TOTARA GROVE NEWSLETTER TODAY: Thursday 25 th August 2016 No.18 School Cross Country Fun Day Tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa Last week I was fortunate to attend the Tai Tokerau Principals Association Conference held in Waitangi. The theme was “Together we are: Faster, Higher, Stronger”- very appropriate considering the Olympic Games were happening at the same time. There were many opportunities for networking and it was great to have time for school leaders to share stories about our schools. One of the keynote speakers was Andrew Fuller, a clinical psychologist, family therapist and author. One of Andrew’s areas of expertise is the impact of neuroscience within education. The presentation provided practical insights into enhancing student’s memory and concentration skills and understanding the effects of fear, anxiety and trauma. Another speaker was Dr Melinda Webber, an academic and researcher from the University of Auckland. I was first inspired by Melinda and her work when I listened to her speak at a hui last year. Her research about “Maori student success” has influenced much of our self-review processes and planning. It was great to have the opportunity to become re-inspired and I was excited to hear that Melinda has close ties with the Tikipunga area. The final speaker was Jamie Fitzgerald an adventurer who was the first Kiwi to reach the South Pole on foot and who holds the world record for crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a rowboat. Jamie now runs a company that assists organisations to improve their effectiveness by reviewing their leadership processes and introducing a “performance-through-people” approach. The presentations of all three speakers were relevant to our school vision of “Tupu Tahi - Growing Together. Standing Strong. Reaching High”. I look forward to sharing their korero with the rest of the school community. On Tuesday we welcomed a group of educators from the Ngatiwai Education Trust who will work once a week with a group of children from the middle school. Their goal is to set up and coordinate learning support programmes that will strengthen literacy and numeracy skills of tamariki and build whanau capability to support learning of their tamariki. Parents of the selected students will receive a separate notice asking for their consent. Ka Kite anō Lana Wolfgram Principal
Transcript
TOTARA GROVE NEWSLETTER
TODAY: Thursday 25th August 2016 No.18 No.16
School Cross Country Fun Day
Tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa Last week I was fortunate to attend the Tai Tokerau Principals Association Conference held in Waitangi. The theme was “Together we are: Faster, Higher, Stronger”- very appropriate considering the Olympic Games were happening at the same time. There were many opportunities for networking and it was great to have time for school leaders to share stories about our schools.
One of the keynote speakers was Andrew Fuller, a clinical psychologist, family therapist and author. One of Andrew’s areas of expertise is the impact of neuroscience within education. The presentation provided practical insights into enhancing student’s memory and concentration skills and understanding the effects of fear, anxiety and trauma. Another speaker was Dr Melinda Webber, an academic and researcher from the University of Auckland. I was first inspired by Melinda and her work when I listened to her speak at a hui last year. Her research about “Maori student success” has influenced much of our self-review processes and planning. It was great to have the opportunity to become re-inspired and I was excited to hear that Melinda has close ties with the Tikipunga area. The final speaker was Jamie Fitzgerald an adventurer who was the first Kiwi to reach the South Pole on foot and who holds the world record for crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a rowboat. Jamie now runs a company that assists organisations to improve their effectiveness by reviewing their leadership processes and introducing a “performance-through-people” approach. The presentations of all three speakers were relevant to our school vision of “Tupu Tahi - Growing Together. Standing Strong. Reaching High”. I look forward to sharing their korero with the rest of the school community.
On Tuesday we welcomed a group of educators from the Ngatiwai Education Trust who will work once a week with a group of children from the middle school. Their goal is to set up and coordinate learning support programmes that will strengthen literacy and numeracy skills of tamariki and build whanau capability to support learning of their tamariki. Parents of the selected students will receive a separate notice asking for their consent. Ka Kite anō Lana Wolfgram Principal
TUPU TAHI – GROWING TOGETHER. STANDING STRONG. REACHING HIGH.
