ALLENTON SCHOOL NEWSLETTER TERM 3 WEEK 9 - 17th SEPTEMBER 2020

110 Harrison Street, Ashburton Phone (03) 3086495 Fax (03) 3086492

Email: office@allenton.school.nz Website: www.allenton.school.nz School app: go to Skool Loop and select Allenton School

“Together We Learn and Grow”

Principals Comment/Nga Korero o te Tumuaki Dear Parents and Caregivers,

As you read this it will be just over a week before the end of the third term. Just when I thought I had seen almost everything possible in my time as a teacher and principal, this has been the very strangest of years! I would like to very much thank everyone involved with the school over the first three terms of this year. The teaching staff are a dedicated and professional group of people, and under any and all conditions they work very hard to provide a range of learning opportunities for the children. The non-teaching staff provide invaluable support to the teachers and the children, and are always there when the going just gets a little tough. As a school we are also very fortunate to have the support of a very interested and tireless group of parents, as members of the Board of Trustees or PTA, and as parent-helpers in a myriad of situations. Finally, I would like to pay tribute to the children we have at our school. In spite of everything they have faced so far this year, so many exhibit outstanding individual personal qualities and as a collective they are a very happy group and do seem to love coming to our school. Board of Trustees Elections 2020 A message from Sandi Wood (Chairperson, Allenton School Board of Trustees) Kia ora friends and whanau. I would like to firstly introduce you to our current Board members, who are, our principal - Bruce Tilby, our elected staff Trustee – Bronwyn Hortin, Andy Grant, Craig Jakich, Michael Wong, Hamish Tait and myself. Being a member of a Board of Trustees is an important role. The Board is responsible for the governance of the school, which includes setting policies by which the school is controlled and managed. Our main objective is to ensure student learning, progress, achievement and well-being is at the centre of all decisions, actions and activities. At the next election, being at the end of this year we will have two vacancies to fill for parents/caregivers on the Allenton School Board of Trustees.

After six years I have indicated to the board that I will not be seeking re-election. Another of our existing members, who is also up for re-election, will be seeking another term on the Board. The members who will be continuing without re-election at this time are three parent members and our staff representative. To be a successful Trustee you need to be able to communicate well, be a team player, be a strategic or analytical thinker, be able to commit the time and have a willingness to learn. If you are contemplating putting your name forward at these elections then I encourage you to come along to the board meetings or have a conversation with one or more of the existing board members. Board meetings are open for anyone to attend, and it will give you valuable insight into the expectations of the role. For your information, our next board meeting is on Monday 2nd November at 7:30pm in the school Meeting Room. Next term we'll call for nominations for new Trustees. Mrs McCloy is the Returning Officer and the key dates are listed below. Key dates:

9th October 2020 By this date, nomination forms will be emailed or posted to all

persons on the school’s caregiver roll. 30th October 2020 NOMINATIONS CLOSE at noon. An election will then be held if

the number of nominations exceed vacancies. For our school the number of parent vacancies is 2.

4th November 2020 Voting papers will be sent by post to all on the school caregiver

roll. 2nd December 2020 Voting closes at 4:00pm. 8th December 2020 Votes counted 9th December 2020 New board member/s take office Kind regards, Sandi Wood (Board Chair) More from the Principal Staff News: New Entrant Teacher I announced in a previous newsletter that we had appointed Miss Livvy Sheehan as our next New Entrants teacher. We are delighted that Miss Sheehan will be working at Allenton School! Miss Sheehan will be teaching in Room 19 (aka the library) and the class begins next Monday morning. Over the last two weeks we have had children on school visits and I am sure they are very excited to begin at our school.

