Newsletter - WE 02/07/21

Matariki Dinner

A fantastic night was had by all on Monday commencing with a performance from our Kapa Haka group then shared kai in the Community Room. Thanks so much to all that came along, brought food and washed and dried the odd dish or two. This was an opportunity for us to share data on the achievement of our Maori students, but mostly an opportunity for our community to come together and just chat. There were a number of staff there on the night helping out and thanks to you all. A special mention to Denise Johnson for making this event such a success.

BYOD for 2022

This week I sent out our BYOD minimum specs for 2022 for students in Years 9-13. With birthdays and Christmas coming up, this may be a good time to look at the offerings through PB Tech using the following link:https://www.pbtech.co.nz/education/byod/amuri-area-school?qr=pb_byod

Appointment of Deputy Principal for Years 9-13

The Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Nicole Peterson as our new Deputy Principal with responsibility for the Year 9-13 group.

Nicole comes to us as an experienced DP from Marlborough Boys College with previous experience as an Assistant Principal at Mount Roskill Grammar in Auckland. Nicole has also had experience as a Head of department in her specialist teaching area of technology.

Nicole will be visiting Amuri during Term 3 to get to know us a little better before taking up the position fully in Term 4.

Uniform in Year 9-13

As the colder days arrive, we tend to see some slippage in unform standards in the senior school. Please note that trackpants (even if they are black) are great for sport but not for general uniform use. Our uniform code is below for your reference:

Year 9-13 – Top Half
• Plain White Shirt or Blouse
• Plain Red Woollen/Merino jersey or cardigan
• Plain White Polyprop thermal
• Red and Black Tie (optional)
• Red or Black Headscarf
• Black School Logo Beanie
• Black and Red School Logo Scarf
• Black School logo Shell Jacket
Year 9-13 – Lower Half
• Plain Black dress trousers
• Plain Black Cotton School Shorts or skirt
• Plain Black Culottes/Skort
• Plain Black School Shoes
• Plain Black or White socks
• KILT Phase in or out with demand
Sports Attire
• Black and Red custom logo Polo shirt
• Plain Black synthetic sports shorts
• Plain black or white socks
• Appropriate sports shoes
• Plain black Canterbury Style Track Pants

If your child is cold, a plain white thermal underlayer is a great place to start with a plain white shirt and a school jersey and shell jacket making 4 layers available within the school uniform. Plain black tights can be worn under trousers or skirts if required, but not sports leggings please.

Parent teacher Interviews

Parent teacher interviews next week and bookings have now closed. We will be completing an analysis of how many parents went for face to face vs Zoom to inform future planning. If you have to cancel your appointment, please call the office directly from this point.

One more week of Term 2 to go and the school formal tonight! Have a great weekend!

Nga Mihi Nui James GriggsPrincipal 

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Senior School News

Course SelectionAs a school we are currently in the process of putting together our Year 11 – 13 Senior Course Handbook for 2022. Early next term this will be finalised, and students will be making decisions about their NCEA subjects for 2022. Now is the opportune time with the holiday break nearly upon us, to have discussions with your child about the subjects they may like to select for 2022. These are really important decisions, so please have robust discussions around potential careers they may like to pursue and how these would relate to the subjects they would need to study at school. In instances where students are unsure about potential career paths, it is best to take a broad range of subjects to keep all your options open. Below are a series of links to the careers website to help students make informed choices.

How to choose NCEA subjects:https://www.careers.govt.nz/courses/secondary-school-study-and-training-options/how-to-choose-ncea-subjects/? utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Careers%20Insight%20Practitioners%20June%202021&utm_content=Careers%20Insight%20Practitioners%20June%202021+CID_4f17661e023486bece4331d753fca776&utm_source=Careers%20Insight&utm_term=How%20to%20choose%20NCEA%20subjects

How to pick NCEA subjects for future success:https://www.careers.govt.nz/articles/how-to-pick-ncea-subjects-for-future-success/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Careers%20Insight%20Practitioners%20June%202021&utm_content=Careers%20Insight%20Practitioners%20June%202021+CID_4f17661e023486bece4331d753fca776&utm_source=Careers%20Insight&utm_term=Match%20subjects%20to%20jobs%20in%20demand

NCEA credits needed for study, apprenticeships and training:https://www.careers.govt.nz/plan-your-career/act-on-your-career-plans/ncea-credits-needed-for-study-apprenticeships-and-training/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Careers%20Insight%20Practitioners%20June%202021&utm_content=Careers%20Insight%20Practitioners%20June%202021+CID_4f17661e023486bece4331d753fca776&utm_source=Careers%20Insight&utm_term=NCEA%20credits%20needed%20for%20tertiary%20study%20or%20training

SISS Junior Netball

During the upcoming July school holidays, our junior netball team will be competing at the South Island Secondary Schools netball tournament. This is an amazing opportunity for our girls to test themselves against strong opposition from schools all over the South Island. We wish them all the best for the tournament.

