Kia ora koutou,

We are now half way through our first term of 2020 - how did that happen so quickly, it just whizzed by! It is great to see so many different things happening across the school at the moment. On Tuesday we sent a very enthusiastic group off to the PSW (Primary Sports Wellington) cricket competition, and it was really good to see a mix of boys and girls participating in the event. Koru Hub headed off to the He Tohu exhibit at the National Library and were very excited to be able to see “the really real treaty”, as one student described it. Pedal Ready has just finished for the senior students, ensuring they are safe and confident with their cycling skills, and electives start for all students this week on Monday. Phew, lots of things going on!

Emergency drills

Each term we practice evacuation and lockdown drills, so that staff and students are well versed and confident in what to do in the case of an emergency at school. 

Several weeks ago we had our first evacuation drill, which was run as an earthquake drill. We were all very impressed with students - they stayed calm and sensible, and followed the school procedures wonderfully. 

Next week we have a lockdown drill, which is essentially a reverse evacuation. Students follow a procedure which involves getting as out of sight as possible (quite a feat in a school with lots of windows!), sitting low on the ground and staying quiet. At this point in the year, students are all told about the drills in advance, and are talked through the procedure so that they know exactly what to. For the lockdown drill we usually talk about situations such as a dog being on site without a lead, which means they need to stay out of sight and quiet, so as not to provoke attention from it. After emergency drills, teachers will gather their groups and debrief to feedback to students. A drill review is also completed, to review what went well and what could be improved.

This is also a good opportunity to remind all parents and caregivers to check that they have updated their emergency contact details with the school office. Given the complicated geography of Wellington, an emergency could cause various roads or travel routes to be blocked, meaning that emergency contacts who are local and can easily get to school without needing to use main travel routes, would be very useful. Think about having a wide range of contacts, because at any given time some people may not be available to pick up your child. If you have moved house recently, or updated your phone number or email contacts, please make sure you have passed these changes on to Rachel in the office - office@amesbury.school.nz. 

Visitor group this week

On Tuesday this week we will have a group of educators visiting us as part of the Khebrat Immersion project. This group is hosted by Victoria University, and involves a group of Saudi Abrabrian principals, deputy principals and lead teachers spending nine months in New Zealand to learn more about the NZ education system. They aim to go back to Saudi Arabia as change agents, leading change in their own educational settings. On Tuesday the group will spend the morning with leaders from Amesbury School, learning more about our educational philosophy, school vision and key pedagogies. They will also spend some time in Koru and Harakeke Hubs observing our learning in practice (Pōhutukawa Hub will be out for the day at Parliament and the He Tohu exhibit). We always enjoy having visitor groups, as it provides us with the opportunity to reflect on our practice, discuss pedagogy and educational practices, and learn from other educational leaders.

Have a great week.

Ngā mihi nui,

Urs Cunningham