Tena Koutou, Talofa Lava, Malo e Lelei, Namaste, Ni sa bula, Noaia’e mauri, Fakalofa lahi atu, Kia Orana, Ni Hao, An Nyung Ha Sai Yo, Nay Ho, Hej, Hallo. Greetings to our school families.
There has been some focus in the media of late on teacher workload. I can certainly attest to how hard the teachers in our school work – I know what time I receive emails till at night, and I know how many times the alarm is accidentally set off as teachers come in to school over the weekend! We are lucky to have a BOT who have an awareness of this, and who certainly make our staff feel supported. I would like to thank them for approving leave for Mrs Chris Mackay, for Terms 2 & 3. Chris has worked tirelessly in our school for almost 10 years, organising the school Garden Club, Trees for Survival Planting and Support Readers, on top of her classroom programme. We wish her and her husband the very best of times as they head off to travel, and spend some well deserved time together. We have promised we won’t be jealous of the photos! 🙂
Have a safe and happy holiday everyone!
Nga mihi,
Kathryn Ramel
Principal
Welcome to our new students – we hope you enjoy your time at our school!
Adam Atkinson
Jacob Peterson
Travelwise Week 2018
Travelwise Week is certainly a fun time at our school, but far more importantly supports some of our core focuses of having healthy active kids, being outside, and helping the environment by (hopefully) being in cars less. Miss Thomas and her team of Travelwise Monitors worked really hard to provide some great opportunities this week – thank you!
Walkathon 2018
A huge thank you to everyone who turned out to brave the wild and windy conditions for our Walkathon yesterday. This is one of our major school fundraisers for the year, and ties in perfectly with our Travelwise week. Please, if families could collect sponsorship money over the holiday break, we would welcome it returned at the start of next term.
Online Fundraising
This allows our students to collect donations from family and friends who live out of our local area or even overseas; those who wouldn’t normally be able to donate.
Sponsors can pay directly into the school bank account:
ASB 12-3095-0002327-00
Reference: WALKATHON + name of student
NB: If using this method of payment, please write ‘Online Payment’ on pledge form next to ‘amount collected’.
Puriri 1 & 2 Trip to Tawharanui Regional Park
Puriri 1, with Mrs Williamson, and Puriri 2, with Mr Port, headed off to Tawharanui Regional Park for the day last week, as part of their inquiry into native birds. What an amazing place in our own backyard! Whilst many of us have braved the weekend crowds to enjoy the beach area, how many have taken the time to explore some of the amazing walks and bush areas? Did you know that there are 16 Takahe at Tawharanui, out of a total population of approx 260? Our Year 4 students learned about the importance of preserving our native bush, and the impact that this has on bird life, as well as the effect of predators. The Ecology Trail is clearly marked, to the right of Anchor Bay. There is a DOC information centre, with details about predators, and information about various walks. Look carefully around, because that is where the takahe like to “hang out”! We totally recommend it as a budget friendly holiday activity for the whole family.
Nikau 1 Mentoring Kahikatea 2 & Kauri 2
What a special morning this morning in Kahikatea 2 and Kauri 2! Our senior students from Nikau 1 have been investigating the process of creating board games to help with learning. This morning they took these games over to our Year 1 & 2 students in the junior school, and what a fantastic time it was. We use the phrase “living our values” often, but this morning our Year 5 students truly demonstrated that, as they created such a special atmosphere. Leading others to learn – well done!
Great Community Clean Up
Thanks to Mr Chapman and Tanja Dove for being behind this brilliant initiative:
Kia ora friends and whanau of Snells Beach School. To give back to the community and our gorgeous environment, we’ve decided to support Neighbourly’s “Great Community Clean Up”. Anyone who is interested in popping along to help should meet us in Whisper Cover, next to the (unopened) cafe, at 10am next Wednesday 18th April. We plan on doing a clean up from one end of our beautiful beach to the other, taking the time to enjoy the fantastic scenery and chat with other community members. As it ends just before lunchtime, it’s also a great excuse to natter over a coffee, make new acquaintances, and for the kids to play together afterwards too. If you’re interested in helping out, drop a line to Tanja Dove or Colin Chapman via Facebook or in passing, or just rock on up on the day. The more the merrier!
Gymnastics Holiday Programme
Mahurangi Gymnastics is putting on two fun holiday sessions!
Tuesday 17th April and Wednesday 18th April 9am-11am at the Mahurangi College Gymnasium. $15 per session or $30 for both days (payable online or in cash once the gymnast’s spot in the programme has been confirmed).
Aimed at ages 8 to 15. Numbers are limited. Email: nitramylime28@gmail.com to register before this Saturday 14th April.
Free Cycling Holiday Programme
Print or Save this Post