Newsletter Term 4 Week 3 Friday 11 November 2011

Value Focus for next two weeks: Initiative / Perseverance

Kia ora tatou katoa, Talofa, Malo e lelei, Bula vi naka, Kia orana Nga mihi nui ki a koutou, Namaste, Nihao, He mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa! Greetings to you all.

It is already week 3 and the end of the year is fast approaching, only 5 weeks to go and such a lot to cover.

CAMP 2011/12 - The Year 6 Camp at Long Bay was very successful last week. A big “THANK YOU” to all the parents/caregivers for their support in helping make this a enjoyable experience for all concerned.

Next year 2012, the Year 6 Camp will be in Term 1 Week 9, Monday 26 March to Wednesday 28 March.

The Camp is an opportunity for students to build and enhance healthy relationships, develop leadership skills, explore and celebrate the outdoors. All students are expected to attend this camp as part of the curriculum requirements.

The cost of the camp will be approximately $200.00 and parents/caregivers are encouraged to make part payments as soon as possible. The school has already begun fund raising this year to reduce the price for next year. You are able to make payments at the Office or via on-line banking.

ENVIRO AWARD - We are also very excited to have achieved the Silver Enviro Award this week. Our staff and children have worked really hard to achieve this award. Our congratulations go to everyone involved, especially Ms Monica Meikle, for her continued enthusiasm. The school has developed a culture of caring for our environment through the school wide Inquiry Units “Me and My Environment” “Sustainability”.

STUDENT LED CONFERENCES WEEK 4 - Elm Park School continues to be focused on improving student achievement. We believe that Student Led conferences will promote learning, and help strengthen the partnership between the learner, teacher and parent/caregiver. We received very positive feedback about these conferences last time.

Wednesday 16 November Years 1-3

Thursday 17 November Years 4-6

What is a student led conference? - A student led conference is a meeting run by the student for parents/caregivers, entirely focused on the student’s recent learning. The meeting is facilitated by the student and follows a format that has been developed and practised before the meeting. The major focus will be on reading, writing and mathematics at this stage, but the student will share other curriculum areas as well. The student will anaylse their strengths and reflect on the progress they have made in achieving their learning goals.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Trish Plowright

PRINCIPAL

Looking Ahead

ANNUAL TRIPS/ CULTURAL ACTIVITIES & RESOURCES COSTS FOR 2012 - During the year classes will be involved in a number of cultural activities, trips and using resources. These activities are closely related to the learning objectives for the year. The total amount is $100 for the whole of the year, however this can be paid on a term by term basis. ($25 per term).

The funds contribute to the following:

· Art materials for specific projects.

· Writing resources – jovis, felt pens, coloured pencils (these are purchased in bulk by the school and are therefore cheaper and are kept by the teacher to avoid losses).

· Water safety activities – children are taught water safety skills by both teachers and outside experts.

· Mathletics – a web based mathematics programme that supports our maths programme. This pays for the license for Years 4, 5 & 6 children who can have access to this programme at home and at school.

· PMP – Perceptual Motor Programme for Years 1&2. This programme supports learners fine and gross motor skills and assists the children to focus on learning.

· Extra curricular resources: workbooks, seminars, Life Education Trust.

· Trips to a variety of sites that are associated with the Inquiry Learning topic or context.

· Guest speakers.

· Cultural activities.

· Buses to transport the children to various programmes or activities.

Please contact Mrs Norma Foster our Executive Officer on 5770193 or the office staff Mrs Rachel Herriott or Mrs Lauren Russell for payment options. Online banking and EFTPOS facilities are available.

STATIONERY PACKS FOR 2012 - These packs will be available from Office Max Online. The cost will vary according to the students year level. They range from $19.00 - $48.00 depending on whether they are new or returning students.

Please visit www.myschool.co.nz to order your pack. You must be sure of your child’s year level. If you are unable to order online, you can buy your pack from the Manukau store located at 5 Ronwood Ave from November 22^nd.

IRON BRIAN – We require helpers for our Iron Brian show on Tuesday 15 November. We need people for food prep from 8.30 am. Even if you only have half and hour, we would greatly appreciate your help. Please see Karen Allen or the office staff. CONGRATULATIONS WE ARE A SILVER ENVIROSCHOOL - On Tuesday a group of students from all levels of the school, teachers, and parents Two Senior Environmental Education Facilitators from the Auckland Council Enviroschools came to oversee the process.

