Week 6, Term 3 Newsletter

Living in Level 2 for a bit longer, to keep on top of COVID, may have it’s challenges but at least we didn’t go into Level 3 as we thought might happen.

Following our initial email last Monday after the Prime Minister’s announcement our newsletter is once again full of re-organised arrangements. Thank you for being so flexible and fitting around these with us. It is sad that our students have to miss out on so many opportunities this year but at least we are all healthy and enjoying what we can.

• Daffodil Day Tomorrow:- Wear bright colours and bring a donation for the Cancer Society.
• School Discos:- for Pirongia and Maungatautari Syndicates this has been postponed until Thursday 10th September (hopefully).
• Interschool Chess:- has been postponed indefinitely and we will try and invite another school to compete against us later in the year. The online Interschool Chess was organised to cater for students based at home under Level 3 and we don’t have enough withdrawal spaces to compete in this.
• Dad’s Army – this Saturday! See details below. Thank you all for your socially-distanced work for our school.
• Girls Pubertal Change Evening:- We have elected to postpone the Girls Pubertal Change Evening, that was to be held on 8th September until later in Term 4, when we hopefully return to Level 1.
• 5C’s Event – Country Cluster Covid Cross Country:- Our school is going to host an elite Cross Country Competition for the Country Cluster Schools next Friday 4th September, using the wonderful space we have to keep all competing schools separate. This event involves our Year 4-6 students that finished in the top 6 in our school Cross Country. Please Click Here for the Level 2 arrangements. Spectators will once again not be allowed onto our school grounds, but may watch from a distance and keep socially separated.
• The Life Education Classroom:- will be visiting our school over the next 2 weeks to teach a variety of social and health education programmes to our students.
• Family Zone Parent Information Meeting:- Are you wanting to have more control over devices and phones in your home? Come and listen to the Family Zone Solution. We use, Family Zone as a gatekeeper for our student device use at school. Friday 11th September at around 2:30 pm. More details next week, if Auckland gets out of Level 3.
• Kids for Kids Choir. Sadly this huge concert to be held at Claudelands Event Centre on Thursday 10th September has been cancelled. We hope to keep singing and may perform a song or two at an assembly when we are able to hold them again. For any families who have already purchased tickets, these will be fully refunded via Ticketek in due course. Please contact them directly for any ticketing queries.

We were very lucky to be able to have Des Hunt, a NZ children’s author, visit the Maungatautari Syndicate on Monday. He presented to all the children, giving them all top tips on how to structure a story. Des Hunt uses science to illustrate his points, which was captivating for our senior children. 60 children also participated in writer workshops throughout the day, led by Des. His latest book the ‘Red Edge’ is being released next week, in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the Christchurch Earthquakes. You can check out his website on https://www.deshunt.com/

Wear your choice of multi-coloured mufti tomorrow and show your support for the Cancer Society by bringing in a gold coin. They help support families who are dealing with cancer.

Huge thanks for your generosity!

As you will have seen in last week’s newsletter, and in light of the current Level 2 restrictions, we have made the decision to modify the way in which we present our production ‘Hullabaloo at the Zoo’. We will be creating a film in lieu of a live performance which we are very excited about. 

We are continuing to learn our class dances and work with main characters to learn and enact scenes in order to film them over the coming weeks. All scenes and dances will then be amalgamated into a film that will be made viewable to all families. We plan to share our class dances in late Term 3 or early term 4 assemblies where we hope families will be able to join us.

We are working really hard in Pirongia getting some fabulous Arts learning ready to share with you at the end of the term. Please mark TUESDAY 22ND SEPTEMBER, from 4.00-6.00pm on your calendar. All students will be required from 4.45-5.15pm and the Art display will be open 4.00-6.00pm.

This term’s focus is ‘Communication – A Team of 5 Million’. This learning is being embedded across all curriculum areas but is particularly evident in Visual Art, Sound Art and Dance. We have been learning about New Zealand authors, artists and musicians and have been inspired by them to create our own pieces. 

We would love the opportunity to share our learning and celebrate with you. Details of our Arts sharing event are as follows:

Given the current situation in New Zealand, we are planning for this event to go ahead at Level 1. Should we still be in Level 2, alternative plans will be made.

We are looking forward to this great learning opportunity.

Kind regards,

Pirongia Teachers

We have an exciting new look to AG Day this year. There are more categories for everyone to get involved in. It is wonderful to have our Calves category back for 2020, following biosecurity guidelines. We have also introduced a Pony Category and the garden category, as you can see below. Our Horticultural Happenings have been reviewed and revamped and we now have a two year cyclic programme to keep variety, along with family items and activities. We have no overseas trips planned these holidays, so why not take this opportunity to raise a lamb, kid, calf or chicken, develop gardens and create hanging baskets or a scarecrow, as a family activity? We want Ag Day 2020 to be a very special event! The PTA will be baking – what more could we ask for? Sunshine – maybe!

Thursday 15th October (Week 1 Term 4)

On this day our school will be open to our community, family and friends to celebrate our children’s achievements and our agricultural heritage.

To enable our whole school to be involved in the day, all students will have the opportunity to bring an animal, a caged pet or our students who do not choose to bring an animal, will compete in the ‘Horticultural Happenings’ activities, which will be notified closer to the time.

Having the opportunity to rear a pet is very special. The skills and hard work put in to raise and care for a live animal are also a great way of learning very important life skills and responsibility.

If you are new to Ag Day, welcome! There are a number of resources and information leaflets that can be picked up from our school reception or local vets.

How to enter an Animal for Ag Day

Each child that wishes to enter an animal into Ag Day will need to complete an entry form, which can be collected from the School Office. Entry forms will need to be returned by Monday 21st September to allow for all the data to be entered and ribbons to be ordered.

