Term 1 Week 6

Pirongia School Wednesday 13 March 2019

Our Year 8’s

Ph 871 9727, Cell: 027 389 7279 (txt) www.pirongia.school.nz, email: office@pirongia.school.nz or finance@pirongia.school.nz, 100 Beechey St, PO Box 34020, Pirongia 3844

Tiki Taane comes to town! Kia ora Kapahaka tamariki and whanau for welcoming

him to Pirongia 5 Stags on Saturday afternoon.

Inspiring words from Eroni Clarke...

You can do it! Set those goals that seem like dreams and work away to achieve them. He motivated,

inspired and entertained the students, prompting them to recite "I am special". Students were then allowed to ask any questions they have always wanted to ask an "All Black". Questions

ranged from, "Have you played against Beauden Barrett and how much does an All Black earn? A fascinatingafternoon

spent in the company of an inspiring New Zealander. Thanks Mr Bent for arranging for us to have Eroni

visit us .

This is week 6 of 10 in Term 4 2019!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: There is no such thing as a small act of kindness-even the tiniest gesture has a ripple effect. We don’t tend to think of smiling as giving something to someone, but it is probably the most simple yet powerful thing we can do to spread kindness and happiness around the world. Not only does it lift another’s mood– it’s contagious! Welcome to week 6!

Swimming sports are done for another year here at school, with just the Lower Waipa and Full Primary competitions still to go. The standard of swimming this year at our school sports days was high and we look forward to some fierce competition this Friday at Lower Waipa. It always makes me thankful that we have a swimming pool of the standard we have. Leanne does a superb job of maintaining it and by selling keys, along with a grant from Waipa district council we are able to afford to have it!. The community use has been high again this year and we thank those parents who regularly use it and keep an eye on what happens there. The season is winding down now and it will not be long now until the pool is closed for another season.

Three families have offered to undertake the pool maintenance training so that next season we will have a good back up of support. Thank you to those families.

Last week the Y3-8 students took part in the PAT (Progressive Achievement Tests) here at school. These are a series of standardised tests developed specifically for use in New Zealand schools. New Zealand teachers use a variety of tests to determine what level students are at, what progress they are making, and where they may need extra help. Progressive Achievement Tests, commonly known as PATs, are one of the main sets of tests schools use.

PATs are multiple-choice tests designed to help teachers determine achievement levels of students in Mathematics, Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary, and Listening Comprehension. The test results help teachers decide what kinds of teaching materials are needed and which methods or programmes are most suitable for their students. PATs are also important because they identify the progress a student is making from year to year.

Schools can also buy printed PATs from the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER), an independent research organisation which first developed the tests more than 30 years ago.

PAT: Reading Comprehension assesses how well Year 4 to 10 students understand the text they are reading. Each test is organised around several extended pieces of writing which include stories, poems, reports and explanations.

PAT: Reading Vocabulary assesses Year 4 to 10 students’ ability to understand the words they read. Each question is based around a key word that is embedded in a short sentence. Students are asked to choose a synonym that best represents the meaning of this word from a list of five possible alternatives.

PAT: Listening Comprehension measures Year 3 to 10 students' ability to understand spoken material. Students listen to a passage and then answer questions. It helps teachers detect children with poor listening skills and is also useful in identifying those children whose listening comprehension performance is significantly different from their ability to comprehend written material.

PAT: Mathematics covers number knowledge, number strategies, algebra, geometry and measurement, and statistics. PAT: Mathematics is for Years 4 to 10, but there is an additional, slightly easier test aimed at Year 4 which some schools choose to use in Year 3.

In week 10 we will be having our Learning Conferences. Teachers will share this information with you at this time. This week all the teams have been analysing the data and looking at how it aligns with what they know about their students, to give them next steps and more information. I use the data to report to the BOT. It gives the BOT a clear picture about how our students compare to students of the same age across NZ and to show progress in these areas. I hope this gives you a little more understanding of PATs and the reasons why we use them.

Have a great rest of the week

Jan

ICAS 2019

We will be offering ICAS once again this year. The assessments all take place

in September this year, so we will call for enrolments in the various papers

next term. Look for further information next term.

A reminder that the assessments are available in English, Mathematics,

Science and Spelling Bee for Y3-8 students, and Writing and Digital

Technology for Y4-8 students.

PTA AGM is on TONIGHT - new committee members are needed! The PTA AGM is being held tonight, 13 March at 7pm, in the school staff room. The PTA committee is currently a small group of friendly individuals and it is important that new parents/caregivers continue to join the committee to maintain the sustainability of the PTA in the longer term. The AGM is a great opportunity to meet current committee members and find out about the work the PTA does. The AGM is open to all parents and caregivers and we would love to see you there. If you would like to find out more before the AGM please contact Catherine on 021 027 53503 or Helen on 027 555 4492. Senior Swimming Sports BBQ A massive thank you to Pip and Mark Harrison for co-ordinating the BBQ on Friday and to Min, Ruth Webb, Rochelle van Strallen, and Sass Neutroski who braved the weather and helped run the BBQ on the day. The BBQ raised approximately $500 funding for the PTA.

