12 February 2022

Kia ora, EBIS Whanau

Welcome back to the school year. 

The holidays already seem so long ago as so much has been packed in to the last two weeks.

It was wonderful to start the year with the powhiri to welcome new staff, students and their families to the school.  Following on from that it has been right into it with the introduction of the new 7 day timetable. While it’s early days, the feedback from students who have had SPEC is they are enjoying the longer periods of time that they can delve deeper into the skills they are developing.

There has also been the  exciting development of the new toilet block opening on Friday. This has been a long time coming, but it is great to have nice new unisex toilets that are accessible from the playground.

The field which has had pooling water in two parts for almost two years also seems to have been fixed due to the work done on pipes in Kemp Street. It is great to finally have the full field operational.

It hasn’t all been completely positive.

While we understand that it is a new year, with new students, many making new friends, we do continue to have high expectations of the behaviour of our students both at school and when travelling to and from school. While we would have preferred not to have spoken to all the boys about the behaviour of a few, we have been very impressed by their positive response.

Likewise we’ve had reports regarding the behaviour on public buses. Some of it has been informing us of the language of our students, while others were reporting that students from high schools had been harassing our students to pay for them. We are currently working with the high schools on this and have been sending staff to the Kilbirnie bus station to help manage this situation after school. 

Finally we’d love to see as many of you as possible attend the Cyber Safety Evening at school on Monday 20 February from 7pm till 9pm. We have found that the online world is causing the greatest harm to the well being of students in this age group. While it has huge value, it needs to be navigated safely and as the first generation of schools and parents who’ve had to do this we sometimes need support.

Rob Cope is a filmmaker who has tackled this subject extensively but most importantly he is a parent who has dealt with the fallout at home as well. Tickets are only $2 and we will be presenting a couple of spot prizes for attendees.

Please come together as a community to work with the school to keep our kids safe online. 

We look forward to seeing you there.

Best wishes

EBIS Staff

What's Happening in Science

Science Outreach

Over the past couple of years EBIS Science Extension and Science Fair students have been fortunate to take part in some amazing Science Outreach programs. 

We finished 2022 with 2 opportunities to share our outreach experiences with a wider audience.  These have now been published and provide a wonderful example of what we get up to:

Radio NZ: ‘Our Changing World - what Marine Biologists do.’

We were fortunate enough to be invited to take part in a RNZ ‘Our Changing World’ episode as part of the VR Experience run by the Victoria University of Wellington's Marine Lab.  What I can tell you is that Claire Concannon had her work cut out for her trying to edit 20 minutes worth of students' questions into one episode!  

Check out the recording and a VERY short version of the students amazing questions here: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018875818/our-changing-world-what-marine-biologists-do

Education Gazette: ‘Deep Dive Experience inspires future Marine Scientist’

During the VR Experience one of the groups was photographed and interviewed by the Education Gazette.  This article really showcases the importance of outreach programs and their value to student learning. It was a great experience for us to be part of. You can read the article here: https://gazette.education.govt.nz/articles/deep-dive-experience-inspires-future-marine-scientists/

Science Fair 2023

All students who are invited to Science Extension must complete a Science Fair project as this is our focus for Terms 1 and 2.  However students do not have to be in Science Extension to complete a project - this is open to all students and some choose to complete their projects at home. It is a great opportunity for students to work on something they are passionate about.  Up to 20 projects are selected by EBIS and NIWA judges to go through to the NIWA Wellington Regional Science and Technology Fair in August.  Last year EBIS students took home some amazing prizes….including some cash (great motivation for them!).

Information regarding the 2023 Science Fair will come out later this term in the Bulletin and via email to Parents.  Information is also communicated directly to students via the notices and in-school meetings.  If your child is interested in Science please encourage them to come and have a chat with me in the Science room.  

Amanda Hood

ahood@ebis.school.nz

Masters of the Muralverse

Last year Six Evans Bay Intermediate School students were a part of an exciting new TV series. As of 13th February it is being released. 

We’re so excited to have some of our talented artists showcasing their abilities via this platform, so we recommend you check it out.

MASTERS OF THE MURALVERSE

Young artists rise to the challenge of creating public art for their communities in the new series Masters of the Muralverse.

Across six episodes, six brand new murals will be created for a variety of communities, all designed and painted by talented young artists.

But it's not all smooth sailing - wet weather, artistic ambitions and looming deadlines mean that the artists will need to band together to finish each mural in time for the grand reveal.

Streaming from Monday 13 February on HEIHEI TVNZ+ 

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/masters-of-the-muralverse