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NEWSLETTER: 25.6.2020

Assembly Assembly is on the last Friday of the term (3rd of July). Kowhai, Beech and Rata will be sharing.

Assembly starts at 2pm. We are looking forward to seeing you there.

Bus Vests

With the shortest day having just past us and Matariki celebrations finished we will have all noticed

the dark mornings and be looking forward to the lighter summer days.

Most bus runs are beginning in the dark and it is important that children are wearing their bus vests.

Please help your child to find theirs as it is part of the safety equipment, like seatbelts in all our

vehicles, that will keep children safe and seen on the dark mornings.

Working Bee Thank You

A thank you to all the people who turned up for the working bee on Sunday. We managed to get all

of the jobs completed and the staff and children are very appreciative of all your efforts. The Board

are aiming to have another working bee in February.

Winter Sport

A reminder to let Rebecca know if your children are going to be regularly off the bus for winter

sports practices.

Staffing for 2021

The model used in New Zealand Schools for appointing teaching positions to a school is based on

the number of children who attend the school. Our school is entitled to 5 full time equivalent teachers

(including the Principal). Our Board has committed to ensuring the best learning outcomes they can

afford and funds an extra teacher over and above our Ministry of Education entitlement.

Our Board believe that this gives the best educational outcomes for our children. It does, however,

come at a financial cost to the school. In 2020 we have a large budgeted deficit to cover our

operations and the cost of our extra teacher. Our projected roll for the end of 2020 is 89 children.

This will likely entitle us to 5 full time equivalent teachers in 2021. Our Board have to make a

decision about whether they can continue to have deficit budgets to fund this teacher or whether we

will reduce the number of teachers for 2021.

The Board want to indicate this situation to the community. A final decision will be made in October.

We are hopeful we can keep our staffing at its current levels. Staff at school are aware of the situation

http://www.mtss.school.nz/

and are making decisions about other spending as they also want to keep the level of staffing at its

same level to ensure the best outcomes for our children.

Illness at School

We are heading into the Winter illness season and this is a reminder about keeping children away

from school if they are feeling unwell. With the number of different illnesses that are around us

and bringing children and adults together on the school site, it is essential that when children are

sick they are kept at home to avoid spreading it throughout the others in their class.

The Ministry of Health have guidelines as to the periods that children should stay away from

school when ill. These can be found here - https://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/conditions-and-treatments/school-exclusion

Our advice is that if you suspect your child is sick, please keep them away for the health of all the

people at our school

Cross Country Results

We had a great day for the cross country on Tuesday. The weather was perfect and the children

displayed amazing values and sportsmanship during the event.

Here are the results –

Year 1 Boys – Ollie Churchwood 1st, Jack McClelland 2nd, Nick Heybrook 3rd

Year 1 Girls – Dottie Lang 1st, Isla Humm 2nd, Grace Reveley 3rd

Year 2 Boys – Riley Heaven 1st, Fred Kearney 2nd, Hugh Oliver 3rd

Year 2 Girls – Annabelle Kilpatrick 1st, Mackenzie Peilua 2nd, Antonella Perez 3rd

Year 3 Boys – Fergus Oliver 1st, Liam Marshall 2nd, Lukas Marshall 3rd

Year 3 Girls – Harriet Acland 1st, Nevaeh Mclintock 2nd

Year 4 Boys – Izaac Huggins-Jessett 1st, Jack France 2nd, Blake Broomhall 3rd

Year 4 Girls – Georgia Heaven 1st, Holly Marett 2nd, Violet France 3rd

Year 5 Boys – Flynn Wallace 1st, Miguel Silva 2nd, Noah Gardiner 3rd

Year 5 Girls – Rose Chapman 1st, Lily Oliver 2nd, Luca Brown 3rd

Year 6 Boys – Blake Marett 1st, Isaac Giera 2nd, Jack Gorrie 3rd

Year 6 Girls – Sylvie France 1st, Emma McClelland 2nd, Emily Heaven 3rd

Year 7 Boys – Sam Chapman 1st, Caleb Greer 2nd, Milan Jade-Holland 3rd

Year 7 Girls – Blaise France 1st, Gabby Brown 2nd, Grace McClelland 3rd

Year 8 Boys – Liam Forbes 1st, Niko Holgate 2nd, Jeremy Wilson 3rd

Congratulations to all the children who participated. The first 2 place getters from the Year 5 to 8

children are eligible to attend the Mid Canterbury cross country in Ashburton on the 30th of July.

More information on that event will be out soon.

Winter Options and Skiing

We have been having some challenges in pinning down a day for having our regular ski option.

Mt Hutt has informed us that we will be unable to go on a Friday as we had done in previous

years. They had offered us Thursday but we have a large number of children at after school sport

practice and our Year 7&8 children are at tech that day. We are trying to negotiate a day and time

but this is proving challenging. We may end up deciding not to participate in the 6 week

programme this year and rather aim for 2 whole school ski days with the intention of returning to

the regular programme in 2021.

https://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/conditions-and-treatments/school-exclusionhttps://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/conditions-and-treatments/school-exclusion

Harakeke This Week by Niko Holgate

There have been plenty of exciting things

happening in Harakeke recently!

Hugh said, “We have been building with blocks

and playing cops and robbers we have also been

practicing maths on prodigy on the computer”.

He also added that he has been looking forward

to cross country at school.

“We have been doing experiments like blowing

up a balloon with yeast,” Fred replied

Riley and Devyn both stated they have both been

doing prodigy and science experiments. They

both really enjoyed the experiment because they

both liked watching the balloon blow up.

Great job, Harakeke! It sounded like an amazing week! Keep it up.

Teacher Only Day

All teachers and support staff are attending a literacy course in Ashburton on the Friday 21st of

August. This will be a full school teacher only day where school will be closed for instruction.

Home and School Disco

The Home and School are putting on a mid Winter disco on Thursday 2nd of July from 5.30 to

7.30. The theme is Bright and Bold and will be in Te Kiekie. Keep a look out for posters and an

invitation coming home. Keep a look out for it and see you there!

This Week in Rata by Liam Forbes

This week in Rata there has been lots of stuff happening.

Caleb said, “We have been doing our passion projects. We

are building pallet furniture. That is good because we get to

use tools that my dad doesn't let me use.” “We are also

reading a book about lizards which is pretty fun.”

Maddy said, “We are doing some art and cooking which is

very fun because we get to eat the creations and in reading

we are learning about wind and rain.”

Jordan and Milan responded with “We are doing passion

projects which is very fun because we get to do animation

and the drama club. And we are doing work around birds

which will be fun.”

Great work Rata sounds like you had a fun week.

Hand Washing

Recently the children were reminded about the importance of handwashing. They were informed

that they should wash their hands with soap and water for at least 30 seconds after using the toilet.

We have suggested to the children that singing happy birthday to themselves twice is an

appropriate length of time. Our toilets have sufficient warm water, soap and hand drying facilities

to make this possible. Please talk to your children about the importance of hand washing.

Important Dates

Home and School Disco – Thursday 2nd July

Term 2 Ends –Friday 3rd July

Term 3 Begins – Monday 20th July

Mid Canterbury Cross Country – Thursday 30th July

Teacher Only Day – Friday 21st August

School Calendar

The school Google calendar is available on the school website – www.mtss.school.nz . This has

important dates for the term.

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