Tēnā koe whānau,

And here we are.. only one week to go! One week until the school holidays start. One week until some of your children finish their school days at primary school and become High Schoolers. One week until Danielle moves out of her house, ready to make the jump across the ditch. One week until Mel can have a sleep in! - at least until the baby arrives anyway! One week until Michael pays his first ever mortgage payment. We hope that there is something exciting also coming up for you too as we head into the summer break.

This will be our last notice for the year so we all wish you a Meri Kirihimere. Thank you for being a part of our Teretere Community this year. We have been so lucky to have spent the past year with your tamariki. We think they are all wonderful!!

Here's the link to our photo Gallery for this week: Gallery slide here

Sausage Sizzle:

There is a sausage sizzle at school on Tuesday 12th December. Sausages are $2.50 each and these can be ordered through Kindo.

Secret Santa:

There are a number of kids who have opted in to be a part of a secret Santa with their classes this week. This will be held on Thursday - so if gifts could be brought before then please. Gifts are to be no more than $10 or something homemade.

Key Dates coming up:

WEEK 10

Tuesday 12th December Class swap

Wednesday 13th December Class moving day

Year 8 Leavers Dinner (doors open at 6pm)

Thursday 14th December Water Fun at school TBC

Secret Santa - Gift giving day

Friday 15th December Final Hui (Year 8 farewell hui) @ 9.15am

Term 4 ends at 12.45pm

Have a great last week!

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Tēnā koe whānau,

As week 7 comes to a close we are looking forward to some exciting events that are still to come in the last few weeks of term. Including Year 8 Leavers events, Tough kids and our Sustainability Market Day.  The ākonga are still working hard and it is wonderful to see them still putting in the effort even as the year is getting closer to ending and Christmas is just around the corner! December is next week!

Here's the link to our photo Gallery for this week: Gallery slide here

Sustainability Market Day:

All of the ākonga have been working towards our Sustainability Market Day which is happening on Friday December 1st, 11.15am-12pm. They have put together a plan for their stall and have pitched their ideas to us alongside recognising at least 3 different aspects that makes their stall sustainable. Most stalls will have a cost of $1-$4 and we would love it if you could come and check out what they have done. The stalls will be in and around Teretere. Thank you to those of you who have been supporting your child with their ideas from home.

End of Year Events:

There are a number of end of year events coming up in the next few weeks. This includes a leadership hui - This is when all of the students who have been participating in leadership roles this year get acknowledged. At the final end of year hui the Year 8 students will be farewelled and will receive their Kete and their pounamu. Dates for these events are mentioned below

Year 8 Leavers Dinner

Thank you to those of you who have already let us know whether you will be making it to our Year 8 Leavers Dinner. This is important for catering purposes and seating arrangements. If you have not yet filled out the form you will find it here. There is no need to fill it in again if you have already done this.

Sexuality Education:

This is going to be happening next week. Please look out for a separate Hero notice in regards to the lessons that will take place over the course of next week. We will have sessions everyday next week covering different things. If you have any more questions or concerns, please get in touch with one of us on an email address below.

Key Dates coming up:

WEEK 8

Wednesday 29th November Canterbury Athletics Day (Zoe & Pheonix)

Thursday 30th November TECH

Ki o Rahi Festival (Specific children only)

Friday 1st December TERETERE SUSTAINABLE MARKET DAY

------

WEEK 9

Tuesday 5th December Year 8 Leavers Day (8.30am-4.15pm)

Wednesday 6th December Tough Kids event

Thursday 7th December Final TECH session for 2023

Friday 8th December Leadership Hui @ 9.15am

------

WEEK 10

Tuesday 12th December Class swap

Wednesday 13th December Class moving day

Year 8 Leavers Dinner (doors open at 6pm)

Thursday 14th December Water Fun at school TBC

Friday 15th December Final Hui (Year 8 farewell hui) @ 9.15am

Term 4 ends at 12.45pm

Have a great week!

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Tēnā koe whānau,

A huge thank you to all of you who are being diligent and keeping your kids at home when they are sick! There are a lot of bugs going around at the moment including Chicken Pox and Covid is doing the rounds again. We really do appreciate all your efforts to help slow the spread and being considerate of all the other bodies at school. Hopefully nothing hangs around too much longer and we can move into the Summer break healthy and ready to enjoy the sun!

Welcome to Kai who joins us from Ashburton Intermediate. We are looking forward to getting to know you this term.

Here's the link to our photo Gallery for this week: Gallery slide here

Hayfever:

Could you please make sure that if your child suffers from Hayfever they are given medication before coming to school otherwise if you bring some medication in to be kept in the office during the hayfever season it's there ready to be taken if needed. There have been a growing number of children expecting the office to dispense hayfever medication and this is something that isn't readily available at the office unless you have brought it in yourself.

Zone Athletics:

A massive congratulations to all our students who represented Ararira in the zones last Thursday. A big shout out to Zoe and Pheonix who have both qualified for the Canterbury Athletics Comp later in the term. Awesome work!

Teretere Sustainability Market:

On Friday 1st December the students in Teretere are starting a new tradition by having a Sustainability Market 11.15am-12pm. All of the tamariki have been planning activities that promote sustainability and we would love you to come along and check out what they have done.

As this is something they are continuing to work through at the moment we have discussed in depth with them about how their stall can connect to sustainability and there should not be any extra costs involved for parents. They are in groups of 2-3 students and have been told that if they need to spend money they can not spend more than $10 per person for their stall.

Sexuality Education:

This is going to be covered this term. We will let you know soon what the learning content of each of the lessons will be before they are taught and the exact dates of these lessons. If you do not want your child to be a part of these lessons please feel free to contact us to discuss.

Lincoln Community News:

Check out the latest copy of the Lincoln Community News below - Our Yr 7&8 tamariki have made a big feature in this issue.

Key Dates coming up:

WEEK 6

Tuesday 14th November DO BLUE - Blue non uniform day for Diabetes, gold coin donation please.

Thursday 15th November Teachers Only Day

Friday 16th November CANTERBURY SHOW DAY

------

WEEK 7 - Book Week

Thursday 23rd November TECH

Have a great week!

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Tēnā koe whānau,

A nice short week for everyone this week. Week 3 is done and before you know it we'll be at the halfway mark for the term.

The next week will be the start of our assessment for Term 4. We will be doing a Reading Easttle Assessment, a Maths Easttle Assessment and an IKAN assessment. You will see the dates for these added below.

Here's the link to our photo Gallery for this week: Gallery slide here

HEADPHONES:

All students will need headphones for their IKAN assessment on Monday afternoon. This is essential for enabling that they get the best result for this assessment. There are a large number of students that have no headphones and this will not serve them well over the next week with assessments. Please check in with your child to see whether they have headphones they can use for the next week.

Writers workshop:

Last week we had a group of students attend a writers workshop. They have had their work published on the School of Young Writers website. Check out the work of An, Janie & Skye here: 

Writers Workshop link

Year 8 Leavers Day:

Please remember to fill in this  form in if you haven't already. This day is classed as high risk so tamariki can not come if they do not have permission from a parent. We have enough parent help now. Thank you to our 4 parents who have offered. 

Key Dates coming up:

WEEK 4

Monday 30th October Reading Easttle Assessment

Maths IKAN Assessment

Tuesday 31st October Ki-o-Rahi Tournament (selected students only)

Wednesday 1st November Maths Easttle Assessment

Thursday 2nd November TECH

Lincoln High School Testing and Fun Day

Friday 3rd November Gumboot Friday

------

WEEK 5

Thursday 9th November TECH

Zone Athletics Day

Have a great week!

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Tēnā koe whānau,

Term 4 already! It's hard to believe that there are only 9 more weeks left of the school year.

We started this term with a school election. The students enjoyed seeing the candidates doing all they could for the vote throughout the week with Orange taking it out.

On Friday we went to Lincoln Primary School and participated in a Careers Expo. It was an amazing visit! There were 12 different tables with parents that had gone above and beyond to create interactive tables that encouraged participation by all who attended. The ākonga were priviledged to see more insight into a variety of different career pathways including, engineering & early childhood, and showing them what it's like to be a scientist, dentist, physio, helicopter pilot, in the Army and working for government departments. It was wonderful to see the children so engaged with all that was on offer.

Here's the link to our photo Gallery for this week: Gallery slide here

Year 8 Events:

We will have a couple of Year 8 Leavers events coming up this term. Please look out for a separate notice with more information about this soon.

Tuesday 5th December is our Year 8 Leavers Day. We will be going the Adrenaline Forest and Surfing at Spencer Beach. This will be a whole day event.

Wednesday 13th December will be our Year 8 Leavers Dinner. This will be held at the Baylis Lounge at Lincoln Event Centre and all parents of Year 8 students are invited to attend.

Key Dates coming up:

Monday 16th October Orange mufti day

Thursday 19th October Tech

------

Monday 23rd October LABOUR DAY

Have a great week!

