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06 3880130

26 Huia Street

Taihape, 4720

www.tas.school.nz

TAS Radio - 88.1FM

Principal: Richard McMillan

rmcmillan@tas.school.nz

Lead Me to Lead My Learning

Taihape Area School

Monday 13th November, 2017 Term 4 – Newsletter Number 5

Important Dates

This Week

Monday 3rd Room 1/4 to Hunterville

Wed-Friday Room 79 to Rotorua

Friday17th Room 5 to Napier

Coming Up Tues 21st – Fri 24th Year 9 Camp Whakatane

Tena koutou katoa

Welcome back for another week. We have a very busy

few days ahead with a number of Junior Classes

involved in Outdoor Education activities, including the

Room 79 Camp in Rotorua, a Room 5 Day Trip to

Napier, and a Room 1 and 4 Day Trip to visit places of

interest around Hunterville.

As well this is a huge week for thousands (143,000 in total) of Secondary School Students

throughout the country who are beginning their external NCEA Examinations. Today 47,000

Level 1 Students sit the English examination. For our Year 11, 12, and 13 Students, this

represents the culmination of their year’s work, and is obviously a very significant test of

their abilities, and in particular, the effort they have made during the year.

We wish them all the very best for this important challenge. As both a teacher, and a parent, I

think I have a very realistic view of the challenge our children face in preparing for success in

the NCEA examinations.

As a 15 year old my youngest daughter flew through level 1 – it was new and exciting, she

was very focused, worked hard, and tackled this new challenge in a very positive and

determined manner. It all seemed so easy. Unfortunately, a year later, she approached NCEA

Level 2 with a more cavalier and relaxed mind set. Although in the end she was successful, it

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was a real battle to keep her focused as she endeavoured to fit study into her very busy life

style. In contrast she tackled NCEA Level 3 with a more

focused and determined attitude, and passed well.

I can therefore understand the frustrations many parents

experience in ensuring that NCEA is an on-going focus for

their children. However the bottom line is NCEA

qualifications are important.

Something that is becoming more apparent is that it is very important that (as well as NCEA

Qualifications) young people leave school with an array of skills, knowledge, and attributes

that give them a realistic opportunity for success in life. Involvement in a wide range of

activities at school can provide students with real life experiences, and competencies, that

translate into life in the wider community - for example involvement on the School Council,

or the Student Leadership Team.

Social Service is almost regarded as being a communicable disease these days, but is

nevertheless a special quality that often defines a person as someone of generosity, tolerance,

self-discipline, caring, and collaboration – all very worthy qualities.

Anyway, the waiting is now over – let the exams begin!!

Have a great week.

Regards

Richard McMillan

The TAS School Wide Behaviour

Expectations are:- Rangatiratanga: Whanaungatanga:

We are Learners We are Caring

We show Rangatiratanga We show Whanaungatanga

Wairuatanga: Manaakitanga:

We are Reflective We are Respectful

We show Wairuatanga We show Manaakitanga

Tall Poppies The following Taihape Area School Students rose above the Crowd last week as outstanding

achievers, and members of our Learning Community:

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Louise Collings (Room 1) - for great learning in room one and for helping others with their

learning in a respectful manner;

Nile-Khalila Saudifin (Room 1) - for showing rangatiratanga in her

learning, always giving her best;

Room 3 - for doing an outstanding job of leading Hui-a-ata and Homai

te paki paki this week;

Kenzie Pilato and Naylene Hahn (Room 3)- for progress in reading;

Kajhmyn Pula (Room 5) - for writing an amazing narrative story using descriptive words, Well

Done;

Tuterangiwhiu Rolston (Room 5) - for working very hard solving division problems with

accuracy;

Nailul-Hafiz Saifudin, Benjamin James, Nga Whakapai Twomey (Room 6) - for outstanding

writing;

Jack Waldron and Kaya Bowers (Room 79) - for their outstanding effort with their Reading;

Harmony Lucas, Caryse Clark, and Erika Elers (Year11) - for achieving the last internal

assessment with Excellence in Visual Arts;

Anahera Hapi (Year11) - for achieving the diorama assessment with Excellence.

Tall Poppies from Learning Street – Week 4

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Planning for 2018

Planning for 2018 is well underway. It would be hugely helpful if we knew of anyone who is

intending to enrol their children here in 2018 – or if you are shifting. This makes planning

easier. We endeavour to ensure that classes are set up as well as possible from day one, as this

avoids disruption to classes - unknown enrolments can make this difficult at times.