We will be holding an Animal Demo and Judges Visit day on Tuesday 8th September outside the TCC from 12:15pm over lunchtime, to give advice on how to look after the animals and prepare for Ag Day. All children with Animals should attend and parents are also welcome.

A Free Animal Health Check day for lambs, goats and calves is also kindly offered by one of our Sponsors, Cambridge Vets, where they will offer free vaccinations and tail docking. The date for this will be September 12th (Saturday) 9-10am in the TCC carpark.

Pet Diary

Children are also encouraged to keep a “Pet Diary” with details about their Pet’s breed, date of birth, feeding and health details. It is up to the child as to what they choose to submit for this, there is no set criteria. This year children have two options: the first being a hard copy notebook, clear file etc. The second is to create a google slide pet diary. You can click on this link to view an example.

Pet Diaries will need to be submitted for judging at the end of the term.

Animal Contacts:

If you do not already have your own animals, then we have the following contacts available:

Lambs:

Contact Amy Beech 021 542 547

Amy will be offering lambs to be raised, available from mid-August through to October, however the sooner people get in touch with her the better. Lambs are $65 each, then this money is refunded on the return of a weaned, healthy lamb after Ag day. Amy is also able to offer advice on rearing.

Calves:

Contact Roger Duncan 021 929 163

Roger (and his wife Karen) will be offering calves for sale (not to be returned to farm), they are also available to offer advice, and can sell feed/colostrum etc to assist with the raising of the calf as required.

Goats:

Unfortunately our previous contact for goats does not have any kids available this year. If any parents know of anyone in the community we would love to hear from you.

Chickens:

Eureka Poultry Farm will be able to supply 7 week old Hyline chicks for anyone that wants to raise a chicken. Cost is $24 per chick and they will be available from 9th September. They will be feathered and old enough to go in a cage outside. Will need to keep an eye on them if the weather turns cold.

Maria at Eureka Poultry Farm will be arranging a day for the chicks to be dropped off and picked up from school.

We will also be having a section for “Show chickens” this year, if children have a special chicken which they would like to bring to show.

Caged pets

A caged pet is an animal that is happy to be caged, so no cats or dogs please, Any questions as to whether it is appropriate please ask your classroom teacher.

Ponies

This is a new section this year and this event will be a leading day, with no riding. Children are to lead their ponies in tidy riding attire.

There will be a Champion and Reserve for each age section, taken from points scored in classes 1-3:

1. Best Cared for Pony (turnout)
2. Best Leader
3. Most loved Pony and Educated Handler

The winners of the Best Leader in each age group will come together at the conclusion of the first 3 classes for the judging of the Champion and Reserve Pony Leader.

Classes 4, 5 & 6 are fun classes and will happen at the conclusion of the Champion judging:

1. Best Trick
2. Obstacle Course
3. Fancy Dress

Pony Entry forms are available at the school office. The final day for handing in entry forms is Monday 21st September. Any questions, please email Bridget Hawthorn on bhawthorn@tamahere.school.nz

Trophy Return: Can we please ask that all 2019 trophies now be returned to the school office as soon as possible.

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

This year we are very excited to be running our first Tamahere School Vege Garden Competition! leading up to our school Agricultural Day on Thursday 15th October, with prizes kindly sponsored by Amber Garden Centre.

Gardening is a skill that used to be readily passed on from one generation to the next, but with changing lifestyles many children grow up without learning any basic gardening skills. Getting them into the garden is a wonderful way to teach them about nature and where their food comes from. It also helps to gain an appreciation of the importance of plants and of the natural world in our lives.

Giving children responsibility for a few plants will start them on the path to learning valuable lessons about nurturing other living things.

How to enter:

Any child who wishes to enter must complete an entry form available from the school office. Entries must be received by Tuesday 1st September 2020. Since this is our first year we are leaving the criteria open to the children to decide what they would like to create. Get inventive and use your imagination!

Entries can be something as simple as lettuce grown in an upcycled container, through to a project carefully thought through with an elderly neighbour or grandparent.

Children will need to keep a diary containing details on what, and when, they have planted, plants may be started as seeds or seedlings and children should understand basic principles such as planning the garden, preparing the soil, watering, pest and weed management.

Other than that, we are keen to see our children outside enjoying the fresh air, hands on and getting creative!

Competition Timeframe:

The competition will open on Saturday 29th August. Gardens must be started on or after this date, and can run until judging, which will occur during the first two weeks of October, with prize winners announced at Ag Day on the 15th October.

Some tips on where to start:

Advice from your local garden centre – The team at Amber Nurseries are very friendly and happy to help with ideas.

The below websites also have a lot of useful information:

Tui Kids Gardening Guide

https://tuigarden.co.nz/ideas-and-inspiration/kids-gardening-guide/

Mitre 10 – How to grow spring veges

https://www.mitre10.co.nz/guides-and-advice/guide/how-to-grow-spring-veges

Yates – How to get started in the garden

https://www.yates.co.nz/ideas-plans/project-guides-articles/all/getting-started-in-the-garden/

Amber Nurseries

https://ambergardencentre.co.nz/category/advice/

Thanks again to Amber Garden Centre for your generous support!

Round the Bridges is planned for November 15th this year, celebrating the 75th running of the event. Classic Events are the organisers and once again Energize will be involved with the Kids Challenge. Entry for this event is now open, with the super saver rate of $6 being available until August 31st.

To everyone who would like to join the ROUND THE BRIDGES event on November 15th, please register and pay using the link. On the first page of registration, please select “Team”, then “Join a Team”. Once you do that, a drop-down menu appears. Select your team name Tamahere Model Country School from the alphabetical menu, then continue with the remainder of the registration.

Nearer the time we will meet as a team and discuss how we will organise a meeting place for all participants and their families.

Lee Boyd