WEST EYRETON SCHOOL NORTH EYRE ROAD R.D.5 RANGIORA 7475 PHONE 03 3125850 FAX 03 3125896 Email [email protected] Online www.westeyreton.school.nz Thursday 3 September 2015 Dear Parents & Caregivers This week we were all extremely sad to receive news that one of our 5 year old pupils, Sophie McInerney, had died. Sophie was a delightful wee girl who gained so much pleasure from coming to school. Sophie had formed many friendships here at West Eyreton with pupils of all ages - we have all been touched by her, especially her happy demeanour, her beautiful smile and the big steps she was taking with her learning. On behalf of the West Eyreton School staff, pupils & Board of Trustees I extend our deepest sympathy to Sophie’s mother, Stacey, and family. Sophie’s funeral will be held this Saturday, 1.00 pm at the Oxford Town Hall. Children are welcome to attend with their parents. Jillian Gallagher Principal. Principal’s Pics of the Week: Years 5 – 8 pupils enjoyed a two hour session learning about Structures - Bridge Building under the trained eye of the Science Alive tutors. School News: New Pupil: Welcome to Lily who started in the New Entrant’s room this week. Ice Skating Tomorrow Friday 4 September: Tomorrow is our school ice skating trip, which we are all looking forward to and for those opting to stay at school the teachers are organising a stimulating & busy day for these pupils. Transport information with the names of all participating pupils, staff & parents was sent home with children yesterday as well as emailed out to these families. All junior children attending school tomorrow should go to Room 2 on their arrival at school and senior students to Room 7. A huge thank you to those parents & caregivers who are providing transport & supervision for other children on the ice skating trip. Tomorrow, the school buses will run at their normal times – pupils participating at the ice skating can travel to school on the bus to be collected from school by their transporting parent. The bus will depart school at 3.00 pm. West Eyreton School Ski Team Race Training Tomorrow: Tomorrow, fourteen pupils will be attending a practice race day up at the Porters Ski Field where they will be training for the local primary schools’ “Derby” on 9 September. Best wishes to these children and their parents for a great day’s racing. Thanks to Fiona Bretherton who is the school ski team organiser. School Choir Reminder: A reminder to all choir pupils that there will be a rehearsal for the Christchurch Music Festival this Tuesday 8th September at the Avonhead Primary School. The bus will leave school at 9.00a.m. and return at 1.00p.m. The school is funding the cost of attending the rehearsal so there is no transport cost for this trip. School Calf Scheme: A big thank you to Mark Graham and Jan Powell & family for raising a beef calf over the last 15 months as part of the school calf scheme. $1,846-77 are the proceeds from the sale which will be used to enhance the educational experiences for our children. Many thanks once again Mark and Jan for your support of West Eyreton School. Geoff Spark -School Calf Scheme Co-ordinator. REPEAT - Pet Day 2015: Our annual Pet Day is coming! Monday 19 October will be a great family day out– held 9.00 – 1.00 pm. Lots of fun events & activities for the children to enter & participate at i.e craft entries, animal judging, ring events, interactive displays, variety of demonstrations, Mr Whippy, BBQ & lots more. The PTA will again be running a Hay Bale cafe for the adults. Postponement date is Tuesday October 20th. All families received their Pet Day programme & entry forms last week. These need to be filled out and returned to school by the due date 11 September (this is before the end of this term) so that the office staff can organise the different judges, certificates & events held. This week’s newsletter contains full details about the day. If you have questions, please contact the school office and speak to Val O’Loughlin, Lisa Duff or Jocelyn Austen who are the Pet Day organisers. REPEAT - SWIMMING – Please fill out this questionnaire… The ‘Waiswim team’ from Dudley Park Pool will be coming out to West Eyreton School to take “Learn to Swim” lessons in our school pool between the 7th December – 17th December. • There will be a small cost involved – T.B.A. • All students are expected to participate in this programme • All abilities will be catered for • Water skills will be fine tuned before the summer holidays Fact Sixty-one people drowned in New Zealand during the first six months of this year, a 30 percent increase on last year. CHILD’S NAME: _______________________________________________________ (Please print) 1. Can your child put their