tools and equipment so there was a high focus on safety.

The girls were also involved in many other programmes such as Student Volunteer Awards, RDA, Swim Magic lessons, work experience and Special Olympics so learning and fun are always on the go!

Left: Emilia with her disassembled soft toy.

Right: Emilia’s completed soft toy wheat bag.


We started the term with a trip to Richmond

Library to view the art exhibition ‘Birds in

texture and feathers’ by local artist Chris

McGuigan which, along with nature walks

around the school, inspired the girls to

design their own texture art. With the help

of donations from generous staff, Jorgia

produced a colourful lace cockatoo and

Rachael produced a feather and felt Samoan

inspired rooster. We have an exciting trip

out to Heart Gallery in Maupa planned later

on in the term to present the pieces to the

artist herself, and I’m sure the girls will

come back newly inspired!

A beautiful trip out to Rabbit Island had the girls hunting for

symmetry in nature. They took the foliage very seriously and found

beautiful duo shells and pine cones. Engaging the girls in the

vocabulary needed for recognising symmetry and patterns links into

our numeracy focus this term of predicting number patterns and

identifying sequencing. We plan to take this on further later on in

the term with a small science project, looking at the life cycle of

butterflies and why they are symmetrical.

Our other main focus this term was becoming authors of short

storybooks for a chosen audience; in this case pre-schoolers. The

girls chose topics close to their heart and wrote books that taught

children about ADHD and diabetes, in a fun, rhyming and very well

researched and planned narrative suitable for a preschool audience.

The girls completed book reviews, created character descriptions

and drawings and story mapped each page carefully before going on

to produce the final product. The girls had the opportunity to test

these books out on their harshest critics – pre-schoolers! At the

nearby Tree House Early Learning Centre. We had a wonderful

afternoon with the children, who of course loved the books. We

He Kākano

Sowing Seeds of Learning Success


As we look to the fast approaching end of term, we

prepare to say goodbye to one of our senior girls who

has shown her leadership skills excellently this term

as a student leader, taking responsibility for ringing

the school bell and leading our Karakia every morning

and afternoon. I’m confident that Rachael will be

sorely missed and we wish her all the best for the

adventures that lie ahead for this kind, calm and fun

young lady. Manuia tele Rachael!

We here in He Kākano wish you all a wonderful Christmas and prosperous New Year in 2020.


SALISBURY – A PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY THROUGH HISTORY

BY JORGIA AND RACHAEL – He Kākano

As most who have had the privilege of being on site would agree, the vast history of Salisbury is

mesmerising and impressive. Having come across some old photos and reading through the

‘Salisbury School’ book by Mary Ellen O’Connor, we have linked a joint passion for photography

to our history project by retracing the location of these photos and have had fun recreating the

shots with school friends and teachers. We even put our journalistic hats on and held interviews

with long standing staff members.

What did we want to do? Did you know that Salisbury

school is 103 years old? When we found these old photos of

Salisbury school, we were really interested to find out more

about where the photos were taken and the stories behind

some of them, so we did some investigating.

How did we do it? We spent some time walking around the

school site with our old pictures on a clip board, trying to

find out where they were taken. We used the trees to help

us track down the old spots. Here is some of our research:

Why was research so important? Some photos were hard to retrace,

so we decided to interview Mrs Shirtliff, as she has been here 35 years –

that’s a long time! She gave us some tips and also some really

interesting information about the history of the photos and the school,

for example the oldest buildings on site (still standing!) are the brick

sheds at the front of the school.

This photo is of Jorgia going off to interview Mrs Shirtlliff. She used the

‘Salisbury School: A lesson in Special Education’ by Mary Ellen

O’Connor book as a source of information for the project and to come

up with good questions.


We were really happy when the staff and students agreed to help us recreate some of our

favourite photos – see the results for yourself! We think the old uniform is better – what do you

think?

We really hope you enjoyed reading about our project, please contact us if you would like anymore information and who knows? Maybe one day, some students will want to recreate some of the modern pictures we are in today!

By Jorgia, Rachael and Mrs McMahon

He Kākano


Kimi Ora’s garden has produced well this term, providing herbs and spinach for our cooking as

well as some strawberries for the birds! Gardening has encouraged students to sample the

different flavours and appreciate the food value of each. Molly has problem solved and come

up with a watering solution for the holidays and she will no doubt use her great problem

solving skills to stop the birds getting the fruit.

Our weekly mindfulness sessions have

been a huge success, with students

requesting a session when we were at

camp. The practice is now well

embedded in the culture of our

school.

Our vision to assist all students to

become the best communicators they

can be is coming to fruition with the

addition of the low-tech chat boards

being made for use by staff and

students. Our recent TalkLink

training in this area has been hugely beneficial.

Play-based learning in Kimi Ora offers

students a way to learn through the

natural urges they have to explore and

make sense of the world around them.

The students in Kimi Ora respond

very well to provocations and

invitations to play, bringing their own

perspectives, learning styles and

contributions into the mix. This

approach has taken us to some

incredible and interesting destinations

in learning. Very exciting.

Kimi Ora -

Search for Health & Wellbeing

Kimi Ora students making their daily lunchboxes


Residential News …

The Richmond A & P Show The opportunity arose for two students who have shown a talent for composing and snapping eye-pleasing photographs to enter some of their work in the annual A & P Show. Emilia and Willow both had already a small portfolio of photographs on their iPads; however both girls were given the chance to use a digital camera to capture additional images in and around Richmond.

