Hororata Primary SchoolHororata Primary SchoolHororata Primary School Tel (03) 3180 803 · Fax (03) 3180 682

Email: office@hororata.schoolzone.net.nz

http://intranet.hororata.school.nz/

Diary AlertDiary AlertDiary Alert

TERM ONE 2013 (BEGAN) Mon 6 May 2013

HORORATA CROSS COUNTRY

Wed 29/pp31 May 2013

BOARD OF TRUSTEES ELECTIONS

Thurs 30 May 2013 (Close Poll)

QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY HOLIDAY

Monday 3 June 2013 (NO SCHOOL)

MALVERN CROSS COUNTRY

Wednesday 5 June 2013

SCHOOL DISCO

Friday 7 June 2013

PARENT TEACHER ASSN.

Wed 19 June 2013

CANTERBURY CROSS COUNTRY

Wed 19/pp26 June 2013

BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING

Thurs 20 June 2013

HORORATA SPEECH & POETRY COMP

Friday 28 June 2013

MALVERN SPEECH COMPETITION

Tuesday 9 July 2013

FAMILY SKI DAY

Wednesday 10 July 2013

END OF TERM TWO

Fri 12 July 2013

MessagesMessagesMessages

DISCO MANIA

Hororata Community Hall,

Friday 7 June 2013,

5.30pm to 7.30pm

Come along and have some fun!!

Glow Sticks, Sausages and much more on sale! Children to be accompanied by a parent Proceeds to EOTC!

FIREWOOD

Please make use of the long weekend to gather firewood from the school.

Plenty still available—Hawkins Road entry

Newsflash...Newsflash...Newsflash...

Hororata Kids show the ‘Can Do’ AttitudeHororata Kids show the ‘Can Do’ Attitude

The Hororata Cross Country was held at the Hororata Domain on Wednesday 29 May 2013. This year we invited Greendale School to join us and set ourselves the goal of ‘All students in Yrs 3-6 completing the school cross country’ (re Student Achievement Targets 2013). I am proud to report that with the exception of but a few students absent on the day due to illness, that we achieved our goal, in fact I believe that we extended the goal to achieving all students. This is credit to the children and teachers (who also achieved the challenge) and to our fitness programme, which has not only improved student health and fitness in our school, but also installed in our kids a ‘Can Do’ attitude.

The following children achieved notable success at the Hororata Cross Country: Yr 1: Girls – Jessie Smith (1st), Lily Carrothers (2nd), Zoe Parker (3rd); Boys – Blake Booth (1st), Jackson Blair-Monk (2nd), Seth Wright (3rd); Yr 2: Girls – Holly Smith (1st), Lilly Naughton (2nd), Livi Williamson (3rd); Boys – Samuel Hadfield (1st), Charlie Blackburn (2nd), Joe Cookson (3rd); Yr 3: Girls – Zara McLean (1st), Grace Bakewell (2nd), Esther Bruce (3rd); Boys – Ben Smith (1st), Will Cookson (2nd), Tom Chaffey (3rd); Yr 4: Girls – Darnell Lima (1st), Naiyumi Busgano (2nd); Boys - Tom Freeman (1st), Oliver Blackburn (2nd), Hamish Thornley (3rd); Yr 5: Girls – Rebecca Bruce (1st), Paula Smith (2nd), Zara Bourke (3rd); Boys – Harry Cookson (1st), Gray Heath (2nd), Jake Searle (3rd); Yr 6: Girls – Hannah Booth (1st), Alexia Inch (2nd), Cara Jenkins (3rd); Boys – Johnathan Hart (1st), Troy Benbow (2nd), Sam Ross (3rd).

Please note that students do not gain automatic entry into the upcoming Malvern Cross Country based on their placing in the Hororata event. Consideration is given to availability, time and effort put into preparation for the event. Selected students and families will be notified directly by the Principal of their selection.

Learning for our Future Learning for our Future

On Tuesday 28 May 2013, our Year Six students attended the National Young Leaders’ Day at the Wigram Air Force Museum in Christchurch.

The event attended by some 1300 students has developed as one of the largest and most significant youth leadership events in New Zealand. The aim of the day is to inspire and encourage students to think about leadership in their own lives and the lives of others.