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Tēnā koe whānau,

How wonderful has it been to finally see Spring time over the past couple of weeks. Finally more Sunshine and more outside time! 

We said goodbye to Lyndora last week. She has started a new journey at West Rolleston School and we wish her all the very best with her transition and the next chapter of her life. She will be greatly missed!

We also had some big announcements from the kaiako this week. 

A big congratulations to Mel and Chris who are expecting a baby girl at the beginning of next year! Such exciting news for you all! And Danielle is heading to the Sunshine Coast with her whānau at the end of this school year. 

Here's the link to our photo Gallery for this week: Gallery slide here

Athletics Day

This will now be held on Friday 27th October.

Koru Games

Thank you to all the parent offers of help. We really appreciate you taking the time to make sure that the kids have an amazing experience for this event. For some this might be the only event of this kind they take part in and it's awesome to be able to be a part of providing them with the chance to do so. Please look out for a separate notice that will provide you with all the information you will need about the event. The link is also attached here. This includes information about meeting points on the first day, what to wear and bring and what the expectations are during the event. We are taking all students to this event and they are in teams that will be relying on each other's full participation. Fingers crossed everyone stays healthy for the event but if your child is sick please let us know with as much notice as possible as we may have to try and sort replacements - which takes time.

If you would still like to help in some way please let us know danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz 

Paetae Ākonga Pai Rawa Atu (Top student achiever for the week)

We have been continuing our Paetae Ākonga Pai Rawa Atu awards. We give out 3 certificates every Friday to 3 students who we have seen performing to their best through the values of the school - Caring, Curious and Capable.  The students chosen are putting in the best efforts and aiming for high quality in their work. They are hardworking and show that they are willing to take on feedback to get even better in whatever the task might be. Our winners last week were Thomas, Ethan T, Ruby W and Skye.  This week we have awarded Eileen, Michelle, Lajoon and Ailee with the honours. You can see photos of our winners on our gallery slide.

Key Dates coming up:

Tuesday 19th September KORU GAMES

Wednesday 20th September KORU GAMES

Thursday 21st September KORU GAMES

Friday 22nd September Last Day of Term 3

------

Monday 9th October First Day Term 4

Enjoy your 

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

It's been a huge couple of weeks for us! Kids have been at zones, presented speeches, started Koru Games practice and had a Cantamaths event. It has also been wonderful to see all the achievements of these kids on display in so many aspects! Thank you for sharing their stories with us - we love hearing them.

A massive congratulations to Mary and An who will be representing Ararira at the Selwyn Lions Speech Zone Competition on Monday night. Good luck to you both!

Here's the link to our photo Gallery for this week: Gallery slide here

Athletics Day

We would love to have some parent volunteers to help out on Athletics day in week 9 (15 September). If you can help at all please let us know.

Health Consulation

Please read the slides from our Health Consultation held on Wednesday 16th August that was sent out on Friday 18th on Hero. More information on our school curriculum can be found on the school website. A summary of what we teach is on these slides. Information regarding the Sexuality Education unit we teach, can be found by asking your child's ako class. Please speak to your child's teacher to check in about this. We will begin teaching this in Term 4.

If you wish to comment on this, please fill in the google form that was sent out on Hero last Friday.

Koru Games

Please we are still desparate for helpers! This is such a great opportunity for the kids. They play sport, work as a team and get the chance to meet some other kids from other schools as well. Please let us know if you can help. 19-21 September.

I will be sending out a separate notice over the weekend that will show you what sport your child is participating in over this event.

Paetae Ākonga Pai Rawa Atu (Tope student achiever for the week)

Over the past 2 weeks we have started our Paetae Ākonga Pai Rawa Atu awards. We give out 3 certificates every Friday to 3 students who we have seen performing to their best through the values of the school - Caring, Curious and Capable.  The students chosen are putting in the best efforts and aiming for high quality in their work. They are hardworking and show that they are willing to take on feedback to get even better in whatever the task might be. Our winners last week were Edmond, Julian and Jimmy. This week we have awarded Hunter S, Mia and Toby with the honours. You can see photos of our winners on our gallery slide.

Key Dates coming up:

Monday 4th September Selwyn Lions Speech Competition  6-7:30pm

Thursday 7th September Tech - Bus @ 8:45am

Friday 8th September Whānau Groups

Quiz Night

Monday 11th September SCHOOL PHOTOS TBC

Kapa Haka Performance at Fulton Hogan

Thursday 14th September Tech - Bus @ 8:45am

Friday 15th September Athletics Day

Enjoy your week

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

The last couple of weeks we have started to prepare for our speeches that are coming up. The ākonga have the opportunity to participate in a competitive speech competition against other students in the Selwyn area run by the Rotary Club. We will first have in class and school speeches for those who wish to be a part of the competitive competition. All students are still planning and writing their own speeches - even if they are not being presented it is still important for them to know how to structure a speech and chose an appropriate topic that will connect to an audience.

Here's the link to our photo Gallery for this week: Gallery slide here

Kids lunches:

It has come to our attention that there are a number of students that are choosing not to eat while they are at school. This is then causing a major lack of focus during afternoon lessons as well asit being detrimental to their health. At this age is it incredibly important that they all continue to fuel their bodies with food to help with the development of their brains as well as their bodies. This is such a crucial time for changes in their bodies that they need to make sure they are continuing to have a healthy relationship with food. We know a number of the students make their own lunches.. Please check in and see that they are actually giving themselves enough food to get through the day without starving themselves.

Koru Games:

WE NEED HELP!  

So far we have only had 1 parent offer to help support this event. We will not be able to attend if we have no parent help.

Every year we participate in the Koru Games event. This a 3 day sporting event where we travel by bus to various locations around Selwyn and compete in a variety of sporting events. This event is now only 4 1/2 weeks away and we need support from parents with looking after the teams.  The event itself goes from 19-21 September (Tues-Thurs). The tamariki play multiple games over 3 days and supervision is needed to cover all 3 days. If you think you can help at all with any of those days could you please let us know. The sports we have currently registered for are Badminton, Tennis, Football, Ki-O-Rahi, Netball, Lawn Bowls, Hockey, Volleyball, Table tennis & Basketball.

Please email danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz if you can help.

Career expo:

Please see the poster below in regards to the Career Expo that we will be holding alongside Lincoln Primary School.  We will be holding this day on October 13th which is the first week back on Term 4. This is a chance for you to share what you do and showcase your job with our Year 7 & 8 students in the hope that you might be able to inspire a future pathway for a student. This would involve you having a table/stall with an interactive element that would encourage students to ask questions and gain insight into what you do. If you are interested in being a part of this please email danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz.

Notices:

We will be making a concerted effort to reduce the number of emails you receive. This means that reading the newsletter will be essential if you want to be informed. We will still be emailing about specific class/event  things such as trips and asking for helpers. 

Newsletters are emailed and linked to the school website every fortnight. This is where you will find information about whole-school ‘happenings’, sports notices and dates to remember/note.

In the other weeks, we will continue to update our Teretere site, however, we will not send an email reminder about this. We are encouraging the Teretere tamariki to remind you to check this information regularly. Please check these two places for everything you need; if the information you are looking for is not there, please contact your child’s ako teacher. 

Important links:

School website- Along with being emailed, all newsletters are linked under the ‘communication’ tab

Facebook groups to join:

Ararira Springs Primary 

Ararira Springs Online Whānau - This is a great place to ask for clarification and receive reminders both from the school and from the parent community.  

Key Dates coming up:

Wednesday 23rd August Cantamath Competition Yr 7 4pm & Yr 8 5pm

Thursday 24th August Lincoln Zones Rugby/Netball

Tech - Bus @ 8:45am

Friday 25th August Whānau Groups

Curiosity Clubs

Non Uniform Day

Class Speech Competition Yr 7s Competitive

Monday 28th August Class Speech Competition Yr 8s Competitive

Tuesday 29th August Court Theatre Performance

Wednesday 30th August School Speech Competition TBC

Thursday 31st August Tech - Bus @ 8:45am

Friday 1st September Teretere Hui

Enjoy your week

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

This week was a very quiet week for us! Everyone has been working incredibly hard and been busy just getting stuff done. Check in with your child about their latest NZ Histories project. This has seen them looing at the decimal currency being introduced in NZ or the event of the Rainbow Warrior. Alongside learning about the history of NZ they are developing their research skills. They are reading to learn,  learning how to transfer what they read into note form and then putting this into a presentation. The progress that every single child has made with these learning projects throughout this year is incredible.

Please note a change with the maths evening notice below now with the inclusion of bringing the kids.

Here's the link to our photo Gallery for this week: Gallery slide here

Classroom Structure:

Over the past couple of weeks throughout our student led conferences it has become apparent to us that there are some of you who would appreciate a bit more knowledge about how our classroom space is run on a day to day basis. A typical day for us would generally look like this:

Hapori Time - A meeting with all our ākonga. This is a change for us to share all of the school notices , what is happening throughout that day and connect together. This generally runs for about 15-20 minutes

Fitness - Outside game with everyone

Structured Literacy - Our class is split into 3 groups and we spend the morning working through a structured literacy session and completing follow up tasks based on our spelling concept for the week.