Caretaker This is Mr Trevor Fletcher’s final week with us at Allenton School. Mr Fletcher has been an outstanding caretaker and has always been willing to go the extra mile for the staff and children. Some months ago he decided that he wanted to retire and do some other things. This is perfectly understandable, but he will be sorely missed by us all! I would like to thank Mr Fletcher for his wonderful dedication and effort over the last few years and wish him the very best for the future. It is never an easy proposition appointing a new caretaker, but I am very pleased to say that we have managed to do just that. His name is Mr Chris Bennett. Mr Bennett has many practical skills that will be ideal in this job. He is also very personable and we believe he will fit in well at our school. Mr Bennett officially began in the position on Monday and this week has been working alongside Mr Fletcher to learn the ropes. As you can imagine, there is quite a detailed list of things that he will need to receive information about and learn. Wig Wednesday It was fantastic to see such a great response to our Wig Wednesday fundraiser. The children and staff embraced the event and we had a large variety of wigs and hair designs on show throughout the day. I would like to thank you all for your very generous donations to this cause, which is so close to our heart. We raised almost $1,900.00 which is the most given to any outside fundraiser for many years. I know that having the ability to donate online helped many parents and of course increased the number and amount of donations. I would like to thank Miss Tayles for her enthusiasm and organisation. We are delighted with the result and grateful to everyone who made an effort. I have included below just a few of the photographs taken on the day.

More EPro8 Success Congratulations to the EPro8 team of Ben, Callum, Kylie and Ruby for being placed 4th at the recent Canterbury competition. There were 12 area finalists taking part and it was a very competitive event. I was so impressed with how well they did and how well they represented Allenton School. This was a really outstanding effort! I would like to thank their coach Mr Jurd for his tremendous effort in working with our school teams. Over the last month Mr Jurd has been working with all the senior classes and I know they have greatly enjoyed designing and making the models.

Year 6 Camp When our first camp booking in March was no longer possible we were very fortunate to be able to make a second booking. On Monday the Year 6 children are finally heading away for their school camp. This year they are again going to Woodend, north of Christchurch and I would like to wish everyone involved the very best for their three days away. Having been involved with school camps over many years, including the camp last year, I know how much of a positive impact they can have on the growth and wellbeing of Year 6 children. Thank you to Mrs Corcoran and Miss Strange for their tremendous organisation and effort. Thank you very much to the parents who are taking time away from work and family to spend the three days with the Year 6 children. This is a big commitment and we are very grateful. Thank you also to the PTA for their continued and greatly appreciated support of the Year 6 Camp.

Kotahitanga Day As part of our Maori Language Week we had yesterday afternoon another very successful ‘Kotahitanga’ afternoon. As with other years the children rotated around various activity stations in mixed groups, but because we are still at Alert Level 2 each syndicate had their own stations. Each group visited four stations throughout the afternoon. I would like to congratulate everyone for a tremendous afternoon! From what I observed the children really enjoyed taking part and mixing with their peers. Thank you very much to Mrs Leverton, Miss Swan, Miss Efford and Miss Strange (the Maori Committee) for their fantastic preparation!

Ashburton Intermediate School Information Evening Many of you will be aware that the Intermediate information evening is next Tuesday, when the Year 6’s are at Woodend Camp. Mr Gray, the Principal, visited last week and spoke with the Year 6 children. He said that those parents who were not at camp were welcome to attend the evening. He also said that parents could contact the intermediate school and arrange for an individual tour of the school with their children. I am aware that several parents have already made contact and arranged a tour, some in small groups. Please note that as a Year 6 group we will also be visiting in November and will have a full tour at that time. Start of School 2021 We have had a number of parents ask about the start of term at the beginning of next year. I can now confirm that Monday 1st February will be the official start to the 2021 school year. As with the start of this year we will begin with individual meetings between children, parents and teacher. There will be more information about the start to the year in due course. Quote of the Week It has been a very surreal year for all of us, with new challenges and priorities being presented, and the quote below seems to reflect what has been most important and is often described as the ‘new normal.’

Final Comment Do have a great break and hopefully you will be able to spend some quality time with your children. We look forward to seeing everyone back on Monday 12th October 2020. Nga mihi nui, Bruce Tilby (Principal)

Message from Gaye Leverton (SENCO)/Maori Committee Maori Language Week

On Monday our school participated in the Nationwide Māori Language Moment by saying a karakia kai (food blessing) at midday. It was great to see some of the duty teachers providing some Maori music for our tamariki to listen to while they ate their kai too! We are proud to have joined over a million people coming together to celebrate te reo Māori together across the country and around the world.

