Thank you to those parents who gave us feedback on the newsletter format. We have taken your comments on board and have tweaked the layout for this newsletter. All the key information is in this single article so that you do not need to click into other pages, however we have linked several other articles which will be of interest to some families. Please let us know your thoughts!

My next “Coffee with the Principal” morning for parents will take place on Wednesday 10th June from 9 – 9.30am in Take 5. This will be an informal opportunity for parents to meet with me for a coffee and a chat. Please join me if you are able.

Reporting and Feedback

Over the last few weeks (and in the weeks to come) you may have received emails updating you on your child(ren)'s learning. These emails include a link to your child's report as well as the teacher comment. This is part of our commitment to report on children's progress as we go, rather than at set times of the year, and will lead to much more authentic report comments. 

At times, teachers will share video, documents and images alongside their comments. Sometimes the work that they share will include mistakes in grammar and spelling. This is an important part of the learning progress and is there to show where the gaps are and next steps for the learner. Giving children feedback on their errors is really important and the teachers have been working hard on refining processes for this. We believe that to be effective, feedback should be Kind, Specific and Helpful. To help you when reading your child(ren)'s  work we have put together a document of feedback guidelines designed to help teachers, students and parents. 

Next week I will be attending the excellent EduTech Conference in Brisbane which is a wonderful opportunity for me to meet and listen to some of the leaders in global thinking in education.

Enjoy the long weekend!

Paul

Pool Rebuild Update

The Pool Thermometer is going up. We have now raised $303,000 for the rebuild. Thank you to all those who came to Ali Harper's Legendary Diva's performance. It was an excellent night. Thank you Ali! Thank you also to Foodstuffs South Island Community Trust. This Trust has awarded the rebuild a grant for $10,000. Please keep the donations coming. No amount is too big or too small. http://givealittle.co.nz/org/fendschool

Follow the rebuild on facebook https://www.facebook.com/fospool

The Great Fendalton School Raffle 

 Our next pool fundraiser is a giant raffle of 20 prizes to be drawn in the last week of term.

We ask all children to bring one item to contribute to the hamper in their class. Each class has been given a theme and your class liaison will let you know what it is and where to leave your items.

We ask you to bring your item in the next two weeks. A reminder, please no alcohol, perishables or used items. 

In week nine every child will be given a book of 10 x $2 raffle tickets to sell. You will have two weeks to sell the tickets.

There will be extra tickets available for those families who can sell more to friends, family, neighbours and workmates. For those families with two or three children at school we know this is a big ask and we thank you very much for your effort. 

There will be prizes for the class which creates the best hamper and the class which sells the most tickets. Good luck!

Team Social Evenings

Our social evenings are still happening. Parents find this to be a great opportunity to have a get-together for a vino at Misceos. The next evenings from 7-9pm are as follows:

Tuesday 2nd June - Year Five

Tuesday 9th June - Year Six

PTA Uniform Sale

The next PTA uniform sale will be held this Friday 29th May  in Take 5 between 8.30 – 9.15am.

The next PTA meeting is Tuesday 2nd June at 7pm in the staffroom. We would love anyone/everyone to come along!

Future Problem Solving

Congratulations to the following children from the Year 6 Future Problem Solving teams who gained certificates in their recent booklets about "The Impact of Social Media". These two teams gained 2 of the 4 certificates given to teams in their division throughout NZ. They are: Natalie H, Eric H, Abby R, Corin S, Jack P, Mac C and Georgiana H.

Lucky Book Club

Lucky Book Club closes on Friday 12th June. Please label your child's order and place in the drop box in the office foyer. I have noticed a number of orders being placed without a child's name or room number. It is hard to track down the owners of such orders. Many thanks, Desna.

HELP-Engineering/Welding Skills Needed

Do we have anyone within our school community who has the ability to help us with a small steel welding job? Our four volleyball net posts have two small loops on one side of the post to attach a volleyball net to, and we would like two small loops to be welded to the other side to enable two volleyball nets to be attached at one time. 

If you think you are the man or woman for the job, or you know the man or woman for the job, your help would be greatly appreciated. Could you please contact Caroline Inkson on 021 1288976 to discuss the details.

We would like to acknowledge and thank the NZ Community Trust for the grant which has allowed us to purchase some amazing sports equipment for the school. We have already received the new high jump stands and volley ball nets and are looking forward to the arrival of some new high jump pads with trolley and a pair of football goals. It will be great to see the children making good use of this equipment over the next few terms.

Upcoming Events:

May

29 - PTA Uniform Sale in Take5, 8.30 - 9.15am

June

1 - Queen's Birthday (school closed)

2 - PTA Meeting in the staffroom @7pm

3 - ICAS Science exam

5 - Whole school assembly - Teams 4 and 7, starting 10am in the hall

9 - North West Festival Year 5 and 6 choir evening performance

10 - Coffee with the Principal in Take5 @ 9am

10 - Primary Cross Country Champs @Halswell Quarry 9am-1pm

11 - Newsletter Day

16 - ICAS Spelling exam

18 - ICAS Writing exam

18 - PTA Quiz Evening fundraiser

19 - Whole school assembly - Teams 6 and 9, starting 10am in the hall

22 - BOT Meeting 7pm in the staffroom

25 - Newsletter Day

26 - Jack Flash and the Jumping Beanstalk performance for Juniors @2pm

July

3 - Whole school assembly - Teams 10 and 20, starting 10am in the hall

3 - Last day of term 3