Week 4 - 4 November 2016 - WORSER BAY SCHOOL

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Week 4 - 4 November 2016

Kia ora e te Whānau o Whetūkairangi

Bookings are now open for the parent/teacher Progress and Achievement Meetings. For those of you newer to the school, we have 4 formal points during the year where parents come and either take part in a:

Term 1: Goal Setting Meeting (children/teachers/parents)
Term 2: Progress and Achievement Meeting / written report (teachers/parents)
Term 3: Student-Led Conference (children/teachers/parents)
Term 4: Progress and Achievement Meeting / written report (teachers/parents)

(This may look different for New Entrants or children starting during the year.)

Although we will be reporting on progress against the National Standards, we must keep our 3 principles at the heart of all that we do. These being:

The Whole Child
Knowledge Building and Inquiry
Collaboration

As our school has a big focus on wellbeing/positive education, you will also see/hear reference to the children's use of character strengths in the written reports. By having this focus on strengths, we can engage these to support growths in the areas that aren't so strong. At the end of last term, I had a parent coffee session when I went into strengths in more detail. It also happened to be on World Character Day where the teachers had planned great activities in whānau groupings and wrote about it on the blog, etc.

At the parent session, I shared the VIA Institute of Character - 24 character strengths. These are the strengths we base our work on and also the strengths most widely peer reviewed. I urge you to take the free survey and read some of the material available on the site: http://www.viacharacter.org/www/Character-Strengths-Survey

Our Board and all staff members have taken the survey and it's a useful way of recognising different strengths in each other and how these may contribute best to the 'work of the school'. If you are really keen, you may also like to listen to this 30 minute radio interview by Prof. Lea Waters from Melbourne Uni on World Character Day, as it has some nice tips for parents: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJeGA84ee3c

Only 2 weeks until the Fair now - let's engage our zest, teamwork and ensure there is plenty of humour and self-regulation on the 13th!

Ngā mihi

PRINCIPAL’S AWARDS
Our Principal’s Awards are currently focusing on the following:

I am powerful...

I can think about overcoming challenges
I am excited about new learning and I challenge myself
I do not give up
I understand that not knowing is good
I take action
I can make decisions about my environment (sustainability)

Autahi and Tautoru

Konrad, Oliver, Phineas, Sasha, Dylan, Eloi, Rhosyn and Ridley.

Matariki and Mahutonga
Alba, Bella, Daisy, Gemma, Isaac and Sophia.

Updated Letter from Stephanie Hayes' Parents

Dear Worser Bay School families

It’s been just over a year since Stephanie was diagnosed with leukaemia (a type of blood cancer). She is responding well to treatment in the Maintenance phase and still has regular hospital appointments and medication.

It’s been a very challenging year for us. Thank you so much for your support – thanks for the parcels and cards while we were in Christchurch; thanks for organising and supporting The BFG movie fundraiser; thanks for joining in Wig Wednesday. We have drawn strength and built resilience from the school and the wonderful adults and children within it. The WBS community has a lovely caring spirit and supportive attitude. Huge thanks to all of you.

Thank you also for being so vigilant about your children’s health at school and keeping the school informed of illnesses. It means so much to us. Steph was at school for virtually all of term 3 – she went to the disco and the year 3/4 sleepover – both events that she missed earlier.

Please remember that Stephanie will continue to have low immunity for the next one and a half years. Lowered immunity means she is more susceptible to illness than other children. In particular, chicken pox, measles and the flu can have serious consequences for her.

Please continue to notify the school immediately if there is chicken pox, measles or flu within your family. It's very important that you do not send your child(ren) to school if they are unwell.

Many thanks again for your ongoing support.

We’re very much looking forward to seeing you at the school fair this year!

Kind Regards
Cath Peebles and Dave Hayes (Stephanie's parents)

Autahi

Measuring

We have started to explore measuring. We discovered you can use lots of different things to measure with. There are lots of times we need to be able to measure - when building, cooking, painting and loads more!

Powerful Learners

We spent a lot of time this week discovering and practising what it really means to be a learner! Have a look at our blog to find out more!

Tautoru

Fred The Lonely Teddy: Travelling Tales

We have been involved in a story project called Travelling Tales. This time we wrote the beginning of the story, then it was sent off to a school in Luxembourg and then to Island Bay School, then to Luxembourg and then back to us. Watch and listen to the story on our blog.

Haiku

On Tuesday Shona's literacy group joined forces with the Earth group. We worked on counting syllables and reading haiku poems. We spent time outside with a buddy to write our own.