face in the water and float (front and back) without being held or holding on to anything? No - Level 1 Yes - Level 2 2. Can your child float on their front and back and do their arm strokes for freestyle and backstroke? No - Level 2 Yes - Level 3 3. Can your child breath with their arm strokes? No - Level 3 Yes - Level 4 4. Can your child breathe on both sides with their freestyle stroke (bi-lateral breathing)? No - Level 4 Yes - Level 5 5. Can you child swim 1⁄2 a length (Dudley Park) of the lane pool freestyle and swim breaststroke? No - Level 5 Yes - Level 6 6. Does your child have good breaststroke kick technique and swim can swim 1 length (Dudley Park) freestyle or the lane pool? - No - Level 6 Yes - Level 7 7. Can your child swim 2 lengths (Dudley Park) of the lane pool continuously with good technique of freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke? No-Level 7, Yes-Level 8 8. If your child currently attends or has attended lessons at, Dudley Park Aquatic Centre, Kaiapoi Aquatic Centre or Oxford Community Pool please refer to their most recent progress report/certificate. ________________________________________________ what year? _____________ Other information… Thank you Linda Marshall Please return your completed form to their class teacher by Friday 4th September. School Office News: Pupils Who Are Absent: A reminder that if your child/children are going to be absent from school due to illness, appointments etc the school office must be notified by 9.30a.m. at the latest. The computer registers for all classes are processed at this time and we need to know the reason for their absence. There are specific codings for these absences so we need to have the correct details before the attendance report is printed off morning and afternoon . If your child/children will be returning to school after appointments etc, please make sure they first come to the school office to “report back in” and to receive a pink form to take to their class teacher. School Photos: On Tuesday 15th September school photos will be taken by Langwood Photography who will be present at the school from around 8.30a.m. onwards. Every pupil will have their portrait and class photograph taken and a proof copy will be sent home attached to the order envelope. Family Group Portrait Pack: If you require a family group portrait please fill in the form included from Langwood’s Photography and return to the school office as soon as possible. Pet Day 2015 – Information for new Parents & Pupils: Monday 19th October, (Postponement Day Tuesday 20th October) Pet Day Information: Pet Day is a traditional event at West Eyreton School, as it is in many rural and some urban schools throughout New Zealand. We continue to hold this event to provide encouragement to our children for the effort they put into raising and caring for their animals. Many, with the support and encouragement of their families, still raise farm animals from birth and in doing so, learn a lot about animal husbandry. Pet Day is their opportunity to show off their animals, to share their knowledge with judges and to take pride in participating in a show. These children are able to take part in the traditional Agricultural Club Award Scheme, which is explained below. Pet Day is for everyone, and although some children may not be involved in raising farm animals from birth, most have special pets of their own. For these children there are pet categories to enter and judges will also speak with them about their knowledge of the animal and the way they care for their pets. To give Pet Day a true rural show day atmosphere, and to encourage participation in other practical and creative activities, we also have a craft section in the hall. So, Pet Day provides the opportunity for all children to participate in some way. Please read carefully the information below so that you can select the best sections for your children to enter. Agricultural Club Award Scheme There is the option of participating in The Agricultural Club Award scheme that has been running in NZ for many years. The Boys' and Girls' Agricultural Club is a programme which encourages children to learn how to look after a farm animal from birth and/or to grow their own small garden. Upon achieving the following number of points special awards will be made and presented at our annual end of year prize-giving ceremony. The points are awarded each year but also accumulate over the time at school. This means that children can work towards earning their excellence certificate towards the end of primary school: • Achievement Badge - 26 points, • Red Bar - 42 points • Green Bar - 58 points, • Certificate of Excellence - 74 points Agricultural Club Categories: 1.