Monday 15 June 2015 Kia ora whanau! Things are buzzing along at school as we crash towards the next holidays always seems so much to get done before then!! Cross Country: A huge thank you to everyone who helped and supported us with the Cross Country down here last week. We have had lovely feedback from the other two schools about what a fantastic day it was (helped a lot by the weather being kind phew!). We could not have done it without all the volunteers we had to make things run smoothly thanks so much! We have noted some things we would like to change for next year, including giving volunteers information about what we need them to do prior to the day if you have any other suggestions you think we need to consider, please be in touch. As usual, we were very proud of all our kids on the day they all gave it a go with great attitudes, were respectful and approached it all in good humour.

Upcoming Dates you

need to know:

Friday 26 June Portfolios home

Monday 29 June Wednesday 1 July

3 ways (More info to follow)

Friday 3 July End of Term 2

Monday 20 July Beginning of Term 3

Congratulations and good luck to the following students who will be going to compete in the Southland Cross Country Konnor, Kiera, Sharvae, Ana, George, Cory. Whoop whoop!

Parenting Programme: We have had a few requests by people for a parenting programme here is one on offer: Incredible Years is a 14-session programme for parents of children aged 3-8, which helps parents turn behaviour around. Parents come together each week and develop approaches to use at home with problem behaviours, like tantrums, swearing, whining, yelling, hitting and kicking, answering back and refusing to follow rules. Starting Tuesdays 4th August or Thursdays 6th August from 9:30-11:45. Lots of perks including petrol vouchers or they will arrange to have you picked up and returned after every session; free lunch; a crche for children who come with their parents; meat raffles and food parcels. To register please contact- Margaret Whittington Ph. 03 211 8240 Txt. 027 857 0367 or Email: margaret.whittington@southland.familyworks.org.nz

A couple of random things/ reminders (Have decided to try and use pictures/ cartoons to help illustrate our points):

We have a few students who try this and hope some fairy has learnt their spelling and flashcards for them! Please be mindful to prompt and support your child to spend a wee bit of time each day working on flashcards, spending time reading and spelling Tuesdays Thursdays. Remember the homework centre is available at the marae on Tuesdays and Thursdays if this is a battle they will do their best to work around rugby etc. Those of you who have worked at this will see the rewards for your work in the portfolios coming home next week. Thanks for your help!

Everyone has a bad day:

Kids get over stuff more quickly than adults do, so it is worth being

careful what adults need to get involved with:

Worth remembering:

This one is here just because I liked it!

Thank you so much to those parents who work with us to solve any issues. When you throw 150+ kids into a melting pot called school for the day together, there will inevitably be issues. Please support us in encouraging kids to tell us if there is an issue they cannot solve, and to seek help. Issues that arise at school need to be dealt with at school. Please continue to let us know if you think there is anything we need to know. We would like to have a school of Tiggers (see the positives and have bounce) rather than Eeyores (see everything as a negative). This can be fostered by asking kids about good parts of their day as well as listening to any issues. The ability to see the positive in situations is a very important life skill. Thanks for your help!

For your information: as usual, following the Oyster Festival all students now swap which cultural group they are in those who were in siva are now in kapa haka and vice versa. These will be their performance groups for the Polyfest in August. Trials are also ongoing to form Nga Putangitangi teams. Selections are based on those who put themselves forward as wanting to do it; their eagerness and effort at learning material within certain timeframes; their proven record at remembering and attendance at practices/ meetings etc; their discipline and work within the team. This is a competitive team so the level of performance ability must be high enough to not let the team down. We will confirm these teams at the beginning of next term.

Have a great week everyone and stay warm! Alison