Mehemea kaaora he whakaitenga, ka mate te iwi: Without vision the people will perish. Kingi Tāwhiao

Welcome back to the fourth term. It was fabulous to be back on Monday and to see all the children refreshed and ready to start the term. The weather over the holiday break was very reflective of spring. We hope the children are rested and ready for another extremely busy term.

We would like to officially welcome Mrs Ange Larmer who is working in Homeroom 15 for the mornings to accommodate our New Entrant children, this position has been funded by the Board of Trustees.

We held the Middle Distance races in the last week of Term 3. We would like to thank and acknowledge all the families and friends who support the children for this event. We were so proud of the children and their efforts. The results of these Middle Distance races will be added to the athletics certificates this term. Congratulations to the children for their perseverance and determination during this event, this is a great example of our school values in action.

School Planning for 2019

As in all schools at this time of the year, there is a considerable amount of planning that begins for the school year ahead. If you know of any new entrant children in the community that are still yet to enrol for 2019 we would value hearing from them. Please encourage prospective families to contact the school on office@roydvale.school.nz or simply call the school office to speak to Sonia or Jo.

We are in the ‘throws’ of appointing our Team Leaders for 2019, this will then mean that we can then look at where the teachers are going to be placed for 2019. Once we have completed this we will be looking at the placement of the children. I ask that you trust the school in making the best possible decision for your child in terms of catering for their needs in 2019.

It is also important that if you have any new or additional information to share about your child/ren that may be helpful for your child’s education in 2019. If you could please ensure that this information is put in writing by Friday 26 October and delivered to the school office so this can be taken into consideration as we begin this work.

Mana Ake kaimahi

The ‘Waimairi-iri Community of Learning’ are part of the Mana Ake programme where Mana Ake Kaimahi (workers) who will be involved in supporting wellbeing and mental health across our schools. On Monday we met four of the five workers who are based across our community. We will keep you posted in terms of their links with Te Ara Maurea Roydvale School.

Touch

It’s great for the students and families as they enjoy the weekly touch competition at Nunweek Park. The Junior Summer Touch started this week. The children were very excited about getting started. We would like to thank Karen O for all the work in planning and organising these teams. Many thanks to our coaches and managers who take these teams. The player of the days for this week: Neve B, Alex C, Scott D, Elsie P and Henry R. Well done to these students for a great start.

Writers

At the end of last term I was fortunate to listen to some of the writing from the children in the Kererū team. Enjoy reading these two pieces of writing from Monty and Michaela.

Congratulations to Andrew

Last night Andrew took part in the speech finals at Breens Intermediate. Andrew came 2nd in the year 5 category for his speech on Drones. Congratulations to Andrew for your achievement.

Some important dates for your calendar:

Thursday 6 December

9:15am School Service assembly (two students from each Homeroom will receive a certificate for Living the Roydvale vision - parents of children receiving certificates will be notified by homeroom teachers)

Friday 7 December

Reports for Year 3-6 go home

Monday 10 December

5-7pm Christchurch City Big Band (carols and singing -weather permitting)

Wednesday 12 December

10-11am Year 6 Leavers Assembly.

Wednesday 12 December

Year 6 fun day (information to come home via the teachers for Year 6 students)

Thursday 13 December

11am Parent Helpers morning tea

Thursday 13 December

Meet the 2019 Homeroom teacher- children visit the teacher

Friday 14 December

Final Day 12 noon finish

Congratulations to Holly

Holly auditioned as an ‘child extra’ in the Royal NZ Ballet production of the ‘Nutcracker’ and was successful. She will be dancing in two of the Christchurch performances. Congratulations to Holly, this is an outstanding achievement.

Congratulations to Abby

During the school holidays Abby and her friends from the O’Neill school of Irish dancing travelled to Auckland to compete at the NZ National Championships. Abby placed third overall in the 8 years solo section and came away with a first place and two second places for her under 9 team sections.