We are halfway through Term 2 and already have lots to celebrate about what is happening at school. There was the wonderful Assembly last Friday where we celebrated Arbor day, the band performed so well; and our children sang with heart and passion. We were fortunate to have an absolutely stunning, warm day. A special thanks to Dean our school caretaker for organising the plants and overseeing the planting and also to our special guests who participated. We should all feel very proud of taking care of our environment.

Cross Country: Thank you to those parents/caregivers who supported our children last Thursday at the Inner City School Cross Country. The children were really great and supported each other fantastically when they were racing. Congratulations to Jack Erkison who came first in his race and to our 10 year old boys coming second overall. A special thanks goes to Sandie Corlett for all the work in organising the event and our team who helped in various roles.

EOTC (Education outside the classroom): Next Week our Year 6 campers head to Camp Bentzon on Kawau Island where they will balance some challenges such as the confidence course and archery, with action packed fun on the water, sailing. Our Year 5 students will also be participating in a range of EOTC activities, including a trip to the Birkenhead Leisure where they will be challenged with the high ropes course and pool kayaking. EOTC offers children positive educational opportunities through adventure, challenge and unforgettable learning experiences.

Manaakitanga-Kindness : Something else we are talking about a lot at GLS is the importance of our children being kind and caring. Teachers and children have been focusing on kindness - What does it mean to be kind? How does it make others feel when you treat them with kindness? With the recent promotion of Pink Shirt Day - Bullying Free! - it truly showed how New Zealanders are saying “no” to bullying and ‘yes” to kindness and respect. I encourage you to talk to your child about kindness and “catch them” being kind to others .

After School : Children’s safety after school finishes each day is very important to us. To ensure children are safe and supervised, the following things occur at the end of the day…

• Children wait inside the school grounds. Children are not to wait on top of the stone wall as this is not only a safety concern but also causes distractions for the road patrol team when on duty.

• Any children who have not been collected when the road patrols finish, must move to wait by the office for their families.

• We understand that occasionally families get stuck after school, and when we are notified, we are more than happy to help out and ensure children are safe and ok. Children who are regularly being left at school uncollected after 3.15pm will be taken to sKids (the after school care programme operating in our school) at the cost to their families. We need our staff to be able to spend this time preparing for the next day’s learning!

Wacky Wardrobe Mufti day Week 8: To support the Auckland City Mission’s Annual winter appeal , we will be collecting canned and non-perishable food items during the week and holding a wacky wardrobe mufti day on Friday 23rd June. Gold coin donation with all proceeds going to this cause.

Save the date: Grandparent's Morning and Celebration of Learning - Week 9 Friday 30 June.

Our Principal Bill Barker will be away for the rest of the term and I will be acting principal in his absence.

He aroha whakatō, he aroha ka puta mai

If kindness is sown, then kindness is what you shall receive.

Toni Jarmin

Acting Principal