What's on this week?

Harakeke and Pōhutukawa Swimming - Monday 16 May
Concrete Pour - Carpark Closed - 6am-1pm Tuesday 17 May
Year 6 Day at Raroa - Tuesday 17 May - Postponed - now 6 September
Koru Swimming - Thursday 19 May
Pink Shirt Day - Friday 20 May

Final Large Concrete Pour - Carpark Closed

On Tuesday (17 May) the last slab for the ground floor will be poured. This is exciting progress but comes with a minor inconvenience.

The concrete pour will result in the carpark being closed from 6am -1pm. Consequently. the carpark will not be available to use for the morning school drop off, but will be open for after school pick up.

Please walk, bike or scooter to school where possible, and if you need to use a vehicle, park on one of the surrounding roads around school, being respectful of our neighbours.

In the case of wet weather, the postponement date for this is Friday this week.

Pink Shirt Day - Anti Bullying - Friday 20 May

This week is NZ Bullying-Free Week and Amesbury School will be taking part in the national Pink Shirt Day on Friday (20 May) to show our support for anti-bullying initiatives and to celebrate diversity.

We encourage all students to come to school wearing a pink item of clothing to show their support. We will not be collecting any money for this event, we are simply showing our support by wearing as much pink as possible as a school.

We understand that not all students own pink clothing and some students may not wish to participate. If this is the case, please ensure your child wears their school uniform on this day.

Mask Wearing - Years 4-6

To ensuring that our tamariki and wider community are safe, we have made a slight protocol change and are asking all year 4-6 ākonga to wear a mask indoors for the remainder of Term 2. We feel this is the best approach for the wellbeing and protection of everyone.

Masks are already worn by all staff and adult visitors indoors at school. Masks will not be required outdoors.

School Cross Country

The school cross country was held last week and for a report on the event, the list of placegetters and photos from the day go to Eilis's Cross Country article.

The top 5 placegetters will move on to interschool events. One of which will be the Junior Invitational Cross Country run by and held annually at Amesbury School. This year it will be held on Thursday 2 June. As this event will only involve a limited number of Amesbury tamariki and, therefore, nearly all of the teachers will be teaching in class, Eilis is looking forward to offers of assistance from parents. If you can help out on the day can you please contact Eilis (eilis@amesbury.school.nz). I know that she would sincerely appreciate the help.

Mihi Whakatau & Amesbury Awesomeness Awards

The Mihi Whakatau, to formally welcome new students and staff, and the Amesbury Awesomeness Awards were held last week.

While we were extremely disappointed at not being able to invite all of the parents on site to be a part of this important event, nevertheless, all of the ākonga provided a typical warm welcome to all of the newest Amesbury whānau.

For more details and photos please see the Mihi Whakatau & Amesbury Awesomeness articles.

Learning Celebration

If you were unable to attend the Learning celebration, you missed a treat.

For a little of what happened and a large range of photos please read the Learning Celebration article.

Scholastic's Book Club

The latest Scholastic's Book Club issue is now out.

As usual, there is a wide range of interesting books to choose from and it is now easier to order and pay than ever before.

Kirat explains all of this in her Scholastic's Book Club article.

Cyber Safety Evening

We have advertised the Cyber Safety Evening for the last few weeks, however, the uptake has been very low. Some schools in the cluster have exhausted their allocation and will happily use the balance of the Amesbury tickets if we don't use them.

If you are interested in attending a presentation aimed at helping parents to keep their tamariki safe online then complete this form to reserve your seat to one of the two sessions being held at the Rāroa Intermediate School Hall on 7 & 8 June.

Attendance is free for parents as the cost is covered by our Kāhui Ako cluster of schools.

Please note that each school has a total allocation of 70 tickets provided on a first come - first served basis with a maximum of two tickets per family.

For full details please read the Cyber Safety Evening article, complete this form if you will to attend, and contact Jenny, our Associate Principal (jenny.king@amesbury.school.nz), with any questions.

ICAS Exams 2022

It's time to start thinking about ICAS exams. If you are interested - or think that you may be interested - head to Jenny's ICAS Exams 2022 article for all of the details. The critical dates are:

Thursday 9th June @ 4pm in the library - Parents' Meeting
Thursday 23rd June - last day for registrations
August - the ICAS exams

Year 5&6 Activities Week

Even though the Year 5&6 Activities Week is not until December, some parent actions are needed this month, namely the completion of the consent form and deposit are required no later than Friday 27 May.

For those who opt out of the activities week at El Rancho in Waikanae, there is an 'out and about in Wellington' alternative.

Kalesha has provided an activities week article covering everything, so if you have a child in Year 5 or 6 please read it carefully.

Important dates for Year 6s

Tuesday 17 May - Year 6 Day @ Rāroa Intermediate
Thursday 7 July - Open Evening @ Newlands Intermediate
Tuesday 26 July - "School in Action" morning for parents @ Newlands Intermediate
Tuesday 9 August - Parent Information evening @ Rāroa Intermediate
Wednesday 10 August - Open Day for parents @ Rāroa Intermediate
Wednesday 31 August - enrolments for 2023 @ Newlands Intermediate
Friday 11 November - Student Orientation morning @ Newlands Intermediate

For more information from Newlands Intermediate School please see the letter attached to the bottom of these notices.

Can you Help?

A local Churton Park family is looking to employ someone to help out around the house for a few days each day - help with getting a five year old child to school, and assisting with some cleaning etc. If you are interested in finding out more about this, please call Joe on 021 2385 168.

Kelly Sports Term 2 Programme Cancelled

Unfortunately, due to the low numbers enrolled in Term 2, Kelly Sports has had to cancel the Friday afterschool autumn sports programme.

Community Notices

Churton Park Community Centre Newsletter

If you haven't already come across it please check out the latest Churton Park Community Centre Newsletter to see what's happening in Churton Park.

Matariki ki Pōneke

Celebrate Matariki, the Māori New Year, with a stunning free whānau experience on the Wellington Waterfront.

Ahi Kā is a walk-through journey of fire, imagery and stories, on 23-26 June, 6pm-9pm. See the Wellington City Council Matariki webpage for programme details, and for the soon to be announced Matariki Fireworks date.

Aikido for Juniors

Aikido is a martial art with a difference, its focus being on defence rather than attack: a non-violent, defensive art. Aikido is renowned for its benefits for self-control, co-ordination and posture, and like all martial arts promotes confidence and provides fun, fitness and friendship.

We are seeking more juniors students: being very safety-conscious we stopped training during last year’s restrictions, and in Term 1 2022, and are building up our lively classes. We are a not-for-profit organisation teaching the art of aikido, based in Kaiwharawhara, in our 28th year.

Classes

5:30pm Monday (Kids 6+) during school terms; and
6:30pm Monday and Wednesday (older Teens)
$80 per term
City Dojo, 132 Hutt Rd, Kaiwharawhara, Wellington, directly above Animates pet shop.

Turn up and give it a try - first 3 lessons free.

Parents, we have beginner classes at 6:30pm for you too.

Contact Conrad at conrad@aikido.org.nz or 021 843 467, or visit www.aikido.org.nz.

Amesbury Awesomeness Awards

Zara - Koru

Marcus - Harakeke

Livvie - Pōhutukawa