Dear Parents By now you would have heard my news and if you missed the communication, I have copied my letter as an attachment to this newsletter. We have an exciting year ahead and my focus is entirely on Wellesley until my successor takes up the reigns next year.

The particularly exciting news is we have secured the Minister of Education, the Hon. Hekia Parata to open our new Hall/Gym/Chapel facility at 11.00 on Wednesday July 2

nd. We will occupy the facility before then but we are

delighted to start planning for this special day. We are in Week 5 and the year is racing along. The boys and staff are working hard in the classroom with many extracurricular activities going on outside the classroom. Year 4-8 Parent/Teacher interviews are all but complete and the Junior School interviews are well underway. Reports are due out at the end of the term.

Science

Last year, the NZ Association of Science Educators, the Education Review Office and the Teachers’ Council all raised serious concerns about the quality of science teaching in our primary schools. This came as no real surprise as science has been the ’poor cousin’ in the primary curriculum for too long. I often ask boys who come in with their families to meet me and view Wellesley whether they like science. Many look at me blankly, not understanding the question, because they haven’t experienced any science at school. Others enthuse they like science but they don’t get to do it much. I must say we are a bit spoilt because over and above classroom programmes, we have a dedicated science room and a resource teacher who has a big impact on the Science Programme we offer. However, no one can afford to be complacent. Although we are well placed, we continue to look for ways to improve the programme. Our very capable teacher, Jo Hawthorne, is involved in ongoing professional learning and she is passionate about science. Science is such an exciting topic and the boys love it. Have a look at Jo’s plans in her report on Page 5. We are all looking forward to our Science Exhibition and our parent evening on Wednesday July 2

nd.

Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day

Our special afternoon is coming up on July 3rd at 1.00pm. Invitations will go out soon but it may pay to give the boys’ intended guest(s) a bit of a ‘heads up’ if there is transport needing to be booked, etc.

Secondary School Scholarships At this time of year many independent and integrated secondary schools (even some state boarding schools, such

Wellesley Newsletter # 5 June 4 2014 Centenary Year Edition

Theo (Y5) with Mrs Hawthorne Scientist and parent, Dr Stirling, exciting the boys with his ‘bubble investigation’

Abe and Ryan (Y5) enjoying the dry ice experiments

as Nelson College) are gearing up for the 2015 Year 9 scholarship applications. I encourage any Year 8 parents who wish their son to try for one or more of these scholarships to approach the particular school(s) for the appropriate information. I recommend you do that sooner rather than later. Over the years a number of Wellesley boys have won such scholarships.

World Vision Wassila Yahaya (age 13) is our school World Vision child. She lives in Niger and has 6 siblings. Congratulations to the boys who took part in the 20/40 hour famine. We are proud of your resolve. Please get in touch with your sponsors and get the funds back to school so we can forward the money to World Vision.

NZ Speech Board

‘Confidence is everything’ and being comfortable to be able to present yourself and communicate informally or formally (public speaking) certainly helps to develop confidence. We believe the development of good oral language skills is very important and from age five we foster this development on a daily basis. One of the more obvious ways is when our Year 3-6 children are put through the New Zealand Speech Board Oral Language assessments. Later this term all these boys will present to an assessor. Meanwhile a lot of hard work in planning and practising will go on in class and at home. Later in the year the Year 4-8 boys all have their year level speech competitions.

Wellesley Waiting Lists

At this time of year we are trying to finalise our school roll for next year. Families with sons on our waiting list are ringing in wondering whether their child will have a place. If you are intending to transfer to another area, or your son will not be attending Wellesley next year for whatever reason, please let the school office know as soon as possible. Even let us know if there is a reasonable possibility that you won’t be here next year, as it helps us with our planning. Waiting lists are fickle and when people hear that schools have waiting lists they sometimes do not even bother enquiring. If friends show an interest in Wellesley, encourage them to plan ahead and pre-enrol so they have their options covered.

Parking at Wellesley You may know this already but if not, please read on…. before school drop-offs and after school pick-ups: Boys can be dropped at the front gates of the school and then walk up the path to school. Although the back of the school on Kotari Rd is another option, this area can get congested. The boys can also be dropped in the pavilion

Michelle from World Vision motivating the boys at Chapel

Finbar and Tom (Y5) as MCs. Latest picture of Hall/Gym/Chapel

Modern learning environments need to be flexible and reflect that learning happens everywhere, not just in the classroom. Ross Hampton captured his maths class and then used the App Paper Artist to create the altered effect

Year 2 hard at work in their classroom

car park and walk to school via the tennis courts. Please avoid driving up the drive to avoid congestion and risk to boys and staff. You are asked specifically not to drive onto the quad beside the Junior block.