Freckle Maths - An online maths site. They sit in their literacy groups for 15 minutes. This is a quiet independent task.

Independent WICK (weekly independent contract for kids) - This is their time to work on their NZ Histories task. They have 2 weeks to complete this task. Week 1 is used for researching and collecting notes and data and the 2nd week is used for putting together the presentation. They stay with their literacy groups while they do this.

Read Theory/Steps Web - An online reading programme which is done for 15 minutes. A quiet independent task that they can do anywhere in the main space.

Maths: Split into 2 main groups but one group is then split again into 6 smaller groups of 9/10 students each - They follow a planned rotation including seeing the teacher, playing maths games and doing questions that require the students to think and answer in multiple ways.

Koru Games:

Every year we participate in the Koru Games event. This a 3 day sporting event where we travel by bus to various locations around Selwyn and compete in a variety of sporting events. This event is now only 9 weeks away and we need support from parents with looking after the teams.  The event itself goes from 19-21 September (Tues-Thurs). The tamariki play multiple games over 3 days and supervision is needed to cover all 3 days. If you think you can help at all with any of those days could you please let us know. The sports we have currently registered for are Badminton, Tennis, Football, Ki-O-Rahi, Netball, Lawn Bowls, Hockey, Volleyball, Table tennis & Basketball.

Please email danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz if you think you can help.

Enviro day:

Next Wednesday, August 9th, - children may wear anything green or nature-themed. Please encourage your child to borrow, recycle, or use second-hand items, if they don't have anything to wear as we would like to be as environmentally conscious and sustainable as possible. The Enviro leaders have organised an Enviro Day to raise money towards one of our new school Enviro initiatives: more trees and nature within our school. This has developed into an Enchanted forest and sensory garden. We are currently in the early stages of planning and will be ongoing over the next couple of terms. A koha (gold coin) donation will be collected in the morning and any money donated will go towards planting our enchanted forest (sensory garden). 

Key Dates coming up:

NZ MATHS WEEK

Monday 7th August House of Bricks session

Wednesday 9th August Non Uniform Enviro Day - Gold coin donation

Thursday 10th August Tech - Bus @ 8:45am

Friday 11th August Whānau Groups

Curiosity Clubs

Enjoy your week

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

It's been a busy week 2 for us! Thank you to all of you who took the time to come in and connect with us over this past week during our Learning Conversations. All the tamariki who shared their learning with you did an amazing job! We are so proud of their efforts and that they showed you how they have a true understanding of where they are at with their learning and what they need to do next in order to improve and grow in areas they think need a bit of a push. We are looking forward to connecting with the rest of you next week.

We also had a select group of students out for a Peer Mediator Day. These students show Rangitiratanga (leadership) on a regular basis. They work alongside the kaiako (teachers) to provide a safe and caring face in the playground and others can recognise these leaders as positive role models at our kura (school).

We are saying Goodbye to Muntaha this week. She is leaving us to attend school in Riccarton. All the best to you Muntaha, we will miss your smiling face!

Here's the link to our photo Gallery for this week: Gallery slide here

Koru Games:

Every year we participate in the Koru Games event. This a 3 day sporting event where we travel by bus to various locations around Selwyn and compete in a variety of sporting events. This event is now only 9 weeks away and we need support from parents with looking after the teams. All tamariki will be informed next week about which teams they have been placed in which will mean we will have more on an idea of where we need the most support.  The event itself goes from 19-21 September (Tues-Thurs). The tamariki play multiple games over 3 days and supervision is needed to cover all 3 days. If you think you can help at all with any of those days could you please let us know. The sports we have currently registered for are Badminton, Tennis, Football, Ki-O-Rahi, Netball, Lawn Bowls, Hockey, Volleyball, Table tennis & Basketball.

Please email danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz if you think you can help.

Lanterns:

If you have any lights from lanterns that made it home after the Matariki celebration could these please be returned to school as we will reuse them again next year.

Key Dates coming up:

Tuesday 1st August Learning Conversations with Michael

Wednesday 2nd August Learning Conversations with Danielle, Mel and Michael

Thursday 3rd August Tech - Bus @ 8:45am

Friday 4th August Hui

Curiosity Clubs

Enjoy your week

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

It has been lovely to see your tamariki back this week. In the spirit of Matariki they have all enjoyed reconnecting with each other again. They have really been taking the time to understand what Matriki means as a part of New Zealand's culture and learn about the stories that are passed on from the past. Alongside this realising that it is a time to connect with people special to us and show gratitude for all we have.

It was lovely to see so many families at our Matariki Celebration on Friday night. It's a great chance to connect as a community under the stars and share kai. The Kapa Haka did an amazing job on their performance and a huge shout out to Preston who stood up at the last minute to lead the group alongside the other kaea; Amelia, Lyndora, Skye, Clarissa and Zachary. Last night was a real show of Rangatiratanga by each and every one of the tamariki who are a part of that group and it was awesome to see them all embracing the essence of New Zealand culture.

Here's the link to our photo Gallery for this week: Gallery slide here

Koru Games:

Every year we participate in the Koru Games event. This a 3 day sporting event where we travel by bus to various locations around Selwyn and compete in a variety of sporting events. This event is now only 9 weeks away and we need support from parents with looking after the teams. All tamariki will be informed next week about which teams they have been placed in which will mean we will have more on an idea of where we need the most support.  The event itself goes from 19-21 September (Tues-Thurs). The tamariki play multiple games over 3 days and supervision is needed to cover all 3 days. If you think you can help at all with any of those days could you please let us know. The sports we have currently registered for are Badminton, Tennis, Football, Ki-O-Rahi, Netball, Lawn Bowls, Hockey, Volleyball, Table tennis & Basketball.

Please email danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz if you think you can help.

Learning Conversations:

 We are very much looking forward to seeing most of you next week. A reminder that all Michael's interviews are the following Tuesday and Wednesday.

If you have not yet filled in the form to let school know what is happening with your child on Tuesday afternoon you can fill it in here.

These conversations will mainly be student led. They have a presentation that they are going to share with you in regards to their learning. We will be there to support them with this and follow up with any other relevant information. At the end of this presentation your child will let you know a couple of ways in which they think you might be able to help support them with their learning at home and give you the opportunity to ask questions. There will be some questions provided if would like to choose one of them to ask, but please do be prepared to ask them at least one thing. Below you will see a copy of these questions if you want to get prepared earlier!

Key Dates coming up:

Tuesday 25th July Learning Conversations with Danielle or Mel. School closing at 2pm.

Wednesday 26th July Learning Conversations with Danielle or Mel

Peer Mediators Big Day Out

Thursday 27th July Tech - Bus @ 8:45am

Kapa Haka Performance @ LHS 4:30pm

Friday 28th July Whānau Groups

Curiosity Clubs start

Enjoy your wet weekend!

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

We are very much looking forward to seeing the tamariki on Monday. We hope that you have all had an enjoyable break time together.

Monday we are starting the term with a Toy Swap. All ākonga need to bring a toy or book - that is in good condition, to swap with someone else in Teretere. We will start our day on Monday with an exchange so that all students get to come home with something new.

Tuesday morning will be our Mihi Whakatau and we will welcome our new students to Ararira with a formal welcoming ceremony.

Thursday we head back to Lincoln Primary for technology. We need to be at school by 8:45am to catch the bus.

Friday is our Matariki Celebration. Between 5:30-7pm our school community comes together to celebrate the Māori New Year. It's a chance to connect out of school, look at the stars, toast some marshmellows and listen to our Kapa Haka group perform. This is followed by a night time lantern walk across the school grounds.

Enjoy the rest of your week,

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Mel & Michael

Kia ora whānau,

Hard to believe it but that's the halfway mark already! Term 2 is officially finished and it's been another term full of learning and opportunities for our tamariki.

Here's the link to our photo Gallery for this week: Gallery slide here

Shared afternoon tea and maths games with whānau: 

WOW! Thank you so much to all of our whānau that made it in on Tuesday afternoon to play maths games with us and share some kai. It was really great to see you all at kura and in our Teretere space. Hopefully it has given you just a small taster of some of the games they are learning and how they can be easily adapted depending on who is playing. Maybe also some ideas to play some games at home.. easy when you only need a dice or a pack of cards. 

Maths Game of the Week:

Our maths game this week is a version of Go Fish but using maths. The instructions are attached below.

Koru Games:

Every year we participate in the Koru Games event. This a 3 day sporting event where we travel by bus to various locations around Selwyn and compete in a variety of sporting events. Even though this event is not until September we need to register teams in July. All the tamariki (children) have chosen what sports that would like to participate in already and now we are putting the call out to see whether any parents know whether they would be able to help with supervision of a sports team during this time. The event itself goes from 19-21 September (Tues-Thurs). The tamariki play multiple games over 3 days and supervision is needed to cover all 3 days. If you think you can help at all with any of those days could you please let us know. we won't be able to confirm exactly what sports until after registrations have closed but at this stage we are just seeking interest of help if you can.