Check out the blog for more examples.

Bark Chips
Brown crusty light
Millions and millions
Lost in a group
by Hunter T, Pyrenees and Taiga

Mystery Skype with Bailey Road School

This was lots of fun. Read Liam and Hadley’s post on our blog.

We skyped with Chrissy and Nyala this week. We were all excited to meet the baby!

Diwali

We have been learning a little bit about Diwali and wished Bukit Timah School in Singapore a “Happy Diwali.” Students from Worser Bay shared how they celebrated Diwali. Read these on our blog.

International Friendship Day 2017

In October, Nicola visited Singapore as part of an Asia NZ Foundation delegation. Nicola visited Bukit Timah School. Worser Bay School have continued to connect and collaborate with Bukit Timah.

Inspired by the way that Bukit Timah School celebrate culture and diversity, Worser Bay are going to celebrate International Friendship Day next year.

"International Friendship Day" is celebrated in Singapore. This day is dedicated to the understanding of Singapore’s relations with its neighbours and aims to nurture the spirit of friendship and collaboration among different people.

International Friendship Day is celebrated in schools in Singapore in April.

Worser Bay School will celebrate International Friendship Day in 2017 and have started a project for 2017. Schools around the world will make short movie about their country and culture. Schools have signed up from across the globe.

The schools that have signed up are from: Ireland, England, USA, Canada, Moldova, Trinidad, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Canada, Luxembourg, Australia, Philippines, China, Romania, Taiwan, The Gambia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Morocco, United Arab Emirates and Japan.

Our students have been designing logos for international Friendship Day. Students from Auroa School in Taranaki have also been working on logos. Watch this space...

Mahutonga/Matariki

Dress Up Day

On Monday part of the Social Group of the Student Council organised a Dress Up Day to celebrate Halloween. Have a look at the blog to see a video that Charlie and Evie made to remember the parade.

Learning about Money

We have introduced an online banking system called Banqer to help develop some ideas about money, bank accounts, income and expenses. We are rolling this out to them over this week.

Making Diagrams to Show Basic Principles of Economics

We have been learning about how money works and some basic principles of economics; want and need, supply and demand, profit and loss and so on. The ideas and concepts related to money have been processed and turned into diagrams to represent the ideas. We have then been teaching others in the class about what we have learnt. These are some of the diagrams we have made.

Scarcity and Choices Flow Diagram

Mahutonga/Matariki Inquiries

Business Time

We have launched into a new Inquiry "Business Time", looking at how money works and asking the question, "How do people conceive and develop ideas for businesses?" To give our kids hands on experience with this, we have planned for them to begin their own business venture. To do this, they will need a budget. We thought a reasonable amount would be $10 as seed money. These businesses will all be a roaring success at our Market Day which will run from 1pm to 3.30pm on Friday 18 November.

Please make an arrangement with your child/ren in Years 4-6 to spend up to $10 to establish their business. We hope that this will be reimbursed to you at a later date. Please help your child source the materials. Do not spend more than $10, however items from cupboards at home may be either given in kind or treated as part of your $10.

Snorkelling

As part of our final Inquiry of the year, "Tangaroa and Tane", we will be returning to the Island Bay Marine Centre on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 December (one group per day), this time getting in the water. The progamme includes a "Learn to Snorkel" session at Kilbirnie Pool on Friday 2 December, snorkelling at Worser Bay and then at Island Bay in the Marine Reserve. We are still finalising the costs for this programme but with buses and everything else it could be up to $50-$60. We feel the programme is a great learning experience and really supports the learning we were involved in at the beginning of the year, looking at the balance of our Marine Environments.

EOTC (Education Outside the Classroom)
We hope to run a series of other water based and Outdoor Education experiences. Last year this included sailing, kayaking, beach volleyball, mountain biking among other things. The cost for this will be around $10. Please keep an eye out for further details in later Newsletters. All of these beach based activities will run over the last 3 weeks of the school term.

More details about payments and parental permission via Wrap it up will follow. We don’t want to create any stress regarding payments (given the time of year), so please discuss options at the office, if you need to.

There is no end to the excitement!

ACTIONS AT A GLANCE

Pizza Lunch - Wednesday, 9 November 2016 - order by 9am on Tuesday 8 November
Assembly - Friday 11 November
Book your Progress and Achievement Meeting by noon on Friday 11 November
Post Fair "Thank You" from the Board - Friday, 18 November 2016 - Chocolate Fish Cafe
Sausage Sizzles - Tuesdays
Sushi Lunches - Fridays
Term Dates 2016 and 2017
Take a look at our Blogs! www.worserbay.school.nz/blogs
The following payments are now due:
Voluntary Contributions - the Term 4 payment is now due (if you are paying by instalment).
Eastern Zones Athletics - $8.00 (Only if your child brought home a notice.)

