Hebron Happenings

Newsletter No.19 Friday 29th June 2012 Dear Parents Term 2 is almost over and what a great term it has been. Apart from all the extra activities such as speech finals, sports field days, World of Maths, intermediate sports camp, Mastermind, etc., school is about LEARNING and there has been good evidence of this in all our classrooms. Tests throughout the school indicate our students are learning at an advance rate eg. The new National Standards assessment system clearly shows our primary children being well above the national standard of learning. The primary and secondary parent-teacher interviews held on Tuesday and Thursday this week went off very smoothly and the staff inform me that there was overwhelming positive feedback from parents on the progress of their child(ren). Turnout was almost 100%...well done parents for taking an active interest and concern in the education of your child(ren). The intermediate teachers, Mrs Scott and Miss Hart held “triangulated interviews” whereby the students attend the interview with their parents. This helped the student to take ownership and responsibility for their learning and gave the teacher and the parent the opportunity to praise and affirm the child for his/her hard work and good progress. It was good to see some secondary students accompanying Mum and Dad to their interviews too. A Hebron dad asked his daughter, “How did the exams go Honey?” She replied, “The maths exam was OK until I got to the algebra section. The teacher wrote all the wrong questions!”

Year 13 Biology Trip As part of the NCEA Internal Assessment, the Year 13 Biology students went to the marshy area of the Luckens Point to study Mangrove pneumatophores. The students were collecting data on the distribution of the Mangrove pneumatophores in the upper inter tidal zone. The method used was quadrate sampling and the whole process was carried out during the low tide period. Year 11 Geography Field Trip On a cold, wet and blustery Wednesday, the intrepid Year 11 Geography class left their cozy classroom to investigate the relationship between preparedness for disasters and proximity to risk factors. Major disaster risks in Auckland are related to climate, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis.

Homestays needed

Holiday Tuition

The students surveyed businesses in Mt Eden (close to a volcanic cone) and Mission Bay (close to the sea) to see if they had the following basic business survival items: evacuation plan, first aid kit, face masks, torch, portable radio and spare batteries, blankets, off site IT back up systems, back up power supply and business insurance. The students also asked about the reasons for their level of preparedness (or lack of).

During the holidays the students will survey their friends and families to find out about their preparedness. As shown by Christchurch’s experiences of the past two years, it is important for businesses, schools and families to be prepared. According to a NZ Herald article last week (18th June) Auckland has the lowest level of preparedness in the country: “one out of eight (12 per cent) of Auckland households have all three items required for "basic" disaster preparation - three days' supply of food and water and a household emergency plan.” To find out more and prepare your family’s emergency plan, visit www.getthru.govt.nz

Library Book Donations “Thank you” to all the parents who purchased a book or two for our school library. Approx. 50 books were donated at a total cost of approx. $1,000. The staff and children really appreciate donations such as this as it helps us to keep our library up-to-date with modern and relevant material. God bless you for your giving. World Vision 40Hr Famine Total raised: $7701.50 Total participants: 111 Amount raised per participant; 69.38 First class with all books returned: Room 12 Class Total Number of

participants Amount raised per participant

Top student

Rm 14 - 3 Rm 9 381.70 6 63.62 Noah Turner $330 Rm 12 571.20 7 81.6 Sophia Nobbs $240.20 Rm 11 545.20 14 38.94 Lauren Nobbs $200 Y9 1256.40 23 54.63 Zac Turner $270 Y10 1315.40 18 73.08 Sarah Airey $314 Y11 1338.20 18 74.34 Nikita Collecut $292.30 Y12 1662.30 16 103.89 Solari Chikkala $350 Y13 631.10 6 105.18 Emily-Anne Muli $285

Thank you to of you who took part in this year’s famine. God bless you for your sacrifice.

I am still needing homestays for 4 Japanese students coming for short periods to our school next term:

• Male, 16yrs old, 5 weeks: 21st July – 24th August Payment: $230/week

• Male, 14yrs old, 3 weeks: 6th – 26 August Payment: $230/week

• Male, 15yrs old, 1 week: 2nd - 10th August Payment: $360

• Female, 15yrs old, 1 week: 2nd - 10th August Payment: $360

Please contact me if you can assist: Email: principal@hebron.ac.nz or Phone 027 270 2545

Parents, if you would like your children to have extra catch-up or extension tuition for maths, reading or writing during the July break, contact Mr Graham Pedersen on 620 5851 or 027 440 5851. Graham is a former Hebron teacher who has been tutoring pupils from Year 3 to Year 12 for the past twelve years.

Fundraising

Thank you to all the families who purchased movie tickets for our Fundraising project. To date 160 tickets have been purchased. We have 40 more to sell and will order more if families purchase them next term. For those who have bought tickets…happy viewing! Have a relaxed and engaging time with your children over the two week break. We look forward to seeing you all again on Monday 16th July, the start of Term 3.

Geoff Matthews Principal