M.o.t.A.t

YEAR 74, YEAR 7

Education Outside the Classroom Activities – last week all students took part in a 3-day EOTC programme. The students spent one day at Okahu Reserve and Orakei beach where they rotated around activities in and out of the water. The days for both Year 7 and Year 8 classes were great and all the students and teachers had a fun day. Most classes used this opportunity to have a picnic or shared lunch while at the beach. 

Each class also took part in a Sports Day at Mountford Park. We were very fortunate to have coaches from Manukau Sport help us out with our sport rotation. Some of the games that were played were Ki o rahi, rippa rugby, soccer, cricket, softball and orienteering. We had an expert come into help our students out with this – thanks to Val Robinson for giving up her time. The winning classes were Year 8 – R19 and Year 7 – R63 and R15.

There was one day left for all classes to take part in a Community Day. This involved each class planning how they would be able to give back to our community. Classes took part in activities such as cleaning up streets from litter, making cookies for the elderly, reading to pre-school children, visiting primary schools and working with younger student etc. Unfortunately the weather was not kind to us for this day, but moss classes were still able to go ahead with their program.

So overall this was a fantastic 3 days! Thanks to all the parents and families who helped out with supervision and to all the staff for the extra hard work.

Northern Districts Finals of the NZ Cricket Sheild – the Girls cricket team can hold their heads high after an impressive display at the Northern District Finals held in Hamilton on the first week of term 4. They had to play 2 very good teams and although they did not win they showed they have come a long way as a team and displayed some very good bowling, batting and fielding.

The first game in the morning was versus Peachgrove Intermediate (the best team in Hamilton). We chose to bat first and set a total of 58 from 19 overs. This gave our team a great opportunity to get some practice against some good bowlers with the hard ball. Peachgrove however had 3 very good batters and they met the target easily reaching 59 runs in just 8 overs to win the game.

In the other half of the draw were Gisborne Intermediate and Tauranga Intermediate schools. Gisborne set a total 98 runs and Tauranga Intermediate fell 10 runs short, meaning Peachgrove would play Gisborne for the Northern Districts title while Tauranga and MIS would fight it out for 3rd and 4th place respectively.

Manurewa Intermediate School won the toss and elected to bowl first and the girls did a fantastic job of containing 2 extremely capable batters from Tauranga Intermediate. They scored 128 for 2 wickets and showed they were a very good batting side. When Manurewa Intermediate School came into bat they were keen to get as many runs as possible and started well with Tatiana and Coleen starting a good partnership. In the middle order a special mention should go to Ally our captain who demonstrated great maturity and awareness of the game by creating a partnership with Celia which created 26 runs. Unfortunately the bowling from Tauranga was too strong and the middle order and tail enders fell for little runs meaning Manurewa Intermediate School finished the 20 over innings with 65 runs.

Well done to all the girls for their hard work, determination and great attitude. It has been a real pleasure coaching you this year and hopefully next year we can go even further!

School Athletics – we recently held our annual school athletics day at Mt Smart Stadium. It was a great day as the weather was perfect, the students were awesome and the staff were diligent. It was great to see the students’ talent on display but also to see everyone giving things a go. All the students had a great attitude and competed well in the hope of winning the house competition. At the end of the day there could only be one winner…so congratulations must go out to KAURI house!! The third year in a row winning athletics!!!

Below are the students who have qualified for the Zone Athletics Day.

Great Barrier EOTC Camp – this year 10 lucky Sports Academy students were selected to go on a camp to the Sir Edmund Hilary Outdoor Pursuits Centre on Great Barrier Island. The students were excited as they would be gone from Sunday to Friday and would be flying to GBI!!

Sunday - On arrival to OPC we had dinner, met the students from the other schools and had a briefing about how the week would work out.

Monday – After a great breakfast we got to meet our instructor. The group played teamwork games and then were told what we would be doing….Rock climbing and Abseiling!! We started on the indoor wall so Freya (our instructor) could see we could all be trusted to belay each other. After an hour of practice it was time to take the steep walk up to the Three Kings rock face where we would be climbing. The weather was really hot but we all enjoyed the climbing and abseiling. After the heat of the day we went back to camp and got kitted up with wetsuits so we could jump off the pontoon, swim out to the Lady Hilary (the boat anchored in the bay) and do bombs and dives off the top!!

Tuesday – We got up, had another great breakfast and then prepared for a big day of kayaking, coasteering and snorkeling. The kayaking was done on the Eastern side of GBI at Okiwi beach which was stunning. We kayaked along the beach, rafting up to play games including running along the rafted kayaks!! We then stopped for lunch on a small beach leaving the kayaks for another group, before we coasteered along the rocks. (Coasteering is basically making your way along the rocks, jumping off into the water, swimming for a bit, then climbing out etc) After coasteering for a few hours we got the snorkels and fins out and snorkeled along to the beach. We saw loads of fish and an Eagle Ray.

Wednesday – Today we would prepare ourselves for an overnighter camping in the bush. This was exciting as the students would be camping in tents and cooking their own food just like survival camp….the difference being they would have to carry all their gear in and out on their backs!! We also did something called a Via Ferrata which is when a group of climbers are all tied together with a rope and each climber has 2 karabiners. The rock they are climbing has a wire on it and the climbers have to climb at a speed which is ok for the people they are attached to, at the same time as clipping and unclipping themselves from the wire. After the Via Ferrata we bush bashed through to a track and tramped to our camp site where we put up our tents and the students made dinner! Burrito’s!!

