GRETA VALLEY SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

13 June 2018

GRETA VALLEY SCHOOLSKILLS FOR LIFE!

Dear Parents

CROSS COUNTRYCongratulations to Elsie and Sam who have qualified for the Canterbury Cross Country, which is to being held next Tuesday 20th June and we wish them well. The other runners in the Hurunui Zone Cross Country; Logan, Lucas, Flynn and Andra placed within the top ten in their respective races which is a great team effort.

LIFE EDUCATIONThe Life Education Bus visited last Tuesday and the children received instruction in various health related topics. The Year 1-3 theme was ‘Healthy Food’, Year 4/5 ‘The Importance of Being Unique’ and being yourself and the Year 6-8 students theme was, ‘Growing and Changing.’ I received a thank you card from the Life Education Bus teacher this morning. It reads, ‘Thank you for making me feel so welcome when I came to visit you. What a great bunch of kids; attentive, polite and a whole lot of fun! I had such a lovely day.Kind regards Mhairi (and Harold!)

FUNDRAISERWe held our fundraiser on Monday 4th June at the Hurunui Hotel. We set up a stall and sold quite a few of our second hand items that were donated by some families. Adriane and I ran the stall and sold some books left over from our book business. It was a rather cold miserable day weather wise but we managed to raise $170.00 which will go towards buying new novel sets of books for the senior class. Thank you to those families who donated things for the fundraiser. Adriane and I thoroughly enjoyed our day meeting new people.

WHALE WATCH TRIPAn online survey went out yesterday about Whale Watch on 25th July. Unfortunately, we will not be able to take preschoolers on the tour. If you are taking a vehicle, and providing transport, the priority will be to include schoolchildren.

NATIONAL YOUNG LEADERS DAYJack, Latisha and Kavalla all went with Kaylene to National Young Leaders Day (NYLD) on Wednesday 30th May. They described the experience as ‘Awesome,’ and then stated, “Can we go again?” This unique experience helps our young people understand that anything is possible if you put your mind to it, no matter what the circumstances.They listened to Jono Taylor, Amanda Wilson and Riley Hathaway. What impressed them most was the experiences that Amanda Wilson had in life, coming from very humble beginnings, living in barns, horse floats and tents and being bullied at school to developing a love for the wild Kaimanawa Horses. She now competes as an accomplished show jumper to World Cup Level and has a passion for film, having filmed and directed two documentaries, Wind Eaters and Mustang Ride.

PRINCIPALS AWARDSCongratulations to Nikolas and Georgie who received Principal Awards last Friday. Nikolas for coming in every morning, greeting us by name and asking if there is anything he can do to help. Great Integrity there Nikolas and Georgie for being much more focussed and thinking about all her work. Great skills for life Georgie, keep up the great work.

NZEI UNION MEETINGA reminder that next Thursday 21st June, teachers are attending another paid union meeting. We will not close the school, however to enable staff to attend these meetings we are asking that you have your children at home in the afternoon. Buses will run earlier that day leaving school at 12.30pm. If you are unable to have your children at home because of other commitments then we will have supervision organised to look after them. Have you filled in the survey online to notify us of your intentions for that afternoon? I shall put out a hard copy of the survey with the newsletter. The NZEI are doing their best to have teachers’ voices heard in relation to pay and conditions so that more people are attracted to the teaching profession, which ultimately will improve the outcomes for students.

STUDENT COUNCIL SOUP DAY

Phone 314 3800 - fax 314 3809 - E-Mail: office@gretavalley.school.nzPlease support our sponsors

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The student council have organised a soup and bun day for Wednesday 27th of June. More information will be available later this week.

ANNUAL REPORT & AUDITED ACCOUNTSThe annual school report and audited accounts are available to view in the school office for anyone who wishes to view them.

PARENTING TIPS ‘What did you do at School today?’Try the following questions;What advice did someone give you today?What was your happiest moment today?What helped you to remember what to do?

QUICK JOKES Statistics show that those who have the most birthdays live the longest.

Teacher asks her student, “If I say I am beautiful which tense is that?”Student replies, “Obviously past.”

I didn’t realise how bad a driver I was until my satnav said, “In 400 metres, do a slight left, stop, and let me out!”

UPCOMING EVENTSTerm 230th April – to 6th JulyAssemblies: 22nd June and the end of term celebration on 6th JulyNewsletters: 27th June

June13–29 Woolshed Visit21 Union meeting29 Sample books homeJuly3 Student-led Conferences (by appointment) Have a good week from the great Greta Valley Team, Malin, Jo, Sue, Amelia, Megan, Emma and Christine.