School Events and Functions Parking for the numerous school events and functions varies throughout the year. Limited parking is available within the school grounds during the school day but parking outside the school grounds can normally be found. When the school parking sign is outside the front gates that means there is parking available inside the school grounds. This normally relates to the quad area between the hall and Junior block in winter months and the quad and school field in summer months (when dry enough). Access to the school field is on the left adjacent to the cricket nets. When the field and quad areas are used there will normally be people directing.

Bus Bay at the front of school The bus bay at the front of school needs to be clear at the beginning and end of the school day (8.30am-9.15am and 2.30pm-3.15pm). The majority of the buses don’t stay there all day so if that area is blocked when they return for the after school pick-ups, it puts the safety of the children at risk. Robbie on the drums, Hugh on the saxophone and the band (Ollie H obscured), Tom, Arie, Callum, Harper and T.J.

Arts Report

The multi-talented percussion group 'Strike' entertained the boys at school recently and as always, they were outstanding. They played a selection of original pieces using a range of drums, marimba, voice and fire. Staff and boys were invited up to play along on Cook Island and snare drums. It was LOUD! The feedback from the boys was most positive and we will definitely be inviting them back again in the future. Two of the Year 7 classes have just completed a ukulele unit during Performing Arts time. They have made spectacular progress and this can be checked out on the class blogs. Year 3G can be seen on their class blog performing their 3 part glockenspiel piece, 'Fiddle Dee Dee'.

Boys in the Wellesley Orchestra are working extra hard and doing lots of practice at home to learn the five pieces they will be playing at the Wellington Primary and Intermediate Orchestra Festival on June 19th. It will be great to meet and make music with other primary aged musicians. Details can be found on the school calendar and on the Wellesley Orchestra blog. Please feel free to contact mary-anne@wellesley.school.nz for more information. The Senior Choir is a committed team who are meeting Friday lunchtimes and Wednesday afternoons to practise. We are looking forward to the new hall being built and the annual exchange with Queen Margaret College Choir during the school day on June 20th.

.

The boys love the ukulele (Tim, George and Toby) Visiting percussion group. (Strike) Cam and Hamish

having a go

Chess

Chess tuition with Mark Van der Hoorm is well underway this year. Year 4 - Monday lunchtime from 12.40pm-1.20pm Year 5/6 - Thursday lunchtime from 12.40pm-1.20pm Year 7/8 - Thursday after school from 3.00pm-4.30pm (Mark intends to run a beginners’ group in the Junior School in Term 4)

Uniform and Presentation

It is a good habit for the boys to polish their shoes weekly or as they become dirty. Shoelaces need replacing from time to time if they become frayed or too short to fit all the holes in the shoes. We have school ‘beanies’ to keep the boys’ heads warm when travelling to and from school. These are uniform issue and thus we don’t want the boys wearing other branded beanies. Congratulations to the boys for the care and consideration shown in changing into their slippers at the appropriate place for the winter terms. It is a bit of a nuisance for the boys taking shoes on and off as they make the transition from the grounds to the interior, but it does build respect and care for the boys’ ‘home away from home’.

A few boys are getting a bit ‘shaggy’ and need a haircut. Some have been prompted to do this by staff but ideally the prompts need to come from home. We want to encourage the boys to present themselves in a clean and tidy fashion, taking pride in their uniform and their school.

PE/Sport The Senior school boys completed their winter sports trials and are right into the swing of the new season. The Junior and Middle sport programmes are also well underway. Unfortunately, due to inclement weather, HIBS cancelled the first senior winter fixture of the year last week. All seven teams were scheduled to play which was to be the first time this many teams had played. There are fixtures scheduled for the next four weeks. Two Senior basketball teams and the 2

nd XI football team are playing in new strips funded by the Parents’

Association. This is appreciated by the boys and coaches alike. The Year 5 and 6 Zone Football tournament has been postponed until the Thursday in Week 7. Wellesley has entered four teams with two in each section. Two Year 5/6 rugby teams were in entered in tackle tournaments but both were cancelled due to a lack of entries.

Oliver, Lucca, Charlie and Krishin

Rugby , Soccer and Hockey trials. P.E. with Mr Houston and the table tennis room in full action at playtime.

