Newsletter - WE 03/02/2023

Nau mai hoki mai, welcome back!

We hope that you have all had a safe and enjoyable summer.

It has been great to welcome staff and students back to the new school year this week. There has been a positive vibe around the school and we have enjoyed hearing stories of the holiday break as we get back into the swing of things at school. A particular highlight has been spending time with our school leaders who have indicated that they are keen to see a year filled with unity, inclusivity and belonging. We have wonderful students at Amuri Area School and our leaders are all fine examples of this.

Congratulations to all of our senior students for the results that they achieved in NCEA. 92.5% of students gained Level 1, 87.5% of students gained Level 2 and 76.9% of students gained Level 3. A number of students also gained endorsements – Well done! These results reflect the hard work of the students and the input of all of their teachers across their time at school.

Over the summer there have been several articles in various media outlets on the topic of school uniform. Notably, these have largely been centered around cost and I even heard the suggestion to have one school uniform for all state schools. I am aware that there will be differing views and circumstances in our community around this. Interestingly, when we had a discussion with our school leaders, they indicated that they wouldn’t like to see one uniform for all state schools, they liked the fact that our uniform created an identity where-by Amuri Area School students and teams could be recognised through the uniform they wore. While some would be happy if there was no uniform, they recognised it’s value, particularly in relation to the unity, inclusivity and belonging they are wanting to have as features of our school community. Wherever your own views lie, we would love you to consider the following points in relation to our school uniform:

1. We are a uniform school and we love to see our uniform being worn with pride.

2. We acknowledge that wearing correct uniform may not create a direct improvement in academic grades or learning.

3. Wearing uniform correctly can and does help students to improve skills like self management, respectfulness, pride and teamwork. We know that employers value these soft skills.

4. We understand that uniform can be expensive for families. We are committed to keeping uniform costs down and don’t have just one supplier. If you need financial support to help ensure your children have correct uniform, please let us know.

5. We need your support. Please help us by ensuring that your child has correct uniform and that they leave home each day wearing this.

6. We want to focus on quality teaching and learning opportunities and positive relationships with students. When we have to follow up on uniform issues, it can impact on these things.

7. We are going to focus on wearing our uniform with pride and purpose this term. Again, please help and support us on this matter whether you agree with us or not.

8. If you are unsure of what correct uniform requirements are, please see our school website under ‘enrolments’ and ‘school uniform.’

We are looking forward to updating you all on our senior redevelopment in the coming months and also to all of the different events and activities that will take place in Term 1. Here’s to a term full of learning, joy and positivity which is encompassed by unity, inclusivity and belonging.

Kia kitea toikaka

Matt Barlow
Principal 

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Primary School News

Kia ora Parents and Whanau

Nau mai, haere mai! Welcome to 2023.

This week we have had a focus on Year 1-8 students and settling them into their new classes. We will continue to do this next week after the long weekend. We are working to ensure that all our students are in a good routine, know what is expected of them and have a good relationship with their teacher, before we move towards the formal learning. Our values focus for this term is Respect. Classes will be exploring what this value means to them alongside their class teachers.

If you haven’t already created your parent account to link to your child’s Seesaw journal, please do this as soon as you can. All our students in Year 1-8 will have a learning journal portal and they are being created within their school classes. Please look out for an introductory letter from your child’s teacher with further instructions. We need to have these student journals ready for communication and to showcase learning.

Our sandpit on the primary side has had a birthday, new sand and new toys have arrived courtesy of the PTA. We are grateful for the support their fundraising provides for our students.

We are a Sunsmart school and therefore it is compulsory for all our students in Year 1-6 to be wearing a broad brimmed sunhat when they are outdoors. This is part of our Sunsmart policy which requires all students and staff to be wearing a hat outside in Terms 1 and 4. Please make sure your children have a sunhat each day and that it is named! Most students leave these at school in their cubbyhole during the week so they have one every day. Caps are not acceptable. The hats need to be either bucket style or broad brimmed and these are available from the school office. Thank you for making sure our students are safe in the sun at school.

