14 November 2006

A school is as strong as its community

Dear Parents 

I don’t know about you, but 9am on a Sunday morning is not a good time for me to watch the All

Blacks play and I do like to do that!  However, I caught snippets of it a little later in the day and noticed the players wearing the poppy insignia on the sleeves of their jerseys.  I had forgotten that November 11 is Armistice Day, a day when those who gave their lives for the cause of their country are remembered and honoured.  There were millions of those in W.W.II alone, including many New Zealand soldiers.  Their deaths maintained our political and religious freedom.  It made me think though, whether many people would have given any thought to the greatest battle ever fought and the greatest victory ever won?  I guess we need to ask ourselves, what place have we given to Jesus Christ who gave His life for us?  Through his sacrifice for our sins, our eternal spiritual freedom has been purchased and that is really something to be grateful for.

           “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only
Son.  And this is why: so that no-one need be destroyed; by believing in him
anyone can have a whole and lasting life.”     John 3:16   The Message

Since the last Update I have been at the Year 6 Camp and at present, I am in the throes of helping get everything ready for the Year 4 Camp.  The time away at Hanmer with Mrs Lawn, Mr Pomare, the Year 6 children and the parent helpers was fabulous!  God blessed us with great weather, good food, safety in all activities and a positive, co-operative atmosphere throughout the duration of the Camp.  A big ‘THANK YOU’ needs to go to the Mrs Lawn and Mr Pomare for all their hard work during the preparation and the running    of the camp.  Well done!  A special thank you, too, must go  to the parents who willingly gave of their time   and effort to ensure that everything ran smoothly. Without you these events could and would not happen.   We are praying all the same things for the Year 4 Camp at Cracroft this week.

The Year 3s had a lovely visit to Ferrymead last Thursday.  Although the wind was a little chilly, the day stayed fine and the children had a wonderful time. They all dressed up in period costume from 100 years ago and participated in activities that children of that time would have done.  I went into the school house for a while and the teacher there was very strict.  No talking was allowed unless spoken to by the teacher.  Some found this very hard to cope with!  I had a good laugh during the silent movies and enjoyed the lovely smells  of baking cookies in the wood-fired oven.  All in all, it was a great day.  A big thank you to Mrs Bucknell,      Mrs Woollands and all the parent helpers for your part in this.

Thank you to those of you who took the time to express your thoughts in terms of your child’s placement for 2007.  As was outlined in the notice to you earlier in the term……...

“WE CANNOT GUARANTEE A PARTICULAR TEACHER for your child based solely on PARENTAL INPUT.  WE USE A WIDE RANGE OF INFORMATION TO DETERMINE THE BEST PLACEMENT FOR YOUR CHILD.”  We know that you will trust our professional and prayerful judgment in this matter.  We do not take this responsibility lightly.

Only half a term to go!  We have preparations well under way for the end of year assembly in the Gym on Thursday 14 December.  Plan to be there to celebrate the good things that have happened throughout the year.

God bless

Heather Kench
Head of Primary School

Recently my class were taken on the bus.  The bus driver bussed us to Ferrymead Heritage Park.  The first thing we did was to get changed into Edwardian clothes.  We had morning tea beside the train station.  The best thing I liked was watching the movies at the Arcadia Theatre.  Group 3 watched Tom and Jerry which was my favourite part.      After Group 3 watched the movies we walked to the      bakery.  We made chocolate chip cookies.  They were very delicious.  The bakery person showed us a huge oven for the cookies to go inside.  I chose that part because it was my favourite time of the day.

                                                                                                                                           … By Hannah Y.

HIGHLIGHTS …

… My group went to the school.  We sang a nice song at the start.  Then we   copied some things on a piece of paper.  The writing was linked …

                      … Seonwoo

… We went to the Arcadia Theatre.  I liked it when two people fought on a plane and they fell off—one fell in the sea.

                        … Andrew

… We baked biscuits.   I made a monster.  It was meant to be a cow.

                    …. Daniel

… Then we went to see the school.  She was very firm.  I did not like her being firm.

                     … Hayden

… My favourite place was the house because  I got to use the  carpet sweeper… It was the best day ever.  I didn’t want to leave.

                       … Sam

… I enjoyed the classroom … I got to use a nib pen.  James got told off because he dipped his  pencil …

                      … Mackenzie

… We went to the school.  She was just pretending.  We had to sit up straight…

                      … Natasha

… I filled up a coal range …  … Ben

… We went to the bakery and the oven was as big as my room.  I ate my cookie when I first got it and Andrew gave me his cookie because he didn’t like it …

                       … Joel

 

 

 

School Notices

 

OSCAR PROGRAMME:  Places are still available in our after school programme operating out of  P9 (see the flag outside) every day after school.  We accept both casual and permanent appointments on a part or whole week basis.  Cost is $8.50  per session.  If you require any further information contact Brett Fleming on 348 9826 ext 732. 

Hours of operation - 3.15—5.30 pm.

 

A big thank you to all who contributed to the success of the Term 4 Mufti Day.  As you    may have been aware, the money was sent to Nathan Askey in Spiti, high in the Himalayan region of India.  He has reported that the funds arrived safely and that they were used to purchase building materials for the construction of purpose-built classrooms at Highlander Christian School.  Thanks to the donations from here and elsewhere, those classrooms are now able to be completed.  The race is now on to beat the Himalayan winter!

 

Please NB.  A Thomas The Tank Engine train piece was recently found in Acacia Avenue.  If this is yours please see Jan Pelvin or ph 348-9826    Ext 781 and leave a message.

 

To all parents …  if you have any good photographs of a school activity either recently taken or taken from now until the end of the year,  we would very much appreciate it if you could forward them to us via e-mail— janp@middleton.school.nz

 

community Notices  

"In thy light shall we see light." 
                                        Psalm 36:9

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