Newsletter

Keep away from small people who belittle your ambitions.

Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.

Mark Twain

Last term the Room 2/4 students studied two of New Zealand’s icons; Sir Edmund Hillary and Sir Peter Blake, who have both left huge legacies behind them. The children would agree totally that the contributions that the two Knights have made during their lifetimes, have lifted New Zealand’s profile around the world and certainly make you feel that you, too, have limitless potential.

The children are still exploring their thinking, particularly planning and creativity. As part of the reporting process the teachers are working with children and their parents to set SMART (Specific-Measurable-Achieveable- Realistic-Timeframe) goals for the remainder of 2009. Please do take the time to sit with your child after the report interview and together, come up with some targets that have been jointly agreed upon. As educators, we are realising that if we set goals together with the children, that have identified as being “SMART” goals, there is much more liklihood of the targets being achieved. Please return these goal sheets to school as soon as possible and we will begin to work upon them. We had a very good turn out of parents to the first of the two report afternoons and look forward to seeing the remainder of the parents with their children this Friday from 3.20pm onwards.

Vanessa Beeler is very generously donating her time to tutor the Year 7/8 students in Food Technology every Friday this term and the students are participating with enthusiasm. Ricky Smith ran a very popular Bush Craft unit in Term 1 with Andrew Horscroft demonstrating firearm safety just before duck shooting season started with a bang. The Year 7/8’s are loving the community tutors and the “usefulness” of the Technology that they are experiencing.

Due to work commitments Rachel Wilson is unable to continue to run the Green Machines Enviro-school Group. We desperately need a parent to step up and offer to run this programme if it is to continue. If we are unable to find somebody this may effect the continuation of Technology being available at Otamarakau and we will go back to Technology at Te Puke Intermediate. Please contact us urgently if you can help.

At a recent grading Joshua Meikle was promoted to Green Belt Blue Tab, Jade Fletcher was awarded her Yellow Belt and Chelsea Wilson was graded to Black Tip. I think we now have the security for the next school dance sorted.

Training is in full swing now for our school cross country which will be held in about three weeks. It is inevitable that the students will get a little muddy from time-to-time as they train. Please ensure that the children are equipped with a change of clothes to practice/train in, a plastic bag and suitable footwear. All we need then is for the students to exercise sound self-management skills with the organisation of their “kit”.

Congratulations to Mrs Rosie, Miss Cleveland, Mr Maclaren, Mrs Barton and Mr Cordery, who successfully completed a gruelling 7hrs professional development evening, last Monday to update and refresh their First Aide Skills. It is important for as many people as possible to have Basic First Aide knowledge to be in a position to render assistance in an emergency. The senior students in Room 1 are this term, learning rudimentary First Aiding which they will without a doubt, use to good effect at some stage in their lives.

Yesterday the School Peer Mediators; Ruby, Kaila, Awhina, Chelsea, Vunisa, Amy, Taiesha, Benjamin and Rebecca, accompanied by Mrs Horscroft and Mr Cordery, attended the National Young Leaders Day in Rotorua. “What it takes to be a leader” was the theme for the day. One of the speakers, Nick Tuitasi talked powerfully about developing character, choosing friends, reputation and humility. Kerri Tilby, another speaker explained that for a leader, “Who you are and the actions you take make the difference”. Barbara Kendall talked about leaders leading by example and the final, very entertaining speaker, Russell Harrison said to be a leader you need to have a dream, then you must believe in and work towards achieving that dream. Over 2400 students plus accompanying adults attended the conference and left buzzing at the conclusion of the event.