Week 9, Term 4 20

Week 9 - our last full week of school, and for our Year 8s, the last week of their primary schooling!  It is a time of excitement and sadness, with a bit of nervousness thrown in!!  It is also a time to remember all the values that have been instilled in us and make sure we spend the last week leaving a good memory of ourselves on the Avonhead School community.

Dates to note:
* End of term trip to Waltham Pool - Friday 14 December
* End of Year Assembly - this is on Monday 17 December at 6pm.  It is expected all Year 7 and 8 students will attend.
* Adrenalin Forest for Year 8s is on Wednesday 12 December - invitations have been sent home - please RSVP
* Last day - school will be open on Tuesday 18 December until 12:30pm.


What's happening in Week 9?

* Library books - please return these - teachers have lists that we are reading out most days.  Please find and return your books.

Wednesday:
Adrenalin Forest for Year 8s - 4-7pm

Thursday:
Student Council and House Captain lunch

Friday:
Reports go home
Meet the new homeroom teacher
Waltham Pool

Have a great week :)

Week 8, Term 4 2018 and Sailing

Week 8!

* End of term trip to Waltham Pool - Friday 14 December
* End of Year Assembly - this is on Monday 17 December at 6pm.  It is expected all Year 7 and 8 students will attend.
* Adrenalin Forest for Year 8s is on Wednesday 12 December - invitations have been sent home - please RSVP
* City Mission Appeal - this is being run this week by the House Captains and Student Exec.  If you wish to take part, please send in a non-perishable food idea or gift, and place it in one of the four house colour containers in the office foyer.  The committee driving this wanted to 'pay it forward' and do something for someone else.


What's happening in Week 8?

* Library books - please check at home for any school library books and start returning these

Tuesday:
The Super Rugby Trophy will be here at school.

Wednesday:
Central Athletic Sports - good luck to all those who had qualified

Thursday:
Music Soiree 5:30-6:30pm

We had a fantastic day's sailing last week.  It was great to see everyone enjoying themselves and trying something new.  Thank you so much to our wonderful parent helpers :) Here are a few snaps from the day...

Have a great week :)

Week 7, Term 4 and Tough Kids

Welcome to Week 7!

* End of Year Assembly - this is on Monday 17 December at 6pm.  It is expected all Year 7 and 8 students will attend.

We had a great time at Tough Kids on Thursday - it ended up being a lovely day.

Nico (Luka's dad) has made us some movies of the day.  Thanks Nico!  They are too big to load here, but here is the link to the folder (hopefully it works!!) - Tough Kids movies


What's happening in Week 7?

* Please return sailing notices - these went out last week.  HQ 1 and 3 are sailing on Thursday and HQ 2 and 4 on Friday.  We do need parent helpers (or older brothers and sisters (18+)) to help on the day please

* Read a Thon fundraising money needs to be returned ASAP if you haven't already - thank you to those who have

* Library books - please check at home for any school library books and start returning these

Wednesday:
Burnside familiarisation day 9:30-12:30pm - for those students going to Burnside, you should have received information from the school about this.

Thursday:
Sailing day for HQ 1 and 3

Friday:
Sailing day for HQ 2 and 4

Thanks to the student council and Mrs G for a great disco last night.

Have a great week :)

Week 6, Term 4 2018

Sorry for the delay in sending this out!  We hope you all had an enjoyable long weekend.

* End of Year Assembly - this is on Monday 17 December at 6pm.  It is expected all Year 7 and 8 students will attend.



What's happening in Week 6?

Monday and Tuesday:
* Tough Kids notices must be returned tomorrow - thank you to all those who have done so already.
* Read a Thon fundraising money needs to be returned ASAP

* Library books - please check at home for any school library books and start returning these

Wednesday:
Tough Kids - for those attending, we will be leaving Avonhead at 830am.  Please come to school in your costume or gear to complete the Tough Kids event in.  Please also remember to bring a towel, complete change of warm clothes, plastic bag (for your wet clothes), and something to eat and drink.

