Year 18 Issue 27 of 40 28 August 2020

Public Office Hours

8.15am - 3.30pm Monday - Friday

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From our Principal, John Maguire Kia ora tatou ngā whānau, The Government and Ministry of Education (MOE) recently announced the $50,000,000 Urgent Response Funding (URF) that is available to schools and early learning services across the country. The purpose of the URF is to help address attendance issues, or support well-being, and engagement in learning, for children and young people following the COVID-19 lockdown. As we reflect on the impact of lockdown, shifts in Alert Levels, online learning, NCEA changes, cancellation of sport and cultural events and the uncertainty that surrounds us, we recognise that there does appear to be a cumulative impact on student wellbeing.

Whilst we regularly celebrate the resilience and tenacity of our students as they navigate this ever changing landscape, we also, at this time need to act and look at what it is that we can do to further support our students. I am pleased to announce that our application to the MOE for Urgent Response Funding has been approved and we will receive almost $20,000 at this stage. This money will be used this term and next to provide for students; additional counseling support, additional teacher aide support in-class and out of class, events at break times, NCEA subject tutoring sessions, student mentoring for improved attendance and on initiatives to enhance opportunity for Māori and Pasifika students. We are presently refining our plan and will ensure these additional support initiatives start to reach our students as early as next week. I look forward to keeping students and parents informed as we proceed. If you wish to discuss your student’s needs please do communicate with your student’s whānau teacher, year level Dean or Māori Dean.

Student participation in sport during tournament week has been severely impacted by Alert Level 2 with many of the events having been cancelled. I know for many students these cancellations have been extremely disappointing as they have been training extremely hard and looking forward to the competition. For the few sports that are proceeding, I wish our students every success as they compete in the Tasman secondary school badminton and table tennis events along with our senior mixed hockey team who are playing in the Hockey NZ tournament here in Nelson.

Next week the College will be closed to students for our Teacher Only Day on Thursday 4 August and closed for mid-term break Friday 5 August. Our Teacher Only Day will be a great opportunity for our teachers and support staff to progress our strategic focus in special character, wellbeing, and teaching and learning. The day is built around a range of collaborative learning workshops that will promote discussion, ideas and actions to inspire enhanced teaching and learning practice for improvement in student learning outcomes and overall success. Students have access to their online learning resources and are encouraged to engage in independent learning, study or assignments on Thursday.

Nominations for the Student Trustee for the Board of Trustees open next week 1st September. Students Year 9 - 12 are encouraged to reflect on how they may contribute to the College as a Trustee and consider placing their nomination for election. The election is being held on 18 September.

Thank you to all parents, caregivers and students who have completed enrolment for 2021, we are now processing all enrolments and scholarship applications received to date, we look forward to communicating with all families awaiting confirmation of enrolment and scholarships on or before 4 September 2020.

I wish you all a peaceful weekend, God Bless

John Maguire, Principal

Take a Moment:

“Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” - Mother Teresa

G a r i n C a l e n d a r :

Thurs 3rd Sept - Teacher Only Day (School closed)

Fri 4th Sept - School closed

Fri 25th Sept - Last day of Term 3

IMPORTANT NOTICE

PARENTS OF YEAR 10 STUDENTS or

NEWLY ENROLLED SENIOR STUDENTS

Special Assessment Conditions

Special Assessment Conditions (SAC) provide extra help for approved students when they

are being assessed for their NCEA so that barriers to achievement can be removed and they

then have a fair opportunity to achieve credits. The support is used for internal standards

and external (exams) standards.

Examples of SAC are use of a writer or computer, rest breaks, Braille or enlarged papers, or

reader, extra time.

If your child has sensory, physical, medical and/or learning difficulties/disabilities eg

dyslexia, dyspraxia, that might be able to be supported or reduced considerably with

appropriate assistance, they may be eligible for SAC assessment. For a student to be eligible

for SAC they must be working at expected levels - the use of SAC is to remove their barriers

to learning. If you would like to nominate your child and you have not already discussed this

please email our Special Education Needs Coordinator (SENCO) Lou Maguire, before

Monday 31/8/2020 loumaguire@cloud.garincollege.ac.nz

A student with possible needs, will be tested and the various types of assistance can be

trialled in Term 4, 2020 in preparation for Level 1 in 2021. Contact will be made with you

about the needs identified for your child, and we will trial various supports that may help

your child’s achievement. This helps to determine if an application can be made to NZQA for

assessments, and for which SACs. If you have any cognitive assessments or medical letters

of diagnosis, these could be forwarded to the SENCO in support of your child’s application. If

your child is a diabetic and will need rest breaks for testing or eating during an exam SAC

application is required or any other medical condition that required treatment/management

within a three hour examination.

If you have already submitted cognitive assessments to Lou, your student will be on the

register for SAC application. If unsure whether you have submitted any cognitive

assessments please email Lou Maguire. (email see above)

Whilst Garin College does the application, all decisions for Special Assessment Conditions are

at the discretion of Educational Psychologists at NZQA.

Garin’s Exam Timetable

“Faith Facts" week 6 - Term 3

Social Justice Week 2020

Social Justice Week is not far away, September 6th - 12th.

⇾ Watch this space for Social Justice Week

activities coming up at Garin College. Actions will include a Clothing Drive, Activities and Challenges, and a lunchtime’s Entertainment.

Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

‘Follow me’ Jeremiah 20:7-9, Psalm 63, Romans 12:1-2, Matthew 16:21-25

How can we do the hard things that being a follower of Jesus requires? This week’s gospel tells of Jesus’ awareness of how difficult his journey to the cross would be. The cross is the central symbol of the Christian faith. It reminds us that God’s plan of salvation was attained through Jesus’ death. It also reminds us of our own struggles and suffering. Sometimes we need to do the right thing, even if it is hard. Jesus tells us that we should not try to take the easy way out, but to follow his way. The call to take up our cross is a condition of discipleship, and a daily commitment.

FROM THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT

New Music Group

Please encourage your daughter or son to join the Junior Band and Singers

Year 9 and 10 students are invited to join this new student-led group. Meet in the music room 05 at lunch to make music and have fun. Senior Music students will share their expertise, mentor, encourage and lead. All junior singers and instrumentalists welcome.

Year 11 Planning for Exam Success

‘How to eat an elephant - Planning for Exam Success’ workshops with year 11 Practice exams for seniors are coming up early next term and typically there are 2 main responses from students leading up to exams; the first is to get overwhelmed about preparing, and the second is to ignore them for as long as possible. Neither choice is good for their stress levels! Teens already have a lot happening in their lives, and now they are expected to add revising for exams on top. And that CAN be overwhelming. Our librarian Mrs Ditzel has developed the ‘How to eat an elephant - Planning for Exam Success’ workshops to help

students break down “revise for exams” into manageable steps by creating a personalised revision plan for the practice exams. This year we are running the ‘Planning for Exam Success’ workshop for every student in Year 11 during the lead up to practice exams, to ensure they have these skills and to reduce their stress. These are practical workshops, students walk away with all they need to continue developing the plan they start.

Club Garin Colours nominations are open!

An email has been sent to families or information can be found on the calendar under Wednesday 26th August. The link if you wish to use google docs is: https://docs.google.com/document/

d/17bJxk1I31nwjnIHNKOQX9zItUhXoE3jBOBTJJCbxtkw/edit?usp=sharing Nominations close Thursday 10th September, 9.00am. Please email the form to

justinebutler@cloud.garincollege.ac.nz or hand it into the school office.

Fashion and Design Technology

Some Year 9 students (Y9F & Y9I) have engaged in fervent class discussions following the new alert level and have asked to be taught how to make their own mask. Both classes spent week 4 constructing unique and very successful masks to address our current issue.

Gabby Chapman is a Y1 2 student and is absolutely passionate about fashion. Gabbie wrote: “As a fashion design student I am learning a wide range of skills. For my garment to be innovative, I needed to develop both creative and critical thinking. Researching the market and the work of established fashion designers, I had to first identify a need and respond to it while working in close collaboration with my stakeholders. This process involved teamwork and required good

communication skills. Before the production stage, I then spent two months sketching, refining and evaluating my ideas through conceptual designs to find the perfect solution for my garment to be fit for purpose. Finally, when it was time to construct my bomber jacket, practical skills, project management skills and problem solving abilities were crucial. This performance inspired me to be self-motivated and to become a creator rather than just a consumer!

Ms Yaelle Pochon

Some important info from TDC

Library

Things to remember when visiting your library

during Level 2:

Libraries are public buildings so we need to keep contact tracing information – you can scan the COVID Tracing App, scan your library card or give us your contact details

To keep you safe and allow physical distancing we need to limit the number of people in the building. Visiting solo is best but if you are with your family please stay together in your bubble during your visit

High school / college aged students can visit the library. All of our younger borrowers need to have an adult with them during their visit

Due to physical distance requirements and keeping customer visits to 30 minutes the library won’t be an all-day hangout option for the teacher only days next week

At the moment the library isn’t the best place to use as a meeting spot when collecting your child after school/work. Due to limiting numbers you or your child might not be able to access the library at the same time

Check the library website www.tasmanlibraries.govt.nz to receive up to date information about the library’s opening hours, events or to access e-resources, place holds, renew items, or order a Book.

From the Music Department

Our students enjoyed a wonderful series of workshops with Matt Barus. Matt joined us from

Christchurch, as part of the New Zealand Music Commission Mentoring in Schools scheme.

Matt worked with juniors and seniors, particularly NCEA Music students. Everyone found Matt's

expertise really helpful and we are already looking forward to his next visit.

WELLBEING CORNER

Kia ora Garin Whānau We are now over halfway through Term 3! Isn't this year just flying by! With Covid-19 still being part of our lives, there are an abundance of awesome resources out there. This one in particular, is aimed at parents, to help them support children/teens feeling the hit of Covid in different ways. I found it very helpful. The same website has an abundance of wonderful articles aimed at tackling all sorts of issues to do with our young people. From navigating TikTok to tackling bullying, to connecting with your teen. There is a wealth of information available to browse through. You can find the link here I hope you get as much out of it as I have! Remember, you are welcome to email me if you have any questions or queries, I am here 6 periods a day, 5 days a week Ngā mihi, Kate the Counsellor NZAC Nelson Branch SGC Rep He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata! He tangata! He tangata! What is the most important thing in the world? It is people! It is people! It is people!

School Trophies All prize giving trophies to please be

returned to the school office.

We are preparing for Prize Giving 2020 and need these returned as soon as possible.

Many thanks