Swimming is a focus for us at the beginning of Term 1. As part of our swimming programme that teaches children new skills for swimming, we have a component that looks at safety and how to be safe around water. Please discuss the bodies of water you have around your homes and on your farms and talk about the safety of swimming in them. It is important that your children bring their togs to school every day to make the most of the lessons provided. Year 7/8 students have two PE sessions a week as part of their timetable.

Ms Gillard has rejoined us for two days a week.She is replacing Mrs Shanks who has gone on maternity leave for 2023 and we are delighted to have Ms Gillard back on our team. We would also like to welcome Jennafer, Peyton, Ashton and Jamie who have all started their school journeys in Room 1 with Ms Jamieson. Lucas and Miles have joined Year 5 along with Joel in Year 6, in the Terako hub. Then we have Quinn, Ollie, Kaleo, Connor, Issy, Tori, Paul, Jorja, Ruby and Beth who have joined the Year 7/8 syndicate, Tapuae-o-Uenuku. Welcome to all our new Amurians!

We are looking forward to a great year!

Ngā mihi nui
Kylee Habgood 

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Senior School News

Welcome to the 2023 school year! A special welcome to our new students in the secondary school. We seem to have had a larger than normal influx of new students in all year levels but especially in Year 9 where we have had to create a second class to cater for the increased numbers. While we advertise and appoint a new teacher, we are lucky to have the expertise of Drin Alleway who is supporting the subject teachers.

While 2022 is now in the past, I did want to mention the great results for NCEA that were achieved by our senior students, in a very tumultuous year. It is a credit to our hard-working teachers and the resilience of our students that such results were achieved with so many disruptions to learning throughout the year. For 2023, we are full of optimism that this will be a year of stability.

While the first few days of a school year are always fraught with administration and last-minute changes, Teachers are working hard to settle into the routine as quickly as possible so that students can start rolling up their sleeves to dig into the deep learning needed for future careers.

Student leadership teams met on Wednesday where they spent some time reaffirming their goals for the year. The groups agreed on a shared focus for increasing unity, inclusivity and belonging at Amuri. The team will be planning events and activities across the school throughout the year to enhance the school culture.

Upcoming events of note: swimming sports and athletics are our first few inter Whanau events. We have a visit from Pat Buckley at HDC scheduled for the afternoon of the 22nd Feb to speak on Drug and Alcohol addiction. The Crash Bash team from the Police and HDC who will be tackling the tough topic of road safety to teens on the 1st March.

We are looking forward to supporting our students to be the best they can in the coming year.

I would like to mention an outstanding achievement over the summer break…..Rachel Forbes In December at the finals of the Canterbury Barrel Racing Jackpot series, Rachel took away first prize in junior barrel racing jackpots. She then competed in the Christmas Rodeo Circuit (leaving home on Christmas Day!), travelling 2500kms around the SI. She came in 1st at Millers Flat Rodeo, 2nd at Waikouaiti rodeo, 2nd at Canterbury Rodeo and 3rd at Te Anau Rodeo and is currently sitting 4th equal in the overall NZ National standings in barrel racing with a couple more rodeos to go before the end of the season!

Nicole Peterson
Deputy Principal - Secondary

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Dates for Your diary

February ‘23

7th-10th Year 12/13 PE Scuba Diving Training
15th Hamilton Assembly @ 12:20pm
16th Amuri Swimming Sports
17th Primary Splashtacular
21st Amuri Athletic Sports
22nd Pat Buckley from HDC speaking to senior students about Drug & Alcohol addiction
22nd-24th Year 1-6 Life Education Visit
23rd Amuri Swimming Sports postponement
28th CCHS Swimming
28th Year 7-13 - Ugly Shakespeare

March ‘23

1st Amuri Athletic Sports postponement
1st Year 11-13 Crash Bash - Safe driving presentation
3rd Amuri Primary Duathlon
6th HPSSA Swimming
6th-8th Year 9 Camp to Windy Point
7th HPSSA Swimming postponement
8th-9th Year 7 Camp to Hanmer Springs
8th CCHS Athletics
8th Year 11-13 Crash Bash - Safe driving presentation postponement
9th Mitchell Assembly @ 12:20pm
10th Teacher Only Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
14th CSS Athletics Prelims
15th Year 7-13 - Attitude Presentations
17th Primary Assembly @ 2:00pm
18th CSS Athletics Finals