For those not attending, it will be school as usual.  Mr Rodger will be staying behind with you.

Friday:
Disco for the seniors is 7:30 to 9:30pm.
$4 (tickets available outside the library or at the door).
Food and drink is available.

Have a great week :)

Week 5, Term 4 2018

We had a busy week last week with our Zone athletes out on Tuesday and our Summer Tournament teams out on Wednesday.  Both groups of students conducted themselves extremely well and the teachers who accompanied them were very proud of their behaviour, attitude and effort!  Please see previous posts for a lowdown and some photos!


What's happening in Week 5?

Monday:
We continue with our end of year testing - asTTle Maths this week, as well as any catch ups of reading and PATs.
Sexuality Road continues

Wednesday:
Industrial Strike action - school will be closed for instruction.  Please see the email sent last week from the office regarding this.  There is a document for you to fill out to let the school know whether your child will be coming or not - this is to help with planning of staffing for the day.

Friday:
Canterbury Anniversary Day / Show Day - public holiday for Canterbury.

* Please return all Read-a-thon documentation - all students should have been keeping a reading log up to date for the past week - these need to be brought back to school please.  If your child was fundraising, please encourage him/her to collect their money and return it to school.

* End of Year Assembly - this is on Monday 17 December at 6pm.  It is expected all Year 7 and 8 students will attend.

* Library books - please check at home for any school library books and start returning these.

Zones Athletics results

What an amazing day of results at the Zones Athletics...

Congratulations to everyone who attended the meet and a special congratulations to the following students who placed on the day:

Year 7 Girls 100m 3rd             Andy
Year 7 Girls 1200m 2nd          Nicole
Year 7 Girls High Jump 1st     Tulani
Year 7 Girls Discus 2nd          Skye
Year 7 Girls Shot Put 1st         Zoe
Year 7 Girls Shot Put 2nd        Sai

Year 7 Boys Discus 2nd          Kevin
Year 7 Boys Shot Put 1st        Kevin

Year 8 Girls Relay team 1st           Izzy, Kahu, Tayla, Jackie
Year 8 Girls 100m 2nd                   Ilze
Year 8 Girls 100m 3rd                   Tayla
Year 8 Girls 1200m 2nd                 Izzy
Year 8 Girls High Jump 1st            Kahu
Year 8 Girls Long Jump 2nd          Barbie
Year 8 Girls Long Jump 3rd           Ilze
Year 8 Girls Discus 1st                   Nadia
Year 8 Girls Discus 2nd                 Kahu
Year 8 Girls Shot Put 1st                Nadia

Year 8 Boys High Jump 1st            Kodee
Year 8 Boys High Jump 3rd           Isaac E
Year 8 Boys Long Jump 1st           Kodee
Year 8 Boys Discus 3rd                  Ale
Year 8 Boys Shot Put 1st                Ale
Year 8 Boys Shot Put 3rd               Misha

Mrs Moore was lucky enough to join the team of HQ students and commented how proud she was of their sportsmanship, encouragement of one another and ability to get to the right events at the right time.  Everyone game it their very best and the results support this!  Here are some action shots:

Summer Tournament

What a great day we had down at Hagley Park - thank you to the weather for putting on perfect conditions!  This is a brief report from Slowpitch and Cricket - we will hear from Golf and Tennis in the next day or two.  Congratulations to both teams for showing amazing sportsmanship.