On Wednesday 16th September we held a Kotahitanga Day in celebration of Māori Language Week. Kotahitanga means unity and togetherness. Our tamariki were in mixed groupings within their syndicate and rotated around four different activities. It was a great opportunity for children and teachers who don’t usually get to work together to do so.

We are also running a Colouring Competition for Māori Language Week and look forward to seeing all the entries handed in by Monday. There are lots of prizes to be won. Children can get a copy from their classroom teacher.

Maori word of the week Week 9

Tiri Ata YouTube Week 10

Tohumarau hashtag

Calendar of School Events

21st to 23rd September - Year 6 Camp 25th September - Last day of Term 12th October - Term 4 begins 20th October - Athletics day (subject to change due to Level 2) 22nd October - Athletics postponement day (subject to change due to Level 2)

ICAS 2020 English and Mathematics

Students in Year 5 and Year 6 have the opportunity to participate in the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) examination(s) for English and Mathematics. These are Australian based exams, based upon the Australian curriculum and are an optional extra which we offer to students. Results and reports from these exams provide information about where a child sits in relation to other students who have sat the exam from across Australia and New Zealand. This year the exams will be completed online. Students can choose to sit English, Mathematics or both at a cost of $15 per exam. Entries close with us on Wednesday 23 September and must include payment. The exams take place in the first week of Term 4. Children sit the exam during the school day on devices provided by the school. Exams are submitted for marking in

Australia and every participant will receive a certificate at a later date to recognise their achievement. If your child would like to participate in one or both of these exams, please pay $15 per exam to the school office before Wednesday 23 September. Ensure that your child’s name, class, year level and which exam they wish to sit is clearly communicated to office staff (either in person or on the outside of your envelope containing payment). If you have any questions about entries please contact Mrs Corcoran kerrin.corcoran@allenton.school.nz.

Allenton School Athletics Tuesday 20th October 2020

(Postponement Thursday 22nd October, then next fine day after that) Students will compete in their Year Levels

September 2020 Dear Whanau and Caregivers, Allenton School Athletics Day will take place on Tuesday 20th October starting at 9.20am at School. Students are beginning to prepare for the Athletics Sports by practicing different sports each day with their class. Students are encouraged to bring suitable footwear to change into when taking part in these practices (students are still expected to wear their regular school shoes to and from school) and can also bring shorts to change into if they wish. PLEASE NOTE - OUR FULL SCHOOL ATHLETICS WILL ONLY TAKE PLACE IF WE ARE AT COVID-19 ALERT LEVEL ONE. IF WE ARE AT ALERT LEVEL 2, ARRANGEMENTS WILL CHANGE AND YOU WILL BE ADVISED OF THESE. Please find below the programme for the Athletics Sports day. Please bring this with you on Athletics day. Please note that the students will be competing in their year levels, in line with Mid Canterbury Sports Association and Primary Sports Canterbury. Students will begin the day in their class and will then move out to sports at 9:20am (9:55am for Year 0 (New Entrant students). Students can wear a T- shirt or polo top in their House colour along with black shorts, (no face paint, hair spray or tank tops please). Students may compete in bare feet for running and jumping events (shoes must be worn for throwing events) or wear running shoes/sneakers (no spikes allowed) and will need to wear their school sunhat and sunscreen. Students will also need a big drink bottle of water and a bigger, healthy lunch.

