Heron Herald Term 3, Week 9, 2021

Kia ora koutou,

At the end of this term we farewell Mrs Bartley, much-loved teacher of Room 22. Kim started as a beginning teacher at Matua School 6 years ago, and has developed into a highly skilled and effective member of the Matua team. Learning is never boring or predictable when you are in Mrs Bartley’s class. There is always the opportunity to be creative, explore new ideas, build things and get muddy. In her time with Matua School Kim has been instrumental in developing our local curriculum, has run lunchtime bike clubs, and led the Estuary Monitoring Project. There is no doubt that Mrs Bartley is a passionate and skilled teacher – which is why she has been employed for the opening of a new school in Queenstown – Te Kura Whakatipu O Kawarau. We know there is an exciting season ahead for Mrs Bartley and her family. We wish them all the best as they move south and create a home at the base of The Remarkables!

Goodbye Mrs Bartley!

This week has been Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori – Maori Language Week. Students have been focusing on a range of traditional Maori stories that have significance in our local area. Classes have learned about the stories and then looked to share them in a range of formats. This week’s online assembly is centered around this learning with classes and teams celebrating the content they have created and the experiences they have engaged with. We have also enjoyed a whole-school visit to the Otumoetai Pa, where we held a powhiri to welcome new students and teachers to the area.

I would like to remind you that while we are at Alert Level 2, parents are asked to restrict access to the school grounds. Children should be dropped off and picked up from the school gate. If you have a specific event or meeting to be on site for, you need to sign in at the school office and scan the COVID Tracer App. We appreciate your efforts with this as we all play our part in making sure we reduce the chance of spreading the virus.

Nga mihi,

Marcus Norrish
Principal

Otumoetai Pā Pōwhiri

Friday 24th September

Last Day of Term 3

Friday 1st October

First Day of Term 4

Monday 18th October

Winter Tournament

Tuesday 19th October
(PPD 22nd Oct)

Year 6 Graduation Photo

Thursday 21st October

Young Einstein Competition

Wednesday 20th October

East Cluster Speech Competition

Wednesday 20th October

Labour Day - School Closed

Monday 25th October

Cluster Teacher Only Day - School Closed

Tuesday 26th October
(Connected to long weekend)

WBOP Orienteering

Friday 29th October

PTA Quiz Night

Saturday 30th October

Last Day Of Term 4

Wednesday 15th December – 12.30pm

CONSTRUCTION CLUB

There was lots of fun to be had in construction club today. Construction club runs every Wednesday lunchtime especially for children who like to build things with Lego, Knex, and Magnetics. If you think your child would enjoy coming along to construction club please remind them that this happens every Wednesday in room six.

TE WIKI O TE REO MAORI

The week was fun with lots of learning and sharing.

HOLIDAY PROGRAMMES

LIBRARY

A big thank you for students and their families who have returned library books after our latest lockdown. Experience has shown that the longer library books are out, the harder they are to find! Fortunately, many children also had donated books issued to them, allowing for plenty of home reading opportunities. The last of our donated books have since been issued to students. We have been eagerly awaiting ‘new reads’ but unfortunately our brand new books are sitting in warehouses in Auckland due to the city’s level 3 status.

Consequently, our library focus has been on discovering/rediscovering top reads with the beautiful books we have on offer at Matua School. Daniella and Elsa have been promoting the magical adventures of Tilly Pages, a book wanderer in the series Pages and Co. written by Anna James, as well as one of their favourite authors, Ross Welford. His novels include, The 1000 Year Old Man, The Dog who saved the World, The Kid who came from Space and What not to do if you turn Invisible.

The senior students have been challenged to choose books based on the synopsis or subject descriptors – to not always judge a book by its cover. Books have been wrapped as parcels awaiting a reader willing to take a chance on a book. Meanwhile, our younger readers will still be basing their book choice on what they interpret from the book cover, so their challenge has been identifying the titles of books from obscured pictures. It has been wonderful to see the return of many happy faces over these last few weeks. Our librarians have been working hard to ensure library-goers are well looked after and can enjoy the library.

PARENTING SUPPORT

There is no doubt that parenting can be a challenge at times. If you would like to grow as a parent or get support as you navigate a challenging time there are a number of ways to do this. One local opportunity is Natural Parenting by Emily Legg. For more information check out this website: http://naturalparentcoach.co.nz/

GOBSMACKED HOLIDAY PROGRAMME

Only 3 weeks until school holidays… eeek! Do you know what your kids will be doing? Fear not – Gobsmacked Holiday programme to the rescue! Join us October 4 – 6 (first week of school holidays) from 9 – 3pm at the Graham Young Theatre for a musical theatre extravaganza. Limited spaces so get in on the act today!

