Dear Parents and Caregivers of Baverstock Oaks School
Spring is in the air, the days are stretching out and the daffodils have sprouted and are filling the ground with sunshine. Isn’t it a wonderful feeling that certainly lifts spirits.
Term 3 has been an ACTION packed term with students out cross country training, playing winter sports with action packed semi finals and finals, trips to stardome and the museum, school disco, gymnastics success and loads more. It has certainly been a busy and exciting time. I hope your child/ren has told you about their experiences. I hope as a family you have been enjoying some of the great weather we have been experiencing. On that note it has alarmed me that we have a number of people who have failed to pay their termly activity fees. This certainly compromises our school accounts and is not fair on the vast majority of parents who do pay activity fees. The termly activity fee pays for excursions, performers coming into school, sport and cultural trips, some materials for extra curricula activities and more. They are not like school donations which are voluntary. Activity fee is $25 per term, per child and can be paid in small amounts or $100 for the year. We know you want your children involved in the many opportunities we provide, however in the future we are going to have to leave children out of these activities as we cannot afford to sponsor them. The alternative is to not have the extra opportunities and we know that would not be a popular choice of parents, teachers or children. If you have an outstanding invoice, please settle it in the next few weeks so your children can continue to be involved in these exciting activities.
We have had some great collaboration this year amongst our 6 Flatbush Schools. We are working hard to strengthen transition processes between the different levels of schooling. As part of this initiative we have created a Flatbush Schools Scholarship which is an annual, one-off scholarship that will be awarded to a student who has attended three Flatbush schools and who is graduating from Ormiston Senior College. The scholarship is for tertiary study and must be used to assist the successful candidate with tertiary study fees. The purpose of this scholarship is:
• To promote a seamless pathway from primary through to tertiary studies for students in the Flatbush Area;
· To recognise and reward excellence and selfless commitment to the community;
· To signal the close spirit of collaboration within the schools in the region.
With this exciting prospect in place each school is holding a mufti day to raise funds and then each school board will add to the funds raised to make it up to $1000 per school which totals $6000. This is awarded to the recipient who is chosen from all the applicants. Our Baverstock Oaks School mufti day is being held on Wednesday 20 September and is by gold coin donation.
Applying for Leave
A REMINDER that if you need to take your child out of school for a few days or longer for any reason – e.g. family special occasion or trip you need to APPLY for leave well in advance to myself [email protected] I will always respond. It is not a teacher’s job to provide work as this is only busy work and can be more of a hindrance than help. Thanks to those of you who have followed this procedure in plenty of time and wrapped a break around school holidays. It is much appreciated and supports your child.
Parent Corner: Setting our kids up with a success attitude
I’m sure all of us would love to leave our children a farm and squillions of dollars when we croak. The reality is not many of us will be able to do that. But we can all leave them with an awesome attitude that will help them become successful in every aspect of their life – relationships, mental health, finances – perhaps enough success to get their own squillion-dollar farm!
This success attitude comes from how we respond to their mistakes when they are little. If your kid drops a juice jug and spills a mess all over the floor, you could yell at them and tell them they are stupid. From this, they will learn that mistakes should make you feel bad, and if no one else yells at you, you should yell at yourself.
Alternatively, you could, “That’s all right, honey. I’ve got more juice in the cupboard and I’ll get you some as soon as I’ve cleaned up this mess for you.” This response will teach them that if they make mistake in life, someone – probably mum or dad – will always rescue them and bail them out.
Instead, you could look at the spilt juice and say, “Oh, honey. You’ve got a problem,“ giving them ownership of the mess, “But you’re a clever kid, and I know you can sort this. Here’s a sponge – you have a crack at cleaning it up and I’ll come back and see how you are getting on.” You’ve not been angry. You’ve let them know you believe they can fix their mistake and have also given them tools to solve it. They probably won’t do a good enough job of it – it’ll still be sticky – but that’s not the point. The point is that they will learn, “Most mistakes aren’t lethal. I own up, and then I fix it.” What an awesome attitude – a real attitude for success.