All payments via Wrap It Up please.

SCHOOL FAIR - ACTIONS AT A GLANCE

Fair Donation Day - Sunday 6 November, 10am to 12noon. Come to The Shed. We also need Volunteers to help sort.
Pre-buy Rapid Raffle paddles (limited number) and Outdoor Activities tickets via Wrap It Up. (WBS families only.)
Clothing Boutique Pre-Sale - Friday 11 November, 3pm to 5pm. (WBS families only.)
Fair Volunteer Form - please complete the Fair Volunteer Form today, if you haven't already.
Lucky Dip Stall needs: prizes and wrapping paper any style.
Pay for your Ball Run Tickets on Wrap It Up and pop your stubs into the purple box in the office.
Please pop over and "like" the page https://www.facebook.com/worserbayschool.fair
Please could we minimise our use of car parks around school on Fair Day. Can you car pool, walk or get dropped off?
Please bring your own reusable bags for packaging your purchases in. Your kids could bring their PFP bags.
Please read: The Final Countdown to the Fair Letter

Progress and Achievement Meetings

Bookings are now open for Progress and Achievement Meetings to be held from Monday 14 November until Thursday 24 November (inclusive). Bookings will close at midday on Friday 11 November.

Please follow the instructions below:

Go to: http://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/
Enter the Worser Bay School Code: hkpny

At this final meeting of the year, you will receive the written report against the National Standards in Reading, Writing and Maths for your child. It's when teachers/parents can discuss the next steps in terms of goals. This meeting is for parents and teachers only.

Board Shorts

After months of preparation, our annual school Fair is almost upon us and we would like to take this opportunity to thank all involved for their hard work and efforts to make it a success. We know that many people are involved in various capacities, so our thanks to you all. Remember to encourage friends and family to come along; spread the word about and bid on the Silent Auction; and fingers crossed for a lovely, fine Wellington day!

The importance of the Fair as part of our fundraising efforts has been reinforced lately with indications about central funding for schools for 2017 and the reality that, as a decile 10 school, we will have some funding reductions next year meaning that some of the resources needed for our priority learning areas will have to be funded from locally raised funds. Fundraising, such as the Fair, Discos, Tuesday Sausage Sizzles, Pizza Lunches and Voluntary Contributions, make all the difference in the school’s ability to continue to educate the whole and every child.

We were taken through the Arinui Tool that Jude and the teaching team are using to evidence how they are meeting many of the teacher certification requirements of their roles. More than that though, it was great evidence of the way the team learn themselves and share their collective knowledge and experiences about the best methods and ways of teaching our children. Continuous improvement and inquiring minds in action at all levels.

We were also delighted to see the well-being review from the senior school return such positive results - again, it tells us somewhat independently that not only do we think that the right things are being done and that we have a great culture in the school, but so do our students!

Finally, remember the end of year opportunity to celebrate all of your efforts over the year in supporting the school at the Chocolate Fish cafe on 18 November. It’s a chance for the Board to say thanks for all your efforts that have made the school the place it is, and recognise that it wouldn’t be this way without that contribution. We can enjoy some nibbles and a Friday drink, while there is plenty of space for the kids to enjoy the space at the same time.

See you on the 13th at the Fair, on what will hopefully be a warm and sunny day!

Pizza Lunch - Wednesday 9 November

On Wednesday 9th November, small individual pizzas will be available for lunch. All pizzas have a tomato sauce base and you can choose from three types of topping:
Cheese
Cheese and Ham
Cheese and Salami
Pizzas cost $5 each. Please order via Wrap It Up. Orders must be in by 9am on Tuesday 8th November.

The pizzas will be handed out by area (Autahi, Tautoru and Mahutonga/Matariki), therefore it is important that you order under each child's name separately (if you are ordering for two or more children).

A Note from the Office

Joining Worser Bay School
If you have a child (or know of any other children) turning 5 in the second half of 2017 who would like to attend Worser Bay School, we would love to hear from you. In zone or out of zone enquiries are welcome.

Friendly Reminder - Voluntary Contributions

If you opted to pay your Voluntary Contribution per term - Term 4 Voluntary Contribution payment option is now open on Wrap it Up. We really appreciate your continued support!

