Apiti
School and District Newsletter, 11/02/2013.
Welcome back for term 1 2013.
We hope everyone enjoyed time with their families and friends, along
with the fantastic summer weather we have had. It is great to see all of the
students back; revitalized and ready for learning.
We have lots of exciting learning
opportunities planned for this term and right through-out 2013.
Term Dates :
1st Term : 7th Feb - 19th April. 2nd Term : 6th May - 12th July. 3rd Term : 29th July - 27th Sept.
4th Term : 14th Oct - 20th Dec
All events will continue to be available on
our School Calendar. You can access this through the link above.
School Roll
We have started the new school year with 24
students, 15 in the senior room and 9 in the junior room.
Welcome
We would like to welcome the following
students to our school : Zahn, Dylan and James.
Zahn is a Year 7 student, Dylan a Year 4 student and James a Year 2
student. We know Zahn, Dylan and James
will enjoy learning at Apiti school.
Sadly we have said farewell to Jack and
Danni, Cailee, Brianna and Marrac. We wish them
all well at their new schools and their future.
We also said farewell to our Year 8 student
Stanley. We wish Stanley all the best
for his High School years and beyond.
Reporting
We hope everyone enjoyed sharing their
children’s learning in 2012 through their reports and the information available
on their record keeping pages. It was great to receive so much positive
feedback about the depth and format of student reports. This year we will
provide the opportunity for a teacher, parent and student conference at the end
of term 1. It is designed as an opportunity to discuss learning goals, clarify
learning and ensure communication that further enables us to work together to
help your child reach his / her full potential.
Looking Forward...
The first Unit for the term is ‘I wonder ...’. ?
The Apiti Show provides an excellent
opportunity to showcase the high levels of learning and achievement of our
students. It also gives the students an authentic context for learning. As part
of this unit we are focusing on further development of learning and thinking
skills.
The students will:
- Create a 'Creature'
with images from medium such as magazines, flyers or the internet.
- Write a free verse poem
using language to describe and explain their created creature.
- Design and create a
kite. This must follow the basic principle required for kites (Measurement
and design) but can be decorative or functional.
- Paint and present a
night scene; 'Horizons by Night'
Students have spent some time discussing and
planning their kites at school and we hope at home. They will need to bring any
specific materials they need as designs/resources will vary. The school can buy
material for students if required. (Students need to share their plans, ideas
and measurements with us so we can buy accordingly). All making will be done at
school.
We hope you can discuss options and ideas for
all of these areas of learning. This work will be part of the school competition
at the Apiti show on the 23rd February. It is a great community day. It is also
one of our main fundraising days, especially as we have the opportunity to
obtain money from outside the area. ASSA provide the judges lunches on the day,
and you will be asked to provide food for this. We run some fundraising activities
like a Closest to the pin golf competition and this year a nail driving
competition. Please make yourself available to help during the day to run these
activities.
Home School Partnership - Homework
The goal of homework is to:-
A) develop a habit and a desire to continue
learning outside the classroom and
B) to encourage children to share / discuss
their learning with you. This links directly with our motto; 'LEARN FOR LIFE'
and our commitment to home / school links and communication.
As part of our focus this year on developing
learning and thinking skills and reading comprehension, senior room students
will this year research and share current events. Each student has chosen a day
that fits their personal schedule, to share. Please ask your child what day
they are sharing each week. A google doc is linked to their e-portfolio
'Integrated learning' page for them to present on. All students are still
expected to read for at least 20 minutes each night and spend time developing
their maths and reading skills. 'Mathletics' and 'Reading eggs' are invaluable
tools for this. We appreciate the school's ongoing commitment to pay for these
sites for your students. Students will also have a weekly homework challenge
and optional 'Extra for Expert' learning tasks. (http://apitischoolwiki.wikispaces.com/Our+Current+Learning+Homework)
These are designed to develop thinking skills, problem solving and time
management. Spelling is a specific teaching focus as part of our class literacy
programme in 2013. There will not be regular homework for spelling. If you
would like to see your child's spelling, click on the literacy spelling link in
the Student learning portal in our wiki.
Junior students have an oral language
programme every morning, Mondays - recount of weekend. Tuesdays - share one of
your favourite books, Wednesday - current events, either a photo, or retell a suitable
event of local, national or international interest. Thursday - retell a partners
news about a topic eg pets, favourite sport, holiday, toy computer game. Friday
- poetry.
Tennis
This term we are very lucky to have Kurt
available again to teach tennis each Thursday from 11.30 -12.30. He is a very
good coach and we are very pleased he is still able to come out to our school.
He will coach students for $69 per term per pupil (as its a 12 week term).
Please pay him directly. Thanks to those who have confirmed already, please
contact the school if you would like your children to be involved in this great
opportunity. All students will have tennis tuition next term as part of our
commitment to expose your children to a range of possible active pursuits
through Kiwi Sport.
