com newsletter winter 13

7/28/2019 Com Newsletter Winter 13

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Community NewsletterWinter 2013Tena koutou Hola Konnichiwa BonjourNi hao Privet! Greetings

Reading,writingandmathsareimportantfoundationsforlife.StudentsatRSSachievehighlyintheseareas

andBoardofTrusteestargetsaimtoliftthesefurtherfor alllearners.Thisyearsfocusisonliftingourstandards

forchildreninwriting.Acriticalpartofliftingperformanceandacceleratingstudentslearningisthroughteacherprofessionaldevelopment.Whiletheproportionofstudentsatorabovenationalstandardishigher

thannationalaverages,westronglybelievewecanliftmorechildrenintotheabovecategory.Teachershave

engagedinintensiveprofessionallearningfocusedprimarilyonthisgoal.AtnextmonthsBoardmeetingwe

willbelookingatinterimdata,toevaluatetheprogresswehavealreadymade,andmakejudgmentsabout

whatisrequiredtofurtherstrengthenstudentscapabilityinthisimportantarea.

ThecurriculumatRSSbuildsonthesefoundationsandvaluesthelearningthatchildrengainfromalllearning

areas.Inparticular,wehavestrengthsinscience,physedandthearts,throughwhichchildrengainvaluable

andoften,verydiverseexperiences.Thecomingtermisfullofsuchopportunities,withanoverridingcontextof

TheScienceofArtwherechildrenwillbeengaginginhands-oninquiryaboutthescienceofpaint,dye,

crayonsorotherarttoolsandprocesses,withaviewtothencreatingtheirownmasterpiecemadeformtheir

veryownpaint(orotherresource).Weaimtohaveafulldisplayofthisinthelastweekoftermkeepaneyeout,thisisveryengaging,butalsochallenginglearning,withmanyimportantscientificconceptsbroughttothe

fore.

CanIpleaseextendathankyoutoalltheparents/caregiverswhoactivelysupportoursportsteamsina

coaching,management,umpiringorsupportersrole?Wehavethehighestnumberofteamsrepresentingour

schoolinwintercodesever,andtheyareachievinggreatsuccess,withpositivesupport.Iamespeciallyproud

thatourparentsactivelysupportoursportscode,andindoingso,givetheplayersthevery

bestopportunitytoenjoyandshine!

RSSisagreatschoolandthiscommunityreallyisawonderfulplacetobringyourkidsup!

IfeelprivilegedtobethisschoolsPrincipal!Regardstoyouall,

DavidReardon

Principal


2/4

BoardofTrusteesWindow:

OurBoardelectionswereanotherpowerfulexampleofhowourschoolreflectsapositivepartnershipin

education.Anunprecedented17nominationswerereceived,allofwhichwouldhavemadeastrong

contribution.Wethankeachandeveryoneofyouforshowingthiscommitment.YournewBoardof

Trusteesare:DanGardiner,KirstyGiles,DarrynJoseph,AndrewJamieson,CindyIrvine,BevanClayton-

Smith,EbonyMaaka(StaffRep)andDavidReardon(Principal).

AswewelcomenewboardmembersitisalsoappropriatetothankouroutgoingBoardChair,GraemeBrown

andTrustee,LeanneBrown.Bothhavebroughtintelligence,energyandanunrelentingchild-centredfocus

togovernanceandwillbesorelymissed.Graemesfinalreport(onthe2012year)isavailableonourschool

websiteunderBoardofTrustees-AnnualReports, orlinkhere.Aftersometraininginthegovernancerole,thisBoardsimmediateprioritywillbetoinitiatethe

redevelopmentofourcharterandstrategicplan,whichgivesrisetothegoals,targetsandaspirationsforthe

next3-5yearperiod.

TermDates2013/14:

Pleasenotethatitisalwaysadvisabletocontactyourlocalschoolconfirmingtheirtermdates.Everyeffort

hasbeenmadetocoordinatethedateofRSStermswiththoseofotherschoolsintheNorthernClusterof

schools,especiallyRossIntermediate.

2013

Also:LabourDayOctober28

2014

Also: Teacher OnlyDay (May 30);Waitangi Day (Feb 6);Queens Birthday (June 2); Labour Day (October 27)

PleasenoteEasterandAnzacDayareinthetermoneschoolholidaybreak.

WhatsontheWeb?

Oneofourbeliefsisthatinformationshouldbefreelyavailableto

stakeholdersatschool.Thereshouldbenosurprisessotospeak.Itisforthat

reason,ouron-linepresenceisoftenheldupasaleadingexampletoother

educatorsandschools.Haveyoulookedrecently?Ourschoolwebsite

www.russellst.school.nz isaportalforasignficantamountofrelevant

informationplans,targets,boardreports,curriculuminformation,calendar,

schoolhistory,policies...butmostimportantly,informationthatcanactasa

catalystforhomediscussionsaroundlearning.Wewelcomevisitorsblogging

commentsontheseclassblogs(Undertheheadingblogroll),asthese

responsesprovidegoodfeedbacktochildren,ofteninspiringthemtoextendtheirlearningfurther.

TermThree Monday,29July to Friday,27September

TermFour Monday,14October to Thursday,19December

TermOne Monday,3February to Thursday,17April

TermTwo Monday,5May to Friday,4July

TermThree Monday,21July to Friday,26September

TermFour Monday,13October to Wednesday,17December


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TheROscars(TermTwoDancePerformance):Imagesinthisnewsletterarefromourveryrecentschool

performanceattheRegent.TitledTheROscarsand

produced/choreographedbyourveryownDeanMcKerras,itproved

tobeahit,withallchildrenrevelingintheirrespectivestageroles.

