Phone 04 528 3094 Email admin@maidstone.school.nz Website www.maidstone.school.nz

Kia ora koutou, Greetings Parents and Caregivers There have been many successes to celebrate this term with students showing a high level of engagement and effort in their learning. I continue to be impressed with the commitment and enthusiasm our students show when taking on new opportunities and challenges. All the Year 6 students for next year have now had an opportunity to visit Maidstone as part of their induction. This is an important process as the sooner they feel comfortable in their new environment, the better it is for their learning. Our 2015 roll is predicted to be similar to this year. I’ve just arrived back in the office from watching our Kapa Haka group perform in the Upper Hutt Kapa Haka Festival. They produced an outstanding performance! They are a credit to their kaiako, Patrick. Congratulations to the students who have worked so hard. Thank you to Bronwyn Heka and the parents who organise and support this group. Congratulations also to our Rugby team who won the Watermans Competition last week – quite an achievement! Thanks to their coaches Steve Whitfield and Kent Harris. I also attended the Netball Prizegiving last Friday that celebrated the 2014 Netball successes. Staffing Term 4 There are two changes to our staffing next term. Darcy Solia has applied for, and been granted, leave for Term 4. He will return to Maidstone in 2015. Bronwyn Heka will continue in Room 9 until the end of the year. Unfortunately, Felicity Williams, Fabrics teacher, has taken medical retirement. Di Nuku and Jan Ward will continue taking the Fabrics classes next term. We wish Felicity all the very best. Chocolate Sales Thank you to the students who made such an effort with the chocolate sales – and thank you to the parents who supported them. If there are still chocolates and/or money to return to school please do this asap. I wish you good weather for the school holidays and look forward to refreshed students (and teachers) next term.

Nga mihi Mary O’Regan

Principal

Board Report At last night’s Board meeting, we were presented with predicted roll figures for the next few years. It is pleasing to see our roll is expected to slowly grow. This corresponds with anecdotal comments in the community about what a lot Maidstone has to offer our students and what a great place it is to learn in. These favourable comments can be attributed to the hard working staff we have. All the behind the scenes work and the enthusiasm many of the staff put in (from senior management through to teachers and support staff), does pay off – enthused kids, lots of opportunities, good academic results, incredible performances and sporting successes. We are blessed to have the dedicated staff we have. The Board was also informed that finally all the building work undertaken over the past few years has been formally signed off by the Ministry of Education and the Council, and we can now look to formally plan how we will improve the rest of the teaching and learning spaces in the school, over the next 5-7 years. It is the Board’s intention to have all learning spaces being of the same standard as our refurbished rooms, and this includes all the technology spaces. So expect building work again next year! Finally, I want to wish everyone a happy holiday – hopefully the weather plays its part and we can all recharge our batteries in the sun!

Heather Clegg Chairperson, Board of Trustees

Mobile Dental Van The Dental Service advise that the dental mobile van has been to the school and will not be returning in 2014. If your child was not seen and you wish for them to have a check up, please contact them on 0800 825583 to make an appointment.

Tennis Play tennis on your own school courts. Ring Tom Clegg on 526 3500 for Sunday morning coaching and having a hit after school.

Uniform It is time to dig out those school hats out again. From Monday, 13 October, all students will be required to wear a school hat when out of the classroom. You can purchase these from the office for $20.00 each.

Maidstone Intermediate Newsletter

No

.1 T

1

New

Issue No.5 Term 3 2014

Message from the

Principal

BOT Report

Library Report

Tech/Arts Syndicate

Sports

Dance Splash +

photos on back page

Sponsors details appear

on the back page.

