Kia ora e te whānau, I trust that you have all had a lovely weekend. It looks like we are in for a week of more challenging weather. Gumboots, beanies, gloves and jackets may well be the necessary items for this week.

We have another busy week coming up with plenty for the children to look forward to. There is some more information on sponsors for Gardens of Fernside as well as some important information for parents of our Year 8 pupils who are heading to Rangiora High School in 2023.

Kia pai tō koutou wiki - Have a great week.

Darryn Ward

Gardens of Fernside

We are grateful to confirm Styx Landscaping and Property Care are returning as our Gold Sponsor.  

Garden sponsors returning from 2020 are:

• North Canterbury Books
• SRB Law
• Feather & Oak
• Mike Pero 

We appreciate their continued support to Fernside School!

Our final Garden Sponsor was confirmed last week. Thank you AFB Painting for coming onboard!

We are still looking for Community Sponsors to support the Fernside School Garden for the event. 

Please see the details below and get in touch if you would like to join the Community Sponsor team alongside:

• The Dermoscopy Centre
• Rivertown Automotive
• Rangiora Vet Centre.

$150 Fernside School Garden ' Community Sponsors'  - Mulitiple available

Community Sponsors for the Fernside School Garden will receive the following:

• On the day of the event at Fernside School, a large sign will be displayed acknowledging all Fernside School 'Community Sponsors'
• Business logos will be displayed on the sign
• The businesses will be promoted once on social media as a Fernside School Garden Community Sponsor

Please email julia.husband@icloud.com if you would like to be a community sponsor for the Fernside School Garden

Gardens of Fernside 2022 committee appreciates the Fernside School community support to help create this amazing fundraising event.

Gymnastics

Our students have been loving the opportunity to attend the Gymnastics sessions that are being held at the ICE Trampoline and Tumbling arena in Rangiora. We are extremely fortunate to have so many wonderful sporting facilities in Rangiora  - this is certainly one of them. 

There are a lot of benefits that can come from children working on fundamental movement skills and learning to balance, roll and jump. 

I popped along last week to one of the sessions and saw first hand just how much fun they were having. I could see that they were all keen to give the different activities a go. 

I was certainly impressed at the fact that the Gymnastics School now has their own bus. This certainly makes it easier when trying to get to and from the arena. I believe the bus driver wears two hats -one as the driver and one as a coach. 

I have shared  3 of the images I was able to capture.

A trip to Mr Ward's office

One of the absolute privileges that comes with being the principal is the fact that I get visitors to my office each week from across the school. They come to see me to share their work with me. This is certainly something that I love as they are always proud of their efforts and willing to tell me all about them. 

Last week I had some junior children visit to share their very cool art work and then some seniors who came to show me their amazing 'old time' maps that they had made. These had been stained and burnt to make them look authentic. 

Ka mau te wehi! (What a great effort)

Shaun the sheep

It is not every day that you arrive at school and find that the first thing that greets you is a sheep, Shaun the sheep to be exact. 

Our children in Kiwakiwa Rua had a visit from Shaun the sheep care of Mrs Marsh on Friday. 

Shaun was very friendly and certainly proved to be very popular with the children. A very big thank you to Mrs Marsh for bringing him in.

Year 8 French

Our senior students are learning French this term. They are studying the culture and the language. 

Last Friday they spent the morning learning about the origin of French Toast and they had a go at making some for themselves. Yum!!

Mufti Day

Don't forget that next week the Fernside School Council is running an UGLY SWEATER mufti day. This is on Thursday 18th August (week 4).

If you are anything like me, I suspect that a trip to the op shop might be in order or perhaps a quick look in some cupboards at home. 

I am looking forward to seeing what people turn up with. I am sure we will be able to capture some great photos.

Your gold coin donation goes to The Red Cross Ukraine Appeal.

BOT Community Survey

Later on this week I will be sending out a special newsletter with a link to a Google Form Board of Trustees community survey. The Board would like to seek your feedback on what projects you feel our school should be looking at in the future that can enhance the physical and teaching / learning environments of our school.

This is only a short survey. Please do take a moment to fill it out when it arrives as we would love to hear your thoughts and ideas. The information gathered will be used in helping the Board of Trustees plan for the future.