Year 3 and 4 basketball teams are well into their second competition for the year. The Globetrotters and Breakers are building on their first term experience. Three Year 5/6 and five Year 7/8 basketball teams are playing in Karori Recreational Centre and Hutt Walter Nash leagues. All teams are competitive and developing their skills in a competitive environment. Thank you to parents who are managing and coaching teams. The Senior Multi Sports boys played golf for their first outside away trip of the year. They have had games at school and have other planned trips as part of their programme. The main PE focus in the early part of the term was on large ball and hockey skills. The boys have been encouraged to practice the skills relevant to their team sports at home to improve their skill base further. The Senior Zone Cross Country runners had their event at Trentham Memorial Park this week. Year 4-6 boys have their equivalent event next week at Boulcott School. The Senior Table Tennis Championships are close to deciding the Finalists. Boys are entered in singles and doubles draws which run in a knock out format.

Darren Houston

Science

We’ve been having loads of fun in the science room this term – from cleaning up oil spills, investigating if expensive lollies taste better than cheap ones, to making our own fire extinguisher using dry ice. I’ve even been given the gifts of dead wetas and strange fungi! In the science room we’ve been going over the scientific process, what makes a fair test and how to conduct an investigation. All classes are conducting science investigations and many boys have been doing their testing at home. It sounds like we are in for a really great science presentation in the last week. On Wednesday, 2

nd of July

we will have our Science Evening. Boys and parents from Year 4 to Year 8 are invited along to our Science Evening in our new school hall at 7.00pm. Awards will be presented to Senior science Finalists, a scientist will share some experiences and then boys will have an opportunity to show their parents the science that they have been working on in their classes. The Juniors will have their science presentation in the afternoon on the same day. During the term it was National Science Week. As part of the week, I ran a fun science day where a number of classes got to experiment and have a play with dry ice. It was great to see boys coming up with so many questions, ideas for experiments and willing to share what they thought was happening. We made small bubbles, big bubbles, we froze leaves in seconds so they shattered into small pieces, we added dye, detergent and we just had loads of fun.

Science and Technology Data Base

I am about to launch a science and technology data base for our school. In the near future I will be asking for parents who have a science and technology background/interest/vocation to fill out a short form. I’m hoping that from this we will be able to approach parents and get them more involved in our school science and technology programme. It would be great to have parents come in and share their experiences and knowledge and possibly provide the opportunity for students to visit a science related work place. I’m also planning to start up a lunch-time science club where parents come in for a lunchtime and share something with a group of keen kids. This could range from anything from someone who grows things, makes things, has a rock collection to share, can teach us about the plants around the school, has an experiment they want to demonstrate or show us something – anything to do with science and technology. I’m certain there are lots of parents who have lots to offer! Jo Hawthorne

,

The boys have been doing a lot of clay work this term and this is Jack’s (Y7) art Year 1 Jack and James working hard.

Year 7 Parent/Son House Breakfast On Wednesday 25 June at 7.20am, we will be having our first Year 7 House breakfast. First up will be Croydon and Selwyn followed by Marlborough and Wellington in early Term 3 (date TBC). A letter explaining the details of this event should have arrived home via your son. Old boy Rob Metcalf will be our first House breakfast speaker. Key Dates for the rest of Term 2

Thursday 19 June

Wellington Primary and Intermediate Orchestra Festival

Friday 20 June

Queen Margaret Choir Exchange

Monday 23 June

Y3-6 NZ Speech Board Assessments start

Wednesday 25 June

Year 7 House Breakfast. Croydon / Selwyn House

Wednesday 2 July

11am Official Opening of our new school Hall/Gym/Chapel Science Fair Afternoon and Evening 2pm Juniors 7pm Years 4-8

Thursday 3 July

Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day

Friday 4 July

Last day of Term 2 and School Reports out.

PA Parent Education Night

The PA. have booked Celia Lashlie for an evening in November. Full details will be advertised later in the year with Wellesley parents getting the first opportunity to buy tickets. Celia Lashlie is the author of two best-selling books. Her first book The Journey to Prison: Who goes and why was published in 2002 and was followed in 2005 with the hugely successful He'll Be OK: Growing Gorgeous Boys into Good Men, a book based on the Good Man Project she undertook in 25 boys' schools in New Zealand. This book has since been released in Australia and the UK. Her third book The Power of Mothers: Releasing our Children was published in 2010. In it, Celia picks up where she left off with The Journey to Prison and on the basis of work she has done in New Zealand communities since leaving Christchurch Women's Prison in 1999, explores in more depth her belief that the mothers, grandmothers and matriarchs at the centre of at-risk families hold the key to changing the lives of the children within those families.(http://www.celialashlie.co.nz/). Celia is an outstanding presenter and all parents will enjoy her very engaging presentation. Kind regards Warren Owen Principal

Tom with Jude (Y3), Henry with JB(Y3)

Rishi (Y2) with Sage. Year 8 buddies - Christopher and James