WBS Treasure Island Fair - Sunday 13th November, 11am-2pm

FINAL COUNTDOWN - 1 WEEK TO GO

Many thanks to those who have already donated lots of lovely goodies, given us their time for a variety of jobs, chased up contacts and volunteered to work on the day.

You should have been contacted by now by either a stall holder or fair team member to confirm/check where you are working on the day. If not, and you are available to help on the day, please contact Sarah Wells (sarahwellshgl@gmail.com, 021 793 557). If you haven’t already, please pop over and “like” the WBS Fair Facebook page too: https://www.facebook.com/worserbayschool.fair.

Access the full “three weeks to go instructions” here: 3 Weeks to GO Countdown.

1 WEEK TO GO – Friday 4 November
FINAL SUNDAY DONATIONS AND SORTING DAY	Sunday 6 November 10am-12pm Drive up and drop off your books, bottles, toys, games, clothes and puzzles! If you can stay to lend a hand to get all those wonderful items priced and ready to go, that would be appreciated! Wednesday and Fridays before and after school too!
BALL RUN TICKETS AND MONEY	Please return your ball run ticket stubs and money (unless you have paid via WrapItUp) to the purple box in the office. If you are unable to sell yours, please also return them so we can arrange for them to be onsold.
CAKE STALL	Cake boxes have been sent home today with your child (one per family). If you need more than one, please pick one up at the office. No-one in the family a baker? Sweets and fudge are popular alternatives. Bags for sweets and fudge are also available at the office.
CRAFT STALL	Bring in those hand-made projects you have been working on.
BOOKS AND TOYS	Bring along any pre-loved items that are in a saleable condition. Sort through the kids' bedrooms! Toys can be hidden in paper bags or newspaper, please put puzzles in a bag so we don’t lose that last piece! The Book stall sells CDs, DVDs, and puzzles as well as books.
BOTTLE TOMBOLA	Bring in all those gorgeous full (unopened!) bottles for our tombola: wine, beer, olive oils, bath treats, etc…
WHITE ELEPHANT/ TRASH’N’TREASURE	Start to gather together all that "stuff" filling up the cupboards that you no longer need! Crockery ornaments, rugs, pictures/photo frames, sports stuff, etc. Remember, we won’t be collecting them until Friday afternoon and Saturday of the Fair weekend.

SILENT AUCTION -
NOW LIVE

Click on the Silent Auction list to see a comprehensive list of Silent Auction lots ready for your bids. Pop your best bid on to be in to WIN!
Online bidding closes on Saturday 12 November at 5pm.
For those attending the Fair, bidding starts at 11am to 1.15pm on Fair Day.

RAPID RAFFLES

GAMES & OUTDOOR PRESALES

Buy a paddle for $35 via Wrap It Up before Friday 11 November (unless sold prior).

We are also selling in lots of $10 tickets for Outdoor Activities at the Fair. Sales need to be completed by 9am on Wednesday 9 November.

WBS Fair 2016 Children's Movie Trailer
This is a shout out to the team involved in creating the amazing Worser Bay School Fair 2016 movie. They all did a sterling job.

Contributors: Starring the children of Worser Bay School 
Director/Producers/Writers: Mell Clarke, Jacky Laverty & Duncan Nimmo
1st AD & Social Media: Michelle Kitney
Camera: Wrestler
Editor and Post Production: Dan Best

If you haven’t already, please pop over and “like” and share the movie. It is pinned to the top so its easy to find:
https://www.facebook.com/worserbayschool.fair.

Silent Auction is Now Live
The Silent Auction is now live. Our fabulous silent auction is now live. Click on the link Worser Bay School Silent Auction 2016 to see a comprehensive list of silent auction lots, ready for your bids. There is a range of items including Accommodation, to Art Work, Cafes, Children’s Activities, Fashion,Memorabilia, Restaurants, Sports Activities and Wine. Thanks to our fantastic community, local and national businesses who have got behind and supported Worser Bay School.

Please share the link far and wide to family, friends and work colleagues too. Pop your best bid on to be in to WIN!.

Tickets for the Outdoor Activities at the Fair

This year there will be lots of outdoor fun at the Fair. Entry to outdoor activities is by ticket. So, avoid the crazy outdoor queues and buy your tickets before the Fair starts. $10 will give you 10 tickets. Tickets need to be ordered by 9am on Wednesday 9 November and can be collected from the office on Thursday 10 and Friday 11 November.

Example prices of activities will be:

Bouncy Castle – 2 tickets
Jousting – 4 tickets
Paintball – 3 tickets for 10 shots
Games range from 1 ticket to 3 tickets
Ride on animals - 3 tickets

Buy tickets via Wrap It Up.