Programme -

Long Distance Discus Shot Put Long Jump Long Sprint High Jump Short Sprint

9.20am Year 5 (1000m) - Year 4 Year 3 Year 2 (80m) Year 1 Year 6 (50m)

9.55am Year 6 (1000m) Year 5 Year 0 Year 4 Year 3 (80m) Year 2 Year 1 (50m)

10.30am - 10.45am Morning Tea break

10.50am Year 1 (400m) Year 6 Year 5 Year 0 Year 4 (80m) Year 3 Year 2 (50m)

11.25am Year 2 (600m) Year 1 Year 6 Year 5 Year 0 (50m) Year 4 Year 3 (50m)

12.00pm Year 3 (800m) Year 2 Year 1 Year 6 Year 5 (80m) Year 0 Year 4 (50m)

12.35pm - 1.10pm Lunch Time

1.15pm Year 4 (1000m) Year 3 Year 2 Year 1 Year 6 (80m) Year 5 Year 0 (30m)

1.50pm Year 0 (200m) Year 4 Year 3 Year 2 Year 1 (80m) Year 6 Year 5 (50m)

2.25pm Pre Schooler race, House relays, Parent/Teacher/Student relay

Children will return to their classes with their class teachers at the end of the sports. Parents/caregivers can meet their children at the classrooms or children will be released as normal at 3pm. Venue map

Please ensure that all preschoolers are supervised and are kept away from where children are competing in events. We encourage parents and family members to take photos and videos to document their child’s achievements during the Athletics. Please be mindful where and how you use these photos and videos and ask permission before posting images of children other than your own on social media such as Facebook or Instagram. Mid Canterbury County Athletics will be held on Friday 6th November (postponement Monday 9th November). Those children who qualify (Year 5 and above for run and jump events, Year 6 and

above for throwing events) will be notified by 27th October. Parents/caregivers will need to arrange transport and supervision for their children at the Counties which will be held at the Ashburton Domain Cricket Oval. Thanks for your support Kerrin Corcoran kerrin.corcoran@allenton.school.nz and Hayley Dunlop sportsco@allenton.school.nz

COMMUNITY NOTICES

Parenting Week - March 2021 Waitaha Primary Health are organising another Parenting Week in Ashburton for March 2021 (similar to what happened a couple of years ago). As a part of the organisation they'd like to know from parents what they would be interested in hearing about/sessions they'd attend. We have been asked to put the survey link in our newsletter, as they hope the more constructive the feedback received, the better the week will be! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/T25FXKF

St David’s Church Fair & Garage Sale

48 Allens Road, Allenton Saturday 10th October 2020

9am to11-30am All the usual stalls, Baking, Preserves,

Jams, Walnuts, Plants, Cards, Children’s Activities, BBQ, Devonshire

Teas, White Elephant, plus more.

 

    

Mid Canterbury Rugby Union 2020 School Rippa Rugby Tournament - Version 2  

Active kids : participation : team work : fun Participation is the name of the game as once again Mid Canterbury Rugby Union hosts their 

annual primary school Rippa Rugby evenings - Version 2 will be held at Argyll Park , Earlier this year ( before covid cut short our campaign ) we had over 600 boys and girls participating; playing alongside their classmates, improving their ball skills, keeping active and learning 

about the importance of working as a team. Our commitment at Mid Canterbury Rugby is to make this a fun, hassle free tournament for 

teachers and parents and kids. All the equipment is provided and we are available to help out where necessary. 

  

DATES: Tuesdays , NOVEMBER  3rd ,10th,17th,24th, 

NEW VENUE - Argyll Park (cnr Middle / 

Farm Road)  TIMES: 5.00pm- 5.30pm-6.00pm ( depending on numbers) 

FORMAT: Mixed teams of boys and girls made up of Year’s 3/4, 5/6 and 7/8. 12 minute halves and 1 minute half time break. 

10 players max per team with 7 on the field. At least two girls must be on the field at all times. 

LOCATION: ARGYLL PARK (cnr Farm /Middle Road)   

Here is all you need to know… · The draw will be sent out each week and we will have a field layout plan once we know 

how many teams are entered. · A parent or teacher to be available to help with the refereeing each week. Hopefully if 

every team can supply a ref, they won't have to do it every week 

 · Positive Sideline Behaviour—Supporters have a big role to play in encouraging players, 

referees, coaches and volunteers to have good experiences whether they win, lose or draw. 

· Draw published by Wed 28th October  · Bare Feet or trainers please—NO BOOTS