Tēnā koutou e te Avonhead - Rakipaoa whānau

We hope everyone has managed to stay warm and dry over the last fortnight now that winter has really started to settle in. At Assembly on Monday, we discussed wearing suitable winter school uniform to ensure students are warm. I also shared with the tamariki our new soft shell jackets which are available for purchase from Mainland Uniforms. These will provide an extra layer of protection and warmth through winter. They also have a couple of high visibility reflector strips to make children more visible when travelling to and from school. Our new soft shell jackets are optional, so it is up to families to decide whether to purchase one or not.

Last week, 58 students took part in the NW Zone Cross Country at Jelly Park. All of our students ran well in the cold conditions and we had some great results. The following students finished in the top 3 places for their races with a total of 24 runners qualifying for the Canterbury Cross Country next week.

Momoka - first place in Y8 girls

Alyssa - first place in Y7 girls

Oliver - first place in Y5 boys

Camilla - second place in Y6 girls

Caleb - third place in Y8 boys

Priscilla - third place in Y8 girls

Franco - third place in Y5 boys

On Thursday last week, we held our first Musical Soiree for the year. We had a wonderful array of performances on show. We heard a number of pieces from the Orchestra, Chorale, the Junior choir, and the Rock Band as well as individual performances from students taking part in itinerant music lessons. A big thank you to the staff and itinerant teachers for all of the time and effort they put into taking Music and the Arts at Avonhead School.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, our top Year 5 and 6 and our top Year 7 and 8 chess players took part in the Canterbury Chess tournament at the Multicultural Recreation and Community Centre (the old Netball Centre at Hagley Park). Our teams played a number of games against other representatives from around Christchurch. Our Junior A team finished the day in 2nd place, which is a brilliant result, while our Intermediate team finished 3rd in their division. This means these teams have now qualified for the National chess tournament at Christchurch Boys' High School later in the year. Thank you to Darelle Busfield for all the energy and passion she puts into chess and to the parent helpers who took transport and assisted with supervision.

Today, we held our Fluro Friday event in support of St John New Zealand (Hato Hone St John). With the funds raised St. John will be able to purchase lifesaving equipment and build new ambulance stations around New Zealand. This initiative was driven by our wonderful Student Councillors and Vicki Lewis.

Next week we have a number of events taking place, so make sure these are jotted down in your diaries. On Wednesday 18 June, we have our Avonhead Ako afternoon running. Our classrooms will be open from 3.00pm to 4.00pm for students to share their learning from the first half of the year. On Thursday 19 June, we are holding our Cultural Concert in the school hall at 6.00pm.

In my message last week I shared that our boiler shed will be removed before the end of the term, however, with the difficulty of the demolition process this has now been moved to the first week of the school holidays instead.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend and go the Crusaders!

Ngā mihi nui

Micah Hocquard

Principal

"Piki ngātahi te tihi" - Growing Excellence Together