Sacred Heart School Newsletters

04 September 2009

4 September

Dear Parents
What an interesting week – thunder, lightning and hail have greeted spring in. Then a fine night for the Stags game and today. Well done to Shaun Wilks and his Waikiwi team who were part of the half time entertainment at the game. Also good luck to Joshua Keenan who will be part of the U38 Southland team playing this weekend.
As I mentioned last week we have enough children to have a full-time teacher in Room 6. This will mean room changes for some children in Rooms 3 & 5. For term 4 we will also be looking to promote some children in Rooms 1 & 2 to facilitate new entrants coming in for the remainder of the year. Next week your children will receive an indication of their new class and there will be a meeting to outline these changes on Monday 14th September at 7.00 p.m. prior to the PTA meeting at 7.30 pm.
An appointment has been made to replace Mrs. Williams when she is on maternity leave. I will have further details once it is confirmed.
Thank you to the parents who have volunteered to be Maths tutors. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.
Also thank you for your prompt payment for the various sporting teams over the past few weeks. We require full payment before we can register teams. If not, the teams can be withdrawn by the organizers.
Thanks to the PTA for organizing the Father’s Day presents. The children had a wonderful time choosing the right gift for their Dad.
A big thank you to Miss O’Neill, Fr Vince & Bishop Colin for the Confirmation Mass last Sunday.
Also congratulations to Jennifer, Natasha & Luke Thomson who will receive the Sacrament of Baptism tomorrow.
Good luck to Caitlin Russell, Reuben Brown, Michael Walker, Erica Forde, Nicole Chalmers, Sam Russell and Chanae Flowers who will be attending a Writer’s workshop tomorrow.

COMPULSORY SCHOOL MASS ~ SUNDAY 20th SEPTEMBER 10.30 am.

PARENT MEETING ~ On Tuesday the 22nd of September there will be a meeting for parents to discuss and demonstrate the changes to the Reading Programme in the Senior Syndicate. This will be at 6pm in Room 9.
All parents are welcome to attend this.

SOUTHLAND MARATHON 100TH ANNIVERSARY ~ As part of this anniversary all children will receive an invitation to take part in the 2009 Marafun. Information is on the leaflet and www.southlandmarathon.co.nz

WAIHOPAI DENTAL CLINIC ~ Appointments are on their way for all children.

MATHS AT HOME ~ A useful website to support your child/ren with maths is www.nzmaths.co.nz. Click on the jigsaw that says Families. This explains what the Numeracy Project is. There is a section on activities to do at home that is useful as it provides some ideas of what you can be doing to strengthen your child’s knowledge. If you are unsure of the domain or stage your child is at, please do not hesitate to ask their class teacher.

CLASS HAPPENINGS ~ Room 9 have been writing reports about topics they have been reading about.
Here are a couple of examples:

GECKOS ~ Was that his tail?
There are a lot of types of Geckos. In fact, there are two thousand types of Geckos worldwide. They live in rainforests and wet places, they also like trees, leaves and grass. They are very timid creatures. They eat things like flies, mini spiders and birds. They like hunting for their own food; they hide in long grass when hunting. Geckos have very good characteristics. One great characteristic is how they use their tails to protect themselves.
Predators don’t come often but when they do come Geckos can make their tails come off. They do this so the predators think their tail is the Gecko. The predator chases after the tail thinking that it is the Gecko, while the Gecko runs free. The tail wriggles so it looks like the Gecko. Geckos grow their tail back after they lose their old ones. Sometimes when they grow their tail back they grow more than one, sometimes they grow 2 or 3 tails at the maximum. Geckos also store food in their tails so they don’t have to hunt all the time. Geckos live a very long time. They live up to forty two years in the wild. Geckos like being damp and wet, that’s why they live so long in rain forests.
The Duvaucels Geckos are the largest Geckos in New Zealand. Most of the Duvaulcels Geckos are grey and brown. The largest living Gecko in the world is a 160 centimeters and 120grams. So next time you find a Gecko you will know what it eats, where it lives and all the other things you have learnt about Geckos. By Braedon