Choosing the right images to enter in the competition was quite a dilemma. Willow and Emilia have very different styles but both girls have captured some great pictures, show casing their own view of their surroundings.

Emilia’s entry “Lollipop Flowers” was awarded fourth place in the Novice Open Section with the judge commenting “I liked the way the fence posts drew my eyes towards the flowers”

Willow was awarded third place in the Novice Landscape section for her entry “Moturoa Moods” with the judge commenting “Very moody. Nice subtle colour is used well. Good composition with the horizon in a good place”

This was a “blind” competition, the judges had no knowledge of who had entered which made the girls’ placings even more special.


Harp Orchestra

Throughout the term we are looking at

different off-site activities for the

students on the weekend afternoons.

We went to the Richmond Town Hall

and listened to the Harp Orchestra.

Some of the girls were initially

uninterested, however after the show they spoke of what songs they liked and were amazed to

see young children playing in the orchestra. For the students with anxiety when attending an

unknown place or participating in an unfamiliar setting can be overwhelming. It is paramount

that we consider their needs before deciding on outings. We decided the Harp Orchestra in

the Town Hall would be a safe and calm environment. After the girls were seated they adapted

to the sounds and the lighting and they sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the music.

Willowbank

Heritage Park The girls enjoy trips out to Willowbank

Heritage Park. On this particular visit

they were delighted to meet Bob the

pet lamb. As they petted him he

responded by ‘bleating his happiness’

which kept the girls entertained. With

the warmer weather and longer

sunshine hours the girls are able to get

out and about more often to

experience a variety of outdoor

activities.

Weka Watching Trips to Rabbit Island are a regular occurrence in the

weekend. They are more than just a walk along the

beach, the girls are encouraged to explore the

environment. Willow decided it would be a great idea to

go Weka watching. She spotted a couple of weka that

were just as curious as her. The weka approached Willow

as she crouched quietly and waited. She tempted them

to come closer using her apple and they just couldn’t

resist.


Queen’s Gardens A planned outing to the beach after dinner had to be quickly changed when the wind gathered momentum. We decided on a walk around Queen’s Gardens and to the girls’ delight we got to see two duckling families. They enjoyed exploring the various paths and seeing what was over the bridges. Making sudden changes to plans can be challenging for some of our students but the staff were extremely proud of how the girls coped and made the most of being out in the fresh air.

Basketball Prizegiving The girls attended prizegiving at the end of last term. All the girls received a new bag and a medal for participation. Two girls received awards: Emilia for ‘outstanding sportsmanship’ and Molly for ‘best all-rounder’. All the girls put in a fantastic effort throughout the season, attending basketball practice during the week and then playing every Sunday. Willow presented Heather (our coach) with a gift voucher and a card. Heather has been an amazing support to the Wildcats team and we would all like to thank her for the time and effort she has put into ensuring the girls have the opportunity to participate in Fulton Hogan Basketball League.


Learning through Play Elizabeth was excited when staff brought in a tray of nuts, bolts, washers and hinges over the weekend. She enjoyed cleaning them in warm soapy water before playing with them. She spent time finding a bolts to fit through the holes in the hinges, she then placed washers on the bolts before finishing them off with a nut. The next morning Elizabeth found the tray and continued to play with the nuts and bolts. The tray is going to her class at school to

The Columbian Cultural Celebration This was well worth a visit. There were lots of amazing smells from the food delights and colourful

outfits. The girls enjoyed listening to some traditional Columbian music whilst watching a dance producing a swirl of long skirts.

Later there was lots of laughter from Rachael when she joined in the sack race with her friends cheering her on.

Kowhaiwhai

The girls enjoyed painting a Māori Kowhaiwhai for their lounge doorway surround. This was to get ready for the celebrations of Māori Language Week. There were lots of concentration faces whilst trying to keep the paintbrushes within the lines. Once all the designs had been beautifully completed and put out to dry in the sun, it was time for some very messy hand and finger painting.


St Johns This terms the focus at St Johns has been animal care, and there have been some exciting speakers and activities. Recently the cadets visited Natureland to learn about caring for animals in captivity. A highlight has been a visit from two ladies from the SPCA along with two of their animals, a bunny called Otter and a dog called Pirate.

Student Volunteers Emila attends Days for Girls once per week as part of her programme volunteering in the community. Days for Girls is a worldwide charity, where volunteers sew washable sanitary kits that allow women and girls to stay in school and receive the education they deserve. These kits last for 3-4 years and are taking the stigma away from period poverty. Emilia assists with ironing, sorting of fabric and helping with assembling the kits. She knows all the other volunteers names now and greets everyone on arrival. We all look forward to having Emilia come to Days

for Girls every Tuesday. https://www.daysforgirls.org

Tahunanui Beach On a windy walk along Tahunanui Beach the girls watched and talked about how the kite surfers used their kites to speed along

the water. Today they were particularly fast.

Tahunanui Beach also never lets the girls down for a chance to say hello and stroke the many energetic dogs out with their owners.

The girls know to always ask the dog’s owner first if their dog is friendly.

https://www.daysforgirls.org/

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December 2019 - Salisbury School · Salisbury Newsletter December 2019 Page 10 We started the term...

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