Our Slowpitch team finished 1st over all!  They actually came first equal with Ellesmere College and Little River School - all three teams having seven wins and one loss.  On the count back, Ellesmere had 77 runs in their 8 games, Little River got 100 and Avonhead got to 122!  Congratulations team :)

Our cricket team played 6 games in a modified 6 aside tournament.  They won two games.  In a version of the game where extras can be costly, there was some very accurate bowling and some big hits.  Daniel S finished the tournament in great form and was the only player to have to retire once he reached 25 runs.  Congratulations to the whole team and to Daniel who was named Player of the Day!
Your support of each other and respect for your team mates and your opposition made me incredibly proud :)  It was a pleasure to accompany you to the competition.  Mrs B

Week 4, Term 4 2018

Hello and welcome to Week 4

We farewell our wonderful student teachers at the end of this week and wish them all the very best for job hunting and their future careers.  They have fitted in as part of the team and we have certainly appreciated everything they have done, especially during Seussical Jr :)

This week is quite busy...

Monday: 
We begin our asTTle Maths and Reading testing

Tuesday: 
Zones Athletics - Mr Rodger and Mrs Moore will accompany the team.  All the very best to our athletes.
HQ1 and 2 visit to Riccarton Library - we will be walking (weather permitting).  Please bring your library card.

Wednesday:
Summer tournament - Mr Rodger and Mrs Busfield will be accompanying the teams.  We have teams entered in golf, boys cricket (team will be announced on Monday), tennis and slowpitch.  Good luck to all the students taking part.  A notice came home on Friday (apart from cricket players who will receive a notice on Monday)

Thursday:
HQ3 and 4 visit to Riccarton Library - we will be walking (weather permitting).  Please bring your library card.


Other notices:
If you are in Year 8, please email a photo of yourself in the year you started school (or as close to this age as possible).  This is for the Year 8 leaver's assembly.  Alternatively you could bring the photo to school and Mrs Busfield will scan it for you.  Emailed photos are to be sent to Kennadie please k.smith@avonhead.school.nz

If you are in Mrs Ellison's 'beeswax' group for Choice Writing, please remember your $2 for her.

Have a great week everyone :)

Week 3, Term 4 2018

Unfortunately our run of lovely weather came to an abrupt halt...just in time for Athletics Day.  Luckily we managed to squeeze in two rotations on Thursday which meant we were able to finish the other rotations on Friday, just leaving the sprint finals for Monday afternoon.  These will be held after lunch on Monday.

Last week we sent home a letter as we will be starting our Changes at Puberty unit in Week 4.  Please ask you child for this letter if you haven't seen it already!

We will start our end of year testing this week, with PATs in maths and reading.

On Tuesday and Thursday afternoon this week we are planning on walking the students down to the Riccarton Library.  Two classes will go on Tuesday and the other two on Thursday.  If your child has a library card, it would be great if they can bring it please.

Finally a huge congratulations to Bhavil and Shivam who have been competing in Auckland over the weekend, in a national chess competition.  I have heard from both boys and it sounds like they have both really enjoyed the experience, and both have been awarded credit certificates!

Have a great week :)

Term 4, Week 2 2018

Welcome back to Term 4.  We have a new addition to the HQ - some sliding doors in between the Kitchen and Meeting spaces and also between the Meeting and Info spaces.   Please feel free to pop in and have a look - we are loving the extra flexibility these doors are offering.  Now a class can be having a discussion, and the class next door doing some quiet work, without anyone feeling guilty that their class is disturbing the other!  The doors will be closed as the teachers see fit during our morning lessons in writing, reading and maths, but will generally be open for our more collaborative afternoon sessions.

I hope you all received the email directing you to the wonderful photos from Seussical Jr that Ana Stevens took.  If you did not receive that email, please contact me on dbusfield@avonhead.school.nz and I will send it through to you.

This week is Athletic Sports - these will be held on Thursday and Friday this week.  We have been practising every afternoon during week 1!

Following on from athletics training we will begin our Health topic - Changes at Puberty - a letter outlining this will come out this week.  We hope to have two sessions a week for Health and the other two we will look at Careers.

Last week some information came home about a school wide read-a-thon.  The slips on the bottom need to be returned to school please, whether or not your child is taking part. If the letter did not make it home, please email me and I will send you a copy.