ANZAC DAY ~ Thousands dead… many more injured… Winston Churchill…
Winston Churchill was the First Lord of the Admiralty. (He was in charge of the Navy). Winston thought he had the right ideas to stop the World Wars.
So the British Navy and Winston came up with what they thought was a great plan but instead the plan killed thousands of people. His plan was called Gallipoli. Many people have heard of Gallipoli - it is in Turkey. His plan was to be in Gallipoli because that was where he thought he could conquer the enemy. Winston thought that what they were planning would make people surrender. He was wrong. It just killed thousands of people many who were just young men.
In the trenches that the soldiers lived in life was really bad. All day the men were surrounded by agonizing and scary screams of dying men. Their living conditions were terrible. There wasn’t much food either.
On November 25th Winston suggested his plan about Gallipoli, the new war front to the British Council. After the council had discussed the plan they called Winston back and surprisingly said yes.
On February 1915 Carden opened an attack on Turkish in the Dardanelles. Carden’s initial attacks went well, but when the death toll was confirmed people were very upset.
Unfortunately, this did not end the war. Thousands were killed in that terrible war, but a lesson has been learnt. People no longer wanted a World War. By Chanae. Flowers

BAMBOO ~ Bamboo it’s hard, tall and thin! Is bamboo grass or a tree?
In Kyoto, Japan there’s a huge forest of bamboo. Bamboo can be used for copious things.
Bamboo is not a tree it’s a type of grass. In fact, it’s a tall, hard grass. It’s got brown or green stripes and it’s not like normal grass. There are all types of bamboo like dinochloa, gigantochochloa and dendrucalamus.
The stripes on the bamboo are joints [nodes]. Bamboo can be used for countless things like carpet and rafts and a lot more. Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on earth. Bamboo can grow up to 75 feet which is [250 metres]. China and Japan thin strips of bamboo were woven together into hats and shoes. I hope you know what bamboo is. It is GRASS! By Keegan

WORM WISE ~ Food scraps, moist mud, what else?
Worms come in all shapes and sizes, long, short, fat and skinny! Worms love to live in moist or wet soil. Soil keeps the worms healthy and alive. If the worm’s soil is not wet or damp enough, the worms will die because they dry out. Worms love to eat thing that have been alive like food scraps and paper, this will also keep the worms healthy. Food like banana skins makes them sick. Worms can also make fertilizer by leaving their castings, while they eat. Worm castings are worm poo. These worm castings can make your garden healthy too. To collect worm castings put the worms at one end of the worm box, and some food scraps at the other end. Then the worms will make their way to the food. The worm farmer has a big machine that makes the worms castings into fertilizer. People love to buy fertilizer from worm farmers because it helps the plants in their garden grow well. Worms also store food in their tails! Worms are interesting things to study and to own because they are easy to look after and they are useful. By Sophie
Kiwi 8’s Cricket Terms 4, 2009 & Term 1, 2010

Yr 1 – 4 (Thursdays) starting 2 Oct approx 4pm - 5.30pm

Yr 5 - 6 Fridays starting 23 Oct? 3.45pm – 6.30pm (some teams may be required to play on a Sat morn)
If your child/children are interested in participating in a team, please fill in the form below and return to the office Thursday Sept 10. If teams are to be entered, parents are required to coach/manage teams please. Support in training, drills, games etc will be given if required, to those interested.

Cricket
__________________ in Yr___ would like to be part of a Cricket team.

I am willing/unable to coach/manage a team. Signed _______________ Contact number____________

02 September 2009

28 August

Dear Parents

I wish to take this opportunity to thank all the parents who have coached, managed or mentored school teams this term. This includes netball, table tennis, soccer and hockey. Well done and thank you on behalf of the children involved.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Mrs Williams this week.

CONFIRMATION ~ Bishop Colin has been at school today in final preparation for the children who will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation on Sunday at 2.00 p.m. Congratulations to: Trinity, Emma H, Isabella, Elsie, Georgea, Patrick, Ben H, Eli, Rory, Harry, Damian, Sam T, Sam R, Michael, Sam S & Keegan.
Also to Trinity who received the Sacrament of Reconciliation today.

SCHOOL MASS ~ I’m sorry for any confusion regarding this terms Sunday Mass. It is 10.30 a.m. Sunday 20th Sept.

IMMUNISATION ~ As I mentioned last week we have had a suspected measles case and we had been asked to check who has not been immunized. If your child is in Year 1 – 4 and was given a letter regarding immunizations today, please bring your child’s plunket book into school, for Christine to sight. The certificate at the back needs to be completed and signed by your doctor. If your child is Year 5 or 6, please ring or e-mail Christine with the information. office@shsinv.school.nz

TERM 4 CLASSES ~ Next term we plan to re-organise our class groupings in Rooms 1, 2, 3, 5 & 6. Our school roll has reached our 8th teacher entitlement and Mrs Fortune has agreed to teach full-time in Room 6 for the last term. Notices will be sent home and we will hold a parent information evening to discuss these changes.
Some parents of the children in Rooms 1 & 2 will be consulted regarding their children moving into Room 3.
More info later.

