NEWSLETTER NO. 15Week Ending 1st June 2018

Phone: 03 315 8233Email: office@amuri.school.nzWeb: www.amuri.school.nz

Kia Kitea ToikakaNothing But The Best

Raising Achievement; Realising Potential; Encouraging Excellence

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Tena Koutou Katoa

1st June already! The time flies by. Tonight we see our wonderful PTA hosting the Farmlands function to raise money for our sports away trips this year. This is a huge undertaking and when combined with other events through the year such as the Rogaine, Trail Ride and Calf and Lamb Scheme they contribute so much to our school. Our current president is Marie Blomfield with Fiona Dwyer as Secretary so please feel free to contact them if you want to get involved in even a small way.

A short week next week after the long weekend with our technology students heading away to visit Roden Cars in Waiau, as part of our ongoing relationship with the engineers there on the cutting edge of technology. We will be opening up bookings for parent teacher interviews next week so look out for the app alert and the paper copy of instructions that will come home. It really is first come first served so I encourage you to get online and book asap. As our school gets bigger we need to restrict the number of bookings per student so please be courteous and follow the instructions on the sheet to ensure there are plenty of slots for everyone.

Only a few weeks now till our production of The Little Mermaid. Katy and the cast are working flat out to make this a performance to remember. Tickets are available NOW from the school office.

I will leave you this week with a new resource from Netsafe for parents on managing images of children on the internet.

OUR TOP FIVE TIPS FOR SHARING IMAGES OF YOUR CHILDREN SAFELY:

1. LOOK AHEADIt’s worth taking some time to think about the digital footprint you are creating for your child by posting images or other content about them online. Some photos or content may seem harmless now but could lead to something more negative later. Think about how your child might feel about the content you’re sharing once they’re older and how it may affect their future.

2. ASK FOR PERMISSIONDoes the photo you’re about to post include other people’s children? It’s best if you ask their parents for permission before you post a photo online. If your children are old enough consider asking them if they’re ok for you to share it before you post a photo as well. Asking them for permission before you post is a great way to teach them about respect and consent online.

3. CHECK YOUR PRIVACY SETTINGSIf you’re thinking about sharing a photo of your child on social media it’s important that you first check what privacy settings you have set up. Some social media networks default to public or more open privacy settings when you sign up so make sure what you’re posting can only be seen by the people you’d like to see it.

4. THINK ABOUT WHO YOU’VE GOT IN YOUR FRIEND NETWORKA lot of people have social media networks that include people they aren’t close to anymore. Make sure you are happy with everyone in your social media friend network seeing the photo – if you’re not sure or if you’d prefer to share it only with a smaller group consider setting up a private social network group with friends and family or a group chat.

5. IS THERE ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION IN THE PICTURE?Before you hit post, have another close look at the photo to make sure you’re not revealing any personal information about yourself or your child. Some things to look out for include: the name of your child’s school, your road or house number or any other personal or private information.

Have a great long weekend.

Kia Kitea Toikaka

James GriggsPrincipal

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Dear Parents and Carers

As educators one of the biggest barriers to achievement is absence – in fact absence in any part of life, work and business etc. has implications for productivity, profitability and sustainability. I was surprised last Wednesday to note the high number of absences due to illness that just happened to coincide with the school cross country! The cross country is an event that can be undertaken at a quick pace or a gentler one - preceding the cross country were 4-hour periods of learning which obviously students absent also missed. On a positive note attendance was greatly improved on Thursday. Avoiding activities, we do not either like or enjoy at school or work is not great preparation for the future and it also has the effect of letting the rest of the team down. We do not wish genuinely ill students to come to school or injured students to participate but we do ask that unnecessary absences are not enabled please. Well done to all students who gave it a go and congratulations to the section winners they can be very proud of their efforts. While on the subject of absences Form Teachers will be checking attendance percentages for students and if a student is below 85% they are expected to ring and discuss this with you. For NCEA students the NQF Handbook is very clear about absences for assessments, please be familiar with what is classed as approved and not approved.

The current publicity surrounding the Governments NCEA review has highlighted what are concerns with the current system – as a school we are taking an active interest and participating in these discussions. Stress on students with frequent assessment is cited as a real issue and one we are all aware of. We would say however that students are aware of when assessments are scheduled or due for completion and often not managing time or workload effectively is one of the causes of stress. Managing time and work load is a skill and something we all need to work at and our staff do talk to and work with students on this issue. As parents you can also assist and support your child by knowing what their assessment calender looks like and working with them on managing workload. If you have any specific concerns to discuss, please do not hesitate to contact us at school. Another ‘topic’ in the current NCEA review is the need for schools to work more closely with the tertiary sector i.e. polytechnics and ITO’s. Amuri is

very proud to say that we have been accessing and developing dual pathways for students for several years, a fact that was highlighted in an ERO Best Practice report just released. This is just one instance where Rural Education has been quick to adapt to changing trends and showing initiative and leadership to best meet changing needs. There is no doubt that change will happen, so we will continue to monitor this space.