BYOD Here at Maidstone we use Mangahigh to support our teaching of mathematics. Mangahigh is maths online, e-learning game-based program. There are currently over twenty seven thousand participating schools, worldwide. Each student has their own personal account which they can access either at school or at home. Teachers set their students challenges according to their personal needs or their current group areas of learning. Medals can be won on either these challenges, or by playing games. Individual, class and syndicate certificates and trophies, are awarded each month during assembly, for the highest total of monthly medals. Finally, schools are able to challenge other schools around the world to a Fai-To (fie-toe). The school whose students win the most medals over a 24 hour time period win a round. The first school to win five rounds wins the Fai-To! Netball Prizegiving

The annual Netball Prize-giving was held on Thursday 18th

September to celebrate our teams and their successes this season. All players were presented with a participation certificate, and Most Valuable Player and Most Improved Player awards were selected from each team. The prize-giving is also an opportunity to acknowledge representative players, grade/tournament winners and present the Blackwell Cup winner. This year’s award recipients were: Most Valuable Player: Maddison E, Tara C, Kaiya J-W,

Ashley T, Camryn J, Rebecca W, Brehan T-B, Ellie S, Sydney-Anne M and Meredith McP. Most Improved Player: Leah W, Ashley L, Trinita S, Millie H,

Julia C, Ellen MacA, Grace J, Saint W, Jessica B and Ashleigh D. Representative Players: Alyssa M, Sarah-Leigh P,

Maddison E, Ariana T, Mya De T, Joey J, Tara Cl, Bryleigh B, Danica P, Jennifer K, Ashley L, and Lilli P-C. Grade Winners:

Round 1 - MIS 1 (Int 1), MIS 6 (Int 11) Round 2 – MIS 4 (Int 7), MIS 6 (Int 10), MIS 7 (Int 11), MIS 10 (Int 14) Tournament Winners: MIS 2 won the Year 7 Inter-

Intermediate and Horowhenua tournaments. Blackwell Cup Recipient: Alyssa M

Thank you to all coaches, managers, players and supporters for a successful season.

Waterman’s Rugby Tournament On Wednesday 17 September, the Waterman’s Rugby Tournament was held at Trentham Memorial Park. Maidstone sent a squad of 23 boys, who had been coached by Mr Harris and Mr Whitfield. Our first game was against Porirua. We got off to a good start and beat them 28 –nil. Our second game saw us up against Palmerston North, who we beat 42-nil. Our third game was against EBIS who we beat 15-nil. The semi-finals brought us up against Avalon, who we beat 17 –nil. In the final we played against Tawa, and beat them 19-nil. We played five games over the day and scored a total of 121 points, with zero points being scored against us. Mihaere, J.T, Jesse, Anil, Keenan, Tafa, Trent and Kobe all scored tries for us. Cassius and Reihana also scored tries, and kicked our conversions. It was a hugely successful day enjoyed by all. Thanks to Mr Harris and Mr Whitfield for their dedication to coaching, and support for the team.

Cassius M (Captain MIS 1st XV)

Library News Another busy couple of weeks in the Library! We held our ‘Guess the Weight of World War I Backpack’ competition. The students will hear the results in assembly on Friday. Whilst the students had some fun watching their friends try and lift the backpack it was a good way of helping them to fully appreciate the weights that our World War I soldiers were expected to carry. We reminded our students that many of the soldiers that left our area to fight in WWI were only a little older than they are now. Their fitness levels must have been extraordinary to march long distances with such weights. A huge thank you to Noah G and his ‘Second in Command,’ Hamish J, who helped to run the Backpack competition. They must have lifted the backpack hundreds of times over the course of the week! Yesterday Mrs Kneepkens and myself took 10 student s to visit the Archives New Zealand office to look at their documents from World War I. The 10 students chosen were selected from a ‘Letter’s Home’ competition, where students imagined writing home from the front line. The competition was judged by Andrea Scanlan [teacher], Jack Hayes [Medals Policy Expert, NZDF] and Danica [Student Judge]. The students who were selected by the Judges were: Deaglan I, Ruben B, Connor O’B, Hayden T, Sophie W, Alexis B, Jessica K, Abi S, Isla A, and Danica joined in as a ‘thank you’ for helping to judge and, therefore, not being able to participate herself in the competition. We were shown parts of the Archives that the public never get to go into and some very