Year 8 Leavers Hoodies:

The final proof has been accepted and production is about to get underway. If you are a Year 8 parent the cost of this will be added to your 'Kindo' account. The final cost for this will be confirmed as soon as we can! Look out for a notice over the break.

School for Young Writers:

A holiday programme is available for any keen young writers to take part in over the break. Follow this link to check out what they have coming up over the next break.

School for Young Writers 

Mighty Minds:

Below there is a flyer from Mana Ake about a support group. If you have any concerns about your child being low, sad or worried and not opening up this might be a way for them to get some outside support. 

Key Dates coming up:

Monday 17th July First Day Term 3 - Ignition Toy Swap

Tuesday 18th July Mihiwhakatau

Friday 21st July Chinese Culture on the Road

Matariki Evening

Other Dates coming up:

Tuesday 25th July Learning Conversations

Wednesday 26th July Learning Conversations

Enjoy your break, we hope you get to get away for at least a small time

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

One more week down for this term and we are officially getting closer to the end of the term. 

Here's the link to our photo Gallery for this week: Gallery slide here

Shared afternoon tea and maths games with whānau: NEW TIME!!

On Tuesday 27th June 2pm-3pm we would like to invite you all in to Teretere to play some maths games with us and have a shared afternoon tea. This is a great chance for you to be able to learn some of the new maths games the tamariki have learnt this term and connect with other parents over some shared kai. We would love it if you could join us.

Emergency Food:

Thank you to all of you who have made sure you have brought in your emergency food for your child. Hopefully we are never in a position to use it but at least now you can be assured we have something on hand if it is needed. If it is not used it will be returned to you at the end of the year.

Sanitary products:

Ararira gets free sanitary products provided for students at our kura (school) who need any. You can order these through the My Kindo app - the same one that does the sushi and subway lunches and they will be discretly popped in a bag by our office staff for you or your daughter to pick up. This is at no cost and available to all girls. They have a variety of different products to choose from and are always very well stocked. Please use this service! Also over the last week all the girls will have come home with a small starter pack containing sanitary products in it. 

Koru Games:

Every year we participate in the Koru Games event. This a 3 day sporting event where we travel by bus to various locations around Selwyn and compete in a variety of sporting events. Even though this event is not until September we need to register teams in July. All the tamariki (children) have chosen what sports that would like to participate in already and now we are putting the call out to see whether any parents know whether they would be able to help with supervision of a sports team during this time. The event itself goes from 19-21 September (Tues-Thurs). The tamariki play multiple games over 3 days and supervision is needed to cover all 3 days. If you think you can help at all with any of those days could you please let us know. we won't be able to confirm exactly what sports until after registrations have closed but at this stage we are just seeking interest of help if you can.

Selwyn Winter Sports:

This week we had our last session of our Winter Sports programme and this saw us try out some sports that we have had a go at before but it was a chance to see whether it was something we really enjoyed or not.. This week we played Badminton, Ki-O-Rahi, Golf, Gymnastics and Elastics. 

Year 8 Leavers Hoodies:

These are nearly ready for ordering! Thank you for your patience. The final proof was agreed on this week and we are now just waiting for confirmation. Once confirmation has been made we will let you know the exact cost and how you can make your payment. All the Year 8's have tried on sample hoodies for sizes and we have this recorded as well as what they would like their name to be on the back. Please check in with your child about what they have chosen as their name and remind them that this is a keepsake item that they can wear for a while to come yet! They don't want to choose something they might regret in a couple of years time.

Jars - Matariki Lanterns:

For our Matariki lantern walk this year we will be making lanterns using glass jars. Could each child please bring in one small jar to decorate for this by the end of this term. Thanks! we still need more please!

School for Young Writers:

A holiday programme is available for any keen young writers to take part in over the break. Follow this link to check out what they have coming up over the next break.

School for Young Writers 

Key Dates coming up:

Monday 26th June Basketball Tournament (selected students)

Children's University Day (selected students)

Tuesday 27th June Teretere Learning Celebration - Maths games + afternoon tea

Thursday 29th June Technology

Friday 30th June Curiosity Clubs

LAST DAY OF TERM

Other Key Dates:

Monday 17th July First Day Term 3

We hope you had a fabulous weekend..  GO THE CRUSADERS!! 

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

 Week 8 saw some pretty exciting things happen! 

Here's the link to our photo Gallery for this week: Gallery slide here

Inventionator:

Inventionator was on this week and 5 of our students An, Oli, Reuben, Toby & Asher put everything into this 2 day event to create and design something that would help to solve a problem in the world. They had to work with other students across Christchurch and then as a team present their ideas to a panel of judges. 

An and her team created the "BLS" a tag that you can attach one to important items such as keys or your phone and you get a vibration if these items get too far away from you. Eliminating the chance of them ever getting lost

Oli, Reuben, Toby & Asher created a universal translator that can work without needing internet and can also be used by people who are deaf or blind.

Both teams made it through to the final and had to present again on Wednesday night to a different panel of judges with Oli, Reuben, Toby & Asher taking out a top prize for the "Rationale" section.

Well done to you all! Super proud of what you have achieved with this event.

Shared afternoon tea and maths games with whānau:

On Monday 26th June 2pm-3:15pm we would like to invite you all in to Teretere to play some maths games with us and have a shared afternoon tea. This is a great chance for you to be able to learn some of the new maths games the tamariki have learnt this term and connect with other parents over some shared kai. We would love it if you could join us.

Assessment:

Tomorrow we will be completing a spelling assessment for most of the students in Teretere.

Emergency Food:

Last week we made the call out for an emergency food snack to be brought in to school for your child. Just to clarify what this actually means.. A named ziplock bag with maybe 2 or 3 items that can be consumed by your child if they are ever in an  emergency situation and need food at school. Items need to be long dated and will be returned at the end of the school year if they have not been used. If this could be brought in next week please. Thank you.

Sanitary products:

Ararira gets free sanitary products provided for students at our kura (school) who need any. You can order these through the My Kindo app - the same one that does the sushi and subway lunches and they will be discretly popped in a bag by our office staff for you or your daughter to pick up. This is at no cost and available to all girls. They have a variety of different products to choose from and are always very well stocked. Please use this service! Also over the last week all the girls will have come home with a small starter pack containing sanitary products in it. 

Koru Games:

Every year we participate in the Koru Games event. This a 3 day sporting event where we travel by bus to various locations around Selwyn and compete in a variety of sporting events. Even though this event is not until September we need to register teams in July. All the tamariki (children) have chosen what sports that would like to participate in already and now we are putting the call out to see whether any parents know whether they would be able to help with supervision of a sports team during this time. The event itself goes from 19-21 September (Tues-Thurs). The tamariki play multiple games over 3 days and supervision is needed to cover all 3 days. If you think you can help at all with any of those days could you please let us know. we won't be able to confirm exactly what sports until after registrations have closed but at this stage we are just seeking interest of help if you can.

Selwyn Winter Sports:

This week we had our third session of our Winter Sports programme and this saw us try out some really interesting new sports.. It was so great to see everyone giving things a go, especially when for some it really did push them out of their comfort zone. This really has been such a great opportunity for all students to try out some new sports they haven't tried before. This week we played Boccia, Seated Volleyball, Blind Fotball and Wheelchair Basketball. Everyone really enjoyed playing Wheelchair Basketball! It was heaps of fun.

Year 8 Leavers Hoodies:

An and Skye have been working hard at creating an amazing design for our year 8 leavers hoodie. We are in the process of finalising the design and it looks like the cost for these will be approximately $70. Before we can go any further with the process we need to know how many of you would actually purchase one of these hoodies for your Year 8 child.  Thank you to those of you who have done this already - you do not have to do it again.

If you could please follow this link and let us know.  Year 8 Leavers Hoodie Poll

Jars - Matariki Lanterns:

For our Matariki lantern walk this year we will be making lanterns using glass jars. Could each child please bring in one small jar to decorate for this by the end of this term. Thanks!

School for Young Writers:

A holiday programme is available for any keen young writers to take part in over the break. Follow this link to check out what they have coming up over the next break.

School for Young Writers 

Key Dates coming up:

Monday 19th June Spelling assessment

Thursday 22nd June Technology

Friday 23rd June Selwyn Winter Sports

Curiosity Clubs

Other Key Dates:

Monday 26th June Shared afternoon tea and maths games arvo with whānau

Friday 30th June Last day of Term 2

Enjoy your weekend!

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

Week 7 has been a quick one for us. 3 days of learning down. Hard to believe there are only 3 more weeks left of the term and then it's halfway through 2023 already!

This week has meant that the ākonga (learners) have had the chance to have extra time working through their literacy tasks and refine some questions for their inquiry learning. Our inquiry has been based around how New Zealand came to be and they have come up with some really great insightful and thought provoking questions over this past week that we will dive into further as the term progresses.