The Hororata FlyerThe Hororata Flyer Hororata Primary School’s Official Newsletter

Wednesday 29 May 2013

Principal’s CornerPrincipal’s CornerPrincipal’s Corner

Kia ora

Quote of the week… ‘People do not decide to become extraordinary. They decide to accomplish extraordinary things’ – Sir Edmund Hillary

Head Lice… It has been reported to me that headlice are present once again in our school. Headlice are not new, they have in fact been around for centuries. Egyptian mummies over 3000 years old have been found with the remains of headlice. Unfortunately, no one to date has found a sure-fire way of totally eradicating headlice in a community.

Headlice are a common problem throughout the community. Schools do not give people headlice; people bring headlice to schools. Headlice are also brought to churches, supermarkets, sports fields and homes by people.

Myths

‘Headlice can jump or swim from person to person’…

Headlice have legs designed for climbing; they crawl from person to person in close proximity; they cannot swim.

‘Only dirty people have headlice’…

Headlice feed on blood, not dirt; anyone can host headlice.

‘People with dark-coloured hair get headlice more than other people’...

It is easier to see the yellow-white nits in dark hair so dark haired people are possibly able to manage the problem more easily; people with light-coloured hair may find it is easier to manage the brown headlice; headlice like hosts with hair of any colour.

Headlice are a community problem that needs to be controlled by the whole community. If a family fails to check and treat a child’s head the work done by others to control the problem is likely to be wasted. It is a parent’s responsibility to check and treat their children.

There are a variety of treatments available to families ranging in cost from very cheap to very expensive. How much a treatment costs is no measure of its effectiveness. Treatment must be thorough, regular and carried out over a period of weeks by everyone. Even so, such treatment will not prevent a reinfestation originating from another community.

Extra precautions may include washing all bed linen and certainly pillowcases and towels in hot water (at least 60 degrees centigrade) and tumble drying for 20 minutes on high. Other items that have come in contact with heads should also be thoroughly cleaned. Soak hairbrushes and combs in hot water for at least ten minutes. Vacuuming carpets and rugs may also be helpful, if only to ensure that dead nits and lice are collected and not left to reappear on the heads or clothing of people in the household… for more info http://hororata.ultranet.school.nz/WebSpace/42/

Remember… ‘Keeping headlice under control requires constant vigilance.’

Haere ra... This week we farewell the following students leaving our school as part of the phenomenon called ‘Gypsy Day’: Josh Waters (Tui), Grace Bakewell (Kea), Lilly Naughton (Piwakawaka). Thank you for the contribution you and your families have made to our school during your short time with us. We wish you every success in the future.

Finally, the Hororata Speech and Poetry Competition will be held on Friday 28 June 2013, at 1300 hrs in the Library Information Centre. This year’s theme will be “Six Kinds of Best”, relating to the school-wide Values Education Programme.

Students will compete in the following categories: Years One (Poetry recital); Year Two - Three (Original Acrostic Poetry); Year Four (Original Free Verse Poetry); Years Five – Six (3-5 minute Speeches).

Breaking with tradition this year, the top two public speakers in Year 5 - 6 (combined) will progress onto the Malvern Primary School Speech Competition to be held on Tuesday 9 July 2013, in Springfield.

Thanks for supporting our school

Marty Gameson (Principal)

Teacher’s CornerTeacher’s CornerTeacher’s Corner

Piwakawaka (Miss Raybould)

Hi everyone, Just a note about footwear in Piwakawaka. As the weather has been damp the grounds have become rather muddy, and added to this all the building work on the playground surfaces has made everywhere very messy. As a consequence the children are having to take their shoes on and off many times during the school day. Therefore, it would be helpful to our timetable if children who are unable to tie their own shoelaces could bring shoes that are easier for them to put on and take off. Some children have gumboots for outside activities and slippers for inside the classroom. This is a great solution if possible. Our focus in maths is Number and we are learning our number sequences with numbers up to 5, 10, 20 and 100, as appropriate to each child’s level. They need to be able to name the number before and after any digit, and count backwards and forwards from any number (not just 1). We are also learning many patterns to support our addition and subtraction - numbers that make 5, numbers that make 10, numbers that make teen numbers, as well as doubles and halves with numbers up to 20. We are learning to write poems at the moment, and a big part of this is using our senses to create powerful descriptions. Regards. Julia

Kea (Miss Stewart)

Hello all.

