Dear Parents/Whanau

Thank you for your support for Laura grant, Duncan and family after the tragic loss of son Josh. Josh was a pupil at Redwood School ten years ago. Already at age nine or ten his quirky humour and lateral thinking were very evident before he moved on to Casebrook! As a school we have appreciated your kind thoughts and the tangible help you have given to Laura and family.

Redwood School Arts Extravaganza and Auction… Thursday 8 November

Yes, an Arts Extravaganza and Auction… visual arts and music… a night not to miss. But, wait, there’s more… an amazing ART AUCTION. Yes, your chance to purchase a masterpiece produced by local artists, parents artists, teachers artists and limited prints! Amongst the items will be folk art, hand craft, paintings, sculpture… the one and only TinMan will provide an original work for auction. Our thanks to local real estate agents, Harcourts, as auctioneers on the night.

A night not to be missed:

The Redwood School Arts Extravaganza and Auction

From 7pm Thursday 8 November

Get fully involved… make an art or craft work for auction… If you are willing to add to the fun by making your own or donating an artwork for auction, please email me asap (principal@redwoodprimary.school.nz).

Allyce Muir, Kate Norman and I are working together to produce a great event.

Kapahaka Performance… Cultural Festival

Our hard-working Kapahaka group will be performing at the Horncastle Arena on Monday 3 September as part of the massive event the Christchurch Primary Schools’ Cultural Festival. They have been practicing for months now and we will be able to see them on stage. If you want to attend the performance you can purchase tickets through ticketek.

Drive carefully: road works outside the school:

Please DO NOT use the school car park for drop-off or pick-up. Pedestrians and car park don’t mix well. We have had recent near misses with children and it is a great concern!

Also, the road works on Prestons Road do create issues regarding dropping off and picking up of children. It means we have to be even more careful and considerate of others. With reduced parking children may have to walk a little further to the school gate. Please leave home a little earlier so that you can park a little further from school and still have your child at school on time. Again I have witnessed ‘near misses’ in recent days when drivers have been impatient, doing ‘U’ turns outside the school and parking illegally.

The school can also be accessed via the end of Freebairn Street, Pyatt Place and Solomon Avenue. You may wish to use these entrance points instead of Prestons Road.

School redevelopment meetings:

Thank you to those who attended our meeting last week, a small but thoughtful group. Also we met with whanau of some of our learning needs children Monday evening. Next week Thursday at 7pm, we will meet in the staff room to chat about the bicultural nature of our school. Feedback about the school redevelopment has been positive. Look out for more opportunities ahead to meet re the school’s redevelopment process.

Bed time and digital devices

It is becoming more apparent that a significant section of our tamariki suffer from lack of sleep. Some go to bed too late, others use digital devices in their rooms. This is not a good combination. Sleep deprivation equates to poor concentration, lack of emotional/behavioural control, anxiety and impedes learning.

Please ensure your tamariki go to bed at a good hour and that they don’t have access to digital devices through the night.

John Stackhouse

Tumuaki/Principal