Parent teacher interviews are coming up at the end of Term 2 and we are hoping to see as many parents as possible, of course this does not mean that you cannot meet teachers at other times or contact them regarding any queries you may have. We have always promoted the belief that concerns, or queries are best dealt with sooner rather than later.

The importance of revision for students to assist with learning can never be overstated – there are many resources available to assist students and two good online sites for NCEA revision are https://learncoach.co.nz/ and http://www.studyit.org.nz/

Enjoy the long weekend and we look forward to a focussed, positive and busy second half of Term 2.

Penny Mossman

Secondary

School News

SCHOOL PHOTOS...Orders and payments are due in on or before Wednesday June 6th.

Students should have now recieved their order forms, if not, please

encourage them to discuss with their form teacher.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARYICAS International Competitions & Assessments for

SchoolsHPSSA Hurunui Primary Schools Sports AssociationCCHS Canterbury Country High SchoolsCASA Canterbury Area Schools Association

JUNE13 Hamilton Assembly: 2.00pm20 Life Education Visit Year 1-6

22-23 School Production27 Caverhill Assembly: 2.00pm

JULY6 End of Term 2

8-12 NZ Area Schools Tournament: Christchurch23 Start of Term 3

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Amuri Rogaine Organised by Amuri Area School & Rotherham School

6, 3 & 1.5 hour RogainesSunday 8th July 2018

Hanmer Springs, North CanterburyTime6 Hour: 10.00am - 4.00pm, registration/course planning from 8.30am3 Hour: 12.00pm - 3.00pm, registration/course planning from 10.30am1.5 Hour: 1.00pm - 2.30pm, registration/course planning from 12.00pm

Event FeeAdult: 6hr - $50.00pp, 3hr - $40.00pp

Junior: 3hr - $20.00ppPer Family: 3hr - $80.00, 1.5hr - $30.00

CategoriesVeteran (40 +)

Open (18 - 39): Men, Women, MixedJunior (under 18)

Family (Junior, Vets & Family)

EntryEntries open Wednesday May 23rd Forms available at http://www.rogaine.org.nz/Entries close 5.00pm Friday June 29th The organisers reserve the right to accept late entries.

General Enquiries Douglas Woods: douglas@black-woods.co.nz Renee Dampier-Crossley: 021 993 646 For further information and explanation of rogaining:

http://www.rogaine.org.nz/

NAVIGATION SKILLS CLINIC FOR BEGINNERS (Kids & Adults) – run by James & Belinda McCone Giving you the confidence to enter the Amuri School Rogaine 7th July.

Clinic dates:Tuesday 12th June 3.30pm – 5.30pmTuesday 3rd July 3.30pm – 5.30pmLocation:End of Mt Palm Road (property of Matthew & Vikki Gould)

Free of charge

Register your interest by Friday 8th June with either Lucy at the Amuri Area School office (315 8233) or Belinda (beefit@amuri.net)

You will need to bring a compass (if you have one), warm clothes, hat, jacket & a head torch.

Keeping Warm in the Winter No one wants your child to be cold in the winter. This year on our strategic plan we are scheduled to look at our uniform however we already have plenty of options to keep you warm AND in uniform right now.

You can wear a plain black, white or grey thermal under your shirt or polo to keep you warm.

Plain grey trousers are allowed in the senior school (NOT Jeans).

Bottle Green colored track pants are allowed in the Primary Year 1-6.

By all means wear a warm coat to school however these cannot be worn in class. School fleece tops, jumpers and school jackets are allowed in classrooms.

If you have any questions on our current uniform please call the office or look at our website that has the entire list of options available to you.

School Jackets...Have arrived TODAY and will be ready for

collection on Tuesday at first or second break.

If there is enough demand there will likley be another order made later in the year.

Roll of Honour1st MERIT CERTIFICATE

Hannah FergusonZac Broom

Tyrone CoulterZoe Elworthy

Catherine ParagasSarina Woodhouse

Arlie MarrisArthur Milne

Daniela PanganoronReuben Chinnery

2rd MERIT CERTIFICATEMax McCone

Sophie Drummand Bea Garces

Nathalia Ferrer

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Over a period of four weeks, 12 of our Migrant Parents attended a Reading Together workshop programme. This programme recognises the important role that parents play in the success of their child’s reading. Choosing the right reading books, helping children to connect their own experiences to what they are reading, talking about the stories and plenty of encouragement are just some of the topics covered during the four evenings.

The parents learned that regular help with their child’s reading can result in a positive attitude, more frequent reading and a growth in confidence. It was a rewarding programme and wonderful to see so many of our Migrant Parents participate. Many thanks to Alison Nimmo who came along and helped facilitate each workshop, her depth of experience with reading was very valuable. Leila Tumamao, our recently appointed Bi Lingual tutor, assisted in the smooth running of the programme and her assistance was greatly appreciated.

Claire McCarthyMigrant Student Co-ordinator

Reading Together