2013.07.29

Welcome to week 1 of term 3 2013.  Nice to see everyone back here looking refreshed and ready for a busy term learning! We hope you have all had some well-deserved family time.
Term Dates
Term 3 : 29th July - 27th Sept.  Term 4 : 14th Oct - 20th Dec.

Calendar
Just a reminder that all dates below are on our google calendar (Link on side bar of this Newsletter) for quick reference.

Welcome
We are delighted to welcome Anneke a year 5 student, Bianca a year 4 student and Damian a year 2 student and their family to our school.  We know these students will enjoy learning at Apiti School.
We are also pleased to welcome Nicki back from her sabbatical as well as Zahn from his family holiday.
Unfortunately, we have had to say farewell to Cole and Logan who have left the district.  We wish Cole and Logan all the very best at their new school and beyond.
We would like to thank Wendy and Miles for all the support they have given to the school over the past 6 to 7 years Wendy was elected to the Board in March 2007 and served as chairperson from then through to July 2011 - a very significant time!!
Wendy  and Miles were always there when it came to helping out with fundraising e.g manning the BBQ etc.
Thank you and all the best in your new venture. 

Staffing
This term Nicki will teach in the senior room and Anwyl in the junior room.
Mary B continues to provide Principal release, teaching mainly  in the junior room. On these occasions Anwyl will be teaching in the senior room with Nicki.
Pat continues to support student learning in both classes.

If you have anything you would like to discuss, please feel free to drop in during break times or make a time to catch up. Anwyl and I are always here.

Horizons Visit
Late last term, Natasha from Horizons and a representative from the Manawatu District Council (David) visited us to see how a model Enviroschool works.  In the pouring rain, our students were amazing guides and leaders sharing all their action projects with Natasha and David.  The M.D.C will be helping finance HRC Enviroschool initiatives.  

Speeches
Presentation format – Oral presentation
As part of written language all students will spend the next 2 weeks planning and writing a speech.
Junior students – Explanation
·         Topic -  Beans (1-2 minutes)
Senior students – Persuasive argument
·         Topic – Imagine a world without … / The most important invention has to be … (3 minutes)
These can be an object e.g. pen or a value e.g. honesty

Homework - Your help with providing the opportunity for your children to further develop their arguments through discussion with you at home would be very helpful and beneficial. This helps them develop their argument, the evidence to justify their beliefs and the use of persuasive and emotive language. It would be great if they could tackle something relevant to their lives.

These will be shared with you at our next assembly, starting at 1.30 on Friday the 16th of August  in the library. All parents, grandparents, friends are welcome to attend.  
All senior room students will be judged. The top two year 6-8 students will represent us at the Oroua Speech Competition held at the Oroua Clubrooms on the 22nd of August. All senior room students are invited to listen to Oroua’s best! Could you please let us know if you are able to help with transport.


Parent Meeting
There is to be a Parents Meeting on Monday the 5th of August starting  at 7.00pm to discuss the Apiti School roll.  We encourage all parents to come to this meeting! 
There will be a movie available in the senior room if you need to bring your children.
Please call Katherine on 3284 747 to discuss anything that you would like on the agenda for the meeting.

Dog Awareness Educator
On Thursday the 29th of August at 1.30, we will be having Kelly and her dog come to school to educate our students how to approach dogs etc.  Parents are most welcome to come to this session.
   
Bon Apiti
With a short term and so much planned ‘Healthy lunches’ have been put on hold. The ‘Bon Apiti Committee’ will spend some time refocusing and planning how the programme can work more effectively.
The microwaves and ovens in the student kitchen are available for students to heat winter warming lunches.

Oroua Schools Soccer Tournament
This tournament will be held on Monday the 2nd of September at the Kimbolton Domain.  To prepare for this tournament we will be having soccer coaching every Monday starting on Monday the 29th of July (today) and continuing every Monday for 6 weeks.  The coaching will be by Sport Manawatu coaches. Students will need to come to school prepared for soccer practice e.g shorts, shoes.  All students will be involved as there is a senior and a junior competition - Years 0 - 3 and Years 4 - 8.  

Oroua Schools Science Expo – “I wonder how it works …”
Presentation format – Oral interactive presentation / Display using written and visual language
Students have been investigating and learning about circuits (senior) and plant growth (junior). This learning will be shared at the Oroua Science expo on Thursday the 12th of September at Kiwitea School.  
As an extension of this learning in science and technology, senior students will be investigating an area they are interested in, focusing on how it works. This could include ideas such as diagrams, graphs, model making, innovations or improvements on a theme and flow charts may also be included. These will be displayed and judged at the Oroua Science expo.

Wednesday to Friday afternoons this term, all students will take part in a whanau based learning rotation. This is to maximise development of questioning, investigation and presentation skills.  Learning will be shared in part through Science expo, assemblies, Digiaward entries and Lamb and Calf day.

Zero Waste
Mrs Goodall will be teaching Zero waste in week 4. More details in our next newsletter.

School Library
The Community Creators will be looking at updating our library this term. We are looking for pre-loved couches and coffee tables that would suit our library design. If you are able to help please contact Zahn. 

On this note … if your child has a book they are enjoying at home, it would be great if they could bring it to school to continue reading, this encourages reading mileage (lots of reading!)  It is also beneficial for children to share great books and authors. Thanks.

School Skiing
We are planning to have this trip one day during Week 8 (16th - 20th Sept), subject to board approval.

Cycling
Bike Manawatu is organising a ‘Feilding Festival of Cycling’. Races include Mountain bike, 20 km recreational, 50 km recreational and 90 km recreational. If you are interested in joining an Apiti group to participate please let Nicki know. For more information visit www.feildingfestivalofcycling.co.nz

Board of Trustees Meeting
The next Board meeting will be held on Monday the 12th of August on the staff room stating at 7.00p.m.
All members of the public are welcome to attend.

Assembly/Shared Afternoon Tea
Thank you to everyone who came along for the end of tern assembly and for attending the shared afternoon tea for Cole, Logan, Wendy and Miles.  

Thank You
Thank you to Chrissy for all her cleaning and caretaking work over the holidays.  It is always great to come back to a pristine school.   

Yummy Stickers
Please find attached, 2 x Yummy Sticker sheets for you to start collecting those yummy labels from certain varieties of apples and bags of apples. Ask your family members, friends, neighbours to start collecting as the more stickers collected, the more chance we have of winning sports gear.  This promotion does take into count the number of students on the roll. These sheets will need to be back at school by the 20th of September please.
  
Happy Birthday to the following students who celebrated her birthday yesterday, we hope you had a great day!  28th July - Anneke!