We hope you all had a nice break with your children, and we are looking forward to this term :)

Week 10, Term 3

The week we have been preparing for is finally here! Seussical Jr will be performed this Wednesday and Thursday starting at 7:30pm.  There are a few tickets still available for each night - please order through the school office.  At intermission, we will be selling ice creams ($2) and lollies (50c) - cash only.

A notice came home last week (and was emailed to all parents) outlining times students need to be at school, and hair/make up requirements.  If your daughter is a Who and you are not doing her hair at home, could she please bring in a sock (or a hair donut if you have one - please do not buy one as a sock works perfectly fine).  You will get this back and we will not damage it!  It will be made into a donut.  I tried it with my husband's sock and that size worked well (see photo).  Please bring socks on Tuesday.


Students need to ensure they have any extras for their costumes at school from Monday please - this includes things like shorts and singlets to go under costumes.  These will now need to stay at school until after Thursday's performance.

Pick up after each performance will be in the HQ (students must change out of their costume and place it in the appropriate place before leaving).  Students need to be signed out please.  This may be a bit after 9pm as the show is looking to be 1 hour 15 minutes long (rather than the 1 hour we expected!).


In other news...
well done to our speech finalists who presented their speeches at the Isleworth School speech competition.  Although they weren't placed we are very proud of them all for putting together such high quality speeches.

We had three students visit Ronald McDonald house during the week, as a thank you from them for our school's donation to the Cancer Society.  We're looking forward to hearing what they saw and how that went.

Week 9, Term 3

Week 9!
We have the mics arriving for Seussical Jr this Friday, and prior to that we will be having our first dress rehearsal, and putting on the finishing touches.  Hopefully you have purchased your tickets - if not, please fill out an order form (one went home a week ago, or there are spares in the office) and place it in the box in the office.


Just a reminder the show is on Wednesday 26 September and Thursday 27 September.  It starts at 7:30pm and will finish at approximately 8:45pm.  Cast members will be ready to be collected about 9:00 / 9:10pm after they have changed out of their costumes.  A notice will come out this week with the times students need to arrive at school for the shows, and any hair/costume requirements.


On Wednesday we have six students heading to a speech competition at Isleworth School - all the best to them.

On Thursday we have the House Dance Off organised by our fabulous house captains and student exec.

Also on Wednesday some of our Student Council will be visiting Ronald McDonald House for a tour, as the Cancer Society's 'thank you' for their efforts with our Daffodil Day mufti day which raise a large sum for the charity.

A huge welcome to our wonderful student teachers - Mr Steven Moseley, Miss Harriet McGowan and Mrs Ruby Lim.  They are on their final placement on the Graduate Programme and will be with us for seven weeks - three weeks this term, and four next term.  They have fitted right into the team, and their help with the musical so far has been invaluable. 

Week 8, Term 3

Tickets are on sale!
$10 adults, $7 children
Please order using the form and envelope that was sent home - there is a box in the office for these.

Wednesday 26 September, 7:30pm

Thursday 27 September, 7:30pm

Horton the Elephant, the Cat in the Hat, and all of your favourite Dr. Seuss characters spring to life onstage in Seussical Jr., a fantastical musical extravaganza. The Cat in the Hat, our narrator, tells the story of Horton, an elephant who discovers a speck of dust containing tiny people called the Whos. Horton must protect the Whos from a world of naysayers and dangers and he must guard an abandoned egg that's been left in his care. Although Horton faces many challenges, the intrepid Gertrude McFuzz never loses faith in him. Ultimately, the powers of friendship, loyalty, family, and community are challenged and emerge triumphant!
Music by Stephen Flaherty, Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, Book by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Co-Conceived by Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty and Eric Idle. Based on the works of Dr. Seuss. By Arrangement with Hal Leonard Australia Pty Ltd Exclusive agent for Music Theatre International (NY)

We would love to see you there, so please buy your tickets and invite family and friends!

