Class Placement for 2021 –  Let us know!

As we approach Term 4 it is once again time for us to start planning our classroom environments for next year.

When we organise classes in our school we look at each of our students’ academic and social needs and abilities. We use our cumulative teachers’ notes and check friendships with each child. We strive to achieve the best possible learning environments for all of our students and teachers. We actively decide to separate some students and join others, to achieve the best possible learning and teaching outcomes.

While providing support, we also work to build resilience and independence in our students, so that they will be able to cope with change and the next steps in their educational journeys when they transition from us to other schools. Our aim with mixing students around is to develop a school environment where students know and are happy to work with many other students, to give opportunities to develop further friendships and to have a break from others to improve concentration and learning.

If you believe you have any special information that you feel our teachers may not be aware of, for example – the possibility of avoiding a competitive cousin in the same class, please let your class teacher know as they will add any relevant comments to the cumulative placement sheet.

It is important if you have any information to share that you let us know before the end of this term.

The Gymnastic Academy Inter-Schools Tumbling Championships 2020

The Gymnastic Academy Inter-Schools Tumbling Championships were held last Saturday, with schools from around the Bay of Plenty and Waikato competing for the top three school placings. The TMCS team was made up of: Gabz H, Bayley O, Sammy M, Tayla G , Maia G and Zoe V. Competing in the Waikato Primary Schools division with 14 other schools, our team achieved 3rd Place!

Winner: Endeavour School 259.65

Runner Up: Horsham Downs School 188.00

3rd Place: Tamahere Model Country School 145.30

The team’s individual results were:

  • In the Green Division there were 18 entries and Gabz H won 2nd place!
  • In the Bronze 2 Division there were 11 entries, with Bayley O achieving 10th place.
  • In the Silver Division there were 20 competitors, with Tayla G coming 1st and Sammy M achieving 10th place.
  • In the Gold Division there were 9 entries, with Maia G sharing 4th Place and Zoe V achieving 9th place.

Unfortunately due to COVID-19 the team could not be presented their wonderful trophy on the day of the competition, so when our Assemblies are able to resume, this will be presented to the team.

Well done on such an amazing team performance!

5 C’s – Covid Country Cluster Cross Country Results

We had a fantastic day last Friday, with sunny skies to welcome the top Year 4-6 runners from Matangi, Tauwhare and Newstead schools to take part in our elite Cross Country Competition for the Country Cluster Schools. The students from all the schools put in a huge amount of effort and determination. After 2km the number of 100-300m sprints at the end of races to ensure places was staggering and incredible to watch.  Congratulations to our entire team who represented us so well in  all areas of our vision and came away with top placings in each category. A huge thank you to the supporters that helped out on the day and special thanks to Mrs Copponi and Mrs Metcalfe for their time and great organisation.

Results from the competition:

Animal Demo and Judges Visit for Calves, Lambs & Kids

On Tuesday we hosted the Judges visit for Calves, Lambs and Kids outside the TCC over the lunchtime break. We had a large group of students and interested parents listening to the Judges talk and watching the demonstrations.Thanks to the new Ag Day Organising Committee and volunteer judges for giving up their time and expertise to help this be a very special learning event for our students.

Cyber Safety

Dear Parents,

After visiting the Life Education Bus with a focus on digital safety, we wanted to bring to your attention a few concerns we have regarding cyber safety. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that social media accounts such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube all require a minimum age of 13 years to hold an account.

We are aware that several of our senior school students have public accounts (this means they can have their accounts and content viewed by anyone, anywhere in the world) on many of these social media platforms, particularly on TikTok and YouTube. Many other children have private accounts but have the ability to accept “followers” and “friend requests” from strangers. There appears to be a competition amongst some students to have a high number of followers.

Because of TikTok’s emphasis on popular music, many videos include swearing, sexual lyrics, obscene videos and photos, so it is not age-appropriate for kids of this age to use. It’s also easy to find people wearing revealing clothing and dancing suggestively, which they are copying at school.

It is recommended that the app is for age 15+, mainly due to the privacy issues and mature content. TikTok requires that users be at least 13 years old to use the full TikTok experience. Anyone under the age of 18 must have approval of a parent or guardian — but there are plenty of young tween users.

Whilst the children are at school during the day, they cannot access these sites. However, we are beginning to see an impact on friendships at school due to their use of these social media platforms at home and on playdates.

