Newsletter - WE 04/11/2022

Kia ora koutou 

It has been a busy start to the term with lots of events and activities. It has been awesome to see students making the most of the opportunities that they have to learn in a wide variety of contexts. This week I received samples of persuasive writing from the students in Room 2. Their task was to convince me that I had made the right choice in coming to Amuri. I was delighted to read all of their ideas including these from Ziggy and Baylea “Because all of the students are friendly and help each other and work in a team;” and “because we are welcoming and nice and caring.” Comments like these were a common theme in the writing samples and it is wonderful to know that our students feel a sense of belonging here.

I am delighted to announce that Regan Clark and Mateo Jamieson have been selected as our head students for 2023. Regan and Mateo both bring a wide range of skills and a heart for the school community to the role. They will be supported by a group of other leaders including Meg Habgood, Clare Frame, Myla Roberts and Sam Bush. It is amazing to have such wonderful leaders within our school community.

I want to give a special mention to our Year 7 students who spent time last week completing some community service. It is always a good thing to look for ways that we can support, encourage and give to others and the students happily did this through the work that they completed.

It was a privilege to spend time with a group of Year 9 and 10 students on the sports exchange with Murchison, Collingwood and Tapawera Area Schools. I was impressed with the way our students interacted with those from the other schools where I again observed positive and friendly connections.

I want to extend my thanks to staff who have been organising camps, trips and events over the past few weeks. These events make school a vibrant and enjoyable place to be for our students.

Lastly, it has been great to meet many of you as parents over the last few weeks. Thanks for dropping by to introduce yourselves at events like the Junior and Senior Athletics. I’m sure I will meet more of you in the time ahead.

All the best to our Senior Students who start external exams on Monday.

Ka kitea toikaka
Noho ora mai, nā
Mr Matt Barlow
Tumuaki – Principal 

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Primary School News

Kia ora Parents and Whanau

We are well into our athletics programme for the term with our Year 7 and 8 taking part in the Senior Athletics sports last week. This qualifies them for Country High Schools zone events which have different entry requirements to the primary school zone events. This week we had our Primary athletics sports on Monday, and it was fantastic to see so many parents back on school grounds during school hours! Thank you for your support! We had an outstanding day and Miss Sopp is currently working on the list of qualifiers who will represent the school at the Hurunui Primary School Zones event held here on Monday the 7th of November. Notification should be coming home very soon.

Year 8 camp was on last week and they experienced a great four days away in the beautiful Abel Tasman at Kaiteriteri. They also experienced most weather conditions on camp, making for a memorable experience! Thank you to our parent helper team and to Miss Sopp and Ms Campbell for their work leading the campers. Mrs Shaw and Year 7 took part in leadership activities including guest speakers on leadership, team building activities and a day giving back to the community. Our pool fence looks fabulous, well done!

Primary Assembly Roster
Term 4
4 Nov – Room 1
11 Nov - Show Day
18 Nov –Room 2
25 Nov - Accord Day
2 Dec - Year 6 Leavers Assembly

We have had our staffing allowance confirmed for 2023, and due to numbers we will have the following classes.

Year 7/8 x 3 classes taught by Miss Sopp, Ms Campbell, Mrs Shaw

Year 5/6 x 3 classes taught by Mrs Moke, Miss Paterson and Miss Garthwaite

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

Year 1/2 x 1 class taught by Mrs Van der Merwe

Year 1 x 1 class taught by Ms Jamieson

Students will find out what classes they are in on Monday 5th of December.

Welcome to Tazmin in Room 5 and Ashley in Room 3 who have recently started with us. We hope you will enjoy your time at Amuri!

Hei konā

Kylee Habgood - Deputy Principal - Primary

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Senior School News

Kia Ora Whanau

Preparations are underway for end of year NZQA exams, which officially start on Monday. The Amuri exam centre is at the Rugby Club rooms adjacent to the school. Students sitting exams are encouraged to read through the information that was handed out and come prepared with pens etc in a plastic transparent bag. Remember you must have your exam entry slip on hand to enter the exam.

A big farewell to our Year 13 students, who have set a benchmark for the years to follow with a non-destructive and lighthearted prank day. I am still finding items in my office covered in tinfoil. You will be missed Year 13’s of 2022, it has been a pleasure working with you on various leadership projects throughout the year.

A big congratulations to all the candidates who put their names and entered the process for head student 2023. All candidates were outstanding and had much to offer the school in terms of skills, knowledge and passion for change. I look forward to 2023 with anticipation in what the Year 13 cohort will bring to Amuri area school.

Good luck to the Year 8-10 students that are heading off to compete in the rural games at the Canterbury A & P show on Wednesday 9th. They will be competing against other schools in the Canterbury region through completing practical tasks based on agriculture practices.

We also have the Year 10 camp planning underway, with more information to come on what that will entail.

Year 7 and 8 students are still working in module groups with their peers from Hanmer Primary and we are currently in our fourth rotation for the year. Further to this we will be running a transition day on the 5th December, where peer mentors from Year 10 will run activities with the 2023 Year 9 cohort from all schools to start the process of creating a positive learning culture within the peer groups, ready for 2023.
To all senior students, good luck for your external exams, remember to do your best.
Nicole PetersonDeputy Principal - Secondary

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Roll of Honour

James Anngow
Claudia Davison
Chloe Dela Vega
Sarah Forbes
Nathan Kay
Sam O’Neill
Lottie Smith

1st Merit

Dylan Brogden
Deegan DeVree
Emily Fenemor-Halsey
Sarah Forbes
Wally Johns
Nathan Kay
Archie McCone
Lee Palmer
Ziggy Paora
Lachie Perry
Georgia Roberts
Campbell Smith
Emma Whittleston
Sachi Wilkes
Ava Wilson
Jessica Youngman