In class we have been writing poetry and shortly the

children in year 0-4 will bring a poem home to practise.

They must be able to recite it off by heart. Tips for a good recital are; a

clear and audible voice, eye contact , standing without hands in pockets,

not speaking too fast and using some expression i.e. not talking like a

robot.

There are many children in Kea that have been logging onto ultranet for some extra learning. If any tasks on ultranet are compulsory for homework then I will let you know via a note or newsletter. All children have been given a user name and password. The children who have forgotten their passwords have had them written in their notebook to help them remember. Just let me know if you require a copy of our login instructions. It would be great if by the end of the term each child in Kea could log on independently at home. Regards. Megan

Tui (Ms Cullen)

Hi everyone,

I hope everyone is keeping their fingers crossed for good weather tomorrow so we can have our cross-country. Today the year 6 got to go to ‘The Young Leaders Day’ in Christchurch I know how successful it was last year so it will be great to hear all about their day. The kids have just received their first project which is on poetry and it would be great if they could get some help setting it out at home. The projects are a way of the students to begin getting ready for the work load at High School. As speeches are only four weeks away we have begun the process of writing them. Our speeches will be on The Six Kinds of Best which is our new values education programme. Any help they can get from home would be appreciated. Year 5 and 6 are expected to present a 3 – 5 minute speech. Thanks. Amanda

Community Noticeboard Community Noticeboard Community Noticeboard

PPARENTARENT TTEACHEREACHER AASSOCIATIONSSOCIATION

Lunches Friday is canteen day. Available 12 noon.

The PTA menu consists of

1 Pie ($2.00) or 1 American Hot Dog ($2.00)

Snack Pack $ 2.00 (Regardless of whether 1 or 3 items are purchased). Choice of Small bag of potato chips or popcorn; Apple or carrot; Muesli Bar or Cookie

Frozen Juicey $1.00

PPAYMENTAYMENT OFOF AACCOUNTSCCOUNTS

Any monies owing to the school e.g. Donations/Levies may be paid directly into our school bank account which is: ASB Hororata School Board of Trustees

12-3441-0019878-00 (everyday account)

Reminder… School donations are

$25.00 per term per family with an additional levy of $7.50 per term per

child. Now due!

We also have a one-off charge for stationery issued to your child/children at the beginning of the year of $10.00 per year.

LLOSTOST PPROPERTYROPERTY

Please ensure your child/ren's clothing is clearly named. It is much appreciat-ed when it comes to returning items which turn up from all over the school grounds. Otherwise at the end of Term Two the red bin of clothing will be delivered to the City Missions.

2013 S2013 SKIKI DDATESATES

Family Ski Day - Wednesday July 10

Family Ski Day - Wednesday September 4

Whole School Ski Day - Wednesday 18th of September

HHORORATAORORATA SSWIMMINGWIMMING CCLUBLUB IINCNC..

A big thank you for your patronage from our key holders. Keys now needed to be returned to the school office.

If anyone would like to o-ordinate the weekly raffle at the Hororata Café, Thursday/Friday nights or a huge winter raffle please contact either

Penny or Andy. Thanks

HHONOURSONOURS BBOARDOARD At Hororata we love to celebrate present and past success at our school. To achieve this we have built a school Honours Board on our school website to acknowledge the success of our former students.

We welcome community contributions to this and encourage friends of our school to forward the names, contact information and details of people in our community who have achieved success.

HHEADEAD LLICEICE ((REMINDERREMINDER)) Please ensure your child/ren's hair is inspected morning and night. Please ensure long hair is tied back also. If your children have been affected please keep them home until treatment has been given. Also it is important to remem-ber to wash all towels, bed linen and clothes that your children have come into contact with.

A proven non chemical treatment is to wet the hair comb conditioner through with a plastic nit comb or a fine toothed comb,. Wipe the comb after each comb through (spot the evidence) then rinse in half white vinegar and water.

Pull your fingers through this wet hair squashing the jelly like substance with your index finger and thumb nail.

CCARAR--BOOTBOOT SALESALE Community car-boot sales offer the chance for your organi-sation to run a car-boot sale alongside the Darfield Farmers Market on Saturday 8 June

Cars, $10 all proceeds go to your organisation.

