Newsletter - WE 08/04/2022

Tena Koutou Katoa

This will be our last newsletter for Term 1 with a short week to come next week as we lead into the Easter weekend. We have done well with Covid in the community and have managed to get through what promised to be a difficult term without compromising any programmes or delivery. In contrast, my own son has been three days on, two days off, for the past five weeks, so I am thankful for the team we have here at Amuri for stepping up and as they always do, putting the students at the front of their thinking and keeping the ship on course.

Thank you to our awesome office team for playing the daily game of chess to get classes covered and to the whole team here for covering that extra period or doubling up on classes on days where we were running a bit tight. Our case numbers have dropped dramatically since the initial flurry and we continue to have very low transmission in the school environment due to the health measures we have in place. We expect this situation to continue to slow burn through Term 2.

The good news is that with the removal of outdoor gathering limits, we have decided it is well past time to open up a little and have parents back on site for our upcoming cross-country event on the 18th May. We have booked a coffee cart and will have the BBQ going with sausies, so it will be good to see you all here ready for that 12.20pm start. Under the current red settings, we still cannot allow parents into school buildings unless it is really necessary, however, we anticipate a change to orange in the near future and being able to relax this as well. It does seem there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

The move to orange will also alter the requirements for masks at school. I will hold off on confirming this until we have clear guidance as this may change in the near future. As a result of our current risk analysis, we have identified some classes who will need to continue to wear masks because of medical issues. This will be well communicated prior to the start of Term 2.Next week we have our mufti day on Tuesday to support Autism awareness week. Whilst there is the obvious fundraising part of the whole thing, the main focus is to raise awareness within our community on the impact Austism has on the life of the individual and their families. www.autism.org.nz is a great source of information.As you will have seen in the letter from our Board Chair, Adam, I will be moving on at the end of Term 2. The Board have already started their process for finding an awesome replacement Principal to serve you into the future and we will keep you updated on developments as they occur.

Achiever of the Month for April 
Jakob Bush

Jakob is a wonderful mix of being hardworking and very capable. and is getting the results academically to prove it. He is also by any measure a wonderful person to be around! Well done Jacob and keep up the mahi! 

Best of luck to our students heading to the Area Schools Trials next Wednesday. We look forward to seeing our students making it into these representative teams. 

Have a great weekend. 

Kia Kitea Toikaka

James Griggs
Principal 

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Senior School News

As we head into our final week of term, a note to remember planning ahead for assessments coming up in Term 2. Planning puts you in a good position to manage your workload and meet all your deadlines. Term breaks are intended to be time to refresh but also to keep studying towards our goals for the year. If you are in a NCEA year you will need this time to get ahead. Use the time wisely and have a safe and enjoyable break.

Reflection Back on the Week
Students from Year 7 and upwards had the opportunity to listen and participate in a presentation from the gumboot Friday ‘I am hope’ mental health charity.

Ambassador Tai Tupou arrived with the NZ based team to deliver three back-to-back workshops with Year 7 and 8, Year 9 and then Year 10 and above.

The topic of the day ‘youth mental health’ focused how to be kind to ourselves and minimise the impact that our inner critic has. How to support our friends and care for one another, seeking help and supporting others to seek help. The presentation was engaging, and all students were mesmerised as Tai shared his story of hope.

Outdoor Education Year 12 Trip to Marlborough Sounds

Day 1 of a trip to remember, starting off nice and early with a 5:00am wake up call. Arriving at school all blurry eyed as we were blinded as the bright lights shone onto us while trying to pack up the bikes, the packs and getting ready to hit the road. Made our way to Kaikoura for a break and some breakfast, continuing on all the way to Blenheim and then finally to Anakiwa to our starting point. Kayaking through Anakiwa with sun glistening onto the water for the dolphins to swim up right next to our kayak and jump right out of the water. Mountain Biking through the bush with native birds chirping and singing while we were climbing steep rocky hills to the top to see beautiful scenic views across the Queen Charlotte. Overall this was a magical trip to have experienced and to take away the many memories made, hoping one day I can do it all over again. by Meg Habgood

Student Success
Farewell to Kaesyn Batchelor (Year 12) who leaves us after successfully gaining an apprenticeship in Construction and Building. We wish you well Kaesyn.

Reminder to ARA students that your courses will take a term break at the same time as schools. So your final date for this term is Thursday 14th (For Thursday students) and all students return the week of 2nd May on normal study days.