Supporting Your Child The most important lessons your child needs for success often aren’t taught in the Classroom,

they’re taught at home. Children’s performance in School has more to do with parents, than

with their natural brainpower, or even their teachers. One recent study claimed the parental

effect on exam results at 16 is 5 times greater than any other factor. So what should we be

doing to maximise their chances?

The Importance of a Regular Bedtime Children who do not have a regular bedtime are more likely to suffer behavioural problems.

Erratic bedtimes can cause a similar effect to jet lag and the longer youngsters go without

regular bedtimes, the greater the impact on their behaviour, experts have found. They believe

going to bed at different times could disrupt natural body rhythms and cause sleep

deprivation.

In turn, this undermines the way the brain matures and the

ability to regulate some behaviours. But they also found the

effect is reversible - parents who started putting their children

to bed at consistent times noticed an improvement in their

behaviour, as did teachers.

The study on more than 10,000 children was carried out by

experts at University College London (UCL). The data was collected via the UK Millennium

Cohort Study, with bedtimes noted at age three, five and seven, and information on behaviour

collected from parents and teachers.

Irregular bedtimes were most common at the age of three, when around one in five children

went to bed at varying times. However, by the age of seven, more than half of children went

to bed regularly between 7.30pm and 8.30pm and just nine per cent went after 9pm.

The experts found that those youngsters who experienced erratic bedtimes throughout

childhood displayed progressively worse behaviour. But those children who went from

varying bedtimes aged three or five to a regular bedtime by age seven. displayed a notable

improvement in behaviour.

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Professor Yvonne Kelly (from UCL's Department of

Epidemiology and Public Health) said: "Not having fixed

bedtimes, accompanied by a constant sense of flux, induces a

state of body and mind akin to jet lag and this matters for

healthy development and daily functioning.”

"We know that early child development has profound influences

on health and wellbeing across the life course.”

"It follows that disruptions to sleep, especially if they occur at

key times in development, could have important lifelong

impacts on health.”

"What we've shown is that these effects build up incrementally over childhood, so that

children who always had irregular bedtimes were worse off than those children who did have

a regular bedtime at one or two of the ages when they were surveyed.”

"But our findings suggest the effects are reversible. For example, children who change from

not having to having regular bedtimes show improvements in their behaviour."

The types of behaviour studied included hyperactivity, repetitive bad behaviour, problems

with peers and emotional difficulties. Children whose bedtimes were irregular or who went to

bed after 9pm came from more socially disadvantaged backgrounds. They were more likely

to have poor routines such as skipping breakfast, and not being read to daily.

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Library Update It's that time of year again and all library books issued to students in Year 11, 12 & 13 need to be returned before students leave on study leave.

The school has implemented an email based system to advising students of library books on loan, however many students have not responded to requests to return their books.

Letters will be sent home this week to caregivers of students who have overdue books (library and/or textbooks) to ensure that caregivers are aware of books due.

Please help with this issue and encourage your children to return any resources.

I can be contacted via email (rsomerville@tas.school.nz), phone 06 388 0130, or by just popping in for a chat.

Junior Outdoor Education Programme The Junior (Year 1-8) Classes will all be involved in a range of Outdoor Education

Activities before the end of Term. Activities scheduled this week:

Room 1 and 4

On Monday Room 1 and 4 are doing the Bruce Park Loop Walking Track, and visiting

Hunterville Park and the Flat Hills Maze.

Room 5

On Friday Room 5 are off to Napier to visit the National

Aquarium.

Room 79

On Wednesday Room 79 leave for a 3Day Camp in

Rotorua. Rotorua is a fantastic place for a Camp with a

huge range of educational and recreational options

available. They are visiting the Prawn Park in Taupo, the

Buried Village, the Redwoods Forest, a 3D Gallery, and a

perennial favourite the Luge. They return on Friday.

In two weeks Room 3 are off to Flip City in Palmerston

North, and Room 6 on an overnight Camp in Turangi.

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Prize Giving 2017 All students who received cups and trophies at last year’s Prize Giving are asked to return

these to school by the end of this term.

Prize Giving is Thursday 7th December, @ 1.00pm

Sun Safe in Taihape

In New Zealand the incidence of sun cancer is growing, so much so that it is now regarded as

being a major health problem. The intensity of the sun, and the lack of natural shelter at our

School, has really highlighted this very important issue.

We encourage our students to wear Sun Hats when they are

outside for school based activities, interval and lunchtime play.

We ask your support and assistance in encouraging all children to

be sun safe – i.e. to wear sun block and sunhats when not at

school.

The macho attitude “it won’t happen to me” is naïve in the

extreme, as constant and regular exposure to the harsh New

Zealand sun does most definitely cause serious long term damage,

the effects of which are not pretty, and can even result in death. As parents we have a

responsibility to keep our children safe – protecting them from the sun is an important part of

this.

Taihape Area School Farm Update - by Trustee Andy Law

TAS has been fortunate to pick up the services of a new young agricultural teacher Mr James

Beattie this year. James was a city boy raised in Rotorua, but always had a passion for

farming so studied at Massey University graduating with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science

in 2013.Post degree he has worked in both sheep & beef including a year on a large dairy

farm in Missouri, USA milking 1600 cows with a staff of Mexicans. Currently he juggles

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a Block Manager for a mid-sized Taihape Farm Business, and Teaching 1-2 days a week.

“I enjoy both my farming and teaching,” says James. “The teaching is allowing me to pass on

my knowledge and skills to the next generation. I have had a small class of NCEA Level 1

and 2 students who are all considering farm careers. Most weeks are a mix of theory in class,

and practical outside. We are fortunate to have the use of the School Farm just 4 minutes

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away on the south side of Taihape. My students have been fully involved in the day-to-day

operation, including fencing, stock work, soils, pastures, tree planting etc. Having a low

teacher to student ratio means my students all get to try everything; they all get their hands

dirty and experience real farming.”

“This term I’ve also got a day a week with younger students taking an Agricultural Option.

This class is intended to open the student’s eyes to the Farming Industry which is such a big

earner for New Zealand, and the Northern Rangitikei in particular. A large proportion of our

parents are involved in agribusiness, in one form or another, and many of our students will

end up there as well. Currently there are plenty of jobs available in the sector for School

leavers, and even more if they complete some tertiary training as well.”

It’s not just on-farm jobs that are available either. There are huge numbers employed in farm

support roles - Truck drivers, machinery contractors, vets and vet nurses, fencers, shearers

and wool handers, engineers, mechanics, stock agents and merchandisers, fertiliser company

staff, pilots, and all the other tradespeople who service our farm businesses every day.

Just two weeks ago, TAS ran a shearing course in conjunction with a local contractor at the

School Farm introducing students to the skills involved in wool harvesting. With millions of

sheep on our hills shearing contractors are constantly looking for good staff. One TAS School

families/ shearing contractors recently won a national award for the quality of their wool

handling on Ngamatea Station on the Taihape-Napier road.

Principal Richard McMillan was very pleased to add James to the Staff saying “He brings

enthusiasm, real world experience, and a fresh approach to the role. Employing teachers both

qualified and actually working in their specialised areas to teach applied subjects is

something all schools should be doing more of. Plus what clinched the job for James was that

he was willing to help Coach Hockey for TAS’s Mixed Grade Team which competes in the

Manawatu Schools Competition.”

Quotes of the Week

“Happiness is not a goal...it's

a by-product of a life well

lived” ― Eleanor Roosevelt.

“The worst memories

stick with us, while the

nice ones always seem

to slip through our

fingers” ― Rachel

Vincent, My Soul to

Save

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TAS Behaviour

Expectation Manaakitanga

We actively listen to others. This looks like: -

We look at the person who is talking;

We wait until the person has finished

speaking before we respond;

We ask questions if we do not understand;

We may ask for instructions to be repeated

if we do not understand.

Thank You A huge thank you to Damian Clark, Stu Munroe, and Ross Collier who have provided

ongoing support for the running of the School Farm which is crucial to the learning of our

students.

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Year4 Dictionaries

Year 4 Students Proudly Display the Dictionaries they received from Taihape Rotary.

This is an annual gift, and this year the Dictionaries were presented by new President,

Michael Andrews.

Y7-10 Art Option Class Trip Manawa

Last Friday the Year 7-10 Art option class visited Te Manawa to see the Euan MacLeod

exhibition. Influenced by Euan's painting techniques (dense, textured and sculptural use of

paint), seven students used an impasto gel medium and tried to create impasto artwork

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Winiata Marae Trip Not too long ago on Wednesday the first of November the Junior School went to Winiata

Marae. When we got there we had a powhiri then we all got welcomed in.

After everyone spoke we split up in our house teams. We all went to different places. Awa

went to Whaea Lulu. Maunga went with Matua Jordan to learn a new song. Manu went to

make stuff and Rakau went inside the Marae.

After forty-five minutes we all swapped around clockwise. After two sessions we had

morning tea. All the year 1-3 were on the ground while all the year 4-8 were on the tables we

had juice, chips and fruit.

After morning tea we went back into learning. We had two more sessions. After forty-five

minutes we had to swap again. Then that was the last rotation before we had lunch.

We were all having fun. We were all playing games and all of us had someone to play with.

At the end of lunch we all had a big school photo to finish off the day.

- By Tatiana Grant

The Junior School @ Winata Marae