Kia ora whānau

Monty enjoying the 12km bike race!

A huge thank you to everyone who came along to our Omihi School Farm Race. As well as raising just over $12,000 for our school, it was so special to see all of those people in our kura. We had 290 entries and have had so much positive feedback about our race and our school. We can’t wait for next year!

This week we are part of another event that is very special to me. Some of our students are modelling in the M Factor Fashion Show to raise money for Ronald McDonald House. They also help with the set up the day before. It is wonderful to see them giving back to a charity. I appreciate all of the support we have from the community for this event.

Next week is the last week of term. Eleven weeks is a long term, so I know that everyone will be ready for a break. We hope you enjoy your family time and look forward to seeing you all back in term 2.

Arohanui,
Maree Lucas
Tumuaki/Principal

School Notices

Principal’s Award
Last week’s Principal’s award went to……Jeremy Pennell.

Celebration of Learning Assembly
This Wednesday at 2.30pm is our whole school Celebration of Learning assembly. All children will be sharing their learning from this term. We will also be giving out certificates, as well as our new badges for our senior leaders, librarians and bus wardens. Everyone is welcome.

Year 5-8 Camp
Thanks to Miss Hanna for organising this. This year’s camp is from Wednesday 31st July - Friday 2nd August in Arthurs Pass. We will be catching the train to Arthurs Pass and travelling back by car. I will share the timetable and cost with parents this week. Ingrid is going to send out info about the pie fundraiser in term 2. Anyone who wishes to sell pies will get their fundraising money deducted from the cost of the camp.

Gumboot Up 2019
This Friday is Gumboot Up Mufti Day. Children can wear mufti and their gumboots. Please send along a gold coin donation.

Community Notices

Cottage for Rent
Tidy 4 bedroom cottage in Omihi available for rent. Log burner with wetback. $300 pw, ph Emma, 314 5879.

Fundraising
One of our Mum’s - Emma Powell, is taking part in the Drop For Youth fundraiser for the Graham Dingle Foundation. She is super nervous because she hates heights, however she is doing it for a really good cause. The Graeme Dingle Foundation run school-based programmes working alongside young people in our most vulnerable communities. The proven programmes are sequenced to create a positive vehicle for change for young people aged 5 to 18 years old. Here is her givealittle page if you would like to donate - https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/emma-drops-for-youth.

Kia ora whānau

Today we had a day focused on love. We talked about the tragic events that happened in Christchurch on Friday and the love that everyone has shown since. We talked about the compassion and love that the people of Canterbury, New Zealand and across the world are showing for our city, the victims and the victim’s families. We talked about the amazing people that helped on the day - the police, the ambulance officers, doctors and nurses at the hospital and the people on the streets who selflessly helped others. We talked about our school values and how these were being used by so many people after the event.

The children then decided they wanted to write cards to express their support and respect. Some wrote to the Muslim community, some wrote to the police, some to the hospital staff or ambulance officers.

As a school, we know that no matter what race, what religion, what your background is, we are one big whānau and we wanted to express our love, sympathy, empathy and gratitude to the victims, the victims families and the support staff.

Arohanui,
Maree Lucas
Tumuaki/Principal

School Notices

New Students
Welcome to Charlie and Toby! We are so thrilled to have you as part of our whānau.

Paid Union Meetings
Due to the events on Friday the meetings have been cancelled this week to enable teachers more time to be in our kura with their tamariki.

Support
As I mentioned in my previous email here are some suggestions and support services available to support families and our entire community at this time:

- How to talk to your kids about trauma (The Parenting Place) 
- Free Text 1737 = Free call or text anytime to speak with a trained counsellor

Please feel free to contact us if you need any extra support or guidance.

Godzone
On behalf of George and the whole Tiki Tour team, thank you so much for all of your support. It was so lovely knowing our students, parents and community were tracking them along the way and getting just as frustrated as us when the tracker wasn’t working! Even though it wasn’t quite the outcome they were hoping for, they definitely did themselves and us very proud.

Communication
We ask you to please try to keep communications with teachers and myself to school hours as much as possible. We are getting more and more text messages in the evenings and on weekends. I try and promote work/life balance as much as I can, so encourage our staff not to work during these times. We would love to talk to you face to face or via the phone, but after that email is our preferred communication. If it is a message for the bus or urgent for that day, then text message is fine.

Preschooler Morning
We welcome all preschoolers on Wednesday 27th March from 9-10.30am.

Year 0-4 trip to Amberley
Year 0-4 will be visiting the Hurunui library and Bloomfields Preschool on Monday 25th March in the afternoon. Please send along car seats on this day.

