Kia ora koutou katoa. One of the hallmarks of a good school is to always be reflective and open to change. We have been reflecting on recent information from other schools that a change to their lunchtime routine has been beneficial to student learning, relationships and lunch eating. Research shows that Play, Eat, Learn enhances the ability to focus and concentrate, improving the quality of learning as well as lifting the well-being of students (Kathleen Liberty, University of Canterbury). Currently, our students eat their lunch first, then go off to play. Some students race through their food so they have more time to play, or don’t eat much at all. When they come in after the playing, they need time to settle ready for learning. The new Play, Eat, Learn model is that the children go straight to play at the beginning of lunch and then all sit down and eat their lunch before going into class.

From next Monday we are going to trial this change until the end of this term, then decide whether to continue with this or not. The new routine will be:

12.30pm Out to play

1.15pm End of play, children eat their lunch

1.30pm Afternoon learning begins

The juniors may include another brain break in the day but will let parents know. If you have any feedback during this trial, please let the classroom teacher know.

We are so lucky to be part of such a caring and generous community. This morning the staff were treated to a surprise donation of cupcakes from Delish that were bought for us by an anonymous school family. The card read, " Happy Support Staff Week to all at Milford School from a grateful family." To whoever you are, thank you from us all. They certainly were enjoyed!

Today I have had the privilege of having two students with me all day as mini- principals.  At the school fair last year, Chloe and Alex Macleod's parents won the bid on the silent auction for their children to be Principal for the day. Today is that day, and they have visited classrooms, given out stickers and learned more about the running of a school. They have been a delight to have with me and in the words of Chloe, "my job is really fun".

Last Friday saw 500 teachers from the schools in our Kahui Ako meet for a day of professional learning. It was a great day, with many interesting workshops and the two fabulous keynote speakers – Dr Judith Locke and Dr Tony Fernando. Thank you for supporting this teacher-only day. If you want to know more about what our Kahui-Ako is working towards, please check out the website.

This afternoon is a whole-school assembly and will be led by the Year 1 team. All parents and whanau are warmly invited, it will be a lovely assembly. It is at 2.15pm in the school hall.

Ngā manaakitanga

Sue Cattell

Principal