10 September

Dear Parents

I am sure your thoughts this week have been with the people in Christchurch affected by the recent earthquake and aftershocks.
There will be few people in Southland who haven’t got a connection to Christchurch and I know of several staff members and parents who have relatives with damaged properties.

We will be busy next week with choir practices for mass and the choral festival on Thursday night, the Mini Olympics, First Aid course and hosting visitors on the ILT Bus Tour.

Welcome to Jesse Richardson who joined the children in Room 1 today.
We hope he and his family enjoy their time here with us at Sacred Heart.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Fr. Vince and his family at this time.
Thank you for your patience in regards to the car park after school, while the windows are being replaced in the hall.


Congratulations to the children who received the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time last night. Please keep them in your prayers.
A big thank you to Miss O’Neill, Fr. Jacob and parents for preparing the children. It was a very special ceremony and the children enjoyed it.


Sisters of Mercy Mass – 19th September
Thank you for the response we have had for the children to represent the school at this very important celebration for the Sisters of Mercy on the 19th. The sisters were instrumental in the setting up and running of Sacred Heart. We are pleased to be able to honour them in this way. There will be practises next week for this. Thank you.

School Disco
The school disco is now on Thursday 21st October.

First Aid Course
On Monday & Tuesday each class will be having a first aid session with a St. John’s trainer.

ICT Bus Tour ~ 14th September
On Tuesday afternoon we will be hosting 30 teachers on an ILT tour looking at best teaching practice in some Invercargill schools.
We are looking forward to being able to share some of our ideas with others in our profession with less and less quality professional development on offer, visiting other teachers and observing what they do is becoming the most effective way of updating our own classroom practices.

Room 6 Class Blog
Room 6 will be working on their class blog over the next little while. We will let you know when it is ready for viewing. As there will be children's work and photos on this blog, please let me know by email (rbuxton@shsinv.school.nz) if you do not wish your child to be represented on the blog.

Choir Festival
The children in Rooms 6 and 7 will be attending the dress rehearsal for the choral festival, next Thursday morning, at the Civic Theatre. Please ensure you child is in correct school uniform.

Mini Olympics
Children in Rooms 5-8 will take part in this next Wednesday morning courtesy of SIT students. It will run from 10.30 – 12.30.

Congratulations: To Joshua Newell who received a trophy from the Waikiwi Football Club for the most improved player 2010. He gets to keep it for the rest of his life!

Scholastic Bookclub – The sale page which was distributed yesterday, will close Thur 16th.


Room 9 Class Happenings

In Room 9 we have been doing an Inquiry unit about ecosystems. Below are some pieces of writing about what we have discovered.

Types of Relationships in an Ecosystem
Mr Esler taught us about the different types of relationships in an ecosystem.

The first type of relationship involves parasites. Parasites are animals that feed on other things without killing them or without killing them straight away.
Examples are: Bird lice, bristle flies, mistletoes vines and Chilean Creeper

The next type of Relationship is Symbiosis-Mutualism. This is when both living things benefits from the relationship. An example of this is between bees and trees. Bees collect nectar from the flowering trees. Bees help the trees pollination process when they collect the pollen.

Finally there is Commensalism. This is when two things live together. One of them benefits and it has no effect on the other one. An example of this is between epiphytes and trees ~ By Abby Humm
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Human Ecosystem
Mr. Esler came in and taught us about ecosystems. He told us that the human body is an ecosystem
Things that live on and in your body

Your body is an ecosystem. There are parasites everywhere. Some examples of parasites that live on you are: Mites, Worms, Bacteria, Fungi and viruses.

Worms live in and sometimes on your body. Some examples of these are: Tapeworms, Pinworms, Roundworms, Hookworms and Red worms.

There are also some creatures that aren’t all bad. For example the Dust Mite: In some cases the Dust Mites do cause allergies, but they are harmless creatures per say. These are the cleaner parasites who clean up the skin and the scalp by eating dead cells ~ By Sam Russell
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Pot Plant Ecosystem

Wow look at that humongous beetle. Oh and look at the little white jumpy things that are hopping away. I nearly got that one!!

In room9 we have been learning about ecosystems and what sorts of places have an ecosystem inside them.

For instance, a fallen tree is an ecosystem because it has living things inside it and they eat away all the nutritional minerals and vitamins found inside the bark and the wood.

Mrs Lieshout brought a pot plant to school and that afternoon we entered a world we didn’t even know existed. It was a world right under the soil of that plant. We looked at all the different beetles and bugs. We caught the bugs and looked at them through a microscope and then let them go.

Then after that we did some activities that included going on a flipchart and watching little clips about ecosystems and what is in an ecosystem. We have extended our learning quite a bit about ecosystems and one day I hope you will too ~ By Chanae


Term 4 Sports – Cricket & Badminton
Enrolment day for Year 5 & 6 cricket players is at Queens Park Pavilion, 16th September @ 3.30-5pm.
Any children wishing to play badminton please see Miss Tagomoa.


Grasmere Brownies have spaces available for girls aged 7-10. A great way to meet new friends and try new things. For more information please contact Lean on 03-224 6485.




School Uniform
Now that Spring is here it is a good time for us to be thinking about next term and the change to summer uniform. Included in the newsletter this week is the list of uniform items.
In particular, we would like to draw your attention to the shoes and hair ties.
Also, all students should keep their hair tidy and tied up if it is long. This is for safety reasons as well as tidiness.
Jewellery is not part of our uniform and therefore should not be worn at school.
If students are wearing sports uniform they are able to wear sports shoes. However, these should not be worn with our basic school uniform.
As always, if there is a reason why your child cannot wear correct school uniform, please send a note to the class teacher.
We look forward to seeing all our children in correct school uniform at all times.
Many thanks for your support with this.



SACRED HEART SCHOOL FAIR

There will be a Fair Meeting this Tuesday 14th @ 7.30pm in Rm 9.

Please let the school office know if you can help with the following:
We still need clown outfits some older children can use for the fair?
Contact with anyone who may be able to donate hair products for the funky hair stall? If you have unwanted hair gel or hairspray please sends to the office.
Keep stashing those items for the white elephant stall.
Please store until the day before the fair when the hall will be open for deliveries. If you have anything big you can't store, phone Trish Mitchell 215-8292 for collection or you can drop items to Tina Paraki 215-8234 - 40 Vogel St or Kerrie Ann Foleni 2157278 - 96 Edinburgh Crescent.