Winners of books for the last 2 weeks were: Valintina Rm 1 Arleyah Rm 13 Marshall Rm 10 Ciana Rm 9 Louie Rm 1 Jermaine Rm 14 Jaylar Rm11 Amani Rm11
Winners of books for the last 2 weeks were:
Rm 1: Valintina
Rm 2: Toro
Rm 3: Manaia
Rm 4: Renae
Rm 5: Mahlae-Ace
Rm 6: Ella
CAUGHT BEING GOOD Winners for the last 2 weeks were:
Rm 1: Izzayah
Ihaka
Rm 2: Kahurangi
Louscion
Rm 3: Paura
Xaviar
Rm 4: Kiana
Rainy
Rm 5: Sharvea
Wayne
Rm 6: Devon
Khyro
MERIT CERTIFICATES
Rm 7: Jodeci
Rm 8: Kymani
Rm 9: Brianna
Rm 10: Trent
Rm 11: Deasharn
Rm 12: Miriam
Rm 13: Arleyah
Rm 14: Jermaine
Rm 7: Korrie
Liam
Rm 8: Deja
Aroha
Rm 9: Taliah
Keyan
Rm 10: Victoria
Rm 11: Darcy
Ngaio
Rm 12: Elijah
Tanesha
Rm 13: Juarn
Winnie
Rm 14: Nikayla
Kaleb
PRINCIPAL AWARDS ROCKSTARS
Winners for the last 2 weeks were:
Lexi Rm 9
Beau Rm 9
Chelsey Rm 4
Lucas Rm 4
Izzayah Rm 1
Kael Rm 9
Kyra Rm 5
Moana Rm 5
Congratulations to all these children.
Librarian of the Week
Cali Kake is Dorothy.
This year is my first year doing drama club. It is very interesting because you get to discover different parts of yourself. I felt proud when I auditioned for Dorothy in our school production “Warrior of Nga.” I felt stoked when I scored the part.
THE WARRIOR OF NGA – Totara Grove School Production 2016 Nikayla Heke is
Scarecrow.
I am 10 years old. I’m interested in acting and some shows have inspired me to join the drama club and learn how to act. One thing I think may be difficult is learning all the lines. I’m looking forward to this role as I love acting with my friends.
DUFFY LEADERS ASSEMBLY Last Friday we had our Duffy Leaders Assembly. Former pupils,
Acacia Thompson (left) and Hinemaia Harris-Otene(right), now from Tikipunga High School attended and spoke to our students. Their message was “It’s cool to read and it’s cool to achieve”.
TUPU TAHI – GROWING TOGETHER. STANDING STRONG. REACHING HIGH.
Headlice and nits continue to be a problem. Please check your child’s hair regularly and treat if necessary. We have treatment shampoo available from the school office if you need it. Please make sure children with long hair have it tied up.
HEADLICE
To all the netballers and their whanau - A huge thank you for the time, effort and dedication to make the 2016 netball season so successful. Thank you especially to the coaches who have given up their own time to ensure all teams have had a fantastic season.
School Netball Prize giving will be held next week on Thursday 1st September after
school from 3.30-4.30. Certificates and awards will be given out followed by refreshments. Could each netball family please bring a ‘healthy’ plate for shared kai afterwards. A reminder notice will be sent out next week.
Netball Uniforms – could ALL netball uniforms please be returned asap to school.
Children can bring them to either Whaea Whitney in Room 4 or Mrs Lewis in Room 9. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you all next Thursday.
ADIDAS SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY FUN RUN
Mini Olympics Day Due to bad weather the Mini-Olympics Day planned for yesterday has been postponed until next Wednesday 31st August.
Board of Trustees Meetings Meetings will be held at 6.00pm in the school staffroom. 13th September 11th October 8th November 13th December
BOOK WEEK Monday 29 August
The Mobile Library will visit the school.
Tuesday 30 August – Kids Can PJ Day
A gold coin donation for a Movie & Pyjamas Day. Funds raised will be donated to the KidsCan Charitable Trust.
Thursday 1 September – Art Competition closes
Theme: Myths & Legends or The Olympics Prizes for 1st & 2nd place in each syndicate and one overall winner.
Friday 2 September – Book Character Day
Children to come dressed as a book character – no donation needed. Prizes for best dressed in each syndicate. Character Parade to take place during assembly.
Literary activities, quizzes and competitions will be taking place all week. Students can check the library window for what is happening each day. Guest visitors will read to the children for 15-20 minutes daily from 1:50pm.
