Tēnā koutou katoa. Tēnei te mihi atu ki a koutou

We have had a fabulous last couple of weeks at Halswell School with a large number of events and activities taking place including; Book Week, Lincoln Athletics Zones, Christchurch Schools' Music Festival, swimming lessons, specialist golf and cricket coaching sessions and a mihi whakatau to welcome all of the new students and whanau who have started this term.   

A real highlight for our school was the Maths Opening Evening that was held last Wednesday evening. Thank you to the  200+  parents that came along to observe maths lessons in practice and hear from Sarah Cobb from the University of Canterbury about what research tells us makes the biggest difference for our maths learners. 

One of the key ideas we are wanting our students to understand, not only in maths but in all areas of the curriculum, is that taking risks and making mistakes actually grows our brains. Recent developments in neuroscience have proven this to be true.  Professor Jo Boaler from Stanford University has written a great article entitled:   "Why Struggle is Essential for the Brain and Our Lives" that explains this in more detail and makes specific mention about how this relates to children learning mathematics. I would encourage you to have a read of this rather thought-provoking article. 

It is hard to believe that we are almost halfway through the last term.  As we begin to turn our attention towards the end of the school year, the Board of Trustees would like to invite all parents and caregivers who have supported the school in 2019 to a special Parent Helpers' Afternoon Tea at 3pm on Thursday 5 December in the Stadium. This invitation is open to anyone who has contributed to the school eg helping out on schools trips, in learning centres, on camps, coaching sports teams and of course, our wonderful PTA. . 

To help with catering numbers, we ask that people RSVP to this invitation by completing the following Google Form or emailing admin@halswell.school.nz directly with the number(s) attending and any dietary requirements you might have by 3pm on Friday 29 November please.

Speaking of end of year events, we would also like to warmly invite all interested parents along to our end of year Prize Giving at 7pm on Tuesday 17 December. More information will follow. Lastly, please remember that the school year will officially end at 12.30pm on Thursday 19 December. Please make arrangements for your child to be collected at this time as we will not be in a position to supervise them beyond this time. 

Thank you for your ongoing support. Have a great long weekend.

Stuart Cameron

Principal