HOROTIU SCHOOL TE KURA O HOROTIU

Horotiu Bridge Road, RD 8, Hamilton 3288

Telephone (07) 829 9892 Email: [email protected]

Website: www.horotiu.school.nz

"Ki te kotahi te kaakaho ka whati, ki te kaapuia e kore e whati’’ Naa Kiingi Taawhiao "When reeds stand-alone they are vulnerable, but together they are unbreakable."

July 5th 2018 Community Newsletter Roll 235

Celebrations Night Last Wednesday the Horotiu School Hall was once again packed to capacity as we were treated to an evening of ‘Celebration.’ This was the culmination of nine weeks of inquiry learning across the school. It was delightful to see so many of our students singing, performing, dancing, sharing art works and reading poems or stories that they had created. Some of the stand out performances included; Ms Kaur’s Bollywood dancers, our new inquiry Kapa haka group and the amazing ‘Anzac’, ‘Bullying’ and creative writing samples shared. As one dad said to me ‘It’s amazing how talented some of these writers are. They should be published!’ Parents were also treated to an opportunity to go into the Learning Communities to look at work completed, art samples and in some cases be treated to sancks and nibbles. Our sincere thanks to all the family, whaanau and guests who attended. I have said it before, we really need a bigger hall!

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Ki-o-rahi Tournament Last Friday Horotiu School hosted the Cluster Ki-o-rahi Tournament in partnership with Project Energise. This traditional Maori game is played at a high intensity and needs lots of skill and agility. This year Raglan, Horotiu, , , , Te Mata, and schools all participated and competition was fierce. We were delighted with the increasing levels of ability demonstrated and it is clear that workshops held at Horotiu have made a real difference. This year Horotiu went undefeated and showed real tenacity in their defence. This is the second year in a row where we have dominated. The team then qualified for a match against the teachers and coaches which I am very proud to say they lost! A sepcial mention to Mrs Purdy and Mahia for organising this for us. Well done to Georgia, Calias, Shelby, Tyra, Cassidy, Hayden, Chase, Quinton, Vincent, Dante, Carlos and Cayliss for representing us so well on the day!

Thank you to everyone who purchased lunch for the camp fundraiser held in conjunction with the Ki-o-rahi Tournament. We made a profit of $563.00 to help make our senior camp spectacular!

Carlos and Vincent in action! Untouched and running hard.

2 Book Launch On Friday 22nd of June representatives of the Shooting Stars accompanied by Mrs Parker and Whaea Marleina attended the book launch of Waahia Ngaa Rua - how Ngaruawahia got its name. This book was written by Kimai Hurirama. The Shooting Stars were privileged to have Kimai retell this story to them at Puke I Ahua last term as part of their Mana Wairua inquiry. Our school was given a copy of this book for our school library. We are very grateful to be part of this occasion and look forward to reading the book.

Our budding authors go and listen to the story of how Ngaruawahia got its name

Cameron’s Support Horotiu School Our thanks go out to Cameron’s Transport in Cambridge who helped us recently with the delivery and installation of new safety chip for our two junior playground areas. This was a massive undertaking and Cameron’s kindly offered to install the chip for a minimal charge, which was very much appreciated. Thank you to our BOT (Dave Kimber, Heather Vincent, Dwayne King, Charlotte Manning, Kim Crook and Fraser Marcroft) who contributed over $4000 to this project. [email protected]

Dates to Remember Date Planting of the Awa Trail Friday 6th July Term 2 Ends Term 3 Begins Monday 23rd July Open Mornings Wednesday 25th of July Teacher It’s Time Campaign Support Day 3rd of August Teacher Strike Afternoon 15th August Kapa Haka Festival 21st September

3 Duffy Role Model Assembly It was brilliant to have our local National Party MPs both here on Monday to help host our termly Duffy Awards Assembly. This was a stellar event with multiple awards going out to great readers and role models across Horotiu. Special Principal’s awards were also presented to Myan, Alexis, Nate and to Chevelle in the JLC who took out the Principal’s Medal for being an amazing role model!

Local National MPs hit Horotiu School- Duffy Role Model Assembly

Lost Property Once again, we find ourselves burdened with a mountain of lost property and students’ clothing. This has all been beautifully displayed outside the hall for the last 8 weeks. Please do come and have a look this week. Do be aware that any unclaimed clothing will be donated to charity over the term break. We also do encourage all parents to name clothing! This really does help and can save you a lot of money in the future.

