This week we introduce our new student leaders, as well as a new Board of Trustees Chairperson

Head Students

Congratulations to our student leaders for 2019. 

Anya McDonald - Head Girl

Leo Bain - Head Boy

Molly Shepherd - Deputy Head Girl

Riley McLachlan - Deputy Head Boy

We know these wonderful role models will lead with PRIDE. The standard of candidates was very high this year as we have a very impressive leadership class of Year 8s.

Life Education this Week

We love having this programme at school, and so do our tamariki (children). If you'd like to know more about this programme, come to the staffroom at 8.30am on Wednesday. The educator will give a short presentation and answer any questions you might have. We'd love to see you there.

New BOT  Chairperson

Congratulations to Ben Shore who is the new chair of our Board of Trustees. Our BOT play an important role in the governance of Amberley School and 2019 is an election year. We would love to have some new faces on the Board, feel free to talk to Simon or Trina if you are interested. To find out more, click here. You could also chat to one of our parent reps: Ben Shore, Kate Dodd, Jess Mavromatis or Fiona McDonald (minutes secretary). You are most welcome to attend any meeting - they are open to the public.

 Christian Religious Education (CRE)

Last year our community was surveyed on the provision of CRE at Amberley School. The results showed a very even split of parents: a third wanted their children to attend, a third did not like their children to attend, and a third are happy to go with what the school decided. 

The Board of Trustees value the work of our local church groups. Inspire Church, for example, ensure bread is given to our school each day for distribution, they maintain the local food bank and the run events for our youth (and much, much more). Lola and Ken Love are also CRE teachers at our school. Whatever your religious beliefs, supporting our community and having strong values are very much in alignment with our school.

With this in mind, the following provisions are made for 2019 and beyond:

Maungatere and Te Ngahere (Year 1-4) will continue to have CRE delivered. Parents who do not wish to have their children involved in these lessons can 'opt out' by indicating on their enrolment forms (or by notifying the office). An alternative programme is provided for these children.

Kowai and Moana (Year 5-8) will have CRE delivered on an 'opt in' basis. Parents must indicate if they would like their children to 'opt in' to this programme (10.00 - 10.30am on Fridays). Students not involved in CRE will continue with their regular class programme. More details of this are in class newsletters this week, including the Google form for you to complete to indicate if your child would like to opt in.

Scooter Safety

Scooters are popular at our kura (school). Kids love 'em! In my time at Amberley, I have seen hundreds of children enjoying scooting to and from school, and using our scooter track. It's a great asset.  I spent this weekend in Auckland with my teenage son, and we enjoyed the 'Lime Scooter' experience on many occasions around the central city - it was fun and yup, there is certainly some risk there! 

On two occasions over my three years at Amberley we have had children fall and hit their heads while riding scooters. This is scary for everyone, but given the numbers of children scooting it is unfortunately inevitable. We had discussed the idea of compulsory helmets at Board level a year or so ago (this is where policies are made and reviewed). We agreed that if helmets were made compulsory, and we introduced another rule for teachers to enforce, children would choose not to ride their scooters at school and the popularity would decrease. 

Our thinking was influenced by the fact that when the scooter track was completed in 2016, and helmets were compulsory at this time, very few (if any) scooters were coming to school. Rather than potentially destroy a popular, healthy, physical activity for our students, we then made helmets optional. 

If you feel strongly about your own child wearing a helmet (i.e. it is a safety rule for your family) then let us know and we can ensure teachers support you in enforcing this for your child when they are at school. There are a number of children that already wear helmets for safety - and we promote and support this.  It is not a school wide, compulsory policy however. Thanks for your support and understanding here.

Successful Community Grants

Last week we heard that we were successful in getting just over $6000 from One Foundation for the installation of a new AV system for Arahura. Yay, no more crackling microphone and tiny TV screen - we will soon have a nice big projector screen and wireless mic! This will installed over the next week or so. Thank you One Foundation.

Many families have benefitted from the Red Cross Grant that we received for the 2018-2019 period. This money was generated from funds allocated after the Kaikoura earthquake. You may notice on your school account that you have benefitted in some way. All families have received some form of benefit whether it me a reduced cost for a touring show (such as El Grego the magician last year) or Kapa Haka uniforms. Thank you to Karen for the many hours she has spent ensuring these funds are allocated and accounted for. Thank you also to the Red Cross.

Maungatere Climb

Have you marked your calendar for 11th April to climb Mt Grey with us? We'd love to see lots of parents join us. Moana and Kowai students are all coming along. All other students need to have a parent or caregiver with them if they want to climb to the summit. A great excuse to take a day off work!

Thanks everyone for your great support so far this year.

Nga mihi nui (kind regards)

Simon