poignant artefacts from New Zealand’s role in WWI. We saw letters home and diaries, paintings, wills, propaganda posters and photographs. We even saw magazines, similar to our own Maidstone Yearbook, which were written and published by the soldiers

on board ships. They contained articles, poems, jokes, and cartoons, and one had a section written in Te Reo Maori. Perhaps one of the most sobering items was a huge ledger containing a list of the wounded from WWI. It was all hand written with codes for the type of injury the soldier had sustained. It was a massive tome and was one of seven that the Archives Department is looking after. Archives New Zealand have taken the original copies of all of the ‘Letter’s Home’ competition entries to select a few to add to their own exhibition of WW I memorabilia. Our students were also photographed by the NZDF for their own publicity about the work that they do with schools. Mrs Kneepkens and I agreed that our students behaved impeccably on the tour and were a real pleasure to take out for the day. We would like to thank Jack Hayes [NZDF] and Gavin Willbond [NZDF and Board of Trustee Member] for helping us to organise this trip and for meeting us at the Archives Office and continuing to go that ‘extra mile’ to help us with our WWI learning, and also to Jonathan Newport from Archives New Zealand for being our tour guide. Finally, a ‘thank you’ needs to go to Mrs Kneepkens who has supported and assisted with all of our WWI activities in the Library this term and for being the Teacher in Charge of our school trip.

Mrs Asprey – Library Manager

Tech/Arts - Foods This week in Foods the year 8s in Blue Syndicate have taken a trip to taste bud heaven. On Tuesday we made a middle eastern bread and wow it tasted amazing and exotic!! Milly H

MAD Programme In Term One 32 people were selected for the Maidstone Athletic Development programme (M.A.D). This extension programme took place during Term 2 and 3. During our time together we experienced a diverse range of sports and challenges, and were pushed to the limit in many. A few highlights of the programme were: Sailing, Kickboxing, Golf, Gymnastics and an end-of-term Duathlon. We even had a chance to meet with the inspiring Paralympic, Mary Fisher!

Our first trip of the year was to Wellington Harbour to go keel boat sailing! The sun was out and the wind was blowing - perfect conditions for sailing. After a quick safety brief and a bit of information about the boat, we headed out onto the water. Everyone got a chance

to steer the boat, and we learnt how to tack and control the sails.

The last thing we did in Term Two was the end-of-term Duathlon. It was held on a perfect day as the weather conditions were fine. Everyone gave more than one hundred percent as some were literally crawling to the finish line! In first place came Josef McD, second was Reihana D and third, Keenan F.

During the rest of Term Two we had multiple sports instructors come into school to help us maximise our abilities. One of the most notable of these instructors was Ignite Sports, a Wellington-based organisation that helps growing athletes achieve their goals. Another amazing organisation was Pedal Ready, a group of people dedicated to

cycling and helping young cyclists become better athletes. We also had singular athletes come into school such as Scott Falconer, Flipe Rayasi and Darryl Robinson.

Term Three brought new opportunities and experiences. We went on four trips and had multiple athletes come into school. People such as Paul Greig, and Petone Rowing Club came in to tell us about their experiences as athletes and gave us tips on how to maximise our ability.

Our first two trips of the term were to Shandon Golf course where we learnt about driving, putting and chipping. We even learnt how to get out of bunkers. Our third trip was to Rimutaka Gym; we had loads of fun doing cartwheels,

handstands and flips. We are especially looking forward to our last trip to Hangdog.

We have enjoyed every single moment in MAD and would love to do it again. Many thanks to Ms Rodley and Renee who organised this awesome programme for us.

