Newsletter - WE 04/12/20

The last newsletter of 2020 and what a year it has been. A year where we adapted, we demonstrated resilience, we learned how to live in very close proximity to our loved ones and even learned that our freedoms and liberties are not something given lightly.

On Monday we have our big day out/in with students taking part in a day oF organised fun activities to round out the year. Students are able to wear MUFTI for Monday and Tuesday so we have super clean uniforms ready to go for prizegiving on Wednesday where we ask you arrive EARLY as we will start proceedings at 11am sharp. Those of you veterans of Prizegivings will know that a small cushion for the bleachers can be a valuable commodity.

School will resume again on TUESDAY 2nd February with the office fully open from the 25th January.

Next year we will see some new innovations coming through the school:

· On Wednesday afternoons on the Senior side students in year 9, 10 and 13 will be able to opt into a club rather than mandatory sport. There will still be sport options, however students will also be able to choose from activities such as Mural Painting and Tikanga Maori.

· Students in Year 11 and 12 will be taking part in a new programme called KORU for 6 weeks each term designed to prepare them for a life beyond school.

· For the last 4 weeks of each term year 9-13 will come together on a Wednesday afternoon where fierce inter-whanau competition can contribute to the House Cup tally.

· Our new course in year 11 and 12 called the Narrative Arts will combine English and the Arts as we venture into Senior collaborative teaching and learning.

· Year 9 will have the performing arts as a taught period to fulfil the requirements of the Arts curriculum alongside the usual Art sessions.

· Our personal digital devices policy (attached to this newsletter) comes into force alongside the expansion of lunchtime activities to improve our educational and social outcomes for students.

· Year 7 and 8 will once again be taught by a specialist science teacher for two periods per week.

· Our students who come to us from Hanmer school for technology will be integrated into technology classes with our students to help them transition through to year 9.

I am also pleased to announce the appointment of Rosalind Kelly as director of Peter Pan our major school production next year. Ros has vast experience in this area as director for the Amuri Players over several years and I am delighted to have her on the team here. Performance nights are scheduled for late June and we are determined to make it happen! I can also announce the appointment of Garvin Filby who will be teaching Chemistry and Science next year. Garvin has experience both in NZ and overseas and we are looking forward to welcoming him in the New Year. We say farewell to Maxine Cowap who is taking up a position just down the road at Rotherham School and David Campbell who is off to new horizons. I would also like to acknowledge Sujeewa Dissanayake who has worked tirelessly behind the scenes as our laboratory technician and is moving South with her family.

All in all it has been a pretty big year and we are all ready looking forward to 2021 where perhaps things may be a little more settled. Our plan is to try and do everything as normal and take the odd consequence as a result, so thankyou to you all for your support that comes to us in so many ways for our school over 2020 and we all look forward to seeing you ready to go in 2021 for another great year of learning.

Kia Kitea Toikaka

James Griggs

Principal

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Junior School News

Dear Parents and Whanau

This is my final newsletter for 2020. This year has been memorable in many ways. I’ve been so impressed at how well our learners, their whanau and the staff have managed through some unusual circumstances this year. The ability to bounce back was evident after lockdown and I am very proud of all the members of our school community.

Last week, our Year 5/6 students had their camp at Living Springs and they managed reasonable weather, only finding the forecast rain when they were on their way home. Ms Campbell and Mrs Moke were thrilled to be told that their students were an amazing bunch by the staff at Living Springs and how well mannered our students are. I’m delighted that Terako hub represented our school so well. All reports indicate that a great time was had. Thank you to our parent helpers who went on camp provided extra support for the teachers and thank you to Mrs Moke and Ms Campbell for their organisation of the experience.

Yesterday the students in Year 1-8 attended their transition day and found out what class they will be in for 2021. I visited classes this week to explain to the children how our classes would be structured and how the teaching staff put together the ‘giant jigsaw puzzle’ that is our class make up. Teachers work on groupings to ensure the best for each of the students and then these are discussed with senior management. I want to assure all parents and whanau that this is a difficult job and one we take seriously.

Next year we start the year with ten classes in Year 1-8.