Omihi School Farm Race
A huge thank you to the fundraising committee who have helped to put this together - Jane, Kate, Amy and Megan. Thank you to everyone who is volunteering on the day. There are still spaces if you would like to volunteer.

Race Registration
There are two options to register and receive your race number. You can come to Omihi School:
Friday 1pm-3pm or
Sunday 7.30am-8.30am

Sponsors of the race
Thank you to the following sponsors for donating prizes or products for our event:

Downer - traffic management
FMG - $150 hamper, plus caps, drink bottles
BNZ - drink bottles and piggy banks
Countdown Amberley - bananas and lollies
Mainpower - drink bottles and $2 per entrant
Icebreaker socks
5 x $50 Fire and Ice Hanmer Springs voucher
Push Bikes, Rangiora - $200 worth of vouchers
Stirling Sports, Rangiora prize pack
$50 Bax and Berg from Banks family
2 x $25 Little Vintage vouchers
Airbnb vouchers from Te Amo family
$100 worth of vouchers Pita Pit
McCafe vouchers
Goldpine, Amberley
Black Estate - 6x wine and B&B voucher
Commodore Hotel - One nights accommodation, including breakfast
Vege’n out - 2 x $25 voucher
4 x $25 vouchers from The Good Home, Pegasus
2 x $50 Black Estate voucher from the Sloss family
Touchdown rental car
PURE
Aaron Harris Electrical - sponsoring the signs and water containers.
Stoneycreek - a number of prizes
Envisage - $50 voucher
Sherwood Estate - 6 bottles of wine
$100 voucher for The Office Café at the Old School Collective in Waikuku
Surf lesson with Surfwise at Waikuku Beach
2 x yoga sessions at Active Zen Yoga in Pegasus
1 x health coach session at The Health Project soon to open at the Old School Collective Waikuku
Water cups donated by Hazeldine Family
BBQ Tool set, chilly bin, picnic set donated by the Esler family
Haircare products from Tanglefoot Lane
2 x Adult passes to Mt Lyford
Farmlands - 2 x $50 vouchers, tape, spray
4 x meat packs from Washcreek Organic Meats
Norwestor voucher
North Canterbury Vets
2 x Broomfield School tea towels
Hunting and Fishing, Kaikoura

The Glenmark Lions will be there to give everyone a cup of pumpkin soup or a sausage when you finish.  They will also be selling them to spectators.

Kia ora whanau

George, the Crofts and I had a great day yesterday biking around the course for our Omihi School Farm Race. The routes are stunning! A huge thank you to the Crofts for allowing us onto your beautiful farm. Now is the time to get your entries in. We have 85 entries so far and are aiming for 200. We would also love some help with volunteering on the day. If you haven’t put your name down yet, please let me know and I can allocate you a job.

Help us to share this event around and ask your friends and family to come and race with us!

Congratulations to all the children who participated in the triathlon last week at Amberley and the one at school today. We are so proud of them for giving it ago!

Ngā mihi

Maree Lucas
Tumuaki/Principal

School Notices

Principal’s Award
The latest Principal Award went to…..Sylvia Brown!

Omihi Bus
The bus should be arriving this week. We also have two new bus drivers who are going to job share. A big thank you to Fi Williams and Tracy Wiltshire. They are busy getting their licences sorted at the moment, so we will let you know when they are available to drive. I will keep you posted when the bus run will be starting again.

School donation
Ruth will be invoicing in the next week for our school donation, as well as the bus/activity fee. If you have any issues paying these, please let me know as we are more than happy to set up an automatic payment for you to pay a little bit at a time.

Year 4-8 Swimming Sports
Swimming sports are this Wednesday at Amberley Pool. Here is the transport organisation. Thanks to Jaz, Jane and Amy who will be helping at the event. The Kowai swimming sports are on Monday 11th March at 4pm. I will let you know as soon as possible if your child is in these.

Mufti Day
One of the roles of our Year 8 leaders is to choose charities for our mufti days each term. They have chosen:

• Gumboot Up NZ

• Ronald McDonald House

• Project Jonah - Save Whales

• Waikuku Beach Surf Lifesaving Club 

The dates for the mufti days are in the calendar. The first one for Gumboot Up NZ is on Friday 5th April.

Pita Pit/Sushi
These seem to be going really well so far. This week Pita pit will be delivered to the Amberley pool and then brought to school for the year 0-3 children.