The purpose of the reflection day was to highlight our progress and achievements, reflect on our school’s sustainable practices, actions and learning and to decide whether our school identifies with the description of a silver school. The key features of this description are:

· We have a clear school vision

· Our sustainable practices are being maintained and extended

· There is increasing depth and breadth of learning and action through student-led enquiry

· Our work has involved lots of people in the school as well as parents, whanau and the wider community members

After gathering a lot of evidence around these features, we confidently agreed that we have progressed on from bronze to a silver enviroschool!

WORM TEA FOR SALE - 2 litres for $2.00. When diluted for application this makes 20 litres, a very effective and cheap plant fertiliser. A natural product to make plants, vegetables and trees grow quickly, strong and healthy. Apply on the foliage and roots once a week, approximately 1/4 of a cup per plant. Place your order at the office or buy at the school gate.

Key Events For Your Diary

Tue 15 Nov.... Iron Brian Show

Wed 16 Nov... Student Led Conferences Y1-3 3.30 – 8.00 pm

Thur 17 Nov... Student Led Conferences Y4-6 3.30 – 8.00 pm

Fri 18 Nov..... Year 6’s Visit Farm Cove 11-12

Wed 23 Nov... Headstart ends .................... Interschool Athletics

Fri 25 Nov..... Term 4 Principals Awards Assembly 9.15 am Y1-3

Fri 25 Nov..... Term 4 Principals Awards Assembly 10.15 am Y4-6

Thur 1 Dec..... Cultural Concert 6 pm

This Week in Review

NEW STUDENTS – We welcome the following new students and their families to Elm Park School: Emmanuel Uili, Rafay Hayat, Pula Rathnasekara, Nadia Mistry, Aayan Syed, Lorenzo Hilton

TERM 4 HAT TIME – Please be aware that ALL children are required to wear hats in terms 1 & 4. Children without hats are not allowed in the playground and must spend morning tea and lunch in the shade area.

MILK BOTTLES – Thank you all for the milk bottles you have sent in this year. However we no longer have space for any more so please do not leave them by the worm farm. We will advise you next year when we require more.

Student Achievement

Dylan Ladopoulos has just been selected to represent Auckland at the 2012 Trans-Tasman Challenge against New South Wales in January. For the past two weekends he has been attending trials at Mt Smart, and a team of over 80 athletes have been chosen from the Waikato and Auckland region. We are yet to be informed of what events he will be doing exactly, the competition itself will be held on Sunday January 15th at Waitakere Stadium. This is an international event and we are proud of him. Well done Dylan.

Focus on Children

Aboriginal Art - Room 28 have been learning about Australian Aboriginal art. We have learnt about how Aboriginals tell stories through Dreamtime pictures. We created our own artwork using the same colours and techniques as the Aboriginals used. We have spent lots of time dipping our sticks into the paint and dotting our animal paintings. Here are a few we wanted to share with you.

Seyah

Bronte

Alais

Sami

Samuell

Owen

POSITIVE SOCIAL INTERACTION WINNERS
Congratulations to the following students who were selected and acknowledged this week for their responsible, friendly behaviour.
Room 1	Eliani Hukui
Room 2	Benjamin Cao
Room 3	Kalin Howard
Room 4	Jusleen Kaur Singh
Room 8	Briahna Tupou
Room 9	Dayton Nolan
Room 10	Ashita Prasad
Room 11	Myra Singh
Room 12	Andrew Thomas
Room 13	Kelly Yang
Room 14	Lucas Warren-Cocks
Room 15	Charlie Wilson
Room 16	Nevada Lim
Room 17	Mansur Nazif
Room 18	Christian Santos
Room 19	Grace Samways
Room 20	David Feng
Room 21	Boston Waihape
Room 22	Krishahn Sharma
Room 23	Connor Hiley
Room 24	Yazan Hatem
Room 25	Ailie McNaughton
Room 26	Yeaeun Lee
Room 27	Raxit Patel
Room 28	Alais Riddle
Room 29	Selina Wu
Room 30	Chloe Biddick
PERSONAL PRESENTATION
The following students were voted as the overall winner in their year level for the most neatly presented in their uniform.
Year 1:	Katie Howell
Year 2:	Hailley Young
Year 3:	Leo Liu
Year 4:	Ard Zeneli
Year 5:	Ethan Makaola
Year 6:	Christine Lin

COMMUNITY NOTICES

eWaste Drop Off - Car park of Trinity Methodist Church
 474 Pakuranga Rd., Pakuranga November 12, 2011 - Saturday
 9am to 3pm Computer hardware, Desktop PC, Hard Disk Drive, Floppy Disk Drive, Computer Parts, etc... Monitors Game consoles, Toys Mobile phones Cable, Adapter etc... Televisions Stove, Microwave, Washing Machine, Dishwasher Car Batteries