Kia ora koutou,

We are now heading into our final week of term 3. I know that we say this a lot, but this term has really zipped by! It has been a very busy term, with teams fitting in a lot of learning and activities, some of which were not able to happen in the previous term due to Covid. All teams have participated in swimming and two rounds of coaching modules at the ASB Centre. They have all completed inquiry learning modules and activities based around the science concepts of heat (conservation of heat and changes of state), light, magnetism and circuits, and students in Harakeke and Pōhutukawa have completed small projects and demonstrations to further explore areas they have learned about. Teams have completed electives (Koru electives will run over several days this week); health sessions, including coaching for the older two hubs; fitness (running, introduction to the fitness trail, and athletics training); and myTime / interest based exploration time. It has been a jam packed term indeed!

We have had a small group of students enter the ICAS exam competition, and they worked very hard and should be very pleased with their results. The students have been acknowledged in an article to parents, and students who gained awards in the competition will be acknowledged in our upcoming learning celebration.

Kāhui Ako

For the past few years, schools in the northern cluster of Wellington have worked together to collaborate and support each other in meeting the needs of all students. This year the cluster formally became a Kāhui Ako, a Community of Learning that collaborates and works together on a set of achievement challenges. Our Kāhui Ako has three leaders: Lesley Murrihy from Amesbury School; Christine Brown from Rāroa Intermediate School; and Kate Christie from Cashmere Avenue School.

The achievement challenges our Kāhui Ako will be focusing on are:

- Strong, secure cultural identities and a sense of belonging

- Hau ora and wellbeing

- Confident, capable, empowered learners

- Equitable outcomes for all students

The structure of a Kāhui Ako is to have a leader, or in our case, three leaders; a small group of Across School Leaders, who work across all of the schools in the cluster; and several Within School Leaders in each school, who help to support the work that all teachers are doing with their school. Our group is currently going through the process of appointing these roles, and the group will then begin to work together next term to start to plan the journey of the group of schools over the next couple of years. It is an exciting endeavour and one that will bring positive benefits and outcomes for students across all schools.

On a final note, I would like to remind all students and families of the importance of staying safe when riding bikes around school. It is fabulous to see more children out and about in the school grounds at the weekend and after school, now that the weather is improving. We have noticed that although students must wear helmets when riding bikes, scooters, or skateboards during school hours, there are a number of children not using helmets when cycling around the grounds out of school hours. New Zealand has had a law requiring the use of cycle helmets for a number of years, and we also strongly recommend that helmets are also used when using scooters, skateboards or roller blades. A young child at a previous school I worked at took a small tumble off a scooter they were riding very slowly (almost at a walking pace) whilst accompanying their mum out of school one day. The child fell awkwardly and was in hospital for a long time with a very serious head injury. It is great to see so many children being active around the community and we would like to encourage this to continue; please just remember to take precautions to ensure children are being safe.

Events coming up

- Learning celebration Thursday 24th September: This term the learning celebration is planned as a science roadshow, where students will set up examples of their learning around the hubs. The ‘roadshow’ will be running on Thursday 24th from 1:30 - 2:30pm. If we move into Alert level 1 at midnight on Monday (21 September), as planned, this means parents and whānau will be able to attend this celebration. It will begin in the hall, for our Amesbury Awesomeness awards, along with several other acknowledgements and celebrations. The roadshow of our science learning from this term will then be set out around the school for people to walk around and enjoy. We will end the celebration with parents heading back to the hall to enjoy performances from our Amesbury’s Got Talent winners, whilst students pack up their learning in the hubs.

- Student conferences on Wed 23rd and Thurs 24th September: These conferences are happening onsite at school, unless you have arranged with your child's teacher to have an online conference. Please remember to book a conference with your child’s teacher. Check your email for the link to the student conference information explaining how to book a conference and who to book with.

- Last day of term 3: Friday 25th September. School finishes at the usual time of 3pm.

Ngā mihi nui,

Urs Cunningham (Acting Principal)