We have had a very busy term at Queenspark Te Hua Mānuka!

Kia ora Whānau,

Here we are at the last day of term 3 and we can all reflect on another dynamic term filled to the brim with exciting learning for the children.  

As we go into the holidays, ask your children to reflect on one thing ( in or out of the classroom ) that they are particularly proud of in terms of their learning over this last term. Congratulate and "high five" him /her for this. It is important for the children to talk about the progress that they are making and for them to feel good about their learning improvements.  Success breeds success!

We are well aware of the many of the challenges and pressures our families are facing at this time.  Some of these pressures manifest in the children from time to time.  Please don't hesitate to come in and chat to us about these things as this puts us in a better position to support your children.  These discussions are always held in confidence and without judgement.  We value the open communication we have with our Mums and Dads.

Feedback from Koru Games :))))  How good !!!  Best part of the week !

This week we had 65 children from Yr 7/8 representing Queenspark Te Hua Mānuka at the Koru Games in Lincoln and Rolleston.  This event is run by the Selwyn Sports Trust and schools from all over the South Island are involved.  

This is the 10th year that the Koru Games have been running. This year saw over 3600 tamariki from 64 different schools attend the event held at various venues across the Selwyn District. This year Queenspark Te Hua Mānuka entered teams in Korfball, Volleyball, Ki O Rahi, Football and Hockey.  

2024 brought some outstanding results for our school with our Ki O Rahi team coming second overall (2 of our players Braith and Ani were named in the tournament team) and our Korfball and Hockey teams coming 3rd! 

We have been overwhelmed with positive feedback about our students from referees, coaches and teachers and students from other schools.  This included one of our students winning the title of the "most friendliest competitor".  These lovely stories were shared at morning tea today. A Principal from another school also made contact about the way our students showed sportsmanship throughout the games.

Occasions like this bring into sharp focus how our students conduct themselves alongside other students from other schools.  This is a real credit to the collective efforts of all of our teachers, the Queenspark Te Hua Mānuka values and expectations and parents supporting us with this.  This sort of feedback is "simply gold " for all of us.  We can all feel really proud of our students and our school.

Thank you to the PTA and the many QPS parents who have helped us for another term of tireless work in the way they support us at school.  These people give so much of their time and energy at a time when they are also being stretched far and wide with their own families.  Our staff really do appreciate all of this and together this is where we can make a real difference for our children.

Cricket Have a Go Sessions

In Week 8 we welcomed coaches from the Parklands United Sports Club to our school. These wonderful coaches offered our students ‘Have a Go’ sessions to introduce the sport of cricket.

Our tamariki enjoyed the opportunity to get outside and have a go at a new sport. A large number of our students already play cricket but if you are looking for a summer sport to get involved in then contact the Parkland United Sports Club.

Aquatics Lessons at Taiora QEII

Over the last 4 weeks of term we have had a number of Learning Teams attend Aquatic Lessons at Taiora QEII. The New Zealand Health and Physical Education Curriculum states that by the end of Year 6 all students have had the opportunity to learn basic aquatic skills.

At Queenspark Te Hua Mānuka students up to Year 6 are offered 10 Aquatic Skills lessons over a 2 week period each year. A highlight for them is the Pyjama Day and a chance to use life jackets and the inflatable raft. 

The Yr 6s have been taking part in swimming lessons also over the last 2 weeks. The children have enjoyed learning new swimming  and water safety skills. It has been 2 weeks full of learning and fun!

Nest+1 at Gymnastics

The Junior teams had 5 sessions at the School of Gymnastics and all loved it.

One of the highlights was going on a new bus with seat belts!!

Ki O'Rahi Tournament 

In Week 9 two teams of Year 6 students participated in a Ki O'Rahi tournament held at Cuthberts Green. The tournament was made up of 14 teams and was based on Māori values of Manaakitanga, Kotahitanga, and Rangatiratanga.

It was a great opportunity for our students to celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori. The students involved have really embraced the sport and spend many lunchtimes playing with Mr Tarr and developing the skills needed to play this exciting and fast game. It was also wonderful to see our ākonga step up to participate in the lunchtime ‘Haka off’.

This was completely student led and they represented our kura with mana and pride! 

Canterbury Winter Tournament 

In Week 7 of Term 3 seven teams from Queenspark Te Hua Mānuka represented the Eastern Zone at the Canterbury Primary Schools Winter Tournament.

This year Year 5/6 and Year 7/8 Netball, Year 5/6 and Year 7/8 Hockey, Year 5/6 and Year 7/8 Football and Year 5/6 Rugby made it through to the Canterbury competition. As always our athletes took up the challenge and represented our school with pride - demonstrating our Queenspark Te Hua Mānuka 3Rs of being Respectful, Responsible and Resolute. 