Attaining Excellence

Well done to Bob Thompson who recently competed in the South Island Secondary Schools swimming championships, setting new personal best times in several events. SISS Swimming Results:Bob Thompson - 13 Year Olds 50m Backstroke - 8th Place - 35.33s50m Freestyle - 10th Place  - 30.51s - PB100m Backstroke - 7th Place - 1.15.93min - PB100m Freestyle - 9th Place - 1.08.01min - PB100m Breaststroke - 5th Place - 1.27.45min

Bob has proven that you can achieve anything from a small rural school if you have the desire and adaptability to make it work, then put in the hours of training to make it a reality.

Reminders:
As a senior staff, we look forward to seeing all our Year 9 – 13 students and parents at interviews on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week to talk about your child’s academic progress over the first half of the school year. If you have forgotten to book a time online, ring the school office as they may be able to find a time to slot you in for an interview.

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Roll of Honour

Grace CundyJames HamiltonCatherine Paragas

1st Merit

Tamika Van de Wiel

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Dates for Your diary

July
5th - 7th Parent Teacher Interviews
9th End of Term 2
18th - 21st NZAS Tournament - Dunedin
26th Start of Term 3

August
10th MOE Accord Day - SCHOOL CLOSED 10th - 11th Year 12 First Aid Course 11th Year 6-8 Cantamath - Ohoka 11th BOT Meeting @ 6:00pm 27th Amuri WOW 29th - 2nd SISS Netball in Timaru 31st HPSSA 7Aside @ Hurunui College

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Children’s University Visit

On Monday, 17 students along with Eve and Mr Black were fortunate enough to visit the University of Canterbury for the day. There were over 200 students from schools around the Canterbury district invited for the first of four days, to see what University is like, take part in some hands-on lessons and to earn hours for their learning passport. Our students took part in Math Crafts, Chemistry, Art and Waste / Recycling lessons. The students enjoyed making Mobius Strips in Math Craft and it was fascinating to see what would happen when these are cut lengthwise. The other highlight was Chemistry where they made invisible ink and watched cobalt chloride solution change color when subjected to changes in temperature. It was a great day out and we want to say a huge thank you to the University of Canterbury and Children’s University for providing a bus and hosting us for the day. 

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Matariki Dinner

On Monday evening, our Kapa Haka group performed for whānau and friends in the gym to celebrate Matariki. Following the performance, we had a shared dinner in the community room. The group put on an outstanding performance which everyone enjoyed. They should be very proud of themselves. We had lots of delicious food, including Mutton Birds which a parent made a special trip to collect for us from Southland. We shared our Māori achievement data from 2020 and information about what is happening in some of our classes to celebrate Matariki and Māori language and culture. If you are interested in viewing any of this information, please contact Denise on denisej@amuri.school.nz. Thank you to the students for your preparation and performance, thank you to the family and friends for making kai and coming along. And thank you to the staff who helped out in the kitchen and setting up the community room in your own time. We are truly grateful for your support. We look forward to next year’s Matariki celebration.Ngā mihi,Eve, Phoebe and Denise

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To the extraordinarily talented cast members of Peter Pan 2021

Wow, what an amazing adventure we’ve had! From the day I met you, singing and dancing at your auditions, to our magnificent final performance, I have truly enjoyed every step of the way. I want to thank each and every one of you for bringing your incredible enthusiasm, encouragement and respect to every rehearsal. I hope you feel so proud of what you have achieved and how well you worked together. And now that the show is over, I hope you feel especially proud of the courage that you have gained from being up on that stage. Perhaps your bravery has inspired someone else to try something new too. Congratulations!

I love thinking of a show as ‘a celebration of community’ - and what an exceptional community Amuri Area School has! So many wonderful people putting their hands up to be involved and producing extraordinary results. Peter Pan would not have been the success it was without a single one of these parents and teachers, so when you see any one who helped out, please pass on my heartfelt thanks.

Thank you so much for having me, Amuri Area School! I’m so grateful for your support, generosity and kindness.

With my warmest wishes and a standing ovation for you all.

Rosalind KellyDirector of Peter Pan 2021