We also had a number of students who participated in the Hockey and Football Tournament on Wednesday morning. We have heard they had a good result for the teams and are looking forward to being able to share official results with you all once we know for sure!

Here's the link to our photo Gallery for this week: Gallery slide here

Assessment:

This next week will see us taking part in the start of our end of term assessment. All students this week will complete assessments for reading, writing & maths. The following week will be spelling. Days for these assessments will be highlighted below in our Key dates apart from writing which will be a task they work on over the course of the week.

Emergency Food:

Last week we made the call out for an emergency food snack to be brought in to school for your child. Just to clarify what this actually means.. A named ziplock bag with maybe 2 or 3 items that can be consumed by your child if they are ever in an  emergency situation and need food at school. Items need to be long dated and will be returned at the end of the school year if they have not been used. If this could be brought in next week please. Thank you.

Sanitary products:

Ararira gets free sanitary products provided for students at our kura (school) who need any. You can order these through the My Kindo app - the same one that does the sushi and subway lunches and they will be discretly popped in a bag by our office staff for you or your daughter to pick up. This is at no cost and available to all girls. They have a variety of different products to choose from and are always very well stocked. Please use this service! Also over the last week all the girls will have come home with a small starter pack containing sanitary products in it. 

Enrolments Lincoln High School:

Year 8 students are not automatically enrolled at Lincoln High School for attendance after Ararira. Please make sure you enrol your child through the Lincoln High School Website here as soon as possible if this is where you think they will be attending in 2024.

Koru Games:

Every year we participate in the Koru Games event. This a 3 day sporting event where we travel by bus to various locations around Selwyn and compete in a variety of sporting events. Even though this event is not until September we need to register teams in July. All the tamariki (children) have chosen what sports that would like to participate in already and now we are putting the call out to see whether any parents know whether they would be able to help with supervision of a sports team during this time. The event itself goes from 19-21 September (Tues-Thurs). The tamariki play multiple games over 3 days and supervision is needed to cover all 3 days. If you think you can help at all with any of those days could you please let us know. we won't be able to confirm exactly what sports until after registrations have closed but at this stage we are just seeking interest of help if you can.

Selwyn Winter Sports:

Today we had our second session of our Winter Sports programme and this saw us at Selwyn Aquatic Centre. It was so great to see everyone egaged. This really has been such a great opportunity for all students to try out some new sports they haven't tried before. There was a lot of excitement about having a go at Waterpolo and they really enjoyed the Aqua Aerobics & Artistic swimming! They did so well!

Year 8 Leavers Hoodies:

An and Skye have been working hard at creating an amazing design for our year 8 leavers hoodie. We are in the process of finalising the design and it looks like the cost for these will be approximately $70. Before we can go any further with the process we need to know how many of you would actually purchase one of these hoodies for your Year 8 child.  Thank you to those of you who have done this already - you do not have to do it again.

If you could please follow this link and let us know.  Year 8 Leavers Hoodie Poll

Hagley College:

A reminder below from Hagley College:

 Enrolment applications for Hagley College Year 9 2024 are closing soon, on Friday 23rd June at midday.

Our close-off date is firm and we will not be able to receive any new applications after this date. We are aware that our closing date is a little earlier than for many of the other high schools, so I am just hoping to avoid anyone missing out.

If any of your students and their whānau are keen but haven't put an application in yet, they need to go to https://www.hagley.school.nz/enrolment/year-9-enrolment/ and click the button to start a new enrolment application as soon as possible.

 Any questions can be directed to me any time at the below number or email address. I do also have paper copies of the enrolment form here for families who are unable to apply online (though we may be cutting it a little fine to rely on physical post at this point).

Thank you so much.

Ngā mihi 

Lisa Amer

Junior College Enrolments

Te Puna Wai o Waipapa - Hagley College

DDI: 03 364 5134

lisa.amer@staff.hagley.school.nz

Key Dates coming up:

Monday 12th June Inventionator Day 1 (selected students only)

Easttle reading assessment

Nano Girl visit 

Tuesday 13th June Inventionator Day 2 (selected students only)

Easttle maths assessment

Wednesday 14th June Football/Hockey Tournament

Thursday 15th June Technology

Friday 16th June Hui

Selwyn Winter Sports

Curiosity Clubs

Movie Night @ 7:30pm

Other Key Dates:

Monday 19th June Spelling assessment

Friday 30th June Last day of Term 2

Enjoy your weekend!

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

Its been a big week sports wise this week! 

Thursday saw a number of tamariki head to the Lincon Zone Cross Country race at Nga Puna Wai. They all gave it 100% effort - Well done! We are very pround to have you representing Ararira! 

The following 19 students are the ones that participated on Thursday:

 Oli, Logan, Liam, Ryan, Preston, Jacob, Cam, Zac, Ashton, Julian, An, Janie, Emily Z, Eileen, Ruby W, Isibéal, Zoe, Emily F, Floor.

Heading to Canterbury's from this race are Janie, Ryan & Liam! Awesome work!! This will be held on Wednesday 21st June. We wish them all the best.

Selwyn Winter Sports:

We started our Winter Sports rotation this week. This meant that we travelled to the Selwyn Sports Centre in Rolleston and took part in an introduction to 5 different sports. This week it was Softball, Hockey, Aerobics, Jump Rope and Cricket. Hockey was a definite highlight amongst the groups but all showed the use of different skills and gave us a taster of what each sport actually is.

Next week all of our activities will be in the pool at Selwyn Aquatic Centre. Tamariki will need to have togs & towel in a separate bag to take on the bus. The rotation for this week will be Splash play, Water Polo, Lifeguard session,  Aqua/Artistic Swimming, & Life Jacket fitting.

Here's the link to our photo Gallery for this week: Gallery slide here

Year 8 Leavers Hoodies:

An and Skye have been working hard at creating an amazing design for our year 8 leavers hoodie. We are in the process of finalising the design and it looks like the cost for these will be approximately $70. Before we can go any further with the process we need to know how many of you would actually purchase one of these hoodies for your Year 8 child.  Thank you to those of you who have done this already - you do not have to do it again.

If you could please follow this link and let us know.  Year 8 Leavers Hoodie Poll

Emergency Supplies:

As part of our emergency response plan, we are required to store emergency food should we need to keep children on site for any length of time.

This could take the form of individually wrapped muesli bars, tinned rice pudding, fruit pieces in jelly,  long-life crackers/cheese,rice crackers, or other instant pantry items (can be eaten straight from its packet/container and does not require heating). If you are sending items that require a spoon/fork, please include the required cutlery.  

Items should be long-dated (preferably to the end of the year if possible).  It is not necessary to send whole boxes or ‘outers’ but a couple of items in a plastic bag which can be stored as class items.

If your child has specific food allergies, please mark the bag clearly so it is identifiable as theirs rather than being able to be shared among the class.

These items should be delivered to Danielle, Michael or Mel for storing in the classroom.

Appliances:

Do you have any spare appliances that you no longer need? We are looking to sort out our kitchen area at school so that our senior students have the opportunity to heat and even make food for lunches. For example, toastie machine, microwave, toaster, coffee machine (for possible fundraising purposes) etc. All options considered!

Maths Game of the Week: Poison

This weeks game is a game that can be played best with at least 3 people but you could do it with 2 if that was all you had! Will you decide to take the risk or play it safe is the question in this game.

The game is attached below.

Key Dates coming up:

Monday 5th June KINGS BIRTHDAY

Tuesday 6th June TOD - No School

Wednesday 7th June Football/Hockey Tournament

Thursday 8th June Technology

Friday 9th June Whānau Groups

Selwyn Winter Sports Starts

Curiosity Clubs

Have a wonderful weekend!

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

This week we have seen Epro8 in our school! We have been so impressed with how many of the tamariki have chosen to be a part of this opportunity. For anyone who doesn't know Epro8 provides kits of gear that tamariki can make and build designs using engineering skills. In the past week we have seen fishing rods, limo's, cars, a waving royal hand plus much more being created through the use of technology skills and team work. You can see some photos of this attached to our photo gallery slide here. And this is the link to the Epro8 website of you wanted to check it out some more.

Well done to our two top teams! 1st place: Reuben, Oli, Toby & Oscar and 2nd place: Yujin, Zac, Asher & Campbell; who will be going on to the next round and representing Ararira at Clearview Primary on 28th June. Good luck!

A big welcome to Muntaha who joined our class this week. We are looking forward to having you as part of our team.

Headphones:

At the start of the year we asked all students to have a set of headphones. These are important in our classroom learning as we use them to help with our research of NZ Histories, listen to questions during reading time and for other online set tasks. Unfortunately a number of students now have broken or damaged headphones that no longer work. Please check in with your child and check that they still have a working pair. It is extremely frustrating for other students when people have loud sounds or noises coming from their device. Especially when they are trying to get their work completed.

Maths Game of the Week: In The Middle

This weeks game is a game of both luck and strategy. Please remember that all of these games are made to be adaptable for all levels of maths ability. You will see that there have been a few ideas added to the bottom of the picture but it's open to being changed in any way that will push, challenge and extend your child. 