Itisworththinkingabouttheimportantcurriculumoutcomesthat

wereatplayheremovement,danceelements,workingasateam,

creativity,enhancingself-esteem,socialinteraction,managingself,

andofcourse,ithasbeenahugeinspirationforotherareas,

especiallywriting.ThanksDeanMcKerrasforleadingusallthrough

this.

EnrolmentatRSS:Anupdatedcopyoftheenrolmentschemecanbefoundbyvisiting

thefollowingwebsitepage:http://russellst.school.nz/?page_id=23

orbycontactingtheoffice.

TheRSSstudentrollcontinuestobefull,withawaitinglist.Ifyoure

newtotheareaandhavepre-schoolagechildrenitisverylikely

wellmeetsoon.Toassistuswithplanning,andtoavoidover-

crowding,itisveryhelpfultoknowa.s.a.p.ofanyin-zonechildren

thatarelikelytoattendRussellStreetincomingyears.Pleasering

AgorReneeintheofficeandmakesureyourchild/renareonthis

listatyourearliestconvenience.

JumpstartClass:

Ifyourson/daughterisjoiningusthenyoullwanttoknowaboutour

fouryearoldclassheldonaFridayafternoon(forstudentsinthe

threemonthspriortotheirenrolment).Jumpstartisonewaythat

studentsgetatasterofschool,gettingtoknowsomeofthefaces

thatwillsupportthemintheirlearning,takingoutalibrarybook

andengaginginsomeemergentliteracyandnumeracyskills.Itis

alsoavaluabletimetobecomefamiliarwithsomeotherchildrenof

thesameagewhowillbemakingthetransitiontoschoolwith

them.IfyouwanttoknowmoreaboutthispleaseringAgorReneeintheoffice.

TermTwoLog:KellySports(After-school

programme)returnstoRSS.

EveryoneparticipatesintheBigAppleCrunch,withproceedsgoing

toaveryworthycause-KidsCan.TheJetsbasketballersmakeseveral

visits,sharingplayingtipsand

inspiringourfiveteamsto

greatness.

Matarikicelebrationsincludeakapahakaconcert,stonesoupand

breadforall(thanksseniorsfor

yourworkinthis!)andgroundingof

ourstudent-createdpou.

Rooms3,6and5workcollaborativelytoinvestigate,develop,marketandselltheirown

cereal.Seeourschoolwebsitefora

verycoolvideo-adonthis.

FocusofMaoriLanguageWeekiscorrectpronunciationofsomeof

ourlocalstreetandplacenames.

TheROscarsschoolperformance,involvingeverychildisaresounding

success.359stars,includingstaff!

TeacherJoypresentsatNZScienceConference.

RSSstudentsshowtheirdeterminationandenduranceaswe

managetosqueezeinourownX-

countrybeforetheweatherturned

foul!

Difficultconditionsdidntholdbackourinter-schoolcross-countryteam,

whomanagedseveraltopten

positions.Welldoneall.

Annaliese,Fletcher,Sam,QwadeandLachlangifttheirkorowaicloaktotheschoolatMaysBOT

meeting.Abeautifuloutcomeof

theirlearningwithSuzanne.

JuniorclassesheadtoTeManawatosupportandextendtheirhealthy

eatingunitoflearning.

Anotherlargecontingentparticipateandsupportthe40hour

faminefor2013.

SeniorstudentssittheICASScienceandSpellingInternationalAssessments.


4/4

TheHubActivity(formerlytheLibrary)

Ourhubisbeingrelaunched,Monday,August5withawholedayofliteraryactivitiesincludingastudent-

led,pre-lovedbooksale,visitingguests/authors,avisitfromthemobilelibrary,writingworkshopsanddress-

upcharacterday,tonamebutafew.Acentralthrustofthisdevelopmentismakingourresourcesavailable

tothecommunityoutside9-3,enablingfamiliestostayonandenjoythelounge-likespaceandfurther

encouragechildrentoenjoythehabitofreading.Coffeemachinealsoinstalledtofacilitatethisforadults

andcomputersavailable!Ifyouareable/interestedinjoiningarosterofparentstohelpsupervisethis,please

[email protected] orJames,[email protected]

parentoftheschool,tosupportthispositiveinitiative.

ThanksforYourContinuedHelp....

RSSstudentsbenefitfromthewidercommunitysupport.ThankyoutothetwofamiliesthatnominatedRSS

foripadsaspartoftheHubbardspromotionwenettedtwofromthis!Wealsohaveasportsprizecoming

fromtheColgatePromotion,andourdollarsarebuildingupbeautifullyatMelodyNewWorldsGoforGold

promotion.Wehavenoticedtoothatthenumberofvodafonecustomershavesignedupforintelligent

rewards(www.intelligentrewards.co.nz )asourpointsarebuildinguptwiceasquickaslastyear.

Weforgottomentioninourlastcommunitynewsletterthatoneofourbiggestrewardsprogramme,isthat

ofyummyapples.Lastyearwecollectedover14,000,whichnettedusover$1000worthofsports

equipment.Youcanreadaboutthisonhttp://www.yummyfruit.co.nzanddownloadoneoftheircollectionsheetsorplacethemonablanksheet,dropthemoffatschoolandwelltransferthem.

Andfinally,wehavehadareallypeacefulperiodregardingvandalism.Weknowwellthatpartofthiswillbe

asaresultofourcommunitybeingvigilantandtakingtheinitiativewhenthingsdontlookorsoundright.

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