22 March

Dear Parents

A big thank you to Mrs Lieshout and the year 6 children and their parents who were at Camp Bannockburn last week. It was an excellent camp and it was good to see all the children (and some parents) taking part in activities that extended their self-esteem and confidence.

Welcome to Oliver Wallace who joined the children in Room 1 today. We hope he enjoys his time with us.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Phillips/Timu family.

SPECIAL CHARACTER

*REFLECTION ON SUNDAY’S GOSPEL READING (From Lectio Devina) John 12:20 - 36

DRAWN TO JESUS

Only John tells us this story about the Greek visitors. In John’s Gospel, Jesus entered Jerusalem accompanied by a huge crowd who honoured him as he entered the city.

Among the crowds were some Greeks and they asked Philip if he could arrange for them to meet Jesus. This encounter with these ‘foreigners’ stirs Jesus’ compassion. He recalls once again that his mission is for people of all nations.

On the face of it Jesus was he celebrity of the day. But Jesus knew this hour of seeming triumph would soon crumble into an hour of bitter humiliation and unbearable pain. Within days these very same crowds would be calling for his crucifixion and even his closest friends would desert him. You can read John’s full description in John 17-19.

Jesus drops a hint to his disciples about his inner turmoil, which they remember after his death. While Jesus is speaking about his ‘hour of suffering’ God intervenes with an audible voice from heaven, verse 28. It appears some people hear the voice and others think it is thunder, but Jesus makes it clear (verse 30) that God’s words are for the peoples’ benefit rather than to reassure him.

MEDITATION: How does Jesus hint at his death on the cross in this reading? Jesus also mentions the great principle that guided him in life. What is this principle? Who is Jesus referring to when he speaks about the ruler of this world being overthrown (verse 31)? In what ways do you serve and follow Jesus?

PRAYER: Jesus promises he will draw all men to himself when he is lifted up on the cross, verse 32. Have you experienced Jesus drawing you closer to him? Sometimes this sort of loving closeness can be scary. Ask Jesus to help you love and trust him as he so obviously loved and trusted his Father. Use the words from today’s Psalm, especially verse 10, every day this week as your own prayer, ‘Create a pure heart in me, O God, and put a new and loyal spirit in me.’

School Mass - There will be a school Mass on Sunday 1^st April @ 10.30 am – Palm Sunday.

This will be followed by a picnic lunch.

Help Needed - We need more people to come on with the cleaning of the church. It takes two people approx. 1 hour. If you are able to help, please contact Pat Tippen 215-9971.

School Interviews ~ A reminder about school closing early 12.30 this Monday for Interviews.

If you have not yet booked an interview for your child, please do so on-line at www.schoolinterviews.co.nz code EHKZ8. Parents without internet access can contact the school to arrange times.

OSCAR is available in the hall from 12.30pm on 26 March.

Please phone 218-9520 if you need care for your child.

Year 4 Dictionaries

Our thanks goes to Merle O’Donnell and the members of the North Rotary Club and the Community Trust for the Dictionaries presented to the year 4 children recently.

Rotary CD/Record/Tape Sale

Please support Sunrise Rotary by donating secondhand CD’s, VCR, Vinyl’s etc. they can be left in the office. One of the Rotary’s aims is to rid the world of Polio and they have asked schools to assist with this.

Toys/Games/Cards from Home

Please check that your child is not to bring these items from home. We are unfortunately having issues regarding ownership and breakages of children’s belongings.

Southland Athletics

Well done to the following children who will represent the school and zone at the Southland Athletics on Saturday 31^st March @ Surrey Park:

Oliver Hogan – 100m; Brooklyn McLeod – 100m relay; Shaun Clapperton – 100m, long jump, 100m relay; Seamus O’Connor – 100m relay; Caelan O’Connor – 200m, 800m; William Reitsma-Smith – 200m, high jump; Cory Foleni – 800m; Jake Meikle – discus; Nellie Boyle – 100m, 200m, 800m, 1500m, 100m relay, long jump; Emma Harrington – 100m relay; Kayson Timu – 100m, 100m relay, long jump; Eric Cahill – 1500m; Ben Henderson – long jump, high jump, shotput, discus; Rohan McKenzie – 100m relay.

A number of children who were placed at the zone athletics missed out, due to time restrictions.

PTA

AGM Fri 30^th March, 15 West Plains School Road (Bay Rd end) - 7.30 pm.

Please let the office know if you are attending for catering numbers or txt Liza 027-4599954.

The PTA is having an informal coffee, desert and wine, nibbles evening for their AGM. We would love you to join us, come along, bring a friend & meet some new people, enjoy a coffee & food on us.

The AGM takes less than 30 mins and we have a guest speaker, Melissa Aitken, “fitness guru” coming to entertain us. She’ll tell us about the classes she runs ranging from pregnant mums, mums and babies, thru to zumba and boot camp for the super fit, plus give us some hints on metabolism and maintaining a healthy diet for adults and kids.

This will be a fun night with no cost to you, so grab a friend and join us, and get to know some of the parents in your school community. The PTA is a very easy group to belong to - we all only do what we are able to, and attending every meeting is not compulsory - we all understand how busy life is. So come along and find out more!