If you have any questions about this, we would be more than happy to discuss this further with you. Please feel free to contact your child’s class teacher. We strongly encourage you to have a conversation with your child about the content they are viewing online and the accounts they may have. You may also consider attending the Family Zone meeting at 1:30 pm this Friday in the TCC. Please register with the school office if you are attending this.

Kind regards,

Maungatautari teachers

Family Zone Parent Information Meeting- tomorrow (Friday 11th September)

A reminder that our Family Zone Parents Meeting is taking place tomorrow afternoon at 1.30pm in the TCC.

As we can only host a maximum of 100 in the Community Centre, we are asking that you register in advance. Please click here to complete the Google form to confirm your attendance.

  • Please be aware that this meeting is not particularly suitable for pre-school children to attend, but if you do need to bring them along, their attendance will obviously go towards our 100 person limit.
  • Please avoid coming onto school grounds by going directly to the TCC to sign in on the Covid Register.

Concerning Videos Circulating on Social Media

The Ministry of Education has shared the following Statement, that we want to bring to our school communities attention.

‘We have received information that a number of very disturbing videos are circulating on social media at present. These include at least one which claims to show a person committing suicide. We have been told that these videos are being removed as quickly as possible but it is possible that some young people in our community have already seen them.

I have received the following comments from the Director of Suicide Prevention:

“There is no specific protocol, but I urge calm and keeping it simple. This video is out there and there is a lot of noise about it … all I can say is that if I am contacted for comment I would be urging people not to view or share, and to be alert to signs of distress in those who have viewed it, and to know where help and support can be found”

It is important that we do not add to the hype around these videos but I wanted you to be aware as students at your school are likely to be talking about this. We recommend that having regular, open conversations at home and at school around online safety is important to help young people navigate the digital challenges they experience. This staying safe online guide and some of our printed resources may be useful.

In Waikato support is available from a number of agencies including:

Mental health concerns for individual students should, of course, be discussed with parents in the first instance. Referral process can be found here

https://www.waikatodhb.health.nz/for-health-professionals/mental-health-referrals/. I have also attached the Mental Health Foundation Guidance for your reference.

Other supports for students include

  • Need to talk -. Free call or text on 1737 and there is support available 24 hours a day
  • 0800 What’s Up – Available Mon-Fri 12pm-11pm Sat/Sun 3pm-11pm on 0800 942 8787
  • Lifeline – call on (0800 543 354) or text HELP (4357) for confidential support.

Finally if you need support from our Traumatic Incidents Team please ring 0800 TI Team (0800 848 326).’

Discos – Thursday 17th September – In Doubt

We are still hoping to be able to hold the Pirongia and Maungatautari School Discos next Thursday 17th September. After the announcement on Monday 14th we will know more.

Please note: We can only carry on with the discos if we are in Level 1.

We may of course have to pull the pin on these events depending on COVID 19 restrictions at the time, but in the meantime we encourage all our Maungatautari & Pirongia students to think about what they may want to wear.

Our Disco theme is T.M.C.S – children can dress in a character or anything that starts with one of the letters of our school name.

e.g. T = Teacher, M= Monster, C = Cyclist, & S = SpiderMan.

Tickets are available through classroom teachers – disco tickets are $5.00, which includes a bag of popcorn and pizza slices are $1.00 per slice. Payment must be made to the classroom teacher in cash.

We ask that children bring along a full water bottle, which they can refill. There will also be a stall offering treats for sale on the night, so feel free to bring some pocket money along.

Just a reminder of the times –

  • Pirongia Disco is on from 5:10pm – 6:30pm
  • Maungatautari Disco from 7:00pm – 8:20pm

Waikato Primary Schools Tennis Championships 2020 – Year 5 & 6 entries welcome

The Waikato Primary Schools Tennis Championships are being held on Thursday 29th October 2020, from 9.00am to approximately 4.00pm. If the event is rained off, the postponement date is the following day on Friday 30th October. The tournament is being held at the Waikato Tennis Centre located at 30 Old Farm Road.

The matches are played in either singles or doubles (you can only choose one option) and the format is 1 tie-breaker set to 6 games.

We will be accepting entries from Year 5 & 6 students only. The entry fee is $25.00 per student and parents must be available to support their child for the full day of competition, which includes transport and supervision.