Technicraft
Technicraft for our Year 7 and 8 students is
on Mondays and started on the 4th February. Students will need to take pens, a
pencil, ruler, 1 1B5 . The bus leaves Kimbolton School at 9am so parents
involved will organise transport to and from Kimbolton.
Swimming and Sun Care
There will be swimming every day both at lunchtime and during class time while the weather
is warm. Students need to bring their togs and towel please as this is in
preparation for the Oroua Group of Schools swimming sports being held March the
1st. Students will always be able to hop out of the pool if they get cold, but
those who do feel the cold may like to bring along wetsuits to swim in. If your child is not to swim for any reason,
please send along a note from home.
Students are also required to take
responsibility for their own sun care while at school i.e sunhats which they
bring from home and wearing sunscreen.
There are a number of students who will be
aiming to swim in the championship (length) events this year. We are aware that
our school pool makes training for this difficult and most of our students are
not training with swim clubs. We will be offering training at the Makino pool
after school for committed students. If your child would like to be involved in
this and you are heading to town or home so can help with transport please get
in touch with Nicki.
Tablets / Laptops / Ipods
A number of students now have these and are welcome to bring them to
school to be used for educational purposes. Used properly, these are very
valuable learning tools and we encourage their use as we believe in educating
students with IT, not blocking use. The flow of IT into all our lives is
unavoidable and we embrace the mainly positive aspects. There are a number of
great educational apps that can be downloaded and they provide access to great
educational websites and tools including calculators and dictionaries and
higher level thinking tools. However, they
do get us thinking about a couple of possible issues ...
- These are expensive
tools and if you choose to let your children bring them to school, they
are their responsibility, not ours.
- It seems an
appropriate time for you to discuss internet safety with your children as
not all homes have a filter, like Watch dog which we have at school, to
block inappropriate sites. Also what do they do if they get onto an
inappropriate site or if someone asks for their details.
Thank You
- It was a delight to
return back to school this week having the grounds and rooms looking
exceptionally tidy and clean. Thanks Christine for all of your hard work
- Thank you to June and
Murray for the hours you have put in to ensuring the pool is ready for the
start of school. It is open for community use.
- Thank you to Fiona for
offering to continue 'Toe by Toe' tuition for a select group of students
this year. Pat will also be teaching 'Toe by Toe'. Staff and students
appreciate this ongoing support as it enables this very valuable programme
to continue.
- Thank you to anyone
else who helped out in any way to make the holiday period run smoothly. It
really is appreciated!
Water Safety - Swim For Life Programme
Together with Water Safey NZ, we aim to
increase awareness of the importance of teaching children to swim, provide the
tools so that parents can help support learn to swim programmes in schools and
to encourage kids by making their learning to swim experience fun and
rewarding.
We will be having this ‘Swim for Life’
programme in our school with a coach from the Makino Aquatic Centre on the
following Mondays and Thursdays :- 14th, 18th, 21st,
25th, 28th of February and the 4th, 7th
and 11th of March, from 11.30 – 1.00pm. plus two other lessons to be
arranged for a ‘deep water’ experience at the Makino pool. On the 22nd of February we will be
travelling into the Makino to practice and to finalise widths / lengths for the
Oroua Group of Schools Swimming Sports.
We will need transport to and from the Makino on the 22nd please. A transport slip is attached.
Healthy Lunches Healthy lunches will be every Tuesday and
Thursday and will commence next Tuesday the 19th of February. The menu and price will be posted on the blog
once it has been finalised.
School Times School times for this term are as follows :- Class time from
9.00 – 10.30, break from 10.30 – 11.00. Class time from 11.00 – 12.30, lunch
break from 12.30 – 1.15. Class time from
1.15 – 2.00, break time 2.00 – 2.15.
Class time from 2.15 – 3.00pm Monday to Friday.
Board of Trustees Meeting
The next Board meeting will be held on
Wednesday the 27th of February starting at 7.30pm in the school
staff room. All members of the public
are welcome to attend.
Emergency Contacts
If for any reason you have changed your
emergency contacts that were on your enrolment form or you have a change of
cell phone number etc, please let us know a.s.a.p please.
Helmet Reminder
All students are now required to wear a
helmet – done up under their chin, at all times when-ever they are on any
wheeled vehicle e.g skateboard, scooter, bike while at school. We appreciate your co-operation with this rule.
Thank you to Huntah for the Skate-Board
Grinding Ramp.
Oroua Group of School Triathlon
For your calendar - This event is to be held
on Friday the 8th of March. More details closer to the event.
School Bus Reminder
Please remember to inform Yvonne if your
child is not catching the school bus on any given morning or afternoon. Also if a child who is not normally a bus
student needs to catch the bus, a note or phone call from a parent would be appreciated. Thanks to Yvonne and Mervyn for your great committment to providing our bus service.
Northern Oroua Sam Strahan Cup
The Oroua Junior Sam Strahan Team (Years 4 –
6) will play on the 8th of April against all schools involved in
this tournament and the Oroua Senior Sam Strahan Team (Year 7 – 8) will play on
the 10th of April against schools with a roll of under 120.
