Kia ora whanau. We wish all the children an enjoyable holiday break. This term has been action-packed and gone by so quickly. We look forward to seeing everyone back on Monday 9th October. Please remember to bring your school sunhats back after the holidays as we wear hats daily in Term 1 and 4.

Our Hampstead Yellow Stars at Canterbury zone Winter Tournament: We were very proud of our Netball team competing at the Canterbury zone Winter Tournament in Christchurch last week.  They certainly did us proud.  Thank you to Mrs Coulter and Mrs Trott for supporting the team. 

Senior Science Fair: Our Senior extension group worked hard with Mrs Ross to enter the Kahui Science Fair.  The exhibits were outstanding and lots of research and effort went into presenting them to a high standard.  Special mention goes to these superstars, gaining placings in the team and individual categories. Pakipaki mai to you all!

Team Category:
1st: Chini & Lucas
2nd: Paige & Anna
3rd: Kaylee & Khyro
Individual Category:
2nd: Nadine

Senior Swim Weeks: Year 5 and 6 children completed their second week of swimming lessons last week.  It was incredible to see the progress they all made in this time.  Our school pool will open again for lessons at the beginning of Term 1 for all children.

Athletics Day: Unfortunately, we had to postpone our School Athletics to Wednesday 18 October due to strong winds. 

New Basketball Hoop: We are incredibly thankful to Basketball NZ, who donated and installed a new Basketball hoop for our school and community to use.  The team from Basketball NZ will be visiting our school on 16 October to officially launch the hoop and teach the children a few skills as well. Special thanks to Anna Holland from Sport Canterbury for nominating our school for this amazing opportunity.

Duffy Books: The children each received two new Duffy books last Friday to add to their home library.  We are very fortunate to be part of the Duffy Books in Schools scheme. 

Health Consultation Evening: Every two years, we teach our Sexuality unit as part of the Health and Physical Education curriculum.  We use a resource called "Navigating the Journey" and this especially helps prepare our senior students for changes coming up for them as they approach pubertal change.  We invite you to come along to the school library on Tuesday 10 October from 7pm.  There will be a presentation of the resource and its contents and Public Health Nurse (and Hampstead parent) Dee Wheeler will support us on the night also.  If you are unable to make the evening, but would still like to view the resource, you can ring the office to make a time. 

Parent Teacher Association (PTA): We invite any parents and caregivers to come along to Rm 17 on Wednesday 11 Oct and Wednesday 15 November (Week 1 & 6) at 3:30pm to meet with other parents interested in supporting the school in a range of ways.  Children are welcome and can play throughout the meeting. 

Election Polling site: Hampstead School Hall will be a polling site for the General Election on Saturday 14 October. If you are interested in being an election officer, you can express your interest before 30 September by following this link: https://work.elections.nz/work-at-general-elections

Do you know anyone turning 5? To help with our planning and staffing, we'd love to know if any children living within our enrolment zone are turning 5 in the next year. If they haven't already pre-enrolled, please encourage them to get in touch. Here is a link to our enrolment zone: https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/find-school/school/profile?school=3367

Students of the Week: Last week we celebrated Feleti of Rm 15. Feleti is a very polite and courteous member of Room 15. He always comes to school with a positive attitude, a smile and a willingness to learn. He quietly goes about his learning tasks with a calm and focused approach, completing his tasks on time and to a good standard. Feleti always uses his manners, consistently shows respect for his peers and to the staff and is a kind and considerate student. He takes great pride in what he does and his achievements and is a great role model for others to aspire to. With his friendly, positive and kind attitude he is an asset to our class and helps make Room 15 a wonderful place for everyone, everyday. This week we acknowledged Beaudy of Rm 17. Beaudy is a wonderful member of our school. He is kind and has a lot of fun with his friends making sure to include everyone he can. Nothing is a problem for this lovely boy. Beaudy thinks deeply about the world and makes amazing connections in his learning that develops his understanding. When he smiles he lights up the room!

Upcoming Dates:

Last Day Term 3: 22 September
First Day Term 4: 9 October
Health Consultation Evening: 10 October, 7pm in the library
Yr 4-6 Netball Training: 11 Oct- 1 Nov
PTA Meeting: 11 October, 3:30pm in Rm 17
Athletics Day: 18 October
Labour Day: 23 October
County Athletics: 3 November
Board of Trustees Meeting: 7 November, 6pm. 
PTA Meeting: 15 November, 3:30pm in Rm 17
Teacher Only Day: 16 November.  
Canterbury Anniversary Day: 17 November.

Kind Regards,

Claudine Campbell (Principal)