Rapid Raffles - Presales available!

For the first time ever we are having PRE-SALES of the Rapid Raffle Tickets. This means that if you are busy on Fair Day you know you can still be into win some of the seriously good prizes. There are 20 lots of 'wonderful', including a Weta Workshop tour for 4, Alana Estate Wine, Nicolettas Cakes, Tory Urban Retreat Sauna Starter Packs, Staglands Family Pass, Restaurant Vouchers, Pharmacy Vouchers, New World Vouchers and much, much more!

We are pre-selling 20 paddles to WBS families prior to Fair Day. Buying a paddle will give you a chance to win in every Rapid Raffle lot at the Fair. So, every time that wheel spins (20 times during the duration of the Fair), you are in with a chance to WIN. If you fancy your luck, you can purchase a paddle for $35 via www.wrapitup.co.nz before Friday 11 November (unless sold prior), and, if you have a particular lucky number (between 1 and 40) you would like to request please email: steveandsophie@xtra.co.nz.

Clothing Boutique at the WBS Fair
Fair Day is almost here, summer is coming and our children won’t stop growing! There are no better excuses for a clothing clear-out! You’ll need the wardrobe and drawer space for all the wonderful bargains you’ll find at our exclusive Pre-Sale! Yes! All WBS families are warmly invited to come and enjoy the best of the Clothing Boutique before Fair Day! Bring your PFP re-useable bag for your purchases! Allow plenty of time; include your children – we have a changing area so try-ons are encouraged!

Clothing Boutique Pre-Sale

When:          Friday 11 November
Where:        Mahutonga (seniors' classroom)
Time:           3.00 - 5.00pm
Payment:    Cash and Eftpos
Terms:        Payment must be made on the day. Sorry, no holds and no IOUs.

Clothing Donations
We have received and sorted some great donations so far but we still need a lot more! Don’t hold back – we will be gratefully accepting donations on Sunday, 6 November between 10am -12pm at school. The last day for donations is Wednesday 9 November. Please get things in before then if possible (we need time to sort, price and set-up). Just remember the better the quality of the donations, the better the boutique will be – and you’ll find lots of gorgeous things for you, your growing children and your significant other! What a great way to REDUCE, REUSE and RECYCLE at a community level!

Please donate:

Vintage clothes, designer labels, Made in NZ clothes
Women's clothes
Men's clothes
Childrenswear
Baby clothes
Shoes, sandals and boots
Sleepwear
Sportswear (jackets, gloves, sports uniforms, soccer and rugby boots, ski wear, togs, wetsuits, etc)
Accessories – hats, belts, scarves, bags
Jewellery – necklaces, watches, bangles, rings, costume jewellery

Not sure if your donations are suitable?
Please only donate clothes that you would be happy to buy! And please ensure that all donated items are washed and clean. We do not want clothes that need washing or repairing. Please, no ripped or stained items (if something is on its last legs and beyond wearing, consider keeping it to use as a cleaning rag or cushion stuffing).

See you soon with all your donations and on Friday 11th for the Pre-Sale!
Many thanks from the Clothing Boutique Team

Community Notices...

Looking to Rent
We are WBS family looking for a 3-4 bedroom home in the eastern suburbs for two adults and three children.
We are looking to pay around $600 p/w.
Please phone Delia on 027 819 1190 or email huntcj@xtra.co.nz

Springboard & Platform Diving at Kilbirnie Pool

Wellington Diving Club has a range of diving classes for kids aged 5 years and up. Why not try something new this year? Visit our website and come along for a free trial! We have many after-school sessions on most days and cater for kids of any level from beginners to competitive. We also run fun casual sessions on Sundays. For more information, please visit our website www.wellingtondiving.org.nz or call/text Barbara on 027-485-8888.

Child Minder
Hi, my name is Eva Malthus and I am nineteen years old. I am a reliable, disciplined and honest individual currently pursuing my Bachelor of Arts degree at Canterbury University. I plan to have a career in primary school or early childhood teaching.

At present I am looking for child minding work from 12th to 27th November (incl). I am happy to help out with odd jobs as well. I have my restricted drivers' licence.

I have a successful track record of taking full charge of children of all ages while keeping them engaged. I have had experience working for a holiday programme for autistic children too.

References are available if required. Please either text my mother Sue on 021 0234 0435 or email her on johnandsuemalthus@xtra.co.nz if you need more details or would like to get in touch.

Thank you

Eva