Internet
Unfortunately our internet is and has been
down since last week, therefore any community notices emailed to me recently
are not included in this newsletter. We
will endeavour to get these items (if any) on the blog spot as soon as it is up
and running which should be either today or tomorrow.
Well that’s all for the first newsletter of
2013, will be back in a fortnight.
Regards, Mary, Nicki, Pat, Mary B and Christine.
Regards, Mary, Nicki, Pat, Mary B and Christine.
ASSA
The Apiti Show is coming up
and once again ASSA will be providing the judges lunches. This is a good little
fundraising opportunity for us and close to home. I will be ringing around in
the next couple of weeks to ask for food donations. In the past it has been an
ice cream container full of meat and either a sweet or salad. I will also be
looking for helpers on the day to serve between 11 and 1ish. Thanks for your
support in advance! – Jo
Community Notices - Please look under our Community Notices link for more notices
Summer 6-a-side Hockey
Hi all.
The term 4 summer hockey went well with plenty of goals scored and lots
of new skills learnt! The term 1 summer
2013 season starts on the week of the 25th February and runs for 8
weeks. I sent out a note at the end of
last year with only a few replies (probably due to Christmas), so I am checking
again to see if there is enough interest to get a team together. I am happy to look after the Year 5 and 6
team.
We will need a volunteer to look after a Year
3 and 4 and another to look after the Year 7 and 8 team. Can you please get
back to me if you are able to look after one of these teams and also if you
have a child or children that are keen to play and what year they are. Please pass this on to anyone that you think
could have a child interested in playing in the Oroua Teams. If I cannot get the team sorted by the 15th
Feb, then we will not be entering in this summer league. -
Peter Thomas - 3289770.
Blue Light Disco
Feilding Bluelight has just started in the
Feilding Community by Feilding Police and other community members.
On Friday the 22nd of February,
they will be running two disco’s at the Feilding Civic Centre for primary /
intermediate aged school children :-
5.30 – 7pm for Year 1 to Year 6 students for
a $2.00 entry fee.
7.30 – 9pm for Year 7 to Year 8 students for
a $2.00 entry fee.
Students must also present a permission slip
before entry is allowed. These are
available from our school office.
Drinks, lollies and glow stick’s for sale. (N.Z Police/Blue Light Ventures).
Kiwitea School Fundraisers
Saturday 16th February – Farmers’ Ramble – ATV Tour. Experience the beautiful country
side of the greater Beaconsfield Valley.
Enjoy a delicious smorgasboard type lunch in picturesque Mamaku Garden,
situated on the 50km loop. Cost: $25.00 per person. Booking is essential. Bookings close 13th Feb. Farm bikes only – no racing.
Details will be sent once booking is made.
Sunday 24th February – Trail Ride. $30.00 adults, $15.00
child. Senior / Intermediate / Junior
tracks. Contacts : Glen or Jo Terry –
3289 003 or 021 2374170.
Manawatu Cricket
The Have-A-Go cricket programme will be
starting in Feilding on Thursday February 14th at Kowhai Park from 5.30 –
6.30pm. The cost of the programme is
$30.00. All gear will be provided by the
Manawatu Cricket Association. To register,
please contact Dave Meiring on 3542 498, email: dave.meiring @mca.org.nz
Sport Manawatu – Splash and Dash Kids Triathlon 2013.
Wednesday February 13th. Timona Park 4.15 – 6.00pm. $3.00 entry per participant.
5 – 6 years 5.00pm
– Run 500m, Cycle lap 500m with a slip and slide and obstacle fun.
7 – 9 years 5.30pm
– Run 1km, Cycle lap 1km with a slip and slide and obstacle fun.
10 -13 years 6.00pm
– Run 1.5km, Cycle lap 1.5km with a slip and slide and obstacle fun.
Entry forms from the school office, or from
the Makino Aquatic Centre, or Sport Manawatu Feilding Office. All participants will receive a swim pass at
the Makino Pool, a certificate and a BBQ dinner after the event. Loads of awesome prizes including a brand new
bike from Avanti Plus and a school competition prize worth $200.00. For more info, contact Sport Manawatu on 3236
900 or email serena.rata@sportmanawatu.org.nz - Sport Manawatu.
Thank You
Thank you to Doug and Winston who have very
kindly resurrected the ‘Welcome to Apiti’ sign on the South side of the Apiti Village.
Chess Clubs
Feilding Chess Club – Monday nights 5.30 –
7pm. Feilding Intermediate, East St, Feilding.
Contact Mark on 3237 003 or 027 3382040 – Chess Grandmaster Coach.
Palmy Knights Chess Club – Tuesday nights
5.30 – 7.00pm. Hokowhitu Bowling Club,
Albert St, Palmerston North. Contact
Mark on 3237 003 or 027 3382040.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Transport into the Makino Aquatic Centre – Friday 22nd
February
I am able / unable to transport my own
child/ren to the Makino Pools in Feilding, plus …………children.
…………………………………..
Signed.
