Newsletter - WE 02/12/2022

Kia ora e te whānau 

This will be our last newsletter for the year and it’s amazing how quickly this term has gone by. The last few weeks have been full of activities, events and undertakings. I enjoyed visiting the Year 10 camp, spending time with one of the groups on the High Ropes course. It was awesome to see them problem solving and working together to get their group to the top of the ladder. I know that experiences like this provide an authentic learning context and in particular for many of the soft skills that students need in the work force or further study. 

Staff enjoyed two very valuable Teacher Only Days last Friday and Monday, where we were able to collaborate with and visit other schools to work on a variety of initiatives. 

In this newsletter you will be reading about a number of successes that our students have recently had at various events. In particular, I want to mention two outstanding achievements: 

Bella Godfrey-Grant was selected for the Special Choir at the recent Canterbury Primary School’s Music Festival. Well done Bella, what an awesome accomplishment .

Our Year 8 Girls’ relay team came 2nd at the Zone Athletics Champs – Ka rawe! 

I enjoyed popping along to the Kapa Haka celebration last night to hear the group perform and to acknowledge the participation of the students. They performed with mana to the gathered crowd. I wish to extend my thanks to Denise Johnson, Phoebe Sopp and Eve Reihana for their commitment to the group. 

As we come to the end of the year, we are planning a range of different activities. Please take careful note of the arrangements for the different events at your children’s year levels. I hope that those from Rooms 1 & 2 enjoy their planned sleepover next Friday! 

Please also note the details for Prizegiving to be held on Tuesday the 13th December. We ask parents to be seated by 10:45am ready for an 11:00am start. It will be good to note as well that our first day of 2023 is Wednesday 1st February for Years 1-8 with school leaders and Thursday 2nd of February for Years 9-13. 

On Tuesday we were sad to say goodbye to Dorz Jansen who has worked in our school office for the past three years. We are sad to see Dorz go but are excited for her in her new role with Fire and Emergency NZ.

Finally, I would like to wish everybody in the school community a very happy Christmas as well as a safe and enjoyable holiday break. 

Kia Kitea Toikaka 

Matt Barlow
Principal

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Thank you to farmers who nominated Amuri Area School for Affco Cash For Schools’ Programme and ANZCO Sponsor A School Donation. The School has received donations totalling $3,576.30

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Primary School News

Kia ora Parents and Whanau

It’s hard to believe we have come to the end of another school year. And what a year! We had no notion of just how fluid and flexible we had to become with our students whilst we combatted multiple absences of both students and staff, numerous government and Ministry of Education regulations and guidelines, cancellations for events in and out of school and to top it all off, three principals! I need to thank the teaching team in Year 1-8 who have battled through the ups and downs of 2022 and kept the business of teaching and learning the main thing here at school. 

Miss Sopp accompanied our Canterbury Primary Schools Athletics qualifiers down to Nga Puna Wai yesterday. Congratulations to all our team members who all did their best at a high-level competition. We know you represented Amuri Area School with pride.

Today our Year 6 students have their leaver’s assembly in the Community Room at 2pm sharp. Miss Garthwaite and her students have been preparing for this occasion and we are looking forward to their recollections of their time here on the Primary side. I’d like to wish them all the best for the move over to Tapuae-o-Uenuku (Year 7/8) in 2023 and watching them further their schooling.

On Monday we have our transition day for all Year 1-9 students. Year 7/8/9 students in 2023 will be moving to their new classrooms at 11.30am after a welcome for new students from our Kapa Haka group. Year 1-6 will find out who their class teacher for 2023 will be at 2pm and they will all spend an hour in their new class with their new classmates. Our teaching team has spent quite a bit of time considering what is best for each student and their learning and social attributes and they will all tell you that is a difficult job, considering the number of students that we have.