Canterbury Duathlon 

In week 8 we had 29 tamariki compete in the Primary Sport Canterbury Duathlon held out at Ruapuna Speedway. This was a fantastic event and a huge congratulations to everyone who participated. 

You represented the school with pride and showed the 3R’s with your effort and determination. This is an annual event and is open to all children from Yr 5-8.

Senior School Athletics (YR5-8)

A reminder that our Senior School Athletics will be held on October 16th  (Week 1 of Term 4).  This is a whole day event and parents are welcome to come along and support on the day. 

Children who are successful at our school athletics (Yr 5-8 only) will then compete at the Eastern Zones Athletics on November 5th at Rawhiti Domain.

Shining Lights @ Queenspark Te Hua Mānuka:

A busy term for Shining Lights, so much to celebrate, Strike Strum Blow, Rockquest Band, Musical Festival Rehearsal and Leap. 

We are very fortunate at Queenspark to have so many children interested in developing their music skills and many proficient music teachers in our area.  Music offers creativity, confidence, discipline and teamwork.  Music can be relaxing and integrates many skills from memory to emotional well-being and imagination. 

We offer group performances and individual lessons.  This takes commitment from the child and families to include this within daily life.  As the coordinator it is a pleasure to join the children in these events, to support them and see the development of these skills.  These groups have represented our school values of being resolute, being respectful and being responsible.  We call these our 3 R's! 

Thanks to all the adults and families who support your children.  

Regards, Karen

Avonside Girls High School - Pasifika Group visit:

At the end of this term we had a visit from the Avonside girls Pasifika Group. It was a real privilege to host these ladies at our school and watch them perform.

Pasifika - Tagata Mai Saute @ QPS

Our Queenspark Te Hua Mānuka Pasifika group has been meeting every Wednesday morning in preparation for Tagata Mai Saute Academy ‘Sau ia Mai - 24 Voyages’ performance.

This is the first time there has been a mass choir from a large number of Secondary, Intermediate and Primary Schools performing Pasifika songs in Christchurch. The performance is taking place on Wednesday 13th of November at the Christchurch Town Hall.

Our students have been learning songs and movement from across the Pacific Islands including Rarotonga, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Aotearoa - New Zealand. Our instructors Noah and Albany have been super impressed with the way our students have been stepping up and committing themselves to learning this new kaupapa!

Tournament of Minds:

On Saturday the 21st a group of Year 7&8 girls went up to Wellington for TOM Nationals. We had a delayed flight and everyone was extremely tired from the early wake up, but eventually we managed to arrive in Wellington safely.

We hopped into a rental van and drove to the TOM competition which was held in a humongous university (University of Victoria). The volunteers escorted us down a skinny flight of stairs into a spacious room. They then gave us a challenge of demonstrating how to fix or cope with three emotions, (ex: anger, jealousy, sadness), and just like that we got to work creating a story of our three emotions and how we would fix them. 

Three hours later we were finished with our story and were waiting to perform. The volunteers led us into an auditorium where we were going to perform. Unluckily we were first and were quickly rushed to set up our play. We tried our hardest to remember our lines in such short notice, we accidentally skipped a few scenes and I even forgot my entire song! We got to the end and finished with a smile.

After the performances we headed back to the airport where we got dinner and chilled until our flight back home. We finally arrived back home to our beloved Christchurch where we all hurried to see our parents and go home.

NB: The TOM team did an amazing job and placed 2nd overall in the Arts Division. We are super proud of them.

Wacky Hair & Non Uniform Day:

Thank you to everyone who supported our Tournament of Minds Team get to the Nationals in Wellington. Their were some very creative wacky hairdos arriving through the gates and lots of fun was had throughout the classrooms.

Developmental Skills:

Some good reading to help you children:

Here is a link that shows 5 Mental Skills to Develop in our young children which can help with their productivity and confidence.

https://mybtoys.com/blog/5-mental-skills-to-develop-in-kids/

NZ National Cross Country: 

In Week 10 of term 3 we had two students represent Canterbury at the Regional Cross Country Champs in Wellington.  They both performed incredibly well in a field of runners from all over New Zealand.

Alex Wales ran in the Yr 7 boys race and Libby Overend ran in the Yr 8 girls race.

Libby placed 3rd overall and was the first Canterbury athlete to cross the line. This is a fantastic result and we are incredibly proud of these achievements. 🙌

The staff and children are looking forward to a well earned break over this holiday period.  We  hope that you will be able to have some quality time with your children over this period and we look forward to the children sharing their stories when we resume next term.

Ka kite ano

Regards

Ross Willocks

Principal

Queenspark Te Hua Mānuka