Cyber Safety As many of you will be aware the Fortnite Gaming craze is sweeping the country. So why might this be proving a problem? The game is highly addictive, with many features being built in to make it very attractive to play, particularly to children and teens. Some of our families have been asking us what is a ‘reasonable’ amount of time to spend playing the game. That is impossible to answer. As with any use of digital devices or phones please remember that parents and carers are the ‘adults’. It is perfectly reasonable to restrict play to a sensible number of hours for your own family circumstances. Further to this, we encourage parents to check browser histories, social media accounts and, if all else fails, just switch off the wi-fi. Your children may not like it, but please remember that you are the adults! Children developing ‘square eyes’ will be advised accordingly!

We are also getting increasing evidence to suggest that there is an increasing number of children requiring support for visual problems, migraines and strain due to extensive screen time. Remember nothing beats outdoor play time with mum, dad or a loved one.

4 Project Energise Food and Nutrition Here are a few cool video links that may be of interest to families around food and nutrition, they may be of interest to you.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9YSAcyW_RY  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hPzeiXn1iM  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6FAndZyGKw

Thank You for Your Support! We have had a large number of donations of clothing and linen brought in to Whaea Jenny for a family in need. Thank you to those who responded to the call and gave so generously.

New Enrolments If you or anyone you know have children you would like to enrol at Horotiu School this year or next, please contact the office for and enrolment form. Knowing about impending enrolments in advance helps us with our planning. Thank you.

Car Park Speed We regularly receive complaints about the speed some vehicles travel in our school car park. The speed limit is 5 km per hour. Please stick to this limit and take extreme care - especially before and after school when children are in the car park.

Community Survey 2018- Part 4 As promised here is the 4th instalment of the 2018 Community Survey Feedback Responses: Question 4. How could we make you feel more welcome in our school?  Already feel welcome. Love that most staff say hello.  Feel very welcome. All staff are accessible. Principal is always available.  Everyone already does a great job. All staff always smiling and saying hello.  A great place with great people, really cool staff.  Helping out with school needs. By being asked to help out with Interschool events, sports, gala etc.  Not having some staff ignore the parents. A few only seem interested in interacting with the kids, they are teaching.  Horotiu is a welcoming place with cool whaanau and awesome kids.  Personally, I always feel welcome, teachers/ principal always help and say hello.  School working bee, as an example. Something to benefit the school and save money. Adults modelling working together.  You are doing a great job.  A Facebook page.  Currently good, love the principal is always around.  Have class assemblies as opposed to whole school ones.  Some teachers are not quite as approachable as others. Most are great. Anon  You do a great job of making us (shy family) feel like we are part of the school  We always feel welcome. Lots of positive people.  Not sure.  We are always welcome and love what you do.  All good.  I don’t think there is a need to as you do a great job already. 5  Open up the classrooms so we can visit.  Already do.  Please have open days and allow us to sit in the class and observe.  We feel welcome.  Happy.  Have the principal greet me with a coffee every morning! Hahaha.  Better coffee!!  Already feel welcome. Teachers approachable. Maybe develop a new ‘welcome pack?’  Events like the recent Whaanau Community Sports Hui evening are a great way to build a community-that was a perfect example.  Do more family events like the hui evening, it was amazing.  Making sure you know who we are. Do you all know our son and all his whaanau that attended the school and our previous children that attended.  Already feel welcome.  Roll out the red carpet! (Joking)  We have never felt unwelcome in the school. Have noticed/felt that teachers do gravitate towards parents who are interested and invested in their children and their progress.  No changes are needed.  Have always felt welcome. Like that staff are always around to help.  Keep doing what you do.  Awesome staff and students.  I always feel welcomed and find the staff warm and friendly.  As a new parent to the school and schooling in general, I am really impressed by the lengths Horotiu goes to communicate. Great teachers, newsletters, events, evenings and hui. Already building a great relationship.  You already do it.  We feel very welcome in the school.  Already do. Really loved the community night.  Fine as it is.  We love Horotiu.

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Horotiu Leaders Jersey 2018- Thanks Kara! Our sincere thanks go out to Kara Harte and the School Council who have worked hard over the last few months to design the Horotiu Seniors sweat shirt. As you can see, they really do look sharp and make our leaders stand out.

Ngaruawahia High School Enrolments 2019 If you have a Year 8 child and are interested in enrolling in NHS in 2019, we have a copy of their School Prospectus for you. Please also be aware that Principal Chris Jarnet will be available in term 3 to meet with you at Horotiu, if would like the opportunity to ask a few questions. Please contact the office or Karen Purdy if you have any questions, or if this option appeals to you.