Entertainment Book Fundraiser - Enclosed with this week’s newsletter is a flyer from The Entertainment Book for Dunedin, Invercargill, Queenstown and surrounds. We used the purchase of these books as a fundraiser last year, and are about to do the same again this year. The money raised will go towards starting to purchase new science equipment to be used throughout the school. Please have a look at the flyer and if you’re interested, have a look at their site. For those families new to the school, the Entertainment Book covers the areas advised above and is a book of vouchers and discounts relating to Food, Entertainment, Accommodation, Travel & Leisure, Car Hire and Theme Parks in Australia (many of these offer discounts both in NZ and Australia). They are sold for $55 and the school receives $11 for every book sold. For those who purchased the books last year, I’m sure you’ll be like many of the PTA members who have found they have made considerable savings and very quickly were able to save far more than the cost of the book itself.

There is an order form for you to return to school, should you wish to purchase a book(s) with the money enclosed. We will have books available from the office from next Monday 2^nd April. This will be our only fundraiser this term and purchasing a book is not compulsory, we are just giving families the opportunity for great discounts with the school benefiting from each book sold. The Entertainment Books can only be sold as fundraisers by clubs & societies etc, so you will start to see them appearing everywhere once they are launched at the end of this week. We will be one of the first with them, so we hope to make the most of this and give you the opportunity to get family and friends to buy them, through you, as well.

PTA Picnic - After the school mass on Sunday 1^st April, the PTA are organising a fun family picnic. Bring along a picnic lunch and then share in the fun games with your children – we will have games like tug of war, sack races etc and a lollie scramble. This is a lot of fun for the whole family, hope to see you there.

Altar Servers

Saturday 24^th March 7.00 pm Patrice & Aimee Brookland

Sunday 25^th March 10.30 am Abby Humm & Jacob Sullivan

Children’s Liturgy Jackie Taylor

Sports Results

Kiwi Under 8s played Donovan Mon 12^th and WON 16-11. POD was Robbie Humm.

Sharks Flipperball won 10 – 4 Friday 9^th. POD was Mckenzie Devlin.

Sharks Flipperball won 7 – 6 Friday 16^th. POD was Charlotte Sherriff & Janelle Tinker.

Saphira & Jade who took part in the Special Olympic’s held last week.

Achievements

Aubrey raced recently at the Southland Peewee Championships at Oreti Park Speedway. He was placed 1^st, 2 2nds and a 3^rd place. 2^nd Overall for Peewees!

Gerogea Newell received 2^nd runner up for her age at her Swimming Club Champs. She also holds the record for age group butterfly swim.

Joshua Newell was awarded the most improved swimmer in the learner’s pool.

Rylee Hewitt was awarded the Alesha Kennard Independence trophy at the Junior Dance competitions last weekend.

Cheese Rolls for Sale – Support ex pupil Meg O’Connell with her trip to USA - Families wanting to support Meg can fill out the order form in the junior corridor for cheese rolls. $20 for 4doz or $6 per doz. Orders due 5^th April with delivery being 18^th April.

The ILT Holiday Sports Programme:
Date: Monday 16 – Friday 20 April. Fun filled, sport specific holiday programme for children aged 5-12 years old. Venue: Stadium Southland. Sports subject to availability include: Aerobics, Archery, Badminton, Basketball, Cricket, Cycling, Dodgeball, Football, Fun Skills, Get set go, Gym Sports, Hockey, Hip Hop, Karate, Mountain Biking, Netball, Orienteering, Rugby, Rugby League, Softball, Tee Ball, Tennis, Touch, Volleyball, Yoga
Register at Sport Southland, 03 2112150, holiday.programme@sportsouthland.co.nz
For more information: www.sportsouthland.co.nz

Leslie Rugby Junior Coaching Clinic SBHS, 11^th of April, 8.30am-3.00pm

Join Highlanders and Southland Stags star Josh Bekhuis, ex Highlanders captain John Leslie and our team of top coaches for a full day of challenging junior rugby skill and drill coaching. Go to leslierugby.co.nz and click on coaching clinics to register.

After School Fitness Classes
If you are interested in your CHILD (both girls and boys) attending after school fitness sessions every Wednesday next term from 3.00 to 4.00pm (approx) please text Melissa on 0275333600 to show your interest. Fitness sessions will vary each week. All fitness levels catered for.

Headlice are back in the school, and should be treat accordingly. Also having your own hat is the best way to stop them from spreading to others.

NIT-ENZ is SAFE, EFFECTIVE & VERY AFFORDABLE!

After initial treatments simply use as a normal shampoo twice a week, normal conditioner afterwards, and you won't have to worry about head lice again!

Nit-Enz is NOW available from Ascot 4 Square on Tay Street or Newfield 4 Square on Tweed Street or for further details visit www.nit-enz.com.

Room 7 Class Happenings

Last week we explored static electricity as part of our inquiry unit in a variety of activities. We found out that static electricity happens when an electric charge builds in one place from rubbing objects together and therefore causes the attraction of paper clippings, dust or hair.

Here are some of the activities you may like to try at home.

Rub a balloon on your hair, and bring it close to a wall and see what happens.

Rub two tied balloons together about 20 times. Hold them by the string trying to bring them closer together by the string. What happens?

Drag your shoes while walking across the carpet. Walk up to a door with a metal handle and touch the doorknob. What happens?

Rub a comb on a jersey about 20 times. Then move it down to some paper clippings. What happens?