Newsletter # 5 - W/E 05/04/2024

Kia ora koutou

I hope that you all had a relaxing Easter break! This will be our last newsletter before the holidays. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support this term and wish you all a safe and enjoyable term break at the end of next week. Our first day back for Term 2 is Monday 29th April.

Our big focus for the end of this term is CASAfest. Thank you to everyone who has offered to host billets or support the PTA with baking for the event. We still need some host families, please contact Janine if you can help – even if you don’t have a student who is competing. We are also hoping to create some capacity on our buses to allow billets to travel to and from their host families. Could you please consider dropping your children to and from school rather than them taking the bus next Wednesday morning, afternoon and Thursday morning? This would be a big help to us.

On Friday 12th April (the last day of the term) we will have a mufti-day. Gold coin donations will be collected and given to the de Ridder family. Their son Kirk, a former student of Amuri Area School, and friend to a number of our current students has been recently diagnosed with a brain tumour. We are pleased to be able to do this to support the family at this very difficult time.

Could we please ask that if you are collecting your child from school during the day at any time that you sign them out via the school office. This can be done in the following ways:

• Physically coming to the office to collect your child and signing them out.
• Sending a signed note with your child to show the office staff when they sign out.
• Phoning the office to give you permission for your child to be signed out.

Moving forward, we will ask all students who are signing out to wait in the office until one of the above has occurred. While this might seem an inconvenience, it is an important health and safety procedure for us.

Congratulations to Maria Lim who has been awarded our achiever of the month for March. Maria was nominated for her diligence, hard work and effort across all aspects of school. Maria consistently demonstrates our school values in all she does. Congratulations also to those students who received a merit or excellence endorsement in NCEA in 2023. Those students were provided with a certificate and badge at a special assembly on Wednesday 3rd April.

Lastly, I wish those students who are attending the South Island Athletics Champs this weekend all the very best.

Kia kitea toikaka
Matt Barlow
Principal

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Primary School News

Kia ora parents and whanau

Due to the incredible surge in five year olds here in the Amuri Basin, we have started the planning for a new class of the older five year olds to start next term. This class will be known as Room 1A and be taught by Mrs Jade Velmonte. This will allow us spaces in Room 1 to make way for the new entrants we have starting school in Term 2. If all goes to plan, this class may have some more children join them at the end of next term. Ms Jamieson has welcomed Tom and Rawhiti to school and there are currently three other students doing their visits ready to start in Term 2. All other classes in Year 1 to 8 will continue as they are.

Last Thursday was our primary duathlon day and it was wonderful to see so many students competing and giving it a go. A special thanks to Mrs Shaw for making this event happen and the team of course ‘supervisors’ from Tapuae-o-Uenuku. We appreciate parent efforts in transporting bikes to and from school and also providing the quick chain fixes, bike malfunctions and sticky transitions! There were lots of photos posted to our Facebook page on the day showing the impressive personal efforts of all our students.

While the duathlon was going on, we had Davey running a Skiffle workshop in the Community Room and later that day, Year 1 to 6 students attended a show where they learned what Skiffle band was and how to create instruments out of household items. I did ask the children to ask permission from their parents and whanau at home before raiding the kitchen cupboards – we all hope for your sake this happened! Davey is an excellent musician and was hugely entertaining. It was a wonderful way to finish before the long weekend.

Ngā mihi nui
Kylee Habgood
Deputy Principal - Primary School

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Secondary School News

As we head towards the end of Term 1, it is a reminder to those that are studying for an NCEA qualification this year that they are a third of the way through the academic year. Students should be allocating time outside of school to keep up to date with their learning but, at the same time, ensuring that they are looking after their wellbeing and moderating an excess in either.

On Wednesday 3rd April we celebrated the success of our top scholars who achieved course and subject endorsement at Merit and Excellence level. It was fantastic to see such a wide breadth of students achieve these awards and role model to our younger students what it is possible to achieve.

We welcome back our intrepid South Island explorers who have been away studying geological land masses, tourism trends and agricultural practices in the Otago high country.

Next week we see our Year 12 Outdoor Education students leave for the epic Marlborough Sounds bike and kayak adventure and we wish them safe travels.

CASAfest preparations are well underway for next week and I look forward to sharing highlights with you through our Facebook page and in our newsletter early next term. A big thank you to the staff who have been intrinsically involved in this mammoth logistical operation. Also, a big thank you to our school community for hosting students from other schools through the billeting process.

A reminder to both senior students and whanau/ caregivers that a parent must sign a student out of school if they leave early for an appointment. This can be done physically in person at the front office or by phone call or email to admin. Year 13’s are the only students able to sign in and out at lunchtimes to leave site. Our sign out process is very important to have correct as it becomes a guide to who is onsite in times of an emergency. We appreciate your support with this.

The school also has a process for students that wish to drive their own vehicles to school to apply for a car parking pass. Students will need to complete the application form and gain a parking permit. All student cars should be parked in the rear carpark by the Community Room.

It has been a busy term, however that in itself is the very nature of what makes Amuri Area School great. The opportunities that are available keep our students connected to the world around them and the wider New Zealand community.

Nicole Peterson
Deputy Principal - Secondary School

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Strive Rewards

Roll of Honour

James Anngow
Paige Bailey
Avi Bhatt
Heider Carreon
Hannah Clegg
Eden Colebrook
Lucas Collins
Emily Colombus
William Cromie
Billy Jones
Tori Kelly
Issac Lamont
Ben Langford
Maria Lim
Molly McKenzie
Marley Miller
Noah Pemberton
Amelia Saric
Corey Scott
Miah Thomas
Ollie Thomas
Bob Thompson
Mackenna Williamson

First Merit
Ashleigh Clegg
Eden Colebrook
Eva Johns

Mac Langford
Maria Lim
Amelia Saric

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Alex Shaw competed in the Canterbury Secondary Schools mountainbiking champs at the Crocodile MTB Park in Halswell on Wednesday. He enjoyed the competition, placing 14th in the Under 15 Boys.

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SQUASH COACHING AND GAMES
Squash coaching will resume in Term 2 lunch times. It is available for pupils Year 5 and upwards. If you are interested in coaching, please turn up on the first Thursday of the term (May 2nd) and we will sort groups. We will determine what day you will be coached once we have put you in a group. If you are unable to attend on a Thursday, please let Sara know on 0275379785.

We will also be running a 4-6 week squash competition/friendly games on Wednesday after school, from 3.15pm. This will be available to those that can rally the ball.

If you are interested in playing after school, please let Sara know. You can text Sara on 0275379785 or tell us at the first training. This will start mid May.

If you are interested in becoming a junior member of the club (not necessary for coaching), please get in contact. Junior membership is $20. 

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Congratulations to these Year 7 swimmers that represented Amuri at the Canterbury Primary Swimming Champs at the Selwyn Aquatic Centre on Wednesday 27th March.

Ellie Thompson - 50m Backstroke 28th
Emily Colombus - 50m Breaststroke - 11th and Open 100m Individual Medley - 22nd
Paige Jopp - 100m Open Freestyle - 12th
Jake Van Der Heyden - 50m Freestyle - 19th

Paige and Emily also swam for Cheviot in the Yr 7 Girls 200m Freestyle Relay coming 2nd!