Market Table + Gazebo available for hire.

Enquiries to darfieldfarmersmarket@gmail.com

RROADOAD SSAFETYAFETY Our school has ongoing commitment to health and safety and the compulsory wearing of the school’s High Visibility Safety Apparel (HVSA) – safety vests, whilst a child is in transit between home and school.

It is important to note however that safety vests do not make children bullet proof and that they will serve as little protection for a child if struck by a moving vehicle. For the vest to be truly effective it needs to be coupled with the other safety strategies we indorse around being a safe rider, passenger and pedestri-an.

Important Safety Messages…

stand well back from the road when waiting for the bus

wait for the vehicle to stop before you get on or off the bus

stay seated and put your bag under the seat or on your knees

carry your bag in front of you so it doesn’t get caught in the door

when picking up or dropping off children at the bus stop, wait on the same side of the road as the bus stop

wait until the bus has moved away and you can see up and down the road clearly before crossing the road

stand well clear of the bus if it is turning or reversing

Road safety is a shared responsibility between students, parent/caregivers and the school. This event has taught us that the safety message it not getting through to all our students… we need to work harder to insure that our kids are safe!

Hororata kids have...Hororata kids have...Hororata kids have...

PRIDEPRIDEPRIDE

Hororata Parent Teacher Association Principal’s Report – Annual Report The PTA continues to provide wonderful support for the children, teachers and families of Hororata Primary School. Our school relies heavily upon the P.T.A to supple-ment the school’s annual funding entitlement. The financial support afforded by the P.T.A has enabled the school to develop and implement many new and innovative teaching and learning programmes, maintain up-to-date teaching resources and undertake several property projects, enhancing and improving the school environment. The following information highlights the significant contribution the PTA made to our school during 2012.

Curriculum Programmes… In partnership with the Hororata PTA, Christina Clarkson was employed for 50hrs as an Aquatics Coach working with small groups of stu-dents in ability grouped swimming programme. The programme achieved huge gains in the swimming confidence and ability of children across the school.

During our initial assessments, we identified that the greatest barrier for some children when learning to swim was the temperature and depth of the Hororata pool. Due to the temperature of the Hororata pool we abandoned the regular in-school coaching sessions and opted to provide support for those students identified with water confi-dence and stroke development issues. To cater for the needs of these swimmers (19), we transported these children to Darfield twice a week for five weeks, to swim in the Darfield Learners Pool, a covered, shallower and significantly warmer pool.

Thanks to Christina, we were able to access and utilise the Darfield pool at no charge to the school or families. We were also fortunate to be able to negotiate a deal with Torlesse Travel Ltd re the use of school buses to transport students between Darfield and Hororata, once again at no charge to the school or families.

Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC)… EOTC is an important aspect of the school curriculum. It is through these types of activities that we are able to foster and refine personal and social skills.

Thirty Year 4-6 students participated in the Senior School ‘Bush’ camp in Hanmer Springs during the week of Wednesday 31 October - Friday 2 November 2012. The theme of the camp was “Thermal Wonderland” and included a wide variety of challenging and rewarding bush and recreational based activities.

Twenty-nine Year 1-3 students participated in the Junior School ‘Big Day Out’ in early December. The day, co-ordinated by the junior teaching team saw students visit the Christchurch Antarctic Centre, in Christchurch.

To further promote our Active Schools’ focus, 43 (80%) children and 26 adults enjoyed a whole-school Winter Adventure Day at the Porter Heights Ski Area. The day fully funded by the PTA was a fantastic success. Looking forward, we need to investigate ways of achieving 100% student involvement in these days.

School Environment… During 2012, we forged a closer relationship between the PTA and the School Council. The objective of this was to enable the School Council to achieve more autonomy in the school and to develop stronger links between the parents and the student body.

Working together, the School Council and PTA investigated, purchased and assembled a new Spring Free trampoline in the adventure playground. Senior students were responsible for the development of protocols for the safe and equitable use of the new equipment and oversee the daily use of it… the new trampoline is proving a great attraction and addition to our playground, and complements our ‘Active’ focus.

