A Suitcase and a Dream!

As promised at the end of last term we started this term with a suitcase and a dream. Walt Disney arrived in California with only a suitcase and $40. Today in assembly we discussed the attributes such a man must have had to achieve what he did. We decided that every one of the Key Competencies and Values from the New Zealand Curriculum would have been essential to him. Making connections to ourselves we realised that these are very important for us all to learn in order to be successful in life.

At the end of assembly we got our first example of people using these Key Competencies and Values when there were volunteers asked for from the senior class to be in the junior class over lunchtime. The people who volunteered were demonstrating the key competency of Participating and Contributing and the Value of Community. Well done to those people, I can't wait 'til they open their own theme park, or follow whatever dream it is they have!

Cooking up a storm

This morning the year 6s were busy planning out what they would do next term with the gardens and then worked on finishing up their contribution to the Disaster iBook being created by schools around the world. They need to finish before they go on holiday so the pressure is on.

Kereru were cooking up a storm this afternoon in the staff room thanks to Mrs Mortlock making good use of the tomatoes we have grown. Among other things they made tomato relish, which I haven't had the pleasure of trying as yet but I'm looking forward to some tomorrow.

Maths and Votes

We had Carolyn, the Head of the Mathematics Department at St. Margaret's College,  in today working with some children in Val's class. She was impressed by the way Val had set up her programme and the way in which the children were so focussed and on to it. Carolyn said it is a wonderful example of how an effective maths classroom should run.

We know we have highly skilled teachers here running very effective programmes but it's always nice to hear it from experts in the field.

Chloe and Ruby have made it through to the final of a competition on The Erin Simpson Show and the voting is now open. I've voted so best you do too, it's an easy decision because they really are the best! I didn't even vote for a second or third choice, no need to give points to others. I'll be sharing the link on Facebook and twitter and with my PLN across the world so I suggest you all do the same!

Vote Here Now Please!

Harvest Festival

The Harbour Harvest Festival was a great success today with all of the schools in the Harbour area combining to engage in a range of activities. The weather was just right for it and everyone got involved in what was a very worthwhile experience. Some activities had more interest than others and it's interesting to listen to the sharing of stories between groups. A lot of time went into the organisation of the day and Project Lyttelton is to be commended for the work they have done, particularly their coordinator, Sarah Pritchett. Thanks also goes to all of the people who ran their activities.

Slow day? No way!

Contrary to popular belief, turtles are not slow. I witnessed this first hand in Piwakawaka this afternoon. Donna Moot visited with a number of turtles and kept the class enthralled with her stories and descriptions. The turtles were of various shapes and sizes with a range of 'problems' that led them to being in Donna's care. It was wonderful to hear how knowledgeable the students were about turtles and the issues with caring for them. They also asked intelligent questions. A reporter from The Press had been invited by some students and he showed up and took a good deal of photos so hopefully we will see some of these in the paper soon.

Science, Rocky Shore and Turtles

After a couple of short weeks with Easter, we're back into the start of a full week with only one more to go after this one.

On Wednesday we've got the day at Orton Bradley Park. Each child has been placed in a group and will have a badge identifying them as a member of that group for the day. Thank you to those who have offered to help and if you'd like to but haven't been in touch please contact the office on Tuesday to express your interest. Everyone in Tui class will need to wear gumboots that day as their groups will be doing some investigating in a stream.

We've got our board meeting tonight at 6:30pm so feel free to come along if you're interested in seeing what happens at a meeting. Elections are coming up soon so this could be a good opportunity to observe if you are thinking of putting your name forward.

Dog Biscuits

Tui class have been busy baking dog biscuits today. (That's biscuits in the shape of dogs for humans to eat, rather than 'dog biscuits') They are selling them tomorrow (Friday) interval for $2 each. They look great and I'm sure will be very popular. The money goes towards the Red Puppy Appeal for guide dogs. More information on the appeal can be found here.

Happy Easter

This was meant to post yesterday but didn't for some reason.

I hope everyone made the most of the 5 days of wonderful weather over the Easter break, and of course enjoyed copious amounts of chocolate.

We were right back into it this morning to start off our short week. Alex, our board chair, and I had our regular Wednesday morning meeting, the Year 7 & 8s went off to Thorrington for Technology, I worked with the year 6s, along with Jacqueline on the gardens, Rachel and Moira were business as usual in their classes, Rebecca was her normal busy self in the office and Bridget was in this afternoon to take Kereru. I also had a meeting with a guy about shelving in the library and Rebecca worked with the fencing person to look at repairs on our fence.

Just a standard day at our wonderful school, always busy, always fun.

Farewell

We've had a busy week with Karen's farewell, Yr 6s in the garden and Tui class heading off to the rocky shore.

Karen's farewell was a lovely occasion and really captured the essence of who she was. As she handed out certificates at assembly it was as if she had never left. She is really enjoying her new job, which is not without its challenges, and was really pleased to be back visiting. It made her realise how much she misses the school and everyone associated with it. Her new job has made her realise just what a wonderful staff we have and how lucky we are with the children and parents we've got here. Thank you to those parents who were able to make it, to the board for their gift and to the PTA for putting on afternoon tea.

Tui class headed down to the rocky shore today but as I was teaching all day I was unable to join them. By all accounts it was a very successful trip with many an interesting and exciting discovery made. I look forward to seeing photos of the excursion.

Swimming

It was a wonderful day for swimming sports this morning. Thanks to everyone who was able to transport the classes up to Living Springs we were there on time and everything ran smoothly. It was an exciting morning with a number of close finishes. The event was well planned by Val and Rachel and the children were well behaved and organised, as usual. Thanks to the parents who were able to transport and be our audience.