The game is attached below.

Year 8 Leavers Hoodies:

An and Skye have been working hard at creating an amazing design for our year 8 leavers hoodie. We are in the process of finalising the design and it looks like the cost for these will be approximately $70. Before we can go any further with the process we need to know how many of you would actually purchase one of these hoodies for your Year 8 child. 

If you could please follow this link and let us know.  Year 8 Leavers Hoodie Poll

Key Dates coming up:

Monday 22nd May Kapa Haka

Visiting author for Librarians TBC

Tuesday 23rd May Rotary Quiz Night - (An + Oli)

Wednesday 24th May Visiting author for Librarians TBC

Thursday 25th May Technology

Friday 26th May Whānau Groups

Curiosity Clubs

Other Key Dates coming up:

Monday June 5th - Kings Birthday

Tuesday June 6th - Teachers Only Day

Have a great weekend! 

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

 A huge well done to all of the tamariki that participated in the Ararira cross country yesterday. It was wonderful to see the determination and perseverance in all who ran. We are extremely grateful that the weather turned out for the event. A huge THANK YOU to Whaea Meeghan for her organisation of this event. The time and effort put into these events is very much appreciated.

You can see the slide with some photos of the afternoon here.

Next week is a busy week for Teretere as the internal Epro8 competition gets underway for those who have chosen to take part. We are proud to say that this is a large number of our tamariki in Teretere who have also been practicing during break times to engineer and create different designs. Good luck to you all for the official internal competition on Wednesday.

Maths Game of the Week:

We have been learning some new maths games in Teretere over the past few weeks and thought we would share some with you that you could play at home. All the games we share will be games that all or most of the tamariki would have played in class already, meaning they will already know how to play. All the games we share are also adaptive - meaning that you can change the game but the basic concept stays the same. It might be that you add more dice in, or change the numbers to fractions or decimals etc.

This weeks game is called "Mary's Game".  You'll find the how to play below.

Spelling:

All the tamariki have spelling words every week. They look closely at the sound patterns that make up these words during the week and then are tested on these every Friday. The spelling words for the week are on our class learning site and are available for all to access at home. It is important that they are taking time during the week to practice these words. Every child knows how to access their words for the week - under the structured literacy tab on our site. Get them to show you where their words are on our site so you know what they need to be practicing each week.

Key Dates coming up:

Monday 15th May Kapa Haka

Tuesday 16th May Epro8 Practice Day Yr 7&8

Wednesday 17th May Epro8 Internal Competition Yr 7&8

Thursday 18th May Technology

Friday 19th May Hui

Curiosity Clubs

Technology/film crew at Interface Conference

Other Key Dates coming up:

Monday June 5th - Kings Birthday

Tuesday June 6th - Teachers Only Day

Have a great weekend! 

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

Week 2 has seen us moving forward with our new learning routine and it has been great to see the tamariki embracing these changes. They are all really starting to see what they are capable of and producing some fantastic work as a result of this.

1B5 books:

Thank you to all of you who have provided your tamariki with 2 x 1B5 books to add to their stationery. Sorry for the confusion with all of you being charged for these on your school account. We have given Trine our updated list and if you have been charged by accident this will be removed from your account.

School uniforms:

There are to be no hoodies worn to school that are not part of the school uniform. Students need to have school jersey or jacket or a navy blue top that does not have any branded logo's on it. If they are wearing any other top they will be asked to remove it and a borrowed school top will be provided. 

Year 8's will be offered the opportunity to purchase a leaver's hoodie in the coming weeks as a price and design is just being confirmed at the moment.

Homework:

There has been a few requests for homework this year and we just wanted to clarify what this means to us at Ararira. At Ararira we don't give homework on top of the work that the tamariki are already required to complete. We know that homework puts added pressure not only on us as the teachers but also on the parents as well. Especially when children have other commitments outside of school already. If they have work they do not finish at school or need extra time on, they are more than welcome to work on this at home during their own time. We also have spelling words and sentences that are on our class learning site that can be practiced at home as well.  Please ask your child to share their class learning site with you. This will show you what we are currently working on in class for the week and you will be able to see that they can easily access any work they need from home if required.

If you are wanting to add homework in for your child Whitcoulls and Paper Plus both sell homework books that connect directly to the New Zealand Curriculum. These books will make it easy for you to provide homework while managing this at home.

Key Dates coming up:

Wednesday 10th May Mandarin

Korfball

Thursday 11th May Technology

ASP Cross Country

Friday 12th May Curiosity Clubs

Have a great weekend! 

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

This term has been an incredibly busy term for us in Teretere. The tamariki have been given multiple opportunities and experiences away from the classroom.  Ice Skating, Fire Workshops, Life Education, Technology,  Curiosity Clubs,   Kapa Haka, Drama workshops with Drama NZ, weekly Mandarin lessons, and of course camp. There have also been enviro groups, Sporting Competitions and Leadership training sessions. This has made for a very busy start of term alongside completing start of year assessment, navigating new and interesting classroom spaces, establishing expectations for the year and enhancing their digital citizenship while learning to master digital routines.

As we move forward into term 2 we are excited to get back to some solid routines and classroom based learning. 

Thank you for allowing us the pleasure of being a part of your child's valuable learning journey. 

Key Dates coming up:

Monday 24th April Teachers Only Day

Tuesday 25th April ANZAC Day

Wednesday 26th April Term 2 Starts

Korfball

Have a wonderful break, 

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

What a week its been! Camp was amazing! Even with the rain to get us started. 

A short week coming up. Last one for the term but still just as busy!

Camp:

We have had an amazing time away at camp this week. The tamariki have done so well pushing their limits and taking risks beyond the norm. It has been wonderful to see the pride in every single child as they have overcome fears and taken on opportunities to experience life!

We have a number of lost property items and conatiners to return. We will do this on Monday. Also if you happen to come across any items that do not belong to you or your child can you please bring these back to school so they can be returned.

If you could keep an eye out for a pair of adidas shorts that belong to Antonia please - they are clearly named and she would love them back of you find them.

A huge thanks to our incredible parents! Camp would not even be possible without your help! And you are all appreciated more than you know! A huge thanks to Mel, Kaylene, Craig, Matthew, Michael, Chris,  Patrick, Paul & Tim.

Teretere Picnic:

On Wednesday 5th April we will be holding our Teretere Picnic 5:30-6:30pm. Bring your dinner and connect with some of our other Teretere whānau. We are looking at playing an adult vs student game of some kind so bring your sneakers if you are keen to have a game!

Key Dates coming up:

Monday 3rd: Spelling Assessment

Kapa Haka

Writing Assessment (for Enviro Leaders)

Tuesday 4th: Enviro Leaders Biodiversity Testing Day 9-12pm

Writing Assessment

Life Education

Wednesday 5th: Mandarin 

Drama Workshops

Grip Leadership Conference

Life Education

Teretere Hapori Picnic 5:30-6:30pm

Thursday 6th: Tech

Friday 7th: GOOD FRIDAY

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

It has been a very busy week this week! It's hard to believe that there are only 2 weeks left of term 1!

Camp:

All tamariki are expected to be at school between 8:15-8:30am on Wednesday morning so that we can have every one checked off and be leaving by 9am. 

If your child requires any medication while on camp please bring this in a sealed and named ziplock bag. 

All medication will need to be handed in to Mel and she will look after it and administer if and when needed for the duration of the camp. She will have a medication sheet that will need to be filled in when you hand it in in on Wednesday morning.  

You will find the camp gear list here Camp Information page along with all the other information you might need. Please start packing over the weekend so that you have time to source any gear you might need before Wednesday. If there is anything that you need help with please get in touch with your child's ako teacher and we will help get things sorted for you.

Life Education:

This week we started our sessions with the Life Education Van at our Kura. The focus around these sessions so far has been - What are the impacts of the decisions we make? We talked about key words - Integrity and reputation and what this looks like in line with the decisions we make. Especially when we are not around adults.

Here's their website for more information.

Lincoln High Open Day:

Thursday 18th May from 4 – 6pm.  The principal, head students and Year 9 students will make two presentations during the night.  One at 4pm and again at 5.40pm. 

Digital:

Just a reminder to make sure you are checking on the digital footprint that your children are making when online and playing online games etc. There have been a few incidents this term with children looking up things they shouldn't be during school time, and generally getting off track with using a digital device. This is especially the case for children who bring their own Ipads to school as they have apps already downloaded from home and can easily get on games during class learning time.  It is for this reason that we have digital safety agreements in place.  It would also be good if games are disabled or removed on devices that are being brought to school. If you have a year 8 child a chrome book may be something worth considering sooner rather than later as they will need to have one when they move into year 9.

Key Dates coming up:

Monday 27th: Life Education

Spelling Assessment - Actual date!