Thank you to everyone who has offered props, costumes and to help with sewing, makeup, and hair.  If you haven't had a look at the list of 'needs' you can find it here. The following is what we most need though ....
*sturdy plastic bags (not the supermarket ones)
*a deck chair like this 
* clown wigs like these  
*a pair of black short dungarees  
* a santa jacket
* a black cat tail
* plastic novelty glasses - beach / party theme
* two mops like this 

Please email dbusfield@avonhead.school.nz if you can help with any of these things.  Thanks so much.


Cultural Festival
Congratulations to our fabulous Kapa Haka group and our Pasifika group who performed at the Cultural festival last Wednesday.  Watching the video, I felt so proud of you all - you looked and sounded amazing!  You can see the video here.

Ski Trip
Unfortunately, as you know,  our ski trip was cancelled last Monday.  We are waiting to hear from Mt Hutt if they can book us in for another day.  As soon as we hear, we will let you know.

Week 7, Term 3

Last week saw our current events teams compete against others in Canterbury at Cobham Intermediate in the 2018 Extra! Current Events quiz.  They answered questions on NZ and World current events, famous people, mapping, flags and the newspaper. While they didn't place, they represented Avonhead School superbly.  Thank you for your efforts team!

On Friday the Student Council organised a Daffodil Day mufti day to raise money for the Cancer Society.  Students came to school dressed in mufti and some wore yellow.  There was a colouring competition for the younger students and prizes awarded.  Thank you to the Student Council and Mrs G for organising this event and helping to raise money for the Cancer Society.


SKI TRIP
Next week we have our annual Ski Trip on Monday.  Thanks to Mrs Moore for organising this well anticipated day!  A final notice was sent home yesterday and can also be found on the blog in the previous post.  Please ensure you bring everything on the list.  See you at school at 7:15am Monday morning.


SEUSSICAL Jr UPDATE
Tickets will go on sale this week.  More details about how to purchase these will follow shortly.
Ted has made a video but it is too big to be uploaded here.  Hopefully it will be on the school website early next week.

Key dates: 
Wednesday 26 September 7:30pm
Thursday 27 September 7:30pm

Students in the cast will be expected at school from 5:30pm, depending on their character

Help needed:

I will send out an email this weekend of extra things we need, as well as asking for some help with costumes.  We have most of the costumes from Impact Dance and Stage School, but still need to create a few costumes for our leads.  Any help will be much appreciated.  

CULTURAL FESTIVAL
All the best to our Kapa Haka and Pacifica groups who will be performing at the Cultural Festival on Tuesday.  You have been working really hard to perfect your items and we hope you enjoy the experience of performing on the BIG stage.

Ski Trip Final Notice!

FINAL SKI TRIP NOTICE: 30/8/18

Check your school emails and the school website on the morning of the trip for confirmation of the ski trip going ahead OR being cancelled.  I will send notifications out by 6.30am once I’ve made the call on the day.
Arrive at the HQ by 7.15am ready for the roll with your home room teacher.  Do not be late please. Parents who are coming as parent helpers need to be in the ‘boardroom’ in the HQ at 7.15am ready for the safety briefing with me.
Programme for the day:

• 7.30am load on to buses and depart
• 9.30am arrive at the Hutt top car park
• 9.40-10.20am go through rentals and get all equipment
• 10.30am-12pm ski/snowboard lesson
• 12-1pm lunch break
• 1-3pm skiing/snowboarding and then returning gear at 3pm
• 3.30pm roll call at the buses, depart Hutt to return to school
• 5.30pm arrive back at school (we may be earlier however)

