Amesbury Digest - 2nd August 2021

Kia ora koutou,

We started Term 3 with a whiz and a bang this week. On Tuesday we had a representative from Wellington City Council talk with ākonga (students) about the Plastic-Free July initiative as part of our ongoing inquiry work around Planet Earth and beyond. On Thursday we had tremendous excitement about the school discos. Huge thanks to Kalesha for her tireless preparation in organising this event, and thanks also to Gail and our team of kaiako (teachers) who all pitched in to make it a great time for everyone. Glow stick fun was had by all! On Friday we laughed, shouted and whooped our way through a fabulous performance of Rumplestilskin from the Playhouse Theatre team. All in all, a busy and fun start to the term.

On Friday another exciting event began - the start of a new Leadership Book Club for our team. Amesbury School trialled its first book club earlier this year with a group of Amesbury teachers and leaders who were keen to give it a go. It was a great success, with the venture revealing the power of this different way of learning, developing and connecting. It has had a significant impact, both for the teachers who participated and also in less anticipated ways further afield. The sense of community and connection between the people in the book club became apparent early on, and word of the success has spread. There are now a number of professional book clubs happening in the Ministry of Education, and a video of the endeavour has also been created for educators in Israel.

On Friday last week a new leadership book club began, this time with a mix of teachers from Amesbury School, a number of other local schools in our cluster, and several other educators from slightly further afield in Wellington. We are reading a book about coaching and adult development theory called ‘Changing on the Job’ by Jennifer Garvey-Berger. We are thrilled to be connecting and learning with a wider group of educators - different perspectives to be exposed to and new ideas to mull over. We will keep you updated with outcomes from our newest book club.

New build update

As communicated last week, preparation for construction on our new build has begun. Please see the attached article in this digest for more information on this. The main portacabin for the project crew is onsite, and temporary fencing is up. Plywood fencing will be replacing sections of this barrier this week. We already have a willing team of tamariki who will work in electives in terms 3 and 4 to transform this fencing into a display of creative artistic expression. In other words, they will be designing and creating a mural to go along the temporary fencing, which will enhance our view throughout the construction process.

For a great artist’s impression of a walkthrough of the new hub, click here.

A further school property update: our grounds are still very boggy and waterlogged from the tremendous amount of rain last month. Sections of our property are roped off as we start the clean up process. We have also closed our main sports field for the next wee while, to allow the grass to rest and drain. We do this at some point through the winter each year, to avoid significantly damaging the field. It is important to protect our grounds, and so we thank you for reminding your tamariki to stay off the sports field for the time being. Once the worst of the winter weather is behind us, we will open the field back up.

Events coming up

• Tuesday 3rd August: Year 4-6 Swimming Sports 9:30 - 1:30pm

• Monday 9th August: School Mihi Whakatau (welcome to school) 2:30pm

• Monday 9th August: New Parents Information Session 3:30 - 4:30pm

• Tuesday 10th August: ICAS Digital Technology exam (for students signed up) 9am

• Tuesday 10th August Rāroa Parent Information evening 6-7pm

• Wednesday 11th August: Rāroa Open Day for parents

• Wednesday 11th August: Amesbury Board of Trustees meeting 5:30 - 7:30pm

Kia pai tō wiki - have a good week.

Ngā mihi nui,

Urs Cunningham