PARENT NUMERACY TRAINING ~ As a follow up to the parent night run at Donovan School last term, we plan to ask for parent help to assist groups of children in numeracy knowledge (ie basic facts & tables). This would probably happen on suitable afternoons a couple of times a week and would come with training. If you are interested, please contact Miss Swney or myself.

COLLEGIATE INTER-SCHOOL SWIMMING CHAMPS ~ This is being held on Saturday 12th September starting at 6.30 pm. The 2 team events are Y6 & under (mixed) 4 x 25 medley and Yr 6 and under (mixed) 4 x 25 freestyle. Please contact me if your child is a competitive swimmer and is able to take part.

H eaps of fun This season Damian, Aidan & Rory joined
O n the turf in with Middle School’s team. They
C ome and join the team played with great determination and
K eeps you fit ability. They hope next season there
E ye on the ball will be more interest so Sacred Heart
Y ou too can play School can have their own team.
Enquiries to Trish Mitchell 215-8292.


SUMMER SOCCER COMPETITION ~ COMMENCING 19TH OCTOBER $25 PER PERSON
Summer Soccer kicks off Monday 19th October at Turnbull Thompson Park. If your child would be interested in playing in a Sacred Heart School team, please fill in the form at the end of this newsletter and return to school by Tuesday 1st September so teams can be organized. Payment of $25 must accompany the slip.
Any queries, please contact Tina Paraki 215-8234.

CONGRATULATIONS to Max Forde who received the Under 7 “Most Improved Player” at the Marist Rugby Club break-up.

SOUTHLAND BMX CLUB, ELIZABETH PARK ~ OPEN DAY SUNDAY 13TH SEPT 1.30 P.M.
Come and have a go!!! Bring your BMX or Mountain bike & helmet.

Piano Lessons available on Mondays. Classical, rock or jazz. For exams, performance, or for fun, theory or playing by ear. Beginners to advanced. Adults and special needs students welcome. Beginners guitar also available. 11am till late. $20 half hour lessons, close to center of town. annamareemusic@yahoo.co.nz ph/txt 0226145860

PTA ~ We may require the use of a freezer truck for our truffle fundraiser, if you know of someone who maybe able to help with this please contact the school office.
Fathers’ Day Gifts ~ We ask that each child brings a small unwrapped gift suitable for a small Fathers’ Day present. The value of the gift should be no more than $2 and may be made by your children. For example it could be a small $2 trinket, children’s poems, paintings, pictures. baking etc. Non perishable items are to be left at the office anytime between now and Friday 4th September, while perishable items should be delivered on the day. Next Friday the children will have the opportunity to select and buy a gift for $1 per child, from the gifts brought to the school by all the children.
ROOM 7 CLASS HAPPENINGS
Thank you parents for coming to our Class Mass and picnic afterwards last week. It was a special time to spend celebrating together.
This week we are working on our report writing independently. We appreciated your efforts in being soundboards for putting our report on our chosen topics together last week.
We continue with our topic Keeping Ourselves Safe and will discuss ways to report abuse with Constable Herrick. Thank you for taking time to discuss these issues with your child, from the sheets that are brought home. This will help reinforce topics covered in class.
We have enjoyed making cats with paper and card as part of a visual art unit on construction.

Lastly a special blessing to those who will be confirmed from Room 7, on Sunday:-, Sam S, Georgea, Patrick, Rory, Trinity, Sam T, Isabella, Emma and Ben H.


SUMMER SOCCER COMPETITION

Yes my child …………………………………………………………….…………… DOB …………………………. is interested in playing Soccer.

$25 is enclosed ………………… Signed: ………………………………………….

BASKETBALL
Basketball starts in Term 4 on Tuesday nights at the Stadium from 4 - 7.30pm.
This is for Year 3 - 6 children. If your child would like to play please fill out the slip and return to the office. These must be returned by Friday 4th Sept AT THE LATEST. The cost is $32 and includes entry to the stadium.
Your child will not be entered into a team until payment is received.

I give permission for ________________ to play basketball in Term 4

Year ___________________

Signed_________________