TERM DATES 2021

Term 3 – Monday 26th July – Friday 1st October

Term 4 – Monday 18th October – Wednesday 15th December

Term 1, 2022 – Tuesday 1st February 2022

MUSIC HUB – GUITAR LESSONS

Kid’s Guitar Lessons at School 3pm Wednesdays

Joe has a couple of places available for a beginners guitar group after school each Wednesday

For more information please go to https://musiqhub-bop.co.nz/info or Text Wayne 027 271 7685

We’ll be in touch right away with any other information and enrolment details!

SCIENCE WITH MR REID

Room 3 enjoyed their science time with Mr Reid this week.

3D SHAPE FUN IN ROOM 7

DOGS IN THE SCHOOL GROUNDS

It appears that it has become normal practice for Matua locals to walk their dogs through the school grounds, either as part of a walk or on the way to the park. Dogs are not actually permitted on the school grounds and with the amount of dog poo that our caretaker is having to pick up off the school field, we can see why. If you do take your dog walking, either during school hours or in the evenings and weekends, could you please avoid passing through the school? It would also be appreciated if you could spread the word to the wider community. None of us want our children coming across the mess that Steve has had to pick up while playing sport on the field or rolling down our hills.

SPORTS

Well that’s a wrap on our winter sport season. It wasn’t the ending we were hoping for but with the COVID disruptions I think most sports did a great job at trying to tie up loose ends and get one more game in for everyone.

Sports uniforms will now need to be washed and returned to me as soon as possible please. Bonus points for being returned in a named bag. Thanks everyone. Kit bags, player of the day trophies also need to be returned.

Special thanks to all our volunteers over the last season. Our coaches, managers and umpires all work so hard to offer our players the best sporting opportunities. Without their hard work and support these teams wouldn’t be possible, so thank you!

Term 4 sports are all being sorted now. Teams will be emailed out in due course and registered. A little side note on registrations – please ensure you register on time. It does make my job especially tricky when I am getting requests after the cut off date.

Week 1 of Term 4 is an especially busy time as our Year 5 & 6 students will be competing in 3 East Cluster events within 2 days – Winter Tournament, Speeches and Young Einstein. These events were meant to take place in Term 3 however due to lockdown they were postponed.

Those who have registered for a sport for next term will hear from me shortly with team details. Thanks to everyone who registered on time and who has volunteered to either coach or manage a team. If your child is placed in a team where there has been no coach assigned, please help us out. I can help out with resources and I’m sure you could even rope another parent in to help and make it fun. All our kids want is to have fun and be supported and encouraged.

I hope you all have a lovely and safe holiday. I look forward to seeing you all back in Term 4 for a busy end to another crazy year.

Do you have girls at home who are keen cricketers but a little tentative? If so we would like to invite them along to a club’s muster at Fergusson Park this coming Sunday 26^th Sept. Given the current COVID-19 Alert Level restrictions, we plan to hold this day in two parts, as follows:

9:30am to 10:30am – Boys and Girls 8 years in age and younger.

11:00 to 12:00pm – Boys and Girls 9 years in age and older.

Please see the flyer below for more information.

Nga mihi,

Stacey Sutherland

LUNCHTIME CLUBS

There are many activities that children can get involved with at Matua School. We have groups such as Kapa Haka and choir, alongside a large range of optional lunchtime clubs that our wonderful teachers run. If you are interested to know what is available, we now have a page on our website that displays what is happening. Follow THIS LINK to check it out.

LUNCH ORDERS – WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY

Day change to Wednesday from Term 2!

Now with two days of ezlunch each week, your kids will have a great variety of healthy and tasty school lunches. Simply order by clicking here.

Order (or cancel) any time before 9am on the day or schedule in advance.

Order anytime before cut-off or schedule in advance. Lunch will be delivered to school at lunchtime on a Wednesday for Pita Pit or Friday for Subway.ezLunch orders are made online through your myKindo account. You can order lunch by simply going to www.mykindo.co.nz

Click here to view the menu.

Help? Visit support.mykindo.co.nz or tel. 09-869 5200 Mon-Fri 8 am to 4 pm.

Find out more ezlunch.co.nz or mykindo.co.nz

OUR SCHOOL APP

Our School App

We have a new school app to keep you up to date with events and notifications. Click on the button below to check it out.

Click Me

SETTING UP KINDO

Setting up with Kindo

Kindo is our new prefered payment and permission system. To help you learn how it works, we’ve added their new help sheet and video. We hope it helps.

Kindo Help

KINDO VIDEO HELP

COMMUNITY NOTICES

CHILDREN’S HOLIDAY ART WORKSHOP and HOT SWIM

Once again Lynne Sinclair Taylor is running this popular workshop for ages 7 to 12. The children will have fun while learning about colour and techniques. All art supplies provided. Limited numbers. Optional warm swim at end of class.

Wed 13th October 10am to 3.30pm

Cost: $65 ($45 for additional children in family)

Where: Lynne’s home studio, 15 Hartwell Place, Matua, Tauranga.

To enrol: Contact Lynne on 021 121 9864 or lynnestaylor@gmail.com by Saturday 9^h October.

Lynne has been tutoring children and adults for over 25 years.

www.lynnesinclairtaylor.com