Thursday 2nd August 2018

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Whānau,

I have been out of the country of the last few weeks, but have certainly come back to a hive of industry and developments around the school.

The Sculpture Trail has added some wonderful colour and a number of gardens have received a make-over as well. I love the fact that the sculptures have been designed and created by the children and they have been very proud to show these off to parents and other classes.

The old Library and ICT suite have been converted into lovely classrooms and I know that these teachers and children are really enjoying these new rooms. We have upgraded our electrical infrastructure and installed heat pumps into 6 rooms which have really improved the climate for these children and staff members. Work on what we have been calling the Historical Block (the old Rooms 1-3) is progressing really smoothly and is on track to be completed by the end of the year. We thank everyone for their patience and flexibility while we make these property improvements. It is short term pain for long term gain, and I know that we will all enjoy the final results. Have a great week everyone. Principal

CALENDAR OF EVENTS TERM THREE – 2018

Fri 3rd Aug - Rimu Assembly 2.00pm Tues 7th Aug - Pōhutukawa Assembly 2.30pm Mon 13th Aug - Kauri Assembly 2.00pm Tues 14th Aug - ICAS Maths

- Kōwhai Assembly 2.30pm Wed 15th Aug -Teachers Strike – school closed Fri 17th Aug -Whole School Assembly 2.00pm Tues 21st Aug -Pohutukawa Challenge &

Change Games Day -Pōhutukawa Assembly – 2.30pm Wed 22nd Aug -Winter Field Day Thurs 23rd Aug -Year Six Students visit BBI Mon 27th Aug -Kauri Assembly –2pm Tues 28th Aug -Kōwhai Assembly 2.30pm Wed 29th Aug -Winter Field Day (postponement day for Netball, Rippa Rugby and Netball) Wed 5th Sept -Kauri Production Matinee – 11am -Kauri Production Evening Show Thurs 6th Sept -Kauri Production Evening Show Mon 10th Sept -Kauri Assembly Tues 11th Sept - Kōwhai Assembly 2.30pm Thurs 13th Sept -Gymnastics Champ of Champs Comp. Fri 14th Sept -Rimu Assembly 2pm Mon 17th Sept - Class and Individual Photos Tues 18th Sept - Class and Individual Photos -Pōhutukawa Assembly 2:30pm Mon 24th Sept -Kauri Assembly 2.00pm Tues 25th Sept -Kōwhai Assembly 2.30pm Fri 28th Sept -Term Three Ends - 3.00pm finish

PHOTOS FROM OUR SCULPTURE TRAIL OPENING

TEACHERS ON STRIKE Due to the teachers strike, our school will be closed for instruction on Wednesday 15th August. Please make suitable arrangements for the care of your child/children on this day. The After School Care programme will not be operating on this day.

教师罢工

罢工将在 8月 15日（星期三）举行，持续一整天，因此学校当天关闭。父母亲请在当天为孩子们做好其他的安排。谢谢。

OPENING OF THE SCULPTURE TRAIL Wow, what an occasion this was! The parent and family turnout was huge and it was wonderful to see everyone enjoying the work that the children had completed. The opening was the culmination of 8 months’ work and has given a really colourful lift to our school grounds. This was a real team effort between children, staff, and parents, so thank you to all of the people who helped us to put this together. Our goal is that the sculptures will continue to be a real feature in the grounds for years to come and the children can be very proud of the work they have done. PICK UP AND DROP OFF AT COUNTDOWN Further improvements will be carried out soon to help ensure the safety of the children, parents and shoppers who are using the Countdown carpark. We ask that parents who are using this area:

- Teach their children how to use the carpark safely - Come and collect their children and not just wave them over. Other users may not see children

walking through the carpark and we do want your children to be safe. WINTER SPORTS FIELD DAY (Wednesday 22nd August) This annual competition is for selected year 5 & 6 students and will take place soon. We are currently doing trials and practices during lunchtimes for our Winter Field Day sports teams - Rippa Rugby, Hockey and Football. We will not need to do trials for our Netball teams as these will be our Year 5/6 Saturday morning netball teams the Sapphires and Emeralds. A postponement date has been arranged (29th August) in case the weather is against us on the 22nd August. Unfortunately, an alternative ground cannot be found for the Football, so if we do need to postpone, this tournament will not take place. We really do hope that we will be able to all of the codes take part in this event on the 22nd.

PARENTS OF CURRENT YEAR 6 CHILDREN Blockhouse Bay Intermediate Parent Information Evening – Tuesday 7th August 6.00-7.30pm (next week) Parents and Caregivers are welcome to attend an Information evening at the school next week. Information about the school, how we deliver the curriculum and the opportunities offered and available to students will be shared. There will also be an opportunity for families to meet and talk with the students and staff members.

BBI Experience Day – Thursday 23rd August 9.20-11.45am Students and families are invited to spend a morning at the school. This is an opportunity to both see the whole school in operation and participate in some school experiences. The children will go on the bus to BBI and there is no charge to parents for this. If you have a child in Year 6 and you do not want them to go to the Intermediate Experience Day, please let us know and we will ensure that they stay here at school.

Feel free to contact BBI directly if you have any questions or require any further information 6266414. Of course, families may be considering other options, so we advise parents to contact these schools if they are thinking of sending their children to attend these schools in 2019.

KNOWLEDGE-A-THON 2018 This term all Blockhouse Bay Primary students will be taking part in a Knowledge-a-thon. All of the money collected for this fundraiser goes to the Fundraising @ Blockhouse (FAB) team who will use it to upgrade the area in what is now the playground in front of Rooms 12-14. It is also a really good way for children to learn facts that will help them now and in the future. Next week we will be giving the children a list of the facts that they need to learn and we would like these to be practised at home. We will also be practicing them at school. Parents are asked to help the children to collect sponsors for the number of facts that they get right in the test during week 8 in mid-September. The sponsorship forms will be sent out soon as well. ENROLMENT 2019 We are asking if you or your neighbour has a child starting school in 2019 and you live within our school zone that you contact the school office to ensure we have your child’s details. This helps with our planning for 2019.

LOST PROPERTY

Last week we advised parents that there is a large amount of lost property in the cupboard beside the uniform room. We wish to inform parents that we will be disposing of any uniform items left in the cupboard at the end of August. Please ensure you have a look for any items your child may be missing before we dispose of the remaining articles.

Fundraisers at Blockhouse Bay (FAB) News THIS Friday 3rd August - Last chance to buy re-usable bags and straws at our pop-up CASH ONLY stall. The stall will be outside the PAC this Friday from 2:45-3:15pm. Special offer prices $20 for 5 re-usable produce bags and $10 for 2 stainless steel straws and cleaning brush. Saturday 11th August - Free Family Fun Day at Blockhouse Bay Community Centre from 12-4:30pm. The FAB is running a cupcake stall at this event and all proceeds will be returned to the school for our fundraising projects. If you can help support this stall, please bake a batch of cupcakes and drop it off to the PAC on Friday 10th August in a container with your child's name and room number so we can return it to you. Come along to the event for circus, music and plenty of other entertainment. Monday 6th August - 7pm in staffroom- Carnival event planning meeting. All are welcome. Like our Facebook page for more updates - Blockhouse Bay Primary School FAB

PARENT CONTACT DETAILS Recently we have tried to contact parents and caregivers by text or email to send home important information. Quite a number of these have failed and parents have not received important updates. Please contact the school office (office@blockhousebay.school.nz) if you have changed any details such as address, phone numbers, email address etc. We will be using this form of contact regularly in the future.