Tena Koutou Katoa

Area Schools Tournament in July

Congratulations to the 10 students who have qualified for the Top of the South representative teams heading to Whangarei in July. These students were chosen from some stiff competition over the weekend in Murchison and thanks to Ms Helmore and Wally Jamieson for transporting students back and forth. There was a bit of post trials COVID reported so please monitor for symptoms over the next few days if your child went away. Ms Helmore will be sending more information in the near future related to the tournament and fundraising.

PTA
Our PTA meeting will be held in the staffroom on Monday 23rd at 7pm. I know the team would love to see some new parents come along so please feel free to attend if you are able. Our PTA are pretty awesome here at Amuri and have supported the school with extensive additional fundraising and provide some valuable community events.

Parent/Teacher Interviews
These will occur in the last week of term and we will continue to offer the option of face to face or online bookings as this seemed to work well last year. The online booking system will open early in June.

Achiever of the Month
Congratulations to Issy Williamson who is our Achiever of the Month for May. Issy works hard in all she does and is one of just two people from Amuri who have advanced to the next round in the Otago Problem Solving challenge for Maths. She is entered in the Year 9/10 competition as a Year 8. This puts her in the top 15% nationally for this competition, which is already geared for the top students in each school.

Cross Country This is scheduled to go ahead on Wednesday 25th May and parents/caregivers are welcome to come along for a 12.20pm start from the rugby grounds. There will be a coffee cart on the day.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Kia Kitea Toikaka
James Griggs
Principal 

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Dates for Your diary

May

23rd PTA Meeting - School Staffroom at 7:00pm
24th PCT Challenge - Wainoni
25th Board of Trustees Meeting at 6:00pm
25th AAS Cross Country @ 12:20pm
27th Year 7/8 Self Defence Course
27th  Careers Expo - Christchurch
31st HPSSA Cross Country - Waikari
31st CSS Cross Country - Christchurch

June

2nd AAS Cross Country Postponement
3rd Year 7/8 Self Defence Course
3rd CCHS Winter Tournament
6th Queens Birthday - SCHOOL CLOSED
7th Hamilton Assembly
14th-15th Year 12 Outdoor Education Trip
18th-19th SISS Swimming - Dunedin
22nd CPS Cross Country - Nga Puna Wai
22nd Tapuae-o-Uenuku Matariki Sleepover
24th Matariki Holiday - SCHOOL CLOSED
27th School Reports sent out
28th Matariki Dinner and Kapa Haka Performance
29th Mitchell Assembly

July

1st Mufti Day for Culverden Fire Brigade
3rd Amuri Rogaine
4th-6th Parent Teacher Interviews
8th End of Term 2
11th-13th SISS Netball Christchurch
11th-16th Area Schools Tournament - Whangarei
25th Start of Term 3

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Senior School News

RYDA Road safety course was held on Wednesday at Hurunui College. All Year 12 and 13 students from Amuri joined students from Cheviot and Hurunui College and spent a day learning general road safety awareness, both as potential drivers and users of our roads. This was an extremely valuable learning experience and we thank Hurunui District Council for enabling this course to happen within the Hurunui district.

A reminder that there are a number of opportunities occurring in our community to widen our students’ experiences. Iit is important that we get signed permission slips back as quickly as possible to enable smooth organisation.

Colder weather is starting to creep in and students are starting to wear multiple layers in an effort to stay warm and dry. Please can we request that these layers fit within the school uniform dress code.

Homework, Homework, Homework…… It does exist and is an important part of each child’s learning.

I have found the guidance helpful at: https://www.learninglinks.org.au/homework/

A guide for homework time
How much homework your little one is doing depends on their age. This time frame is just a guide and can change depending on class assignments and other curriculum-based assessments.
Kindergarten: no structured homework
Years 1–2: up to 15 minutes, 3-4 nights per week
Years 3-4: up to 30 minutes, 3-4 nights per week
Years 5-6: up to 40 minutes, 3-4 nights per week
Years 7-9: up to 2 hours, 3-4 nights per week
Years 10-12: up to 3 hours, 4-5 nights per week and on weekends.

It is essential to remember that children work a long day at school and it is absolutely essential that they have time for free play.

An important goal of education is to instill in children a love of learning. Homework can negate this if children come to see it as a necessary evil.

Feel free to email teachers and connect around homework tasks and expectations.

Nicole Peterson
Deputy Principal - Secondary

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Primary School News

Kia ora Parents and Whanau

Last Friday the primary team attended a writing course with Murray Gadd. Murray is a long term literacy lover who has written many literacy documents for teachers. It was a very informative day with Murray taking us through different lessons and approaches to teaching writing. He had a huge focus on motivation and engagement and we all came back to school feeling armed and ready with ideas. I’ve been lucky enough to see some of those ideas in action in our classrooms this week.

Next week, there is a Year 7/8 team heading to Wainoni to compete in the Physical Competency Test that the Police have to complete every two years. Teams from different schools have to complete the course in the fastest time possible. Good luck to our students heading off to represent Amuri! Wednesday is the school cross country and we are looking forward to being able to welcome our parents and whanau back into the school to watch. Year 6 will be doing some camp fundraising at the cross country and we have a coffee cart coming too. Please feel free to come along and support your children and encourage them to the finish line.

Under Orange level, we are able to have visitors back in the school and so we will be welcoming the Bible in Schools team back. They are hoping to start sometime in May. Your children will remain in or out of this optional activity, depending on your initial instructions. The alternative is a values-based programme run by the teachers. If you’re unsure which option your child is in, please ask your child’s teacher. Any changes must be made in writing to me on kylee@amuri.school.nz Orange level for parents simply means that you are able to go into the school grounds without a mask, but if you wish to enter the buildings, please sign in at the school office and wear a mask whilst indoors.Ms Jamieson has welcomed Rhianna to her class to begin her school journey. Welcome Rhianna! And as the end of May approaches we are also saying farewell to some students who are moving to different parts of the country to continue their schooling. Best wishes to all who are heading off and we hope you have enjoyed your time at Amuri.

Hei konā

Kylee Habgood
Deputy Principal - Primary

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Roll of Honour

Joe Hanna Barroz
Isla Blomfield
Jade Butters
Heider Carreon
Eden Colebrook
Sam Currie
Daniel Dowdy
Kyle Gardiner
Bella Godfrey-Grant
Billy Jones
Rhys Lewis
Maria Lim
DL Lopez
Vicente Moraga
Sophie Ockwell
Kaitlyn Palmer
Alena Paora
Charlene Paragas
Caleb Parmar
Kace Perry
Hank Reed
Hana Samera
Van Samera
King Tallar
Kaden Tily
Ava Wilson
Jak Wilson
Noa Wilson 

1st Merit

Leighton Chinnery
James Clark
Grace Cundy
Lily Moke
Harriett Rutherford
Issy Williamson

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Year 7/8 girls taking part in Self Defence. Check out their expressions!