Thanks again for taking the time to be part of our learning journey. I hope you are regularly enjoying seesaw posts and having conversations with your child about what he/she is learning
Mary Wilson
PRINCIPAL
Maths Tutoring
At present mathZwise Auckland East supports – 94 students in their maths learning each week.
Of this, there are currently 24 students being tutored at Baverstock Oaks School on a weekly basis.
A point of interest for parents, is that Jean Mackenzie from the mathZwise Te Awamutu branch has set up a charitable trust, to fund and support students specifically in the area of mathematics across the country. Parents applying for this funding do need to supply proof of funds, and Janine Willcock is an approved maths tutor for this sponsored tutoring and works out of Baverstock Oaks School. She does already work with some students who receive this funding and support, and thought it might be something parents would like to apply for in the new year. Not only are they funding students tutoring, but of course are also always looking for donations for this cause too.
http://baksoft-group.com/mathematicsforalifetime/
THINKING ABOUT YEAR 7 2018 or even 2019?
Or
miston Junior College have set aside two afternoons for parents and their children to come and meet the leadership team.
The days are Wednesday the 6th of September from 3.30pm to 5.30pm and Wednesday the 13th of September from 3.30pm to 5.30pm.
This will be an opportunity to see the school, ask questions and inform people of the enrolment process. You will be able to collect an enrolment pack on this day, or contact the office for a pack if you can’t make either afternoon ph 9740140.
Children are also invited to OJC on the 13th of September 9.30am to 12pm for an orientation session. They will be visiting our neighbouring schools and inviting the year 6 in-zone students to these afternoons. If you get no information from your child please take this notice as your personal invitation.
They are only taking children from inside the school zone, however they do know that families are looking at moving into the zone so these two afternoons are for all parents looking at their options.
School Calendar viewed on phones
After some feedback at the FAB meeting this week we understand there have been some issues viewing our school wide calendar on your phone. This has now been rectified. When you go to the “Parent Info” tab on our website you will see under Calendar another tab “Calendar (Mobile Version)” if you select this, the calendar will appear in an agenda format that you can scroll through. We hope this makes it easier to view upcoming events.
BAVERSTOCK OAKS MARKET DAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2017
As part of our fundraising effort, the Baverstock Oaks F.A.B (Friends At Baverstock) team has come up with a new event.Tread Lightly Caravan visit
We are very fortunate to be involved with the Tread Lightly Caravan programme from Thursday 14 September until Thursday 28 September. This programme inspires children to live more environmentally responsible lifestyles through fun, interactive exhibits and activities. To enable the programme to be a success, we will need parent helpers to assist with the activities. If you are able to help for a morning, afternoon, day or even a week, we would love to hear from you.Dorothy in Wonderland
Rehearsals for our school production Dorothy in Wonderland are going well with many scenes coming together already which is exciting. With a cast of over 100 children rehearsals have been taking place for the last term and a half and hopefully by week 10 this term we will be word perfect and ready to put on a performance of a lifetime!
The main characters have been working hard learning their lines and the choir have spent many hours learning all the songs for the show. Miss Skipper has been training the choir and cast members with their singing and Mrs Callaghan has been directing the many actors about the stage. With the help of Mr Tuli managing the large number of children who attend rehearsals each day and Miss Vili teaching the cast their dances, it has been a busy time.
Shows are scheduled for Tuesday 26, Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 September starting at 6.30pm in the Ormiston Junior College auditorium. We have changed our venue from our last show four years ago and are looking forward to working in this brand new theatre space the Junior College has allowed us to use.
Tickets go on sale on Monday 4th September from the School Office.
Tickets are Adults: $10 Children: $5 Family: $25 (2 Adults, 2 Children)
APPA Mandarin Speech Finals
Congratulations to Andy from Room 30 who did a great job of representing our school at the APPA Mandarin speech finals this afternoon, the audience really enjoyed listening to his speech about the Rubik’s Cube.
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt…….
Our reception children had an exciting two weeks exploring the story “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.” We have chanted the words, acted out the story and made amazing storyboards. We also went on a bear hunt outdoors. We were encouraged to put our hands in squishy mud, cold water and soft “snow” as part of exploring the story. A lot of fun and a lot of learning!