Arrange for someone to be at school to pick you up please.  A good time is 5.15pm ready and waiting!
On the bus, wear you bottom base layer and ski pants.  On the top half wear your base layer (polyprop or thermal), t-shirt and warm top eg a sweatshirt or merino.  Your ski jacket, gloves, goggles, ear warmer or beanie need to all be in your school bag along with your lunch and water bottle.  You will put all these things on once you arrive. The full gear list was on the initial permission form.
Devices are permitted on the trip, however it is important to note that these are the responsibility of the student and no teacher will be responsible for damage, theft or loss of a device.  No posting to social media of another student is permitted.
Any other questions, feel free to email me on kmoore@avonhead.school.nz

We are looking forward to a great day on the snow!
Karalee Moore & the Senior HQ Teachers

Week 6, Term 3

This term is flying by. I can't believe it is Week 6 already, and only 5 weeks to go until Seussical Jr is on!

What's been happening this term so far?

• Cantamath - congratulations to our Year 7 (Chi, Max, Rahil and Shivam) and our Year 8 (Isaac, Ted, Misha and Larissa) teams who competed at the Horncastle Arena on Wednesday.  They competed against 100ish other schools with the aim of solving 20 questions in 30 minutes. Both teams did really well, with the Year 7s scoring 65 points (13 questions correct) and the Year 8s scoring 80 points (16 questions correct). The Year 8s finished 11th!  A huge thank you to these students for representing Avonhead and also to the students who were part of the  Cantamath training squad

• Another part of Cantamath is the display category.  All students were supposed to create a Publicity Motif and a second project.  We chose the best ones to enter.  Congratulations to the following students who received awards.
• Highly Commended: Skye, Sahaana, Lara, Dylan, Jenny (Publicity Motif); Arabella and Nicole, Charlotte (Games and Puzzles); Jorgia, Jennifer (Posters); Josh, Hamish, Nadia, Lucy, Larissa, Dylan (Models)
• Excellence: Mia (Photography); Ilze, Jennifer, Bella, Ava, Zannia, Antonella (Publicity Motif); Zannia (Posters)
• In addition, Zannia and Antonella's Publicity Motifs have been taken by the organisers as possibilities for the advertising poster for 2019 - a great honour.

• Finally, a huge congratulation to Jae, whose Publicity Motif from last year was chosen as the winning design and featured on the certificates and posters for this year's Cantamath.

• We have also held our Senior HQ Science Fair.  All students followed the scientific process and investigated something of interest.  I was really impressed with how well students did follow this process - starting with a question, forming a hypothesis, determining a method, carrying out the investigation, recording results and analysing them and finally making a conclusion.
• Congratulations to Isaac, Ted, Joel, Addi, Annabell and Kennadie whose exhibits have been chosen to be entered into the Canterbury Westland Science Fair.  This is going to be held at the University of Canterbury, in the Engineering Core and the Ernest Rutherford Building on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 September.  Public viewing is from 2pm-5pm on Saturday and 9am-12 noon on the Sunday.  Please feel free to pop down and see what Canterbury kids have been investigating!

• We had students competing at the Winter Tournament in Week 2 which was lots of fun!  The netball and football teams qualified for the Centrals - congratulations teams!

• Seussical Jr rehearsals have increased, and we are very thankful for extra talents and help from Elizabeth Grubb (acting) and Andrew Withington (singing).

What's coming up?

• Annual Senior HQ Ski Trip - Monday 3rd September- Mrs Moore has been very busy organising this awesome day for all of us.  Please make sure you have all the gear you need from the gear list.

• Current Events quiz - Wednesday 29 August, 6:30 - 8:00pm - we have 4 Year 7/8 teams entered in this.  Good luck guys!

• Seussical Jr - Wednesday 26 September and Thursday 27 September - all cast and back stage crew (TBA) will be required at school on both evenings please.  More details with times etc will come out in the next week.  Tickets will go on sale next week (Week 7).  We will be looking for some items to borrow, as well as some parents to help with some sewing and other bits and pieces please - a list will come out this week!  Thanks in advance :)

• Our Kapa Haka group have been rehearsing for the upcoming Cultural Festival on Tuesday 4 September.  I had the privilege of being taught the poi by some of our Kapa Haka students - what great teachers they were! All the best for your performance!