The new Classroom Release Time (CRT) room was re-painted as part of the remedial earthquake work undertaken in Term One of 2012. The room was re-shelved using recycled shelving from the original school library and equipped with new furniture courtesy of Graeme Reynolds & Jenny MacKenzie and the Hororata Community Trust. To complete the room we commissioned Watkins Joinery to supply and install a new bench top to replace the old sink top and purchased a new wall mounted fan heater which was donated by the PTA. With the support of the PTA and Community Trust we were able to bring this project significantly below our $1,500 budget forecast.

Teaching Resources… The PTA contributed to the purchase of classroom consumables, Library books and the replacement of sandpit toys.

Speech & Poetry Competition… Hororata Primary School held its annual Speech and Poetry Competition in early June. The theme for the 2012 competition was ‘Diversity’ linking to the school-wide values focus. The three finalists selected in each year group received PTA Book Vouchers.

Year Six Graduating Students… Our school farewelled ten graduating Year Six students at the end of 2012. On behalf of the PTA each student was gifted a Collins Concise Dictionary/Thesaurus at the end of year Christmas Celebration. The Parent Teachers Association Book Prize was awarded to the following students: Abby Thornley, Cassandra Hart, Rachel McLean, Michelle Bruce, Cleo Searle, Karen Baquita, Aaliyah Vander Heyden, Lexie Purvis, Ben Kimber, and Denis Smith.

Parent Teachers Association Junior Cup… Citizenship Awards are awarded to students in each age group relative to the contribution each child has made to Hororata Primary School during the school year. Citizenship awards are based on the following criteria: co-operative and supportive of their peers & adults; respect for the rights, ideas, opinions and habits of others; reliability, responsibilities. The 2012 Parent Teachers Association Junior Cup for citizenship in Years 1-3 was awarded to Holly Smith.

Future focus… Looking forward, there are opportunities for the PTA to be involved in two major capital works projects to be undertaken in 2013 at the school.

Paving Project… The first major project to be undertaken in 2013 will be the Paving Project, which will see the asphalting of footpaths throughout the school and the installation of an Astrograss all-weather court over the existing main court surface. As part of this project we have also opted for replacement of the concrete playground surrounds in the lunch area and the installation of a new concrete block wall in front of the sandpit. As the concrete block wall component of this project was originally hatched by the PTA, this and the line markings on the new asphalt may be a project that the PTA considers for 2013.

Classroom Modernisation Project… As part of our Five Year Property Agreement with the Ministry of Education, we will be undertaking a Classroom Modernisa-tion Project of the junior block classrooms in 2013. This will see the installation of new carpet, wall panels, cabinetry, wet areas and a full repaint of classrooms, cloakrooms and toilets. As part of this project, I would like to upgrade all the classroom furniture at this level of the school. The furniture currently used is between 10 - 20 years old and needs to be updated to better suit the 21st Century classroom.

The Classroom Modernisation Project is designed to bring our dated classrooms up to the 21st century standard, providing our students with an attractive, inviting and stimulating learning environment. The furnishing of these spaces may be a project that PTA runs with in 2013.

Ultrafast Broadband (UFB)… As part of the School’s Connection Project we are working towards the complete installation of High Speed Broadband in our school. The introduction of UFB to the school will enable us to strengthen and extend the use of touch and Activ technology in the school. To achieve this we will need to upgrade our wireless system, classroom hardware and multimedia tools. This project will directly influence the learning of our students and may be a project that PTA would like to contribute to in 2013.

Fitness Circuit… A scope plan and budget for a fitness circuit including a series of fitness assemblies to be used as part of the school fitness programme and as playground equipment was approved by the PTA in Term Two 2012. The work was commissioned to Kimber Fencing and due to adverse Winter weather conditions was postponed until later in the year. Unfortunately no progress was made on this project in 2012. This project supports the school’s ‘Active Focus’ and will serve to enhance the school environment. I recommend that the PTA continue with this project, and take a more managerial role in the work to be undertaken, to ensure that project is completed in 2013.

Finally, the PTA has had a very busy year and has contributed to Hororata Primary School in many ways. The time and energy that the PTA invests in school pro-grammes and fundraising activities is enormous. I would like to acknowledge and thank the PTA for the contribution they have made to our school.

Thank you for supporting Hororata Primary School.

Marty Gameson (Principal)