In Week 7 of Term 4 this year, our Year 3 & 4 ākonga (students) will have the opportunity to attend an overnight camp in Wellington. Read on to find out more and to fill out the consent form.

Key details:

• Camp - Thursday 28th and Friday 29th November

• Cost for overnight camp = $75

• School-based programme will be running with one teacher, as alternative to the off-site camp

• Consent form must be filled in by Friday 27th September for every ākonga, to show if they are opting for the school-based programme or off-site camp

Our Year 3 & 4 camp this year is the precursor to our transition week the following week, where are current Year 3 & 4 ākonga will spend a number of days together in Pōhutukawa Hub, along with the current Year 5 ākonga, in readiness for working and playing together next year as our senior hub.

This camp will be a fantastic opportunity for our Year 3 & 4 ākonga to get to know each other better before the transition week for Pōhutukawa Hub the following week. It will also be a wonderful way to celebrate a fantastic year and have lots of fun, along with increasing their independence and confidence.

The camp will run over two days on Thursday 28th and Friday 29th November. The group will leave school at 1pm on Thursday, after an early lunch. The buses will drop their gear at Camp Elsdon in Porirua, and then take the group to Te Rauparaha Arena for swimming and playing time. The group will then have dinner and some activities back at camp. On Friday, after breakfast and pack up, the group will walk down to Awesome Bounce for some fun time on the trampolines and climbing walls, and buses will then take us back to school for a late morning tea (campers will be provided with morning tea and lunch back at school).

The camp will include afternoon tea, dinner and light supper snack on Thursday, and breakfast, morning tea and lunch on Friday. The cost of the camp will be $75 per child. The school staff attending the camp will be Rachel Hosnell and Sarah King from Pōhutukawa Hub, Lauren Brown and Kate Dammer from Koru Hub, and Urs Cunningham and Amaria Picard as leaders on the camp. We will also be taking a small group of parent support, to help keep our adult - child ratio low. If you indicate that you would like to attend the camp as parent support, we will let you know by the final week of this term if you have been selected to attend (we usually get more requests to attend than we can accommodate).

One teacher from Koru Hub, Sophia, will be staying back at school with all Year 3 & 4 ākonga who opt not to attend the camp. She will run a school based programme, with a range of fun activities in Pōhutukawa Hub. Because of the timing of the afternoon activities on Thursday, there will not be an option for signing up for the day activities on camp but not staying overnight. If your child opts not to stay overnight at the camp, that is absolutely fine. They will take part in the school-based programme with Sophia.

Please complete this consent form by Friday 27th September. We require a consent form from every Year 3 and 4 ākonga, to show if they are opting for the overnight camp or the school-based programme. We will be in touch later in Term 4 with a gear list and some final details for camp.

If you have any questions about the camp, please contact your child's whānau teacher.

Ngā mihi,

the Amesbury team