Reminder time!

Our Senior HQ ski trip is fast approaching, taking place on Monday 3rd of September.  The majority of forms are in but we require ALL forms completed and returned by this Friday the 10th of August please to home room teachers.  Please get a form off your home room teacher or from in the notices drawer in the info space if you need another one.  If you ARE NOT attending the ski trip, we require a signed note from home please.  This allows us to determine if a teacher is staying behind or whether students will be allocated to help in other classes on the day of the trip.

We are also asking for improvement with school uniform.  The teachers have noticed non school uniform items such as hoodies and shorts (with big branding all over them) being worn.  Students are only permitted to wear the school polo, plain black shorts or pants, tartan tunic, school sweatshirt, school polar fleece and the senior jacket.  Other items of clothing will need to remain at home or in school bags please.  With the cold weather it is useful for students to have a sweatshirt or senior jacket please.  Nail polish, jewelry and makeup are not permitted either, aside from small studs.

Finally, all science fair presentation boards and displays were due in last Friday (or Monday for Seussical leads).  If you haven't met this deadline please ensure your presentation or your update are given in ASAP to home room teachers.  We will let you know shortly when the 'open afternoon' will be so you can invite parents to view everyone's science investigations.

If you have any questions regarding the above, please email home room teachers directly.

Week 8, Term 2 Update

Good afternoon all.

Wow, unbelievable that it is now only two weeks until the school holidays. We have had a really busy term with a lot happening.

Science Fair
These are now at the stage where students need to conduct their inquiries at home over the next 4 weeks. These are for our students to complete, parents are not expected to have to do any work. Any help you can offer is appreciated.

Weekly Sport
Unfortunately that was cancelled again today. We a really hoping that it is on next week!

Uniforms
We are noticing the standard of dress is dropping. A number of students are choosing to wear hoodies instead of school uniform. There are a number of girls wearing nail polish. We just need to sharpen this up a little. There is no issue with wearing a hoodie or jacket to and from school, but it is not appropriate to be worn in the classroom during the day.

Paid Union Meeting
Just a reminder that this is happening after lunch on Tuesday. We have 80% of the forms returned. We would really appreciate the rest so that we know what each student will be doing next Tuesday so that we are well staffed ready for those who are staying at school.

Farewell Katrina and Nora
A big farewell and thank you to Katrina Gilfoyle and Nora Niddery - our student teachers who have been with us for the past seven weeks. We have really appreciated their excellent input, support and enthusiasm. We REALLY appreciated the crepes and pancakes they made over the last two days! We wish them all the very best for their future teaching careers.

Have a wonderful weekend and stay warm. Fingers crossed sport will be on for those of you involved this weekend!

Warm regards,
Bruce, Karalee, Sandie, Darelle and Hayley

Senior HQ Speech Competition 2018

Today we had the grand final of the Senior HQ Speech Competition for 2018 - for Year 7 and 8 students.  Competition was tough, the final was long (20 speeches in total) and we did have the distraction of being dressed in house colours and accessories!  We are delighted to announce the following finalists:

YEAR 7

1st   Nyella Thompson - If I was Prime Minister for a Day

2nd  Rahil Uddin - Do Actions Speak Louder than Words?

3rd   Mia Anderson - Should Rodeos Be Banned?

YEAR 8

1st    Lucy Willis - Do Actions Speak Louder than Words?

2nd   Ted Eason - Should Rodeos Be Banned?

3rd    Tayla Johnson - Should Rodeos Be Banned?

    

Week 8 Term 2 2018

There are lots of bits and pieces happening this week.  They are all on the school website, but for easy access and as another reminder, here we go....