Year 7/8 x 3 classes taught by Mrs Shaw, Mr Black and Mrs Baldwin

Year 5/6 x 2 classes taught by Mrs Moke and Ms Campbell

Year 3/4 x 2 classes taught by Miss Sopp and Miss Allison

Year 2 – taught by Mrs Van der Merwe

Year 0/1 – taught by Mrs Johnson

The end of the year is always exciting, and I hope that everyone enjoys the summer break from school and the routines associated with it. Some consistently sunny weather would be great too!

Happy summer and enjoy the time with your children.

Nga mihi nui

Kylee Habgood

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Buses on Final Day

Hanmer, Balmoral and Pahau buses will depart at 1:15pm

Lowry Peaks, Cheddar and Leslie Hills will depart at 2:50pm to link with Rotherham and Waiau

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SCHOOL BUS NEWS

As the year comes to an end, I would like to say a huge thankyou to our school bus drivers who have transported our students to school safely throughout the year. In particular, I want to thank Jeanette Rhodes who has been a driver for many many years and is retiring, . Her last run will be next Wednesday. In all the years of driving, she has been well respected by her students and has had one of the more noisy buses. She has managed this with an ease and humour that students appreciate. Thank you Jeanette. We will all miss you.

The police have trained the new bus monitors recently and these students have been doing their duties while the seniors have been on exam leave. These students have a difficult task as they have to manage control on the bus. Generally they get it right but sometimes there is a need to intervene. Problems solved early don’t escalate and our monitors adjust and learn new skills to keep students safe. On the truss buses monitors have a harder job as the driver is in an enclosed cabin rather than part of the bus. They literally manage the students for the whole run. They deserve our thanks.

On behalf of you all, I want to thank everyone who has been part of bus safety this year. Enjoy your holiday and have a happy Christmas.

Elizabeth Teulon

(Bus Controller)

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Well Done to all the students who did a great job representing Amuri at the Canterbury Primary Athletics Championships on Wednesday. You were a fantastic bunch to take away.

Special congratulations to Kate Easton who gained a 4th place in the Year 7 girls 100m sprint event and Sophie Ockwell who placed 4th in the Year 6 Girls High Jump.

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Amuri Area School would like to thank the Hurunui Branch of the Cancer Society for arranging the very colourful swim boards reminding us all of the slip, slop, slap message over summer while at the pool. We would also like to thank Amuri Lions for paying for these boards. We always appreciate the support we get from local groups.

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Amuri Area School

Personal Digital Devices

A personal digital device is any privately owned digital device that is not part of a school-approved bring your own device (BYOD) programme. This includes cellphones, smartwatches, tablets, handheld PCs and consoles, portable music players, e-readers, and other similar devices.

Policy Statement 1: Amuri Area School does not allow students in year 1-12 to use personal digital devices at school. This includes all break times and study periods.

These are not necessary to have during the day, however, we understand that some parents like their children to have a device to communicate with them after school therefore students may have them switched off in their bag during the school day.

Device Statement: The device must be kept turned off and out of sight.

EOTC Statement: Our digital device use policy extends to all EOTC activities.

If a parent needs to contact their child urgently during the day, they should call the office.

Inappropriate use

If a student is observed using a personal digital device, the student must hand it to a staff member immediately when asked. If possible, students should lock their device before handing it to staff. The device will be kept in the office and can be collected by the student at the end of the day.

Inappropriate use of a personal digital device is dealt with through the school's behaviour management, responding to digital incidents, and surrender and retention of digital devices guidelines, as appropriate.

Guidelines

1. The school accepts no responsibility for lost, damaged, broken, or misplaced phones.

2. Urgent calls or messages that a student needs to receive during class time must come through the main office.

3. If a student is observed/caught with a device with them in school time, whether in use or not, they will be required to hand it to the staff member who will place in a labelled envelope. The device will be kept in the school office and may be collected by the student at the end of the day after a discussion with member of the management team. If a device is confiscated a second time, it will be labelled and stored safely in the school office and a parent/caregiver will be required to collect it.

4. Continual incidents of device removal will result in the student entering the normal school diciplinary system. Each issue of confiscation will be recorded on the students MUSAC pastoral profile.

5. Refusal to hand over a device when requested will be treated as defiance and the student will be issued with a red slip.

6. In the event of an emergency closure of the school during class time, any confiscated devices will be returned to students.