Thursday – We woke up early so we could dismantle our camp and tramp back to base (1 hour away). When we returned to the OPC (outdoor pursuits centre) we had breakfast and tidied our kit away. After our huge day on Wednesday and sleeping out in the bush, everyone was feeling a little tired, so we played some more teambuilding games before going steep creeking. (Steep creeking is when you traverse down a river or stream, where sometimes you have to abseil over waterfalls!!) When we finally got back to base some students took the opportunity (as they were already very wet) to jump/flip/dive off the pontoon!!

Friday – Our last day of camp and the wind was howling. So hard that one of the other schools were stuck on the island as their boat ride out couldn’t leave as it was too rough. As it was our last day we had to clean our cabins and pack our stuff however that didn’t mean no activities. The group was split into 2 teams and they were taught some simple knots before building rafts which had to take the whole team. The students were given 2 kayaks each, three long bamboo poles, 2 inflated inner tubes and some rope and rubber straps to tie with. This game showed great teamwork and leadership skills, which were 2 of the important aspects of the camp. The flight home was bumpy but fun due to the high winds and everyone was glad to get home and back to Auckland.

Thanks for a great camp, our school will definitely go there again!!

GENERAL SCHOOL NOTICES

1.    TERM 4 SCHOOL CHARGES – as you know your child gets to participate in all activities – offsite and onsite regardless of whether you pay for these. However the school cannot constantly pay for everything with many families contributing nothing even when we many are supported by the government. We ask for only $30.00 per term, which covers everything.

We really appreciate those families who have paid the terms or year to date and it is unfortunate I need to be so blunt here because it is probably only reaching those of you who already are supporting us and your child – so thank you and please ignore my commentary.

However for those who have not, a reminder the term 4 charge of $30.00 is now well overdue if you did not pay as one lump sum in term 1, 2 or 3. This can be paid in cash or eftpos at the school. Your support with payment is much appreciated.

For those who are still to pay the term 1- 3 charges of $30, $60 or $90 this can also be paid at the office.

2.    SCHOOL HOURS – students are expected to be in school before 8.30am, ready for an 8.45am start. The school day ends at 2.55pm. We have no wet day early finishes.

3.    ABSENCE – if your child is absent from school please call the office on 2668268, before 8.45am to advise us. If you do not do this a written note is required upon their return to school. After the second day of no notification the administration staff will contact the home directly. See number 2 above as well!

You are now also able to call for free 0508 878 268, and leave a message on this number. Please make use of this new system!

4.    LATENESS – all students report to the office prior to returning to class if they arrive at school after the bell at 8.45am. This is to ensure we keep a track of attendance and student safety.

5.    VISITORS – whenever you visit the school please do so via the office so you can be checked in. Thank you for your cooperation.

6.    SCHOOL PROPERTY – the school has a policy of “abuser pays”. Students who carelessly or wilfully damage school property or equipment will be asked to meet the cost of the repairs, or at the very least pay a fair share of the replacement. We hope this will become a rare occasion at Manurewa Intermediate, however, when this does occur, parents/caregivers will receive an explanatory letter and a tax invoice to cover costs. In addition to schools operating on very tight budgets, we see the development of personal responsibility as an important outcome of our school programmes.

7.    CELL PHONES – if students bring cell phones to school they are left at the office before school and collected after school. If students keep them on them or in bags during the day and they are “lost” or “stolen” we will not waste any time in following up. Owner beware – follow the procedures!

8.    BI ANNUAL SURVEY ON HEALTH & PHYSICAL EDUCATION – we recently sent this survey home and I thank those of you who completed this. The results help us with our future programme planning so we really appreciate your input.

 The results of the survey are:

9.    ME AND MY SCHOOL SURVEY – recently we had a random sample of 50 year Year 7 students complete a nation-wide standardised survey about school life and how they feel about school. The results of each school is compared to the nationwide sample to give schools a picture of how well, or not, they are doing in relation to student presence and engagement at school. Our results are outstanding, and we will repeat this exercise at the end of 2012 with exactly the same students to see how we have improved, or not (we hope to though!) during the 2012 school year.

The full report is available for you to read if you are interested but as a sample see below some of our results. Outstanding!

10.  END OF YEAR REPORTS – these come home on Wednesday 7^th December, so please look out for this! We will not provide a second copy if this one is lost or misplaced so please be proactive in asking for it off your child.

Once you do receive the report feel free to contact the teacher/s if you wish to discuss any aspect of the report. They are at school and available on the Thursday 8^th and Friday 9^th December from 8am – 4pm. Contact via the school phone 266 8268.

COMMUNITY NOTICES

1.      MANUREWA JUNIOR SCHOOL OF MUSIC – “Manurewa Junior School of Music is now taking enrolments for 2012. We offer tuition in the following musical instruments: Clarinet, Flute, Guitar, Keyboard, Percussion, Recorder, Saxophone, Trumpet, and Violin. Tuition is available to all Primary and Intermediate School students aged 7 and up. Fees for the year are $65. Lessons are on Saturday mornings, with some keyboard lessons on Tuesday and Thursday after school.

Please contact us at mjsm@greenmeadows.school.nz or phone 269 5673 and leave a message or you can come to Greenmeadows IntermediateSchool on Saturday morning between 8.30am and 11.30am to enrol in person.

Enrolments close on the 3^rd December 2011.