Tuesday 28th: Life Education

Wednesday 29th: CAMP

Thursday 30th: CAMP

Friday 31st: CAMP

Have a great week,

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

Week 6 has seen a bit of change in our space. We have finally been able to add more seating to the room - with the help of Matua Steve and Matua Michael! We appreciate all the effort it took to get this sorted for us. We know the students are also very grateful! 

A huge congratulations to all of Teretere who participated in the swimming sports! - Henry, Cam, Eric, Preston, Zoe, Ruby W, Amelia, Janie, Skye, Campbell, Chloe, Eileen, Hunter S, Isla, Oscar, Zachary. You all did Ararira proud!! A special mention to Henry and Zoe who both placed in their races. Henry is now heading to Canterbury's to compete.

Ice Rink

An ice rink is coming to our school this week. Each akomonga/class has been allocated two 45-minute sessions. The cost of this will come out of the Term 1 activity fee. 

This opportunity also includes a whānau skating night for seniors. 

Book your tickets now (https://www.trybooking.co.nz/MMN) to get a session of at least 30 minutes of skating. Start times are staggered throughout the evening. Ticket numbers are limited so be quick! Parents are required to stay for the sessions, just like at a normal public skating session. 

• Seniors- Years 4-8- Thurs 16th 5-8 pm

Te Ahi Ora Student workshops:

On 20 & 21 March we are privileged to welcome Te Ahi Ora to our school. They will be running performance workshops for the students throughout the day (no fire for these) and 2 free community fire performance evenings. Click here to learn about Te Ahi Ora.

Teachers Strike Day - Thursday 16th March

As you will all be aware by now the Primary Teachers have decided to take strike action on Thursday next week. The school will be closed. We know that for many of you this does inconvenience you but please know that there are a number of things that the teachers feel as a collective need to be addressed.  Especially class ratios, providing more learning support in the classroom and increasing pay for beginning teachers - which is currently just about on par with minimum wage.

Language:

We started our Mandarin journey on Wednesday and the tamariki were amazing! It was so great to see everyone engaged during their first session.

Pepeha:

Throughout the past couple of weeks we have been working through our pepeha. A pepeha is an introduction to who we are. It tells people who we are by our connections to the people and places that are important to us. In order to complete the pepeha the tamariki have been asked to find out when their family arrived in New Zealand. Some of them still need this information. If you could please check in with your child and help them out with this little piece of research it would be greatly appreciated.

Camp:

Please know that we can help if you need any support with our upcoming camp. Whether it be financial or with any of the gear needed for camp, please let us know if you need any help at all. Camp is such an amazing experience for all the tamariki. It helps build relationships, they take risks by trying new things and it is always so much fun and a highlight of the school year. Alongside all of these factors it also fits into outdoor education in our New Zealand Curriculum. We will have camp learning in class both before and after camp as well. We would hate for anyone to miss out on such an amazing opportunity.

Key Dates coming up:

Monday 13th: Girls rugby 

Tuesday 14th: Spelling Assessment

Wednesday 15th: Mandarin 

Thursday 16th: Primary Teachers Strike Day

Ice Rink evening session 5-8pm

Friday 17th: Curiosity Clubs TBC

Enjoy your weekend,

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

In week 5 we have been busy getting our start of year assessment done. This means that we can get started with more directed learning in both numeracy and literacy in the coming weeks as well as getting started with our inquiry learning. We are going to be looking at sustainable practices for inquiry throughout this year.

Please note that if your child missed an assessment in the past week, they will be catching up with these this week.

Language:

On Wednesday we will start our language learning for the year and have a couple of tutors from the university who will be teaching our tamariki Mandarin.

Drama:

We continue with our process drama which is connected to the Aotearoa New Zealand Histories curriculum by linking to the arrival of early settlers in New Zealand. This drama is developed alongside our literacy programme as we read the book "Finding" by David Hill. It has been lovely to see so many tamariki making connections with their ancestry already and we have only just started.

Pepeha:

Throughout the past couple of weeks we have been working through our pepeha. A pepeha is an introduction to who we are. It tells people who we are by our connections to the people and places that are important to us. In order to complete the pepeha the tamariki have been asked to find out when their family arrived in New Zealand. Some of them still need this information. If you could please check in with your child and help them out with this little piece of research it would be greatly appreciated.

Camp:

Please know that we can help if you need any support with our upcoming camp. Whether it be financial or with any of the gear needed for camp, please let us know if you need any help at all. Camp is such an amazing experience for all the tamariki. It helps build relationships, they take risks by trying new things and it is always so much fun and a highlight of the school year. Alongside all of these factors it also fits into outdoor education in our New Zealand Curriculum. We will have camp learning in class both before and after camp as well. We would hate for anyone to miss out on such an amazing opportunity.

Key Dates coming up:

Monday 6th: Girls rugby 

Tuesday 7th: IKAN Maths Assessment

Wednesday 8th: Mandarin Lessons start

Drama

Thursday 9th: Technology (be at Ararira by 8:45am)

Selwyn Swimming Zones (Rolleston Pool for Zone swimmers ONLY)

Friday 10th: Curiosity Clubs

Girls rugby

Have a wonderful weekend,

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

In week 4 we have been using our research skills. The ākonga gained an understanding of continents of the world and looked closely at a country of their choice. They also did some research about dinosaurs. In doing so they have discovered some really interesting information! This has been a great way to get into using our digital devices responsibly again and looking at the key aspects of website in order to know that the information we find is true information.

Camp:

There are still 13 students who have not yet had their permission forms filled in for camp. I will follow up with an email shortly but if you have not filled in the form yet can you please do so as soon as possible.

We have also had our final costings for camp finalised and the total cost of our school camp to Waipara (29th-31st March) will be $205 per child. If you require any support with this please get in touch with Trine trine.spence@ararira.school.nz. There are also now options to pay through MyKindo.

Camp consent form

Devices:

We have begun using devices for the year and this means that tamariki will need to bring their fully charged device to school every day. We have made a space in our ākomanga (classroom) to store them safely throughout the day but they do need to be charged.

We have done a lot of working through what it means to be a responsible device user in our space. Because of this, if ākonga are seen to be not using their device for learning it will be removed from their use and they will have to work for a period of time without it. If this does occur a form will be sent home to parents to sign so that we know your child has discussed with you what has happened as well as why this has happened. It is important that the students know that their device is for learning purposes only while at school.

Paid Union Meetings  - Tuesday Week 5

On Feb 28th (Tuesday) NZEI is hosting another round of paid union meetings for teachers in the area. This time there is only one option for our team to attend and this is at West Melton at 2 pm. We will provide supervision for any families who need it. As there will be minimal staff on site to do this, we ask that if you can, you pick your child up early at 1 pm. Please fill in this form for each child to assist us in our planning. We do appreciate this is less than ideal but need to support our teachers in their quest for better conditions.

Key Dates coming up:

Monday 27th: Easttle Maths Assessment

Tuesday 28th: Easttle Reading Assessment

Teacher Union Meeting - School closes @ 1pm

Wednesday 29th: PAT Listening Assessment

Thursday 30th: Technology (be at Ararira by 8:45am)

Friday 31st: Curiosity Clubs begin

Have a wonderful weekend,

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

Week 3 has seen us developing our creativity, looking closer at our school values and appreciating the people in our lives by sharing kindness around Valentines day. It was especially great to see the creativity during our 'I Wonder' time on Thursday afternoon. The ākonga had the opportunity to do something that connected to the colour kōwhai (yellow). Check out some of our photos on the blog page to see what they did. 

Week 4 will see the beginning of our assessments for the year for Literacy, Numeracy and Listening.

All about Teretere 2023 - Year 7-8 @ Te Puna o Ararira

Please see this slide show for all the information that would have been shared about Teretere at 'Hoolie with the Hapori'

Camp forms 

Thank you to those of you who have filled out our consent form for camp. If you still need to do so you can find the form here.

Devices

This week we will be setting the ākonga up with devices in the classroom. We strongly encourage students to have their own devices as these will be used often during our class learning time. We do of course have some that can be provided by the school so please don't feel pressured to have to purchase your own. If students are bringing their own then they will need to make sure they bring their fully charged device everyday as we do not have enough spares for them to use one if they forget their device. We also require a new BYOD form to be filled out by every parent this year so if you have not yet signed one for this year your child will be unable to use a device until one has been signed.

Paid Union Meetings  - Tuesday Week 5

On Feb 28th NZEI is hosting another round of paid union meetings for teachers in the area. This time there is only one option for our team to attend and this is at West Melton at 2 pm. We will provide supervision for any families who need it. As there will be minimal staff on site to do this, we ask that if you can, you pick your child up early at 1 pm. Please fill in this form for each child to assist us in our planning. We do appreciate this is less than ideal but need to support our teachers in their quest for better conditions.

Key Dates coming up:

Thursday 23rd: Technology

Swimming Sports at Lincoln Primary (Competitive Swimmers Only)

Friday 24th: Hui @ 9.15am

Non Uniform Day for Cyclone Relief - Gold  coin donation

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

Week 2 of 2023 is down already and we are very pleased with how all of the tamariki are taking on the new challenges and routines of Year 7&8. We started at Technology this week and everyone was on time which made for an easy transition to buses and then on to Lincoln. Thank you very much.