Rangiora High School Info

Year 8  - Subject Selection Information Evening 23 August

It is time to start thinking about your subjects for 2023. To help with this we are running a Subject Selection Information evening for Year 8 students and their parents. This is on Tuesday 23 August from 6.30pm to 8.30pm in the School Hall. There will be the opportunity to ask questions and to talk to teachers about subjects that are being offered for 2023.

Before this evening it is a good idea to engage with the Year 9 Subject Selection Presentation. We will also run through this presentation on the subject selection evening.

The presentation can be found at: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1CG1u-m9oXmHT1jQCxH0HpiR_zSGdwBDoTEwY01SlOTM/edit#slide=id.p4

Details on how to complete subject selection online through SchoolPoint and login information will be emailed to you before the subject selection evening. 

The subject selection process must be completed by 30 August.

PB4L Fortnightly focus

Each fortnight we have a school assembly. It is at this point that we share what our PB4L focus is going to be for the next two weeks. 

For this next fortnight we are focusing on how we can take care of and show respect to our physical environment. We are extremely lucky to have so many amazing outdoor areas for the children. We have asked our children to try and find ways to help us protect our garden areas and to keep the area tidy. 

I am looking forward to watching how our children step up and find ways to demonstrate this weeks focus. 

Some dates for you

Winter Sports (Y5-8) -  August 12th

Canterbury Winter Tournament. -Thursday 15th September

ICAS writing / digital tech test - Week starting Aug 8th

ICAS English - Week starting Aug 15th

ICAS Science and spelling. - Week starting Aug 22nd

ICAS Maths - Week starting Aug 29th

North Canterbury Cantamaths - Aug 10th

School Mufti Day - UGLY SWEATER - Aug 18th

Mairehau High School Orchestra. - School Performance. - Sept 1st

Previous Notices

Winter colds / flus

As we head into the new term we are mindful of the fact that there are still a lot of bugs and colds / flus around. We would ask that if at any time your children are unwell that you please keep them at home. If children come to the office unwell we will make contact with the parents asking them to be collected. To help us with this, if your contact details or emergency details change at any time, please do let Sandi know in the office.

Sandi would also like to remind our parent community to please contact the school if your child is away. If you have emailed the teacher could you please ensure that you copy Sandi in as well. You can use the School App as well for notifying school absences.

Gardens of Fernside

Gardens of Fernside is on again this year!!! This is Fernside School’s largest fundraiser which is held every two years, and previous funds raised have gone into upgrading the school pool and building the new junior playground.

For those families who are new to the school, Gardens of Fernside encompasses a garden tour of 5 local gardens with ticketed entry, plus the school garden. Tickets for this year's garden tour will go on sale on 1st September and all families will be asked to try and sell 6 tickets.

It takes over 100 volunteers to run this event, so please mark the date in your diaries now, and keep up to date with the event on our Facebook page and through the school newsletter.

Sunday 20th November

10am – 4pm

Free Dental care for children

Free Dental Care for Children - including special information regarding Year 8 students

One of our Community Dental Service vans will be making a visit to your school soon.

Only the children who currently require a check-up will be seen at this visit. Please do not be concerned if your child is not called for a check-up this time.

The dental therapist will provide a regular check-up and preventative care which may include:

• Cleaning/Scaling (to remove plaque from teeth)
• Dental x-rays (to check for decay in teeth, or presence and position of teeth)
• Fluoride Varnish (painted on teeth to help prevent decay)
• Fissure Sealants (coating put on teeth to prevent decay) if required.

If your child requires any other dental care, they will bring home a ‘Care Plan’ which will explain what dental care and appointment times are required.

When you receive the ‘Care Plan’ please contact our Call Centre as soon as possible as you will need to arrange a time to bring your child to one of our Community Clinics for this dental care.

Please contact our Call Centre if you want further information on the Community Dental Service, to enrol your child or if you have any specific questions about your child’s dental care (a dental therapist will call you back)

Year 8 students: all year 8 students enrolled with the Community Dental Service are transferred from the Community Dental Service to a FREE private dentist from year 9 until their 18th birthday. To help with this transition please ensure you have informed your child of their family dentist (not orthodontist). This will enable us to transfer your child onto the correct dentist for year 9 onwards.

More information will be sent home after their Year 8 check-up. To contact our Call Centre: phone 0800 846 983 / email commdental@cdhb.health.nz