In amongst the last full week of school next week, we have swimming when it’s hot (and when the pool pump is back up and running) prizegiving rehearsals and a visiting performer for Years 1-6 next Friday afternoon. The following Monday the 12th, it’s Big Day In for Year 1-6 and Big Day Out for Year 7/8. And then Tuesday the 13th we have our end of year prizegiving. We are looking forward to welcoming parents, community members and supporters of the school back into the Gym from 10.45am. It seems like a long time ago we last could gather to celebrate and it’s always a much anticipated event in our school calendar. We look forward to seeing you there.

While we haven’t seen as much of parents, whānau, community members and supporters as we would have liked this year, we would like to thank those of you who have supported us from afar. It is our goal to re-establish these connections and develop them further in 2023.

Pai ki a koutou hararei.

Kylee Habgood
Deputy Principal - Primary

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Dates for Your Diary

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!

January ‘23
23rd School Office opens
1st Year 1-8 students and School Leaders return
2nd All students return

February
6th Waitangi Day - SCHOOL CLOSED

April
6th End of Term 1

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Roll of Honour
Noah Bartlett
Elizabeth De Beer
Ben Langford
Ella Lauder
Ryley Lauder
Bonnie MacDonald
Kieran Palmer
Marco Yukich 

1st Merit
Baylea Black
Paige Brogden
Olivia Brogden
Katy Burgess
Milah Campion
Dan Dowdy
Stella Dwyer
Kees Flapper
Beau Glassey
Jazmin Goodman-Lloyd
Alysha Hepi-Te Huia
Frankie Jones
Holly Jones
Ben Langford
Ella Lauder
Owen Lewis
Bonnie MacDonald
Arlie Marris
Molly McKenzie
Andre Morallos
Rommie Murie
Chloe Parmar
Louie Rutherford
Emma Schroder-Brown
Hannah Sharplin
Fil John Fuela
Bailey Taylor
Shyan TeWao

2nd Merit
Zoe Bailey
Julia Black
Jennifer Bratschi
Nicolas Bratschi
Jade Butters
Lizzy Cate
Max Cater
Annabelle Cundy
Bianca Dela Vega
George Flintoft
Lilly Frame
Heath Habgood
Zara Hamilton
Isaac Kelly
Archie McDonald
Honor McKenzie
Lily Neppelenbroek
Sophie Ockwell
Charlene Paragas
Finn Parmar
Mark Privaldos
Van Samera
Bob Thompson
James Van Arendonk
Riley Van der Heyden
Lucy Whittleston
Jak Wilson
Layla Yukich

3rd MERIT
ALEX SHAW

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This Week ....

Rakahuri Bike Blast competitors who competed on Monday 28th November in Rangiora. Well done Alex and Emily, Blake and Max, Archie and Sam. It was an awesomely muddy course!!

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Congratulations to all 24 students who participated at the Canterbury Primary Schools Athletics yesterday at Nga Puna Wai. All participants were amazing, demonstrating the Amuri values and giving it their all!

A special mention to the following students:

Charlene Paragas - 8th in the 80m sprint
Lily Neppelenbroek - 13th in the 1200m
Charlotte Snowling - 12th High Jump, 17th Long Jump, 2nd Shotput
Ruby Glassey - 4th in the 60m sprint, 6th in Long Jump
Sophie Ockwell - 8th in High Jump
Jake Van der Heyden - 6th in the 80m sprint, 25th in the Long Distance, 30th in Long Jump
Charlie Smith - 22nd in Shotput
Owen Lewis - 3rd in the 100m sprint, 4th in High Jump, 13th in Discus
Van Samera - 21st in Long Jump
Yr 8 girls relay - 2nd!

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The Kapa Haka had a prize giving and whanau picnic at the Culverden Domain. There was a great performance, handing out certificates and delicious kai.

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Miss Sopp organised Girls Got Game basketball with Milly from North Canterbury Basketball over two weeks. Great skills!!

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SPCA Kids - Repurposed Art Competition

“As you can imagine, there were a lot of students from all over the country who entered the competition. Choosing the winners was a very tough decision, so I would like to congratulate the creators of Nellie the pig for winning the runner-up place in our Senior Category!

Their artwork is now featured on the front page of the Nov ‘22 issue of Kind Matters AND we will be mailing them a super cool surprise prize.”