Camp forms 

Thank you to those of you who have filled out our consent form for camp. If you still need to do so you can find the form here.

Absences

A reminder.. If your child is going to be absent from school you will need to make sure you inform the office. The best way to report an absence is by using the Hero app/site.

Contacting us 

If you have any questions or need to share anything else please make sure you contact your child's ako teacher directly.

Check out our Blog page for photos from this week.

Hoolie with the Hapori

Make sure that you put aside to come to school on Weds 15th February for our Hoolie with the Hapori. This is essentially a school picnic with times set aside for you to pop into the hubs | hapori to see how things will be running this year and meet the teaching team in the hapori | hub.

Our schedule for the evening is;

• 5:30-6 Huarapa (Year 1)

• 6-6:30 Kaunuku (Year 2/3)

• 6:30-7 Hikuwai (Year 4-6)

• 7-7:30 Teretere (Year 7/8)

It will be great to see you there and start to get back together as a school community.

Paid Union Meetings 

On Feb 28th NZEI is hosting another round of paid union meetings for teachers in the area. This time there is only one option for our team to attend and this is at West Melton at 2 pm. We will provide supervision for any families who need it. As there will be minimal staff on site to do this, we ask that if you can, you pick your child up early at 1 pm. Please fill in this form for each child to assist us in our planning. We do appreciate this is less than ideal but need to support our teachers in their quest for better conditions.

Other Notices:

Write On School for Young Writers will be running a number of one-off FREE after school poetry workshops in Rolleston Feb 23, Lincoln Feb 27, Leeston Feb 28 (use Seaweek in the search bar for details)  and a full day FREE  Masterclass in Ōtautahi Christchurch on Friday February 24th, as well as publishing the winning poems in Write On Magazine issue 60.

Bookings are required for all of the workshops and spaces are strictly limited so book now to save disappointment.

Key Dates coming up:

Wednesday 15th: Hoolie with the Hapori 5:30-7:30pm

Teretere Camp Parents Meeting (after Hoolie with the Hapori)

Thursday 16th: Technology

Friday 17th: Hui @ 9.15am

Have a lovely weekend.

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

Welcome to the 2023 school year! We have really enjoyed getting to know the tamariki during our first week together as Teretere.

This week has seen us setting up our expectations for the term and putting routines into place to manage our space effectively. We have spent time writing Memo's, creating our self portrait,  gained more knowledge about the Treaty of Waitangi and worked in teams to help build and establish new relationships.

Weekly Notices Website

This site will be where we communicate all our information over the next year.  Our weekly blog page hosts a slideshow which we will update every week with photos of what's been happening in the class for the week. You will also find some information about camp - the initial email that was sent out at the end of last year and a consent form. 

Waipara Camp

We do have enough parent help for our camp to Waipara; Thanks very much to all who offered their time. If you could also please fill in the consent form as soon as possible. We head to Waipara Adeventure centre by bus in week 9, 29-31 March. We are just in the process of confirming costs for camp and hope to have this information to you in the next couple of weeks.

Emailing teachers

Digital technology has made teachers contactable 24/7. In order to look after our own wellbeing and maintain a reasonable work life balance, we have established some communication guidelines. 

Should you have any questions regarding your child, please do not hesitate to contact their ako teacher. We will acknowledge your email within 24 hours to say we have received it and will reply to your email within 48 hours. Our 'contactable time' is between 8am-5pm Monday to Friday.  We will probably be working outside these hours but won't be responding to emails. You can of course send an email outside of these times but we will respond during our 'contactable time.' However if the email is urgent, we will of course be in touch. 

Reminders 

• Hats and drink bottles! Don't forget to pack them daily.

Technology

Every Thursday morning the tamariki will head to Lincoln Primary School. They will need to be at kura at 8:45am. It is important that they are here on time for the bus. We are required to be at Lincoln primary for a 9am start. Ākonga return to kura at about 12:15pm. Our first technology session is next Thursday. If your child is going to be absent on a Thursday could you please let us know with plenty of notice so we do not need to spend time calling you on a Thursday morning to find out where they are. Thank you!

Hoolie with the Hapori

We are having a "Hoolie with the Hapori" night on Wednesday 15th February. This is a meet the kaiako evening, where you can come in and find out a bit more about the kaiako in Teretere and we can share with you how we are planning on running our programme at school this year. This starts at 5:30pm and generally is organised so that different hapori are sharing at different times. We will confirm our time with you once we have that confirmed.

Hapori Picnic (Teretere only) 

Our Hapori will also have a picnic dinner night later in the term. This is likely to be in week 10 after we have been to camp. More details to come about this.

Stationery 

We also require the students to have a permanent marker please. This was missed off our stationery list this year, if you could please make sure your child has one to bring on Tuesday. Thank you.

New Students 

A big welcome to our new students who have joined our Ararira team this year.. Henry, Cameron, Cooper and Emily!

Key Dates coming up:

Monday 6th: Waiatangi Day - School Closed

Thursday 9th: Technology

Friday 10th: Hui @ 9.15am

Enjoy your long weekend.

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

Welcome to Teretere! We are the first ever Year 7&8 group to be called Teretere at Ararira so this is the start of an exciting new era in our school journey!  Please see the brief introduction of our team this year.

A couple of reminders as we get ready to start the year.

Meet the Teacher Day 

Tomorrow is our meet the teacher day. If you haven't made a time already to pop in you can still make a time here. If you are  coming in tomorrow could you bring your named stationery in a bag please.

First Day of Term 1

We start on Tuesday at 9am, with a mihi whakatau at 9:15am.

Children are welcome into learning spaces after 8.30am and school begins at 9am. If your child arrives before 8.30am they need to wait outside the school office before the music bell plays to signal to come into learning spaces. 

Please make sure to remind your tamariki to please bring in a hat, and drink bottle and we will remind them to put sunscreen on. It looks like it will be very hot during the week.

Also attached is a list of our most commonly used Te Reo Māori words to help develop your understanding when reading our emails or notices.

We are looking forward to seeing most of you tomorrow.

Ngā mihi nui 

Danielle, Mel & Michael

Holiday Notices - 20th January 2023

Kia ora whānau,

It's hard to believe that there is only a few weeks left until we all get started back at school again for 2023. Michael, Mel and I are really looking forward to getting started with your tamariki.

A couple of pieces of information for you all:

Stationery 

Physical stationery lists were not given out at the end of last year. Please check the Quizzle website for this years stationery requirements. We are in Teretere this year. If you have books from last year that still have room in them please use them up first and only purchase what you need.

Meet the Teacher Day

Monday 30th January. This is a chance for you to pop in, check out our new space and put stationery away before school starts the following day. If you do want to chat about anything specific please feel free to contact your child's ako teacher to make a different time to meet. Tamariki are not expected to be in school uniform on this day. You can make a time to pop in with this link.

First Day of Term 1

Tuesday 31st January. We will start our day with a mihi whakatau to welcome all the new whānau to our kura. This starts at 9:15am. Claire will provide information to all new whānau in regards to any extra information you might need for this.

We hope you have all had a wonderful holiday break. Please get in touch if you have any questions.

See you all soon!

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz

Kia ora whānau,

The last couple of weeks we have started to prepare for our speeches that are coming up. The ākonga have the opportunity to participate in a competitive speech competition against other students in the Selwyn area run by the Rotary Club. We will first have in class and school speeches for those who wish to be a part of the competitive competition. All students are still planning and writing their own speeches - even if they are not being presented it is still important for them to know how to structure a speech and chose an appropriate topic that will connect to an audience.

Here's the link to our photo Gallery for this week: Gallery slide here

Please can you ask for volunteers to help out on Athletics day in week 9 (15 September) 

Health consultation

Please read the slides from our Health Consultation held on Wednesday 16th August that was sent out on Friday 18th on Hero. More information on our school curriculum can be found on the school website. A summary of what we teach is on these slides. Information regarding the Sexuality Education unit we teach, can be found in your child's akomanga class. Please speak to your child's teacher to view this. 

If you wish to comment on this, please fill in the google form that was sent out on Hero on Friday.

Key Dates coming up:

Wednesday 23rd August Cantamath Competition Yr 7 4pm & Yr 8 5pm

Thursday 24th August Lincoln Zones Rugby/Netball

Tech - Bus @ 8:45am

Friday 25th August Whānau Groups

Curiosity Clubs

Non Uniform Day

Class Speech Competition Yr 7s Competitive

Monday 28th August Class Speech Competition Yr 8s Competitive

Tuesday 29th August Court Theatre Performance

Wednesday 30th August School Speech Competition TBC

Thursday 31st August Tech - Bus @ 8:45am

Friday 1st September Teretere Hui

Enjoy your week

Ngā mihi nui,

Danielle, Michael & Mel

danielle.jackson@ararira.school.nz

michael.mcdermott@ararira.school.nz

melissa.rennell@ararira.school.nz