Ki-o-rahi- Who said old Principals can’t run! Georgia and Calais defending hard.

Water colours with Mr Spaans Catering in Kotahi! Horotiu School Annual Targets 2018 Update: Reporting

7 Each year the BOT, teachers and leadership team set annual goals. The most important of those goals are those that address learning. In 2018, we are working hard towards attaining all our goals, but we felt it was important that you all knew what we were actioning in regards to each target. (Red sections highlight recent actions or changes made.)

Charter Goal 1 Students’ Learning and Agency: To improve outcomes for all learners (including priority groups) and raise achievement, engagement and acceleration.

A. To raise achievement levels and acceleration in Literacy and Maths, across the school. Emphasis on Maori achieving success as Maori. So far this year we have sought professional support from the University of , expert Lisa Rapana and Tainui historian Charles Wilison to improve teaching and develop staff knowledge. The BOT also funded the support of Whaea Marleina and Matua Te Hararu and subsidised the recent Marae visit to motivate learners. We have worked hard to provide transition programmes for new families, run writing workshops for whaanau and staff, held numerous meetings and the biggest PTC hui in Term 2. We also hope to host a wananga in Term three to assist and explore new ideas and run open mornings in Week 1. We continue to create new ways of engaging all our learners through inquiry learning to keep them motivated and enthused. We hope that the opportuniity to learn about things that appeal to our learners, will pay off for them in the months to come. B. To establish achievement targets and support programmes in the priority curriculum areas. This year our big focus areas are Writing for boys in Years 5-8 and Maths in Years 1-4. We are running two very large learning investigations (Spirals of Inquiry) in these areas and hope this will further assist us to get student outcomes. C. Learners are empowered through challenge, context, voice , inquiry, project based learning, leadership programmes and support , resulting in improved outcomes. In 2018 we have worked really hard to build multiple opportunities for student voice and engagement through; student survey, increased leadership opportunities, attendance at events like National Leaders Day, the PTC, Tractor Pull, Mud Run, Kids for Kids, Interschools etc. We have also engaged learners in running events, presenting, broad casting, interviewing and showcasing their works. Our children have all participated in excursions of site, been to local sites of historical significance and had the opportunity to talk about ways we can improve Horotiu. We have also provided numerous sporting events, school exchange, enviro activities and lunch time programmes to keep students motivated.

*If any of you are interested in seeing the full Charter, this is always on display in the school office foyer.

Can you help! As we head into the middle of winter we are actively seeking old board games, chess sets and building blocks to entertain our learners on wet days. If you do have any unused items that you think would be useful to support, please do send them in! These really do make a difference and help us to keep active young people engaged and busy when they can’t go outside!

8 School Donations Thank you so very much to the Families who have paid their donation – this is greatly appreciated and really does make a difference in our school. Did you know that you can easily claim a 1/3 back from your payment of the School Donation?

To claim the tax credit, you need to fill out a tax credit claim form (IR526), attach your donation receipt/s and send it to Inland Revenue. It is really easy! To find out more, or to download a tax credit claim form, follow the link: IRD Website

Our donation costs are $50 for one student, $80 for two, $90 for three or more. Your support in this regard really is appreciated.

Manual Technology Fees - Years 7/8. $83 per year. This can be paid in two payments. Maths Buddy for all children - $11 per child. This programme is used daily in all classes and also accessible from home. The Board does subsidise this programme for all families and we do encourage all students to use and access this tool. Hapara Dashboard – Years 5-8. $5 per child. This is a tool for teacher-student communication and monitoring online computer use in the classroom.

Horotiu Community Notices

FREE EAR CLINIC SERVICE FOR CHILDREN Term 3 (2018) All children must be accompanied by parent or caregiver For enquiries regarding this service please contact the phones listed or Hamilton – phone 838 3565 Visit the ear nurse for advice on: glue ear assessment and management, wax/foreign body removal, grommet checks, treatment of discharging ears Please note clinics may be cancelled without notice due to unforeseen circumstances

Clinic will be closed for staff breaks. AREA DATE VENUE These will be noted on clinic door

Hamilton For an appointment 51 Gallagher Drive, By appointment Phone 07 838 3565 Hamilton Appointments available over the school holidays

Ngaruawahia Wednesday 1 August War Memorial Hall, by New 9.00 – 2.30 Tuesday 21 August World Tuesday 4 September (clinic closes 12.30 today)

Do you need Firewood? Leyland Cypress Firewood $120 per 6*5 Trailer load. Delivery additional $25.00 Mention Horotiu School when you text and the school will receive $20.00. (Please note that last year this generated over $500 for the School. Ph / txt Fraser 021 176 8894.