**BOT NEWS **Term One was a jam-packed term for the Board of Trustees. On top of the regular formalities required of us by law, a great deal of time was spent collating information for the school’s Education Review Office (ERO) report. We are pleased this report has now been finalised and it will be uploaded to our website to view. As a Board we take great pride in our school and students, as I am sure all of our

parents and school community do. We also believe there is always room to improve and we have taken the comments and suggestions from the ERO report and will develop and implement changes which will ultimately result in better learning outcomes and student achievement. One such change that has been adopted is the reporting of student achievement to the BOT every term. In these discussions we look at student achievement, where resources are needed or better utilised, gifted and talented students, and targeting specific students for accelerated learning. Although we have a small school no child is named or identified. These discussions are also held “in committee” (public excluded) as another safe guard in protecting student privacy.Although we monitor student achievement as a board, we are aware that children are part of a bigger picture and as such, communication between home and school is vital. If you have any concerns or questions about your child please don’t hesitate to talk to your child’s teacher or Malin.A change in legislation last year now requires the Greta Valley School Annual Report to be uploaded to the school website. We have just received our finalised report for 2017 and this will uploaded as soon as possible. As well as signing off core governance requirements, board members are working hard to secure grants and funding for equipment for our children. At present we are currently working on an upgrade of technology in Room Two, maintenance of the pool and pool area, upkeep of the school grounds (weeding, pruning etc) and establishment of a productive raised vegetable garden. Once we have achieved these initial goals we are hoping to investigate the upgrade of the courts in 2019.It is also a busy time for Friends of the School Committee. With another successful Hunt event completed, rugby afternoon teas continuing, and the Rogaine Fundraiser on the Saturday 23rd June – it certainly is a busy time!! If you are able to help out in any way it is always very much appreciated!!If you have an idea, a concern, a compliment, please talk to your child’s teacher or Malin in the first instance. As always please feel free to contact myself if you have any questions.Kate VerrallGreta Valley School ChairpersonKateverrall7@gmail.com

Phone 314 3800 - fax 314 3809 - E-Mail: office@gretavalley.school.nzPlease support our sponsors

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Greta Valley Friends of the SchoolHeights of Winter Rogaine Catering FundraiserSaturday 23rd June

Parent Support and InformationAnother fabulous opportunity to put more $$ into the bank that in turn is gifted to the school so that all our children can experience extra things through this funding.

We are being paid $15 per head for competitors in the 6hour race and $25 per head in the 12hour race.Currently there are 169 ($2535) entries for the 6hour race and 137 ($3425) in the 12hour race which is a total of 306 competitors so far….they are expecting around a normal 400 competitors give or take. So well worth the time and effort.

All catering is to take place at the Scargill domain. The menu is:

6hour race (Available to competitors from 4pm): Pumpkin or Bean & Pasta Soup with a bread roll

Cake and Tea & Coffee

12hour race (Available to competitors from 8pm): Roast lamb, potatoes and ranch slaw with herb mayonnaise.

Cake and Tea & Coffee

The jobs where we require Parental Help are:1) Set up and food preparation from 2pm time onwards2) Service at the soup station, keeping the slow cookers of soup warm, filled up, soup cups available, condiments station fill etc. 3) Cooking of potatoes, making up coleslaw, gravy etc 4) The lamb will be cooked on the spit roasts – so some dads to help with this and carve at 7pm 5) We are borrowing the Bain Marie from the pub to keep lamb, potatoes and gravy warm (people to keep this fill and at the ready for the competitors)6) 2 people on the tea and coffee station and also responsible to cutting the cakes into portion sizes. (from 3pm)7) Making sure there are plenty of plates, knives, forks, serviettes ready6) Help with recycling, rubbish, dishes and so on…

Equipment we require to help us with this event is:- 8 x Slow cookers- 4 x Soup ladles- 6 x Gas Hob camping cookers and gas bottles- 4 x big stock pots- 4 x large bowls for mixing coleslaw to make ready as required

If you have any questions or concerns please talk to me.Thank you for your supportCharlotte and FOSPhone: 3143338 / 027 8797 224

Phone 314 3800 - fax 314 3809 - E-Mail: office@gretavalley.school.nzPlease support our sponsors

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Room 1 children adding words to their ‘Word Map’.

Harold the giraffe making friends in the playground.Phone 314 3800 - fax 314 3809 - E-Mail: office@gretavalley.school.nz

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ROOM 1

LIFE EDUCA

TION