Food & Entertainment Festival Unfortunately our Food and Entertainment Festival will not be held this year because of the many demands our teachers are under. However, we would like to still do some fundraising and so we will need a core group of parents to help with this looking towards the Food and Entertainment Festival for next year. There will be a meeting on Thursday 1st December at 2.30pm to decide what this fundraising will be. If you cannot make the meeting but are interested in helping out please contact Ngaire at the school office and let her know how you can help.
The cross country was another success this year. The sunshine switch was clicked and things warmed up. We had a high level of participation this year and the enjoyment level was through the roof. This is the first year we have had children running in their age groups as of 1st of January. This meant we had four year olds and very few eleven year olds! We did this to match the Whangarei Primary Schools Cross Country. The winning house this year was Pohutukawa. It was a close battle with Rimu right until the last race. There was a great turnout from whanau. The children love to have your support. We now have a team to take to Barge Park on Tuesday 30th August. Our cross country was a great event because of the hard working team of staff at Totara Grove School. The Whangarei Schools Cross Country at Barge Park is for 8 year olds and older. Totara Grove Cross Country team consists of: 8yr Girls- Kahlanie, Paytum, Brianna, Savannah 8yr Boys- Temiha, Tamatoa, Kaden, Simon 9yr Girls- Vegas, Talitha, Miriam, Tanesha 9yr Boys- Nathan, Rythm, Peri, Taonga 10yr Girls- Ngaio, Chloe, Cali K 10yr Boys Deasharn, Phoenix, Te Ruki, Marshall
NETBALL
I Have A Dream: After School programmes After-school programmes have started well. The tamariki are enjoying the games and activities. These sessions will now be based in the school library. If you require further information about the programmes please contact the Navigators or the Programme Operations manager Damien Clark 021 828 258
TUPU TAHI – GROWING TOGETHER. STANDING STRONG. REACHING HIGH.
WEDNESDAY 31st AUGUST 6pm Year 6 students and their parents are invited to attend to find out more about the school.
DATES TO REMEMBER: Mon 29 August – Fri
2 Sept
Book Week
Tues 30 August
Kids Can PJ Day
Gold coin donation
please
Friday 2 Sept
Book Character dress
up & Parade Day
Friday 9 Sept
1:30pm Duffy Role Model Assembly
SCHOOL CLOSING 12:30PM FRIDAY 16 SEPTEMBER The Government is proposing a radical change to school funding. A "global budget" would create a single pool of money available to schools from which the school would receive a cash component and a "credit" component for staffing. One of the major concerns of educators is that this system closely resembles a “bulk-funding” system that was in place several years ago that led to disparity of resources within schools. All primary and secondary teachers, principals and support staff who are union members are invited to attend the meeting. For this reason, our school will close at 12.30pm on 16th September. We will make arrangements so that children who usually attend after-school care can remain at school.
Thurs 15 Sept
School photos
Tues 20 Sept Warrior of Nga Matinee 10am-12pm
Weds 21/Thurs 22 Sept Warrior of Nga Nights 6 – 8pm
Friday 23 Sept
Last day of Term 3
WHANGAREI INTERMEDIATE PARENT INFORMATION EVENING
On the 27th July 2016, Totara Grove School had a visit from the St John Ambulance. The child was given the all clear, but the ambulance was not in the clear. In fact the ambulance was stuck in the mud. The Room 5 children helped Whaea Melissa come up with a piece of recount writing using our 5 W’s, Who, What, Where, When and Why. **On Thursday, after lunch, an ambulance came to Totara Grove School. The bright yellow ambulance got stuck in the mud, over by Room 2. Mr Campbell and Whaea Livi got some planks of wood. They put the planks under the back tyres. Then lots of big people came to push the back of the ambulance. Yay! Everyone was happy. The ambulance was no longer stuck in the mud.**
Room 4 have been reading their books to their Room 13 buddies. This has been very successful and the tuakana teina relationships are invaluable. Recently the weather has been beautiful so they have enjoyed the outdoors reading together.
COLGATE ORAL CARE RECYCLING This is the last week for us to claim one of the $1000 prizes for
the Colgate Recycling Drive. If you have any oral care waste please send it to school tomorrow and we will get this sent off. Don’t forget though, we collect these throughout the year, so keep on collecting and you can drop it off to the office at any time.
