Last week our school participated in Maths Week. This allowed our students the opportunity to engage in maths a little more than normal and participate in some fun problem solving challenges. Some of the challenges involved murder mysteries, deciphering secret codes and learning to count in different languages.

At the close of nominations, the number of valid nominations was equal to the number of vacancies required to be filled. Congratulations to our newly elected Board members: Claire Coleman, Kathryn Duggan, Brent Freeman, Sumaiya Khan and Jason Tuck.

With our new Board of Trustees now elected, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the outgoing Board members for their service to our school.

We have two Professional Development Days scheduled for this term. The first of these is this coming Friday, 19th August and the second is on Monday, 19th September. School will be closed for instruction on these two days with only school staff on site.

Yesterday morning the teaching staff and children from Rooms 1,2, 4, 5 and 6 went to Hillcrest High School to watch a series of short plays written and performed by the drama students. Each play had a message for the children in it, such as: be kind, don’t litter and be honest.

The children in Room 3 have been exploring our Waikato awa (river). We were inspired by some aerial shots of river systems and recreated our own artwork using pastels and water colours. We understand the water can carve the land, move sediment and change our landscape.

Students in Room 18 have been learning how to play Volleyball with Alex from Sport Waikato. They are learning how to set, spike and dig. When passing the ball over the net Alex reminds us to make chicken wings with our arms, a diamond shape with our hands and to hold the ball above our eyebrows.

A fun time to practise our language and learn more about the New Zealand Culture.

On Thursday, 11th August the Senior School was invited to visit Hillcrest High School where their Level 1 Sports Studies Students lead our students through a variety of team building active challenges. It was amazing to see lots of our past students leading these events and to see what amazing young adults they have become.

Kia ora e te whānau ō Silverdale! Our new kīwaha is "Haere Tonu" - Keep going

The students in Room 10 have been exploring the elements of art. They created interesting self portraits by blending pastels.

To Tuimathew who was our player of the day in Game 1 of Term 3

We are planning on holding our school Cross Country on Friday, 2nd September and we are super excited to be able to have parents back to support our tamariki. All children are recommended to wear sports shoes when running. Everyone is training hard for the event. See the timetable below.

We would like to thank you all for supporting our Basketball team by buying Friday morning milos - such a special treat, especially on these cold mornings. We would also like to thank Julie Wisely for her coaching of our basketball teams and for running this initiative. From the funds raised on Milo Fridays, she is able to purchase additional uniforms and support some of our players to participate in the sport they enjoy.

Please help us to keep our students and visitors safe by checking in at the Office when you come into the school during the school day. In the event of an emergency, we need to know exactly who is onsite at any one time to ensure we know that everyone is safe and accounted for.

There is a lot of sickness in the community at the moment. We ask that you please keep your child at home if he or she is not well. Please contact the school on a daily basis before 9.00am if your child is unwell so that we know he or she is home safe with you. Children need to stay home from school for 48 hours after the last time they vomit or have diarrhoea. It is important too, to check for Covid if your child is ill.

We always welcome new members - we’d love to see some new faces at our meetings. If you can’t commit to meetings but would like to help out at events, please let us know. We especially need parents who can help out during the day occasionally, and with events like sausage sizzles, end of term lunches, putting together fundraising orders, donation collections, selling ice blocks on a Friday afternoon and helping at our disco stalls.

Our next ballot will be held on Monday, 5th September. Deadline for receipt of applications is Friday, 2nd September, 2022. Do you know any families that are looking to enrol their children at Silverdale soon?

With more wet weather forecast this coming week it is more important than ever that you please ensure you have a change of clothing packed in your child's school bag each day.

Please remember to keep collecting the stickers from Yummy Apples and cut-outs from 1.5kg bags of Yummy Apples for our school's share of sports gear worth $200,00. The promotion runs through until the end of Term 3.

We are thrilled to bring Witi Ihimaera’s classic story The Whale Rider back to the stage in a children’s theatre show unmatched. This beautifully rich story of whānau and tikanga is masterfully translated into a live performance that will absorb the viewer, from start to end.

To celebrate the endless amount of FUN you will have at your fingertips with an Entertainment Membership, Entertainment is giving one lucky winner the chance to WIN $10,000 in CASH! Or 1 of 20 $1,000 eGift Cards to spend at an Entertainment provider of your choice. To enter the competition, all you have to do is purchase a 12+ month Entertainment Membership and you’ll automatically receive 50 entries into the draw! That’s 50 chances to turn your dreams into reality!