Term 4, Week 9

Room 4,  Term 4, Week 9

Sunday 10^th December, 2017

Important Dates coming up:

*Life Education Bus [Harold] – Room 4 sessions Tuesday and Wednesday this week on the theme of ‘Resilience’.

*Wednesday 13^th December: Mrs Ward will be attending Nadine’s Graduation in Dunedin and Mr Hogue will be relieving in Room 4.

*Thursday 14^th December, 9 am, Year 5’s to view a movie screening of ‘Wonder’ with Room 5 and Mrs Lyon.

*Graduation Mass, 6 pm, Thursday 14^th December.

*Friday 15^th December, 9 am, Year 4’s from Room 4 off to a movie screening of ‘Wonder’ with Room 6 and Mrs Ward.

*Picnic and Prize-giving Friday 15^th December. Prize-giving begins sharp at 1 pm.

*Last days of school: Monday 18^th and Tuesday 19^th December – a full day on Monday and a half-day on the Tuesday.

A reminder about the Movie screenings of ‘Wonder’ this week:

On Thursday 14^th and Friday 15^th December Rooms 4, 5 & 6 will have the opportunity to view the movie ‘Wonder’ at the local movie theatre. Because the movie begins at 9 am on both those mornings, it would be great if children could be delivered straight to the theatre by 8.55 am. Bus students will be transported down by staff. All students and teachers will walk back to school after the movie. School uniform must be worn.

Reminder:

*Thursday 14^th December – 9 am: Room 5 and the Year 5’s from Room 4.

*Friday 15^th December – 9 am: Room 6 and the Year 4’s from Room 4.

Diligence Awards:

I will be giving out a number of class awards in Room 4 this week for those who have met the criteria but may not get awarded the final prize at the prize-giving. Unfortunately only ONE person can receive each prize from the school. What a nice problem to have… trying to choose between so many deserving students. Congratulations Room 4 for the high level of diligence and commitment I have seen on a daily basis this year.

 Final days at St. Gerard’s

There’s a bit of a reality check going on for me as the year hurtles to an end and I begin the process of packing up at both home and school. I have had hugs and smiles, gifts, cards and lots of lovely messages from the children. Thank you for a great year. I think the childrens’ reports reflect just how busy and productive they have been with exciting progress across the curriculum for each and every one of them.

Keep up the great work everyone. Love and God’s blessings.

Markelle Ward J

Term 4, Week 8

Room 4:  Term 4, Week 8

Monday 4^th December, 2017

What a fantastic day we had on Friday for the bike trip to Mrs Beilby’s house, albeit a little TOO hot. We have so many things to be grateful for:

*Our awesome parent helpers without whom the day could never have happened.

*Mrs Beilby for generously sharing her beautiful home and garden.

*God… for the lovely day and all His wonderful creation.

*Room 4 for baking the great Christmas cookies… they were decorated by all the children who enjoyed them a lot.

*All the children, who self-managed their belongings, lunch, water bottles, bikes, helmets and who all followed instructions and kept each other safe.

*Mr Milford – for coming in on Wednesday to check our bikes and helmets and help us get prepared for the big day.

*Mason’s mum Tracey for her nursing duties at the end of the day – we appreciate this very much.

*The mini-golf owners who accommodated us and didn’t mind late payers!

Important Dates coming up:

*Eisteddfod Song presentations in class, Monday 4^th and Tuesday 5^th December.

*Year 5-8 ‘Things are changing’ Puberty Course continues this week on Monday 4^th December at 2 pm.

*Wednesday Mass led by Room 3 at 9 am in the Church.

*Thursday 7^th December, 1.30 pm: Eisteddfod Assembly – Songs.

*Thursday 7^th December, Jewellery-making with Mrs Chamberlain 8.55-11.15 am.

*Life Education Bus [Harold] – all classes – Friday 8^th till Wednesday 13^th December.

*Friday 8^th December, 2.10 pm: Assembly led by Room 5.

*Thursday 14^th December, 9 am, Year 5’s off to a movie screening of ‘Wonder’ with Room 5 and Mrs Lyon.

*Graduation Mass, 6 pm, Thursday 14^th December.

*Friday 15^th December, 9 am, Year 4’s from Room 4 off to a movie screening of ‘Wonder’ with Room 6 and Mrs Ward.

*Picnic and Prize-giving Friday 15^th December. Prize-giving begins 1 pm.