9 Grandparents Raising Grandchildren A new group is starting up in Ngaruawahia for grandparents raising grandchildren. Coffee Group - contact Carol Smith-Hall, 027 3611 929 or 07 824 6663 for more information. Evening meetings will be held alternately in Ngaruawahia and Huntly with the first being on Friday 6 July at Ngaruawahia Community House. Phone Trevor on 027 229 2041 for more information.

BUS BEHAVIOURAL EXPECTATIONS: What we expect at Horotiu!  When I am a seated passenger, I will remain in my seat for the whole journey.  I will not eat on the bus or throw anything inside or outside the bus.  If I am a standing passenger, I will stand quietly and not push or move around the bus.  I will respect other students and their property at all times (this includes pushing, verbal or physical abuse, or any other behaviour that may distract the driver).  I will use socially acceptable language when conversing with the driver and / or other students and I will not speak at a volume that may distract the driver.  I will respect the property of the Bus Operator at all times (e.g. refrain from standing on seats or vandalising the vehicle in any way).  I will not engage in any behaviour that could put the driver or other students at risk.  I will observe the requirements and instructions of the Bus Driver and the teacher/s responsible for bus duty at all times.  I understand that any damage I cause to the bus will result in my caregiver being billed for the cost of the repairs.  I must have written permission from my caregiver to the Principal or Bus Controller if I wish to get off at a stop other than my usual one.  The bus must have stopped moving before I get on or off. When off the bus, keep well clear, especially when it is being reversed or turned.

APPROPRIATE BUS BEHAVIOUR IS PROMOTED AT HOROTIU SCHOOL: Processes are in place for managing unsafe or unacceptable bus behaviour when they occur. Caregivers are notified regarding incident reports. Repeated incidents of unsafe or inappropriate behaviour from individual students may invoke the need for an individual ‘Code of Conduct Agreement’ to be enacted. Students misbehaving on the bus will be: Phase 1: Placed on daily report and a caregiver notified Phase 2: Have the privilege to travel on the bus withdrawn for one week Phase 3: For a, following misbehaviour he or she will be withdrawn from the bus for two weeks Phase 4: If reinstated and further unacceptable behaviour occurs, the student will be unable to use the bus again In extreme cases of misbehaviour the privilege of travelling on the school bus could be withdrawn immediately I agree to abide by the conditions of this contract and understand the consequences if I do not.

Message from the Health Waikato Dear Parents/Whanau/Caregivers A common cause of sore throats is a bacterium called group A streptococcus, which should be treated with antibiotics. In , a small number of children with this bacterium, if not treated with antibiotics, can go on to develop a serious disease called Rheumatic Fever. Māori and Pacific children aged 5-14 years are most at risk from this disease.

What is Rheumatic Fever? Rheumatic Fever starts with a bacterial streptococcal infection causing a sore throat. The sore throat may disappear, but a few weeks later the following symptoms may develop:

10  sore or swollen joints jerky movements  a rash fever  shortness of breath

Rheumatic Fever can cause permanent heart damage, which may mean stays in hospital, surgery, and sometimes a shorter life. Someone with Rheumatic Fever needs ten years of antibiotic injections to protect their heart.

Fortunately, if a streptococcal sore throat is treated correctly with antibiotics your child should not get Rheumatic Fever.

What do I need to do if my child has a sore throat? If a child gets a sore throat, and if they fall into a “high risk” group – Māori or Pacific people aged 4 -19 years of age, they should have a FREE throat swab taken. If they have a streptococcal bacterial infection they will need antibiotics to treat the infection. It is important that all of the ten days of antibiotics are taken exactly as prescribed so the streptococcal bacteria are killed and Rheumatic Fever is prevented.

FREE sore throat swabbing services Health Board is working with communities to provide free sore throat management services across the Waikato, to prevent rheumatic fever and heart damage. Drop in services are provided by contracted GP practices, pharmacies, pathlabs and secondary school based health clinics for eligible children and young people aged 4 – 19 years.

For more information on who this service is for, and where to find these services, check out our website: https://www.waikatodhb.health.nz/your-health/wellbeing-in- the-waikato/rheumatic-fever

Sore throats matter – get them checked!!

Horotiu School -Te Kura o Horotiu ‘Strive together for Success’

‘Allowing and empowering children to develop who they are now and inspiring them to be the best they can be.’

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