Please email acopponi@tamahere.school.nz if you wish to enter your child, providing contact details. Registrations close on Wednesday 23rd September.

Thank you

Ann Marie Copponi

Ballot for 2021 Enrolments Now Open

For all out-of-zone families expecting to enrol a child at Tamahere Model Country School in 2021, our annual ballot for Out-of-Zone placements is now open until 3:00 pm on Tuesday 13th October 2020. Please note if you are out-of-zone, even if your child is a sibling of a current student, you have to be in the ballot to have a chance of your child being enrolled at our school in 2021. As with the last few years, except for siblings and possible priority enrolments, no out-of-zone children will be allocated a ballot place in 2021. This is to help alleviate the overcrowding challenges we are currently facing.

Pirongia Arts Sharing on Tuesday 22nd September – SAVE THE DATE!

Hats Term 4

With hats being compulsory for Term 4, it is a great time to organise for children’s names (first name and first letter of surname) to be embroidered on the back of their school hats. This costs only $8.00 each!  Not only is this an extremely competitive price, but the investment in purchasing only one hat and eliminating the need for several replacements more than pays for itself.

This is not just for brand new hat purchases but existing hats too! 

To be included in time for Term 4, please bring your child’s hat to the school office with your $8 payment (or order a new one for a total of $28).  This can take between 1-2 weeks, so please order as soon as possible.

Ag Day News – Alert! Please ensure all animals are registered ASAP!

Can we please have entry forms for all animals, as soon as possible to help with our Ag Day planning.

If you are new to Ag Day, then a number of resources, information leaflets and entry forms can be picked up from our school reception. Entries for the Pony section close tomorrow and all other Ag Day entries must be handed in by Monday 21st September at the latest.

Chick Pick up:

If you placed an order for chicks from Eureka Poultry Farm, these are to be picked up from the TCC (no farm pick-ups) tomorrow afternoon (Friday 11th September) between 2:15pm-2:45pm. Please bring a suitable box for transporting. Small bags of chicken growth feed will be available to buy.($5.00 per bag)

Free Animal Health Check Day for lambs, goats and calves:

This Saturday 12th September – from 9.00-10.00am in the TCC carpark.

Cambridge Vets are kindly offering A Free Animal Health Check – free vaccinations and tail docking for lambs, calves and goats.

Animal Demo and Judges Visit for Chickens:

  • Tuesday 15th September

Judges will be giving a demonstration with chickens, outside the TCC from 12:20pm, over the lunchtime break, giving advice on how to look after chickens and prepare for Ag Day. All children with chickens should attend and parents are also welcome. Children should take their lunch with them.

Sponsorship:

This day could not be achieved without our sponsors and parent helpers. If you have a local business who wishes to sponsor any prizes, or are available to help out our Ag Day committee in anyway please contact:

Frances McKenzie (021 206 9451) francesmcknz@gmail.co.nz

or Rachel Algar (020 422 6711) rachelannealgar@gmail.com

School Holiday Programmes

We have a number of School Holiday Programme providers, who have shared information about their programmes with us. Please check out the different options by clicking here or you can go to the ‘Community Notices’ page on the website.

Enrolments Now Open for Term 4 Gymnastics Academy Class

South East Hamilton Country School Group Day 2020

This year Newstead Model Country School is hosting the South East Hamilton Country Group Day.

Entry to this event is open to all school age children who have a calf, lamb or kid.

This year your entry will be submitted through an electronic form.

Entries close on SUNDAY 19th OCTOBER 7.00pm. No late entries will be accepted this year.

To access the entry form please click here

On the day, registrations will be accepted from 9.00am. Please ensure your registration is completed by 9:30am, to allow judging to commence from 10.00am.

We will endeavour to accommodate all vehicles and trailers for animals. Parking will be marked.

Important information regarding Calves

Please note that with Calves being eligible to return to Waikato Ag day events this year, there are some stipulations that will need to be followed for your child to show their calf at Ag Day this year:

As M-Bovis is still present in NZ there will be a number of items to be addressed by each student/calf.

1) All calves MUST have a NAIT tag in RIGHT ear

2) All calves to have an “Animal Status Declaration Form” when entering school grounds. The NAIT no. must be the number allotted to the property that the calf leaves from on show day

3) Calf/Student and supporters to pass through a Biosecurity pathway when entering calf show area.

There is no postponement day. Group day will take place in rain or shine.