Movie screening of ‘Wonder’

On Thursday 14^th and Friday 15^th December Rooms 4, 5 & 6 will have the opportunity to view the movie ‘Wonder’ at the local movie theatre.  All three classes have recently read the book in class, and it seemed like too good a chance to miss. Because the movie begins at 9 am on both those mornings, it would be great if children could be delivered straight to the theatre by 8.55 am. Bus students will be transported down by staff. All students and teachers will walk back to school after the movie. School uniform must be worn. Notices will be sent out closer to the time.

Reminder:

*Thursday 14^th December – 9 am: Room 5 and the Year 5’s from Room 4.

*Friday 15^th December – 9 am: Room 6 and the Year 4’s from Room 4.

Have a great week. Markelle Ward J

Term 4, Week 7

Term 4, Week 7

Room 3 & 4 Bike Trip this Friday 1st December:

This is Room 3 & 4's Christmas outing. We will be biking to Mrs Beilby's house for a day of biscuit-decorating, mini-golf, cricket and sprinklers.

• Bikes need to be at school this Wednesday morning for a bike safety check with Mr Milford at 10.30.
• We require parents to accompany us if this trip is to go ahead. Please let Chris or I know as soon as possible if you are available. 
• It is a full day trip leaving school at 9.15 am and returning by 2.40 pm.
• A hard copy notice will come home today. Please return this slip by Wednesday.

Year 5's: Pubertal Change this week

Some parents had indicated they would like to know a bit more specifically which sessions we have covered and which ones are coming up. Here's the go...

We'll have 2 more lessons for Pubertal Change this week.  Last week's girl sessions covered 1) Why puberty happens and 2) The female anatomy and periods.   The boys covered 1) Why puberty happens and 2) body odour, hair and the male reproductive system.
This coming week with Mrs Lyon the girls will look at feminine hygiene, they'll do a tour of the first aid room so that all girls are aware of the feminine hygiene we have and their whereabouts at school.  We aim to make the girls feel as comfortable as possible in case of a period happening at school - they'll be armed with some 'what to do when' knowledge!  We'll also cover period pain, emotions and keeping track of the menstrual cycle.

The boys will continue to look at the Male reproductive system, including looking at erections and wet dreams amongst other things. We'll also be learning about the female reproductive system and what kinds of things are happening for girls through puberty.  All sessions usually involve some questions and answer time too.

The children have specific boy and girl booklets which they fill in after watching a film about each topic.   At the conclusion of this we'll have 1-2 sessions with both the boys and the girls together so that the learning about boys/girls and puberty is crossed over and both sexes are aware of each other's changes.

Have a great week everybody.

Markelle Ward

Term 4 Week 6

Room 4: Term 4 Week 6

Sunday 19th November, 2017

First Holy Communion:

Congratulations to the ten children who received their First Holy Communion at Mass this morning:

·      Payton Dickson ·      Greer Dickson ·      David Fonseca ·      Angus Hanning ·      Lily Middendorf

·      Jelena Morrell ·      Jack O’Connor ·      Alia Ryan ·      Sophie Tait ·      Adam Ward

This was a lovely celebration with many family members and parishioners joining us afterwards for a special morning tea up at the school on a beautiful spring morning. Thank you to all those who helped with the Mass and with the morning tea – Room 7 was transformed into a first class restaurant and looked amazing. Loads of cups of tea and coffee were served and everyone took the time to make it a memorable occasion for the children. Thanks again for all your support. Thank you Donald for the photos.

Important Dates coming up:

*Year 5-8 ‘Things are changing’ Puberty Course begins this week. Sessions will be held at 2 pm on each of the following days (subject to some change for school events): Mondays 20^th and 27^th November, Thursday 23^rd November, Tuesday 28^th November, and Monday 4^th December. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns about the programme.

*Tuesday 21^st November: DRS Release Day. Mrs Bennett will be in Room 4.

*Wednesday 22^nd November: CRT – Room 4 Jewellery Making with Mrs Chamberlain 8.55am – 11.15am.

*This Friday 24^th November: PET DAY. Look for details in Wednesday’s School Newsletter.

*Sunday 26^th November: Little/Big Day Out Concert for Ben Whitaker. Choir and Kapa haka to present at this.

*Friday 1^st December: Christmas Bike Trip for Room 3 & 4 to Mrs Beilby’s place.

Choir Presentation this Sunday:

I have committed our choir to performing two songs this Sunday at the ‘Little/Big Day Out’ Concert. Exact times will be advised this week but we know that Primary School performances will be approximately between 11am – 1pm.  A note will come home on the Room 4 class newsletter tomorrow, so please tick and sign  if your child (Choir member) is available to be there to perform. Kapa haka notices have been done separately through Mr Yeoman and Mrs Beilby, this one is just for Choir. J

Have a great week. Markelle Ward J