The Beekeeper
Last Wednesday ESOL and Learning support invited Matthew, a local beekeeper to our school.
He shared with us some interesting videos of his hives and brought along an empty beehive with honeycomb to look at and feel. We were lucky to taste his honey too. The children learnt how to keep safe when around bees and some things we can do to help the honey bee.
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed his visit and have been practising writing letters to Matthew.
Upper F Trip to Auckland Museum and Stardome
Last week the four classes from Upper F went on an amazing trip to the Auckland Museum and the Stardome. With our topic communication as our motivation for the trip we were able to see how the New Zealand soldiers communicated with each other and their homes in the World War 1 and World War 2 exhibitions.
As we arrived at the museum we were able to view the fantastic Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 exhibition. The many different photographs communicated to us the wide variety of wildlife we have here on planet Earth and the incredible lengths that some photographers go to to take their photographs.
The Maori exhibition showed us some other forms of communication that Maori used before the Europeans came to New Zealand. Their use of tuku tuku weaving, carving and painted pictures on the marae told many interesting stories and legends.
After lunch we headed down the road to the Stardome and were treated to an out of world experience of life beyond planet earth. We learned that the distances are so great between planets in our solar system that it is unlikely that a person or a message could travel far from planet Earth.
Mindfulness at BOS
The children in Room 31 are enjoying their mindfulness lessons with Mrs Wilson this term so with the help of their teacher Miss Donaldson, they have made this movie to share their learning with others. Click on the picture below to see the short movie.
HPPA Kapa Haka Festival
A big congratulations to the Baverstock Kapa Haka group who performed last Saturday at the Koanga Festival held at Somerville Intermediate and involved over 40 primary and intermediate schools. The group showcased a Maori medley involving various songs and hakas they have been practising every Thursday afternoons for the past 6 weeks. The group was lead by two year 6’s Jordan and Soraya, and taught by Miss Collins and Mr Tuli. Feedback from a variety of audiences involved the words ‘powerful and emotional’. Well done Kapa Haka group, we are very proud!
Click on the photo to watch part of the performance…..
Tournament of Minds
On Saturday the 2nd of September, 14 students from the Tall Oaks went to Albany Junior High School to compete in a problem solving event called Tournament Of Minds. All teams must compete in a long term challenge that they spend a 6 weeks practicing on. They also do a spontaneous challenge where they have to write down their ideas for a spontaneous question or challenge. This year both teams participated in the social sciences challenge.
Team 1: Sartaj Singh , Bhavaana Rajeev, Xavier Jones, Lucas Sue, Kaitlyn Rohm, Zoe Cheung and Japman Sodhi
Team 2: Amber Sue, Saniya Lal, Surabhi Sutharjenan, Sai Prabhu, Aryan Murthy, Sumaiyah Lateef, Hazelle Lee
Waffles in Rm 30
Last week Room 30 made gluten free, vegan waffles. We made them for a special treat. We made gluten free and vegan waffles because some people were allergic to gluten and dairy food. The waffle maker cost about $35 at kmart. Even though they had no dairy, they tasted good anyway. It was great! There were four people in each group. Two of them did dry ingredients and the other two did the wet ingredients and every two minutes we had to turn the waffle maker. It took seven minutes to cook each waffle and each person got a quarter of a waffle with maple syrup and gluten free maple syrup. Overall it was a great experience. We hope you make a waffle with your kids.
By Jot and Joshua Room 30
HPPA Science Competition
On Thursday the 24th August 2017 Nishan, Dana, Evy, Abel, Amber and Oscar went to the HPPA Science competition at Point View School. We danced with robots, used the force to tenpin bowl and blew up things with dry ice! It was such a fun day and we loved learning to code and compete against other schools at Top Trumps.
Gymnastics
Some more photos of the HPPA Gymnastics competition, we are so proud of our team. Congratulations to Corey who came first (Year 3 boys) and Alex who came first (Year 5 boys). Our Year 3 boys came first in the team competition and Year 4 and Year 6 girls came third. Fantastic results!
Rugby
Netball
This week both our netball teams have battled the wind and rain to play well fought netball games against Macleans Primary and Shelly Park.
After a loss in their last game our Netball A Team came out firing and even though the conditions were wet and slippery managed to win their game convincingly with a 7-1 win. The team would also like to take this opportunity to thank student teacher Miss Evans for taking the time out of her busy schedule to referee their last two games.
Tall Oaks Cross Country
Cricket registrations are now open at Howick Pakuranga Cricket Club
Register today at www.hpcc.org.nz
This active and friendly family orientated club is busy planning new season activities for all sailors. We aim to keep encouraging beginner and experienced sailors to enjoy this great sport, in the wonderful sailing area right on our doorstep.
The season opens for us on Sunday, 17th September, with registration from 10am and sailing starting at 1pm. Come down and have a chat to us. In term 4 we have Learn to Sail courses on Sunday mornings, starting on the 29th October. These learners have individual attention in small groups of around 8. Rainbow Fleet sailing on Sunday afternoons is ideal for those beyond the beginner stage. If the registration opportunity on 17th September doesn’t suit, online registration is available at any time. Have a look at us on at www.howicksailingclub.co.nz for full details and to register for all activities. You can also follow us on Facebook.
CHANELLE DAVIS PIANO LESSONS
Award-winning kiwi singer/songwriter Chanelle Davis has relocated from Melbourne to Flatbush and is opening up places for new students (age 3+) to learn piano.
Chanelle began piano lessons when she was 4, and has followed her passion for music ever since – studying classical piano through ABRSM and then graduating with a degree in contemporary music. She has released three original pop albums, performed on What Now, Good Morning and The Cafe as well as featured on the cover of UNO magazine. Alongside teaching, she regularly performs and has just finished a tour of New Zealand where she sang her new album The Little Green Turtle and Other Songs for Kids! to over 2,000 people in 14 cities.
Chanelle is highly effective in empowering her students to practise and will quickly discover what each one needs to achieve great results AND have fun while they’re doing it. Performing is encouraged and students will have the opportunity to take the stage at regular concerts which are fun for everyone involved (yes even the audience…no more boring recitals!).
Chanelle is taking bookings for lessons in her studio in Flatbush or alternatively in-home lessons are available in surrounding suburbs – Howick, Botany Downs, Dannemora, Cockle Bay.
Other tuition available – alto saxophone, keyboard, songwriting, music theory
Contact: Chanelle 0274 280 590
Email: [email protected]
JUNIOR OPENING DAY
Saturday 9th Sept
ember 2017
8 – 9am 5-7 years
9 – 10.15am 8-10 years
10.15 – 11.30am 11-13 years
Thursday 14th September 2017
5.30-7pm 13-18 years
Meet with coaches and give tennis a go.
Our membership entitles you to play tennis from 1st September 2017 – 31 August 2018. It includes Saturday morning or Thursday afternoon coaching at the above times during Term 4 and Term 1. We offer a parent associate fee ($55) if you want to be able to come to the club and hit with your child. We have interclub available and the option to have unlimited access to our ball machine for the season.
Please come along to our open day, the office will be open to take any queries you may have and work out the best membership for you. We can also lend you a racket if you do not own one.
Pakuranga Tennis Club, 101 Pigeon Mountain Rd, Half Moon Bay. Tel: 534 1038
www.tennispakuranga.org E-mail: [email protected]
THE FLASH BANG SCIENCE CLUB – SPRING HOLIDAY SCIENCE WORKSHOPS (7yrs-16yrs) are open for bookings now and filling fast! Inspire your curious kids with practical, hands on experiments these holidays with classes available in Ponsonby and Pakuranga. Learn about all things fizzy in FIZZING FRENZY and engineering feats in BUILDING BRIDGES. For more information and bookings please check out www.flashbangscienceclub.co.nz or email: [email protected]
Pakuranga Athletic Club is holding a “Have a Go” Day on Saturday 30th of September to give children aged 2-16 years an opportunity to discover the sport of athletics and to see the great facilities and programmes the club has to offer. This free, fun, family-focused event runs from 10 am to 12 noon at the Yvette Williams Track at Lloyd Elsmore Park. (A special programme for children 2-4 years will run between 10 and 11 am). For more information see www.pakurangaathletics.nz