By Trinita S and Josef M

Hard Materials - Options Programme

An option for Year 8s however a few Year 7s have taken up the task finding it difficult. Every now and then there is always one Year 7 that makes the grade this year it looks like being Fletcher Harding with his Scroll Saw work of a F1

Racing Car. This was not an easy task and took all eight sessions to complete. I look forward to seeing how Fletchers work goes in Workshop Technology.

Performing Arts It is hard to believe this term is almost over and we are approaching our fourth and final term this year. The Performing Arts programme has continued to provide our students with rich contexts of learning and challenges for them. Working collaboratively and managing themselves to tasks is a huge component of the programme. In drama year 7 students have worked in the World War 1 context, experiencing life as a young soldier recruit. They used their own ideas with stories told and facts gathered to realise the experiences of those in World War 1. They went to battle and also explored the family life of those that were waiting for news of their loved ones. In Music they worked Ostinato patterns to beats with an array of catchy melodies on the keyboards. Some students were able to use devices to use the Garage Band music programme to sequence and record their compositions. Year 8 Student highlights have seen them work more competently on the keyboard, moving their fingers to new tunes and incorporating their left hand to work bass ideas. Last week I was treated to an array of song compositions presented by the students. I am always marvelled by their abilities to use creative lyrics and those prepared to take risks with their voices to create tunes. This week the year 8 students are presenting their Giselle Ballet artworks. They have had sessions of dance learning about the technique and positions in Ballet and learnt a small waltz sequence from the ballet Giselle. Although the students were challenged, their responses evoked a rich array of responses ranging from- ‘ my arms got sore and tired’, ‘ it was better than I realised’, ‘I feel light’, ‘I feel quiet peaceful now’. I am privileged to be in an area of rich student learning that exhilarates and promotes creative responses. The students have a high work ethic and they continue to provide me with rich feedback and assurance that the programme is nurturing and valued.

Dance Splash Friday 12 September 55 year 7 & 8 students adorned the Michael Fowler Centre stage to showcase their dance artwork- Dementia, to Schools and families from the greater Wellington region. Their term 2 and term 3 efforts to research and develop understandings of the topic of Dementia took weeks of rehearsals and lunch-times to create a dynamic and tempered artwork. Their growing awareness of this debilitating disease and abilities to communicate how the brain is affected by this disease into a dance artwork, set the scene for rich learning, collaboration and refinement. The cast can be congratulated for aligning their energies and time to commit to this project and reap the rewards of performing on a prestigious stage to a huge audience adorned in their costumes and stage make-up. I would also like to acknowledge Riley H who lit our stage performance, using his skills and attention to detail to highlight the structure of our artwork. I wish to thank the parents and family members who assisted with hair and make-up and provided transport for our students. Maidstone Intermediate was well supported on the night and I am grateful for your support of your child. Finally I would like to thank Wendy Henderson for giving of her time and expertise to photograph our final rehearsals and performance. The photos highlighted the dance activity and skills of our students and their impact on the stage on the night of their performance. Annette McRae

Thank you to the following firms for sponsoring this Newsletter

and the Maidstone Gold Ticket “Wheel of Fortune

0274 416931

526 2274

526 2275

Get your sKETCHERS School Shoes here

Associated Computers

Malcolm Wheeler

027 4474 222

Country Lane

Silverstream

Phone 527 8389

Ph. 0800 634 572 Fax 236 0174 nzcoach@xtra.co.nz w E

David Haswell 027 440 6534 04 526 6602

Ask about our party bus

Testing and treatment for dyslexia and reading disorders,

www.cellfield.com Call 528 7707

bWheel of Fortune

Prize Winners On Friday 19 September, Jessie G from Room 15 was the luck Spin of the Wheel winner. Her prize was sponsored by Ashwin Magan Dental Surgery. She won an Art Pack. Congratulations Jessie. Catering

Equipment

Services

We service and repair all brands of cooking and warewashing equipment.

Mark Edwards,

Director

021 568 487 or

0800 90 60 30

mark@cesw.co.nz