Nicole Peterson
Deputy Principal - Secondary
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Primary School News

Kia ora Parents and Whanau

Year 1-6 are involved in our own Softball and Teeball tournament on Monday, organised by Miss Sopp. All the students are looking forward to this event after the HPSSA event was cancelled due to Covid. Tapaue-o-Uenuku are organising a sausage sizzle as fundraising for Year 8 camp. We are also having a final tabloids event next Thursday at 2pm. Our primary whanau leaders will be running this event with the support of Miss Garthwaite. Please watch your class Seesaw for information for both events. We are really looking forward to allowing parents back to school for events sometime soon.

Swimming has drawn to a close here at school. Our swimming season went slightly longer this year due to the fabulous autumn weather we had. We have noticed a big improvement in skills in our students which is heartening when there is so much water around us. Thank you to all parents and whanau who sent swimming things to school and helped maximise time in the water.

Year 7 and 8 students had a visit from the “I am Hope” organisation this morning. They chatted to our students about having positive attitudes towards mental health, the challenges young people face and shared some of the opportunities they offer for students who face these challenges.

Finally, I want to praise our students and staff for what has been a term of ‘fluidity’. There have been students away, teachers away, different teachers away and a few combined classes. Not once have I heard any complaints. Our students are amazingly resilient and have very much ‘gone with the flow’ of what has been a new day of events. Similarly, our staff have been amazing, covering duties, extra teaching, combining classes and managing to maintain their usual programme with the students who have been at school. Naturally we can’t do our job without the support of parents and whanau who have played their part in keeping their children at home when they have needed to. Ka mau te wehi!

This is the final newsletter for this term so please do have a restful break and enjoy the time with your children.

Hei konā
Kylee Habgood
Deputy Principal - Primary

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Dates for Your diary

April

11th    HPSSA Softball at Amuri Area School           
           HPSSA Teeball at Scargill
12th    Mufti Day for Autism Awareness (BLUE)
13th    HPSSA Softball at AAS Postponement
           HPSSA Teeball at Scargill Postponement
           Area Schools Trial - Round 1 - Rangiora
14th    End of Term 1
May
 2nd    Start of Term 2
 4th     CSS Swimming at Jellie Park
 5th     School Photos from 8:00am
 6th     Year 7/8 Self Defence Course
9th-12th Narrative Arts Camp
11th    CSS Road Race
13th    MOE Accord Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
           CSS Basketball starts in Christchurch
15th-16th Area Schools Trial - Round 2 - Murchison
17th    Caverhill Assembly
18th    Year 12/13 Road Safety Course - Hawarden
           AAS Cross Country @ 12:20pm
           CSS Netball starts in Christchurch
20th    Year 7/8 Self Defence Course
           Pink Shirt Mufti Day for Anti Bullying
25th    AAS Cross Country Postponement
27th    Year 7/8 Self Defence Course
           Careers Expo - Christchurch
31st    HPSSA Cross Country - Waikari
           CCS Cross Country - Christchurch

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Roll of Honour

Harper Abernethy
Jennifer Bratschi
Lizzy Cate
Leighton Chinnery
Aizelle Dela Rosa
Daphne Delos Santos
Kyla Domingo
Nathalia Ferrer
Heath Habgood
Zara Hamilton
Emily Harris
Tom Jackson
Blake MacDonald
Sofia Manifold
Myla Roberts
Stephanie Robinson-Gutierrez
Alyssa Schenkel
Charlotte Schenkel
Riley Van der Heyden
Madison Wayne
Issy Williamson
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Fundraising for Geography Field Trips

We have a number of boxes left over from our chocolate fundraising last year. A box of 32 slabs will cost $40.00. Please see the office if you would like to purchase a box at this heavily discounted rate.

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CONGRATULATIONS to Sean Moriarty

Sean set himself a lofty personal best last Wednesday night shooting an almost perfect score of 100.9 out of a possible 100.10. The shooting team are really looking forward to the upcoming season.

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VEHICLE SAFETY AT THE SCHOOL GATE

As cooler weather approaches, there are more people dropping/picking up students outside school. It’s a very busy place. We have buses exiting and entering the area, agricultural vehicles, cars turning around. Lets try and keep our children safe by keeping to a safe speed – 20kph. Look out for our tamariki. 

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