Tuesday:
Technology - please be at school by 8:30am
Fish n Chip lunch for HQ 1 and 2

Wednesday:
Cross Country Centrals were to be today but are postponed until 27 June
Teachers' CRT day - planning for Term 3

Thursday:
Choir 8am
Fish n Chip lunch for HQ 3 and 4 (thanks Student Council and Mrs G!!)
Otago Problem Solving #3 (may be postponed until Monday of Week 9)
Senior HQ speech finals
House Colour mufti day
Musical Soiree (5:30 - 6:30pm in the hall)

Friday:
Miss G and Miss Niddery's last day
Weekly sport (.......really???????? here's hoping!!!!)
School disco (7:00 - 9:00pm in the hall) Tickets can be purchased before school from outside the hall

Some of our techno savie kids have made this really cool video to advertise the disco.  Check it out...

Science Fair:
Students should have:
* come up with a question
* started a log book (or log 'doc')
* completed a KWHL in their log book
* written a hypothesis (Science) or drawn 3 prototypes (Technology)
* written or be in the process of writing their method
We are almost at the point where students need to be carrying out their investigation.  Just a reminder that this part of the Science and Technology Fair needs to be done AT HOME.  School time will resume for the Science and Technology Fair next term when we give the students time and help to present their investigations.  It is essential that investigations are underway as soon as possible, especially for anyone who needs to test things over time!

Seussical Jr:
We have cast a few more roles.  Congratulations to:
Mr and Mrs Mayor:    Luka and Annabell
Bird Girls (soloists):   Addi, Ella and Tanin
Bird Girls:     Lucy, Nyella, Mia, Sahaana and Eleana
Wickershams (soloists):    William R, Daniel R, Rahil
Wickershams:    Joel, Isaac Wi, Max, Aidan, James D

Entertainment Books:
Please could you complete your purchase of these, or return these to school, this week.

Science Fair Task 2: hypothesis

Here is the 'official' task sheet for Part 2 of the Science Fair.

Please note, students doing 'SCIENCE' complete Pages 1 and 3 and students doing 'TECHNOLOGY' complete Pages 2 and 3

Science Fair Task 2: KWHL and Hypothesis

Week 7, Term 2 2018

Welcome to Week 7 - this term seems to be flying!

Our trips to the university science lab were a success last week (thanks Mr Levings for organising buses for us!).  Mrs Moore has added a post with photos from her group.

Science Fair
Questions are supposed to have been shared with you teacher and hypothesis should be being written.  Miss G has completed two sessions on writing a hypothesis.  You will be given some time in class to complete these on Monday and Wednesday, and then your hypothesis must be handed in.

Parents, the students will receive a Part 2 guide sheet tomorrow and I will send this through tomorrow night, just to keep you updated on what is going on.  Very shortly, the students will be expected to carry out their investigation at home, so keeping track of what is happening now might be useful in case they need some help!!!


Winter Sport
After a very slow start to winter sport due to the weather, here's hoping this week is on!!  Please be prepared for practices during the week - listen out during hui for what is on and when, and also make sure you have your gear here on Friday.


Seussical Jr
Please see the post about our musical.  Dates for the shows have been confirmed as Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 September (probably the start time will be 7:30pm - TBC though)

Have a grea week everyone!

The Senior HQ Visit to University of Canterbury!

As part of our science inquiry this term, we planned some workshops for our students at the nearby University of Canterbury.  This was an extension of the science workshops we had been teaching in the Senior HQ to give the students exposure to physics, chemistry, writing up of experiments, kitchen chemistry, electronics and scientist studies!  We grouped all of our students into 3 large groups to visit the chemistry lab in the new Ernest Rutherford building.  We then walked or took the bus to visit the lab across two days in Week 6.  Each workshop had 4 different and interesting chemistry based stations that the groups moved around:

Station 1 - bunsen burners and changes in states
Station 2 - chemistry equipement and usage
Station 3 - molecules and structures
Station 4 - mixing and reactions

Check out the wee scientists from one of the groups in action: