Newsletter - WE 29/07/2022

Kia ora
Welcome to Term 3 and we certainly hope that this last week has not set the pattern for the weather for the rest of the term.

I have enjoyed my first week at Amuri Area School and was made to feel very welcome by staff and students. I have been impressed in my first few days here by the positive start to the term. Students in all classes across the school have settled into learning routines and I have noted high levels of engagement, positive attitudes in and out of the classroom and respect for each other.

I would like to introduce myself. I am a secondary trained teacher and taught at Papanui High School in Christchurch for 20 years. I then spent seven years as the DP at Mairehau High School and 16 years as Principal of Oxford Area School before “retiring” in 2015.

Since then, I have relieved as acting principal in a number of Area and Primary schools, usually between a principal leaving and the appointment of a new person. I have recently been at Hanmer Springs School for three terms and prior to that at Hurunui College for a term. I am enjoying the experiences of acting in this capacity and the opportunities it offers to meet new people and gain new insights, as each school is unique and interesting. I am a staunch supporter of the Area School concept and the opportunities they offer to students at all levels.

Amuri Area School is in a strong position after being so ably led by James with a committed staff and effective systems. It is a privilege to look after this school and to assist in the transition to a new leader. I thank the Board for this opportunity and look forward to working with the staff, Board and students and getting to know them and you as a supportive school community. I welcome feedback, my door is always open, and I look forward to meeting you as the term goes by.

I have been impressed with the positive attitude students have shown this week to the reintroduction of mask wearing for a period of time. While we all hoped these days were behind us, the reality is that the Covid virus is still very present in our community. The Board has undertaken a risk assessment and reintroduced a policy of mask wearing indoors for students in Year 4 upwards, staff and visitors to the school. This decision was made because of the continuing and increasing rate of respiratory illness and Covid in the community, the usual trend of increased respiratory illness in the weeks after the winter break and considering the strong public health advice.

This policy came into effect on July 25th and will be reviewed before the end of Week 4 in Term 3 to determine if it needs to be continued, be modified, or cease to apply. The MOE are sending further supplies of masks to schools, so they are available to students if they need them. 

Na mihi nga

Bob Norrish
Acting Principal
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Dates for Your Diary

August
 8th-12th National Maths Week
10th Board of Trustees Meeting - 6pm Academy
15th ACVE Volunteers arrive
16th Years 1-4 Cricket Coaching Sessions
16th-18th Year 12 Outdoor Ed Trip
19th Jump Jam for Star Jam
22nd MOE Accord Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
23rd Caverhill Assembly @ 12:15pm
26th Mufti Day - For Daffodil Day
28th-2nd SISS Timaru
31st 7-Aside HPSSA
September
 7th Mitchell Assembly @ 11:15am
 8th Young Writers Workshop
20th HDC Visit for Years 11-13
20th Mufti Day for Culverden St. John

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Senior School News

Celebrating successes….
Sam Bush has been selected from the nominations submitted to Hurunui District Council to receive the 2022 Youth Volunteer Service Award at the HDC Community Awards. This award is to recognise a Hurunui youth who has demonstrated significant commitment and dedication towards volunteering.

Sam volunteers in a range of organisations and is a recruit firefighter with FENZ – Waiau Volunteer Fire Brigade. 

It is great to see students extending themselves in leadership both in and outside of school. Well done, Sam!

Achiever of the Month goes to Brodie Marris for his outstanding results so far in his online L1 Economics course through NetNZ. So far Brodie has achieved excellence on every internal that has been offered.

It is also great to see our Year 13 students exploring their options for next year through attending open days at Otago and Canterbury University open days, as well as attending our in-house presentation around apprenticeship pathways.

A heads up that we will be starting our course selection process for 2023 in the next few weeks. Further information will be sent to outline the process that students will need to follow. In the meantime, we encourage our Whanau to have meaningful career conversations with our young people. The following tool can help in terms of identifying career opportunities that align with interests. A good starting point for discussions at home. https://www.careers.govt.nz/tools/subject-matcher/

Nicole Peterson
Deputy Principal - Secondary

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Primary School News

Kia ora Parents and Whanau 

We have had a great start to the term with most students and teachers back. Sadly, the weather hasn’t quite played it’s part and we’ve had mostly wet lunchtimes and lots of indoor time. Hopefully next week looks better and we can see some sun.

Sadly, we have had to postpone our assembly roster until further notice. This is because mask wearing has come back into our school for all students in Years 4-13 and for all staff. We aren’t able to put huge groups of students in confined spaces for long periods of time, so we have decided to postpone both school and primary assemblies until further notice. We are grateful for the support of parents and whanau for encouraging your children to wear masks at school as we try to combat the spread of illness amongst students and staff.

We would like to welcome Kurt into Room 1. He has joined us to start his school journey, Ysabelle in Room 6, Matt and Bonnie in Year 7 and Jono Simpson in Year 8. Welcome to Amuri!

Hei konā

KyleeHabgood
Deputy Principal - Primary

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Kia ora ngā whānau

On Thursday 7th July we held a Kapa Haka performance and dinner for our whānau at school to celebrate Matariki. The tamariki dressed in their Kapa Haka kākahu and put on a fantastic show, enjoying the singing. There were a lot of whānau away with sickness and on holiday, but even though we had a small rōpū, we were super loud and our whānau commented that they were proud of us.

At the end of the performance, the tamariki received pōkaitahi, badges and tiakarete for tahi, rua, toru, whā and rima years’ participation in Kapa Haka. These awards were well deserved and the children should wear their badges daily to show pride and mana in representing our school. 

Next, we entered the community room where the tables were set with beautiful decorations. We had a karakia and shared some kai. The kai was reka! There was tōtiti, kotakota rīwai, hupa, mīti, heihei, huawhenua, lasagne, garlic bread, macaroni and cheese, rice salad, sausage rolls, quiche, pies, roast vegetables and even fry bread. Eve’s fry bread was crispy but fluffy.

For pudding we had fruit pie, rare, aihikirīmi and tieri. Ka pai te tieri. E whā ngā momo tieri! We were all very full after such an amazing spread.

Thank you very much to the amazing staff and whānau who attended and supported our Kapa Haka students. Thank you for doing dishes and helping prepare and put out food. We cannot run events like this without these delightful people supporting us, so thank you.

We hope you can come next year and join in all the fun! Bring on Matariki 2023! Ka mau te wehi!

Ngā mihi

Eve Reihana, Phoebe Sopp, Denise Johnson and the 2022 Kapa Haka rōpū

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Roll of Honour

Harper Absalom
Olivia Adcock
Sam Al Roussan
Tom Black
Jack Cater
Reuben Chinnery
Ashleigh Clegg
Hannah Clegg
Milly Dampier-Crossley
Stella Dwyer
Kenn Egmao
Phoenix Jimmink
Sophie Jones
Riley Mason
Max McCone
Molly McKenzie
Ella Milne
Rommie Murie
Lee Palmer
Ziggy Paora
Kace Perry
Aggie Rutherford
Jackson Schenkel
Hannah Sharplin
Alex Shaw
Fil John Suela
King Tallar
Bob Thompson
Siena Wayne
Elliette Williamson

1st Merit

Sam Al Roussan
Ava Brogden
Maddison Carr
Eden Colebrook
Ewan Dalmer
Jed Dwyer
Kyle Gardiner
Mateo Jamieson
Biddie Johnson
Riley Mason
Ella Milne
Jonty O’Neill
Caleb Parmar
Finn Parmar
Alex Shaw
Jack Van der Heyden

2nd Merit

Cristopher Tabunar