FRIDAY LUNCH THIS WEEK IS..MACARONI CHEESE $3.00 (GF OPT)

Orders to Bob the Box by 9am, Full name, Room no in an old envelope. Thanks.

13th March—PTA—AGM 7pm in the staffroom TONIGHT ALL welcome

15th March—Garden Working Bee in our Enviro gardens, many hands make light work, 9am Friday

15th March—Lower Waipa Swimming

15th March—ASSEMBLY—Tawa Team presenting

20th March—Kawaka Team—Mountain Biking

22nd March—ASSEMBLY—Kahikatea Team presenting

26th March—Photolife—School photos

28th March—Whānau hui 4.30pm Whānau Room–Please note change of date.

29th March—ASSEMBLY—Rātā Team presenting

03rd –8th April—Financial Literacy ASB programme

05th April—ASSEMBLY—Rātā Team presenting

12th April—Term One End

Scholastic Book Club Orders:- Head to www.scholastic.co.nz to make your order or place into Bob the Box. This year only the oldest child from each family will receive the booklet - please put sibling orders all on the same sheet. Orders must be in by 3pm on Friday 22nd March. If you have any questions please see Miss Miles in Room 6.

HAT/SCHOOL SHIRTS/HOUSE TEES; can you please check that your child/ren have their own clothing as there have been a few mix ups with swimming sports.

PHOTOLIFE SIBLING PHOTOS; Preferably Order online or pick one up from the office. Forms must be returned before Photo day.

ENVIRO GARDENS WORKING BEE;- We need your help this Friday from 9am. All help appreciated.

Mōhio koe? Did you know?: The reason we take our shoes off before we enter a wharenui/meeting house is because the wharenui resembles the body of a women. The central ceiling beam represents the spine and the roof and side panels represent the ribs. Kapahaka: Wow! What an amazing opportunity some of our Kapahaka tamariki had on Saturday to pōwhiri Māori performer, Tiki Taane, to Pirongia prior to his show at Five Stags on Saturday night. The tamariki were amazing and Tiki was humbled and 'blown away' by the girls' performance. He sang for them in reply and spent some time talking with them. What a fantastic opportunity this was for these students to use their kapahaka in an authentic way. Thanks to Brenda at Five Stags and Rob Grahame from Baseline. I am unsure if there will be Kapahaka this week as I may possibly have to head up to Auckland earlier than expected. Please listen out for the notices on Friday morning. Te Reo: Again, I am unsure at this stage whether Te Reo classes will take place this week. Listen for the morning notices at school, and I will also post up on the Whānau Group Facebook Page if it will be cancelled. Sorry for the inconvenience. Please also note that I will no longer be calling students to class times for Te Reo or Kapahaka on Tuesdays and Fridays. Please remind your child to put the times into their homework book and to be responsible for getting to class on time. The class times again are as follows: Tuesday: Te Whakaoho Reo - 2:00pm Friday: Te Kakano Reo - 9:30am; Te Puawai Reo - 10:15am; Kapahaka - 11:25am (Straight after morning tea) Whānau Hui: Please note the change of date - Whānau hui will now be held on Thursday, 28 March @ 4:30pm in the Whānau Room.

Ki a pai tō koutou wiki Nā, Whaea Kathie

CLASSIFIEDS

Pirongia Community Association meeting

Wed 20th March, 7pm at the community halls on

Crozier Street - agenda items include: how the long term plan affects

Pirongia, playground update, and other items affecting the community

EXPERIENCED BABYSITTER AVAILABLE

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8 year old girls: Tilly 1st Freestyle, 1st Breaststroke, 2nd Backstroke, 1st 2 Lengths Freestyle Brodie 2nd Freestyle, 1st Backstroke Summer 3rd Freestyle Ruby 2nd Breaststroke Rania 3rd Breaststroke, 3rd Backstroke Lily 2nd 2 Lengths Freestyle Lily 3rd 2 Lengths Freestyle 8 year old boys: Cooper 1st Freestyle, 1st Breaststroke, 1st 2 Lengths Freestyle Ryan 2nd Freestyle, 2nd 2 Lengths Freestyle Jensen 3rd Freestyle, 2nd Backstroke Ashtyn 2nd Breaststroke Cooper 3rd Breaststroke Lachie 1st Backstroke Fraser 3rd Backstroke Matty J 3rd 2 Lengths Freestyle 9 year old girls: Mela 1st Freestyle, 3rd Breaststroke, 1st Backstroke, 2nd 2 Lengths Freestyle Sian 2nd Freestyle, 1st Breaststroke, 1st 2 Lengths Freestyle Isabella 3rd Freestyle Ruby 2nd Breaststroke, 2nd Backstroke Reese 3rd Backstroke Riley 3rd 2 Lengths Freestyle 9 year old boys: Isaac 1st Freestyle, 1st Breaststroke, 1st Backstroke, 1st Open Medley, 1st 2 Lengths Freestyle, 1st Open 4 Lengths Freestyle

Oscar 2nd Freestyle, 3rd 2 Lengths Freestyle Sam 3rd Freestyle, 2nd 2 Lengths Freestyle Josh 2nd Breaststroke, 2nd Backstroke Daniel 3rd Breaststroke Finn 3rd Backstroke 10 year old girls: Brilee 1st Freestyle, 3rd Breaststroke, 2nd Backstroke, 2nd Open Medley, 2nd 2 Lengths Freestyle Tayler 2nd Freestyle, 1st 2 Lengths Freestyle Dayna 3rd Freestyle Lily 1st Breaststroke Holly 2nd Breaststroke, 3rd Backstroke Zarna 1st Backstroke Emily 3rd 2 Lengths Freestyle 10 year old boys: Cash 1st Freestyle, 1st Breaststroke, 2nd Backstroke Quinn 2nd Freestyle, 3rd Backstroke, 1st 2 Lengths Freestyle Lucas 3rd Freestyle, 1st Backstroke Max 2nd Breaststroke Nathan 3rd Breaststroke Jacob 2nd 2 Lengths Freestyle Liam 3rd 2 Lengths Freestyle 11 year old girls: Lylah 1st Freestyle, 3rd Breaststroke, 2nd 2 Lengths Freestyle Jessada 2nd Freestyle, 1st 2 Lengths Freestyle Libby 3rd Freestyle Amelia 1st Breaststroke Te Aroha 2nd Breaststroke, 3rd Backstroke, 3rd 2 Lengths Freestyle

Kaylee 1st Backstroke Dareeya 2nd Backstroke

11 year old boys: Dylan 1st Freestyle, 2nd Breaststroke, 1st Backstroke, 2nd Open Medley, 1st 2 Lengths Freestyle, 2nd Open 4 Lengths Freestyle

Hunter 2nd Freestyle, 1st Breaststroke, 3rd Backstroke, 3rd Open Medley, 3rd Open 4 Lengths Freestyle Mac 3rd Freestyle, 3rd 2 Lengths Freestyle Russell 3rd Breaststroke Gordon 2nd Backstroke Jacob 2nd 2 Lengths Freestyle 12 year old girls: Rubi 1st Freestyle, 1st Breaststroke, 3rd Backstroke, 1st Open Medley, 2nd 2 Lengths Freestyle, 1st Open 4 Lengths Freestyle

Sophie 2nd Freestyle, 3rd Breaststroke, 2nd Backstroke, 1st 2 Lengths Freestyle, 2nd Open 4 Lengths Freestyle Aylee 3rd Freestyle , 2nd Breaststroke, 1st Backstroke, 3rd Open Medley Alyssa 3rd 2 Lengths Freestyle Isabella 3rd Open 4 Lengths Freestyle 12 year old boys: George 1st Freestyle, 1st 2 Lengths Freestyle Luke 2nd Freestyle, 1st Backstroke, 3rd 2 Lengths Freestyle Fynn 3rd Freestyle, 3rd Breaststroke, 3rd Backstroke, 2nd 2 Lengths Freestyle Jofie 1st Breaststroke Kayden 2nd Breaststroke, 2nd Backstroke

Lower Waipa Swimming: Good luck to everyone who is representing our school. Date: This Friday 1 5th March. Wear: Students need to wear their school shirts to the event and have shoes on for travelling. Meeting Time at School: 9am - we are leaving school at 9.15am sharp Needed: We need parent helpers to help record, please let Mrs Hobbs know if you can help out. We also need some parents to be in the parent/teacher relay. Cricket: Wildcats vs Endeavour School Smashers @ Pirongia School Volts vs Ngahinapouri Thunder @ Pirongia School Pacers vs St Peter Chanel Catholic School @ Ashurst Park 1 Mounties (Game played Wednesday) Te Awamutu Football (Soccer) Club: Ages: 5 to 13 year olds It’s not too late to register your child to play football/soccer this year at Te Awamutu. Register online at www.teawamutuafc.co.nz or via the Facebook page by clicking on the link. Phone the secretary on 027 491 1954 for info Sport Out & About: Jakob in Room 12 racing in Edgecumbe at Kartsport EBOP. He came 2nd overall, with two 1st place finishes in the heats. Way to go Jakob (see photo below)

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