2nd Merit

Joe Hanna Barroz
Aizelle Dela Rosa
Ruby Glassey
William Hamilton
Myla Roberts
Alex Shaw
Charlotte Snowling
Kaden Tiley
Jake van Der Heyden

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Dates for Your diary

November

7th HPSSA Athletics @ Amuri
7th NCEA Exams begin - Years 11-13
8th Hamilton Assembly @ 12:15pm
8th Student Executive Meeting @ 1:15pm
8th Science Leadership Day at ARA
8th Te Koa trip to Christchurch
9th HPSSA Athletics Postponement
9th Farm Skills Competition at Amuri A&P Show
11th Canterbury Anniversary - SCHOOL CLOSED
16th Year 7-8 Cup Shield Cricket @ Mandeville
17th Mufti Day for the Blind Foundation
19th Amuri Trail Ride
21st Children’s University Graduation
21st-23rd Year 10 camp to Windy Point
23rd Mitchell Assembly
25th MOE Accord Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
28th MOE Accord Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
30th CPS Athletics at Nga Puna Wai

December

5th Year 1-9 Transition Day
7th School reports sent out
9th Stig at the Library - Years 1-6
13th Prizegiving and end of School - See you 2023!
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Dear Parents/Caregivers

Changes to the School Donations Scheme

The BOT have decided to opt into this scheme from the beginning of 2023. They believe it will be more financially beneficial to students, and parents will no longer be asked to make a school donation. Please note that there are exceptions for camps and overnight trips. More information on this scheme can be found on the ministry website: https://www.education/govt/nz/school/funding-and-financials/fees-charges-and-donations/

Parents must send any feedback to Matt via email principal@amuri.school.nz no later than 10 November 2022.

Kind regards
Adam Williamson
Board Chair Person
Amuri Area School
8 School Road, Culverden, 7345
Ph: 03 315 8233
https://amuri.school.nz/
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Piano Lessons with Andrea

Andrea currently has two lesson times available on a Wednesday.

If you would like your child to learn the piano, please get in touch with Andrea either by phone 020 4035 8805 or email hooperandrea4@gmail.com

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Year 7 Leadership

Year 7's have been excellent young leaders this week - practicing leadership skills in team challenges with Activity Hanmer on Tuesday, listening intently to leadership lessons from presenters on Wednesday (thanks to Mr Barlow, Mr Field and Mr McCone) and giving back to their community with fence painting on Thursday (Thanks Eve and Adam for helping!). We are very grateful to the Amuri Lions for sponsoring our week's activities.

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LIVELY LIVING SPRINGS

Monday, 17 October, was the start of Room 7’s Year 6 camp to Living Springs. We said goodbye to our parents and piled into the school vans ready for an exciting adventure. On our way we stopped at Margaret Mahy Playground for a quick play and morning tea. Then it was time to set off again and we arrived at the campsite on top of the hill in Banks Peninsula which offered breath-taking views over the bays with Lyttleton Harbour in the distance.

Our first activity was orienteering where we were split up into groups of 3 or 4 and we got to explore the wider campus, learn to read a map, complete the course, and race our classmates. “It was fun and competitive” says Zac Broom. Afterwards Ruma Whitu enjoyed a delicious lunch. Next up was another action-packed activity - adventure stream! This was a thrilling experience where all students challenged themselves to complete the journey down the rocky stream. Lots of people slipped and fell into the water and got soaked. “It was sketchy abseiling down those rocks, but funny when people slipped and got wet” says Arlie Marris. A swim in the warm pool was well deserved to relax. We worked up a great appetite after an eventful day and enjoyed dinner followed by quiz night and chocolate cake to celebrate Zac’s birthday. What an epic first day!

The next day we woke up and had breakfast. “It was scrumptious” says Brody Batchelor. After that we had the time of our lives shooting each other with arrows in archery tag. The adults got involved as well of course. “It was the best activity of the camp” says James Hamilton. Reuben, Zac, Archie, and Arthur volunteered as human archery targets to get us warmed up for the game. “It was fun being a human target” said Reuben Chinnery. “But it was also painful” added Arthur Milne. Everyone had a bunch of fun.

During the bush walk, we kept our ears and eyes open for native birds and we got to see Taea the Kahikatea, the biggest native tree to New Zealand. At 65 metres tall, it was huge! We were astounded by the size of it. After some tasty nachos we were refuelled for the next activity: indoor bouldering wall. This was great fun as we got to try different difficulty levels. “It was good because I enjoyed going ‘around the world’ along the wall.” said Annabelle Cundy. The boys and some brave girls decided to tackle the slip ‘n slide. “It was cold, wet and fun.” describes Archie McCone. We had to rush to the shower before tabletop escape room. Sir Matt (our parent helper) assisted his team to victory. We entered the night circled around a bonfire where we got to make our own smoores, play charades and tell our own made-up stories in front of the rest of the group. Namash’s story was the scariest and most intriguing. We then prepared for our last activity of the night: spotlight. “It was good fun, but the boys sabotaged our position” mentioned Daniela Panganoron. A good night’s rest awaited us very soon thereafter.

The final day of camp came too soon. It was time to pack our bags and clean up our sleeping quarters. The last activity couldn’t have come sooner. We all went for one last walk to the zipline area. “I liked going fast and looking at the view. It was my favourite part,” said Ashlyn Abernethy. We ended our time at Living Springs with some mini golf, jumping on the trampoline, dodgeball, and a journey down a steep hill on the monorail. Ms Garthwaite had a go and screamed her lungs out. We didn’t want to go back but our parents were missing us. Room 7 and the parent helpers had a blast at Living Springs camp.

By Michael Anngow and Room 7

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