Kia ora koutou katoa. Well, what a week this has been! The change of alert levels was sudden but not totally unexpected with Covid-19 still rampant in many parts of the world. We are relatively protected from the scale of infection in NZ however we do need to remember it is still with us globally and will from time to time come into our community. What we can do, is react with calm and know that if we all stick to the rules we have a greater chance of returning to lower alert levels quicker.

Here are a few creative writing samples from room 21, reflecting on the recent lockdown.

Today, with the help of Year 6 kaiako Libby and Rebecca, we learned our first waiata as part of the Junior Kapa Haka Rōpū. We listened very well with our taringa and Mrs Middleton and Miss Brown were so impressed by how quickly we picked up new lyrics and movements.

Today - with the help of our guest teacher Monique Russell from Tread Lightly - we began our citizen science project to protect our local waterways. We completed the first empty of our LittaTrap (you might be able to spot it in the drain between the Y4 and Hive blocks). When we sorted the debris we noticed that most of the pollutants were organic matter. However this is actually still no good as the leaves can cause excess nutrients in the lake - not ideal for those who call it home! We look forward to giving you regular updates on this project throughout the year via our newsletter video entries which we will start next week!

새해 복 많이 받으세요 Saehae bog manh-i bad-euseyo. To celebrate Seollal (Korean New Year) on 12 February 2021, two Milford School families visited Room 10 and shared important aspects of their Korean culture with the class. This tied in with our Who We Are unit as we strive to learn more about each other and gain a deeper understanding of the special things that make up our identity.

If you would like your child to participate in netball this year, then you will need to register them for the 2021 season by Thursday 1 April. All players, exisiting and new, need to register. If your child played in 2020, then you will only need to update their details. Instructions for all of this is on the school website. Click on 'Our Learning', then 'Sport', then 'Netball.

You may remember that last year the school PTA had a rebranding and will now be known as FOMS - Friends of Milford School. The first meeting for 2021, and AGM, will be held Wednesday 3rd March at 7pm in the Staffroom. All parents are welcome to come along and find out more about the plans for 2021 and offer ideas and offer support if they would like. FOMS is not just about fundraising for school projects, but also about hosting fun events to bring the whole school community together.

I would like to remind all parents and members of our school community about the recycling options that we have at Milford School alongside our kerbside recycling bins.For many years we have been a part of the Terracycle Recycling Brigade.

The Waterbourne Beach festival (the country's largest watersport & beach festival) will be coming to Takapuna this year for the first time since its inception.

In 2020, we had some wonderful photos and stories of our students in situations where they were showing their amazing Learner Profile Attributes!

Despite the warm weather, we are seeking keen and experienced skiers to join the Milford ski team. The Milford School ski team competes annually in late August / early September at the North Island Primary School (NIPS) Champs at Mt. Ruapehu (except last year when Ruapehu programmes were disrupted).

See attached enrolment information for Skids before and after school programme, including their weekly activity plan for Term 1.

The club is seeking more junior members and are holding a "Give it a Try" evening next Thursday 25th Feb at the Milford Senior Citizens Hall, 141A Kitchener Road.

This is a great time to trial Pform.nz, bring friends and experience all the different genre of classes that we offer.

In an ever-changing and fast-paced, technology-addicted world, it can be difficult to guesstimate what skills our children need in order to prepare them for an uncertain future.

Classes will be held at St Paul's Anglican Church on Mondays from 3:15 to 4:45pm for yrs 0-4 and 3:15 to 4:15pm for yrs 4-6. Students registered will gather outside Room 14 by 3pm where our teachers will take them to the church for the classes. Parents will pick them up from the church after their session. See link below to enrol.

Get your kids excited about technology with these after school lessons or weekend sessions.

Guitar Lessons are available at school, with Dave Gatman from Musiqhub. If you would like to enrol your child to start Guitar Lessons, please contact Dave on 021 2221456 or dave.gatman@musiqhub.co.nz.

AFTER SCHOOL CLASSES 2021

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