Life Education
This Thursday we welcome the Life Education truck into our school. We look forward to our sessions with Claire and Harold the giraffe. We are focusing on healthy eating to go along with our Healthy Lifestyles inquiry.

Gifted and Talented Programme
We are excited to have joined up with Waipara, Greta Valley, Waikari, Waiau and Rotherham Schools to provide a gifted and talented programme. Each term one school will host a day and we will send two children along. Sylvia and Leni are heading to Waikari School this Thursday for a whole day focused on art.

3 Way Learning Conferences
Thank you for signing up for the 3 way learning conferences with your child’s teacher. This is a really important time to be able to sit down with your child and their teacher and talk about their goals for the year. If you haven’t booked yet, please add your name to the timetable.

Mountain Biking Club
We are going to bike the Hurunui Trails this Thursday after school. If your child would like to be a part of this, they need to meet us at the entry to the trails near Sherwood Estate at 3.30pm on Thursday. Parents are very welcome to join us. Let me know if you need any help with transport.

Community Notices

Home for rent
4 bedroom family home for rent in Omihi. Lovely home and garden, new designer kitchen, heat pump and log burner. Grass tennis court and possibly large area of land available. Sheltered with an awesome outlook and huge covered veranda. Pets ok. Rent between $380-$450 per week. Contact Sam Bethell on 0274360342. 

Kia ora whanau

We have had a wonderful first few weeks at school. Our new children and staff are settling in very well. We also welcome Shannon Heath who is our teaching assistant and Thalia Pugh who is our new cleaner/gardener. A big thank you to Megan who stepped in for the interim.

Our new bus is nearly here, but unfortunately we don’t have a bus driver. This is quite a concern for us, so we ask you to please go out to your contacts and see if there is anyone interested. We could split the job if necessary where someone does the morning run and someone does the afternoon run. You do need a passenger licence and a class 2, and we are happy to help anyone to get these.

Ngā mihi

Maree Lucas
Tumuaki/Principal
principal@omihi.school.nz

School Notices

Pita Pit/Sushi
As part of our ‘Healthy Lifestyles’ focus we are now offering Pita Pit and Sushi every Wednesday through Lunches Online. Pita Pit starts this Wednesday and Sushi is next week. I have sent an email out on how to register, so let me know if you have any issues.

Enviroschool
We have had two very productive and inspiring meetings with Matt Stanford from Enviroschools. We are doing a lot of talking and thinking around our vision and how we see Enviroschools working in our school. Our next step is to get a student group together, where Matt will train them up so they can work with the whole school and gather student voice. This is a community initiative, so if you have any ideas we would love to hear them, or if you would like to be involved in anyway, please let me know.

Year 6-8 Walk - Wednesday 20th February
We had planned to do the Tiromoana Walk, but it is closed due to the fire risk. So we are going to walk the Waipara Trail instead.

Football - 5-8 year olds
The Hurunui Rangers are trying to put together a local football tournament for 5-8 year olds. They will play on Saturdays in winter. If your son or daughter would like to be part of this, please let me know.

Pumpkins
The Glenmark Lions have donated 150 pumpkins to the school which we are very grateful for. We are selling these for $4 each, so let us know if you would like to buy any. Nick Hamilton has them at his place, so you are welcome to contact him directly.

Year 5-8 Assembly
A reminder that our senior assembly is this Friday at 2pm. The whole community is invited. Please keep an eye on our calendar for future assembly dates.

Year 0-4 Triathlon
This is on Monday 25th February at 9.30am at Omihi School. Children will be practising this week, so please send their bikes along to school. They are welcome to leave them here all week. We would love to see you at the event.

Year 5-8 Triathlon
This is on Wednesday 27th February at Amberley. All children are encouraged to participate. We ask that you please transport your own child and bike there on the day. If you are able to help on the day, please let me know.

Swimming Sports
Year 4-8 Small School Swimming sports is on Wednesday 6th March at Amberley Swimming Pool, children need to be there by 9.15am. We are still looking for transport. If you can help, please let me know. I also need a couple of parents to help on the day.

Volunteers for Omihi School Farm Race
Our two fundraisers for the year are the Raffle in term 4 where we ask families to sell tickets and our Farm Race where we ask families to give up half a day to volunteer. I know there are some of you entering, which is great! If you aren’t doing the race we would love to have your help on the day. The grey shaded boxes are where we need help, so please add your name to the document or email me.

3 Way Learning Conferences
These are on Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th March. It is an opportunity for yourself, your child and your child’s teacher to sit down and work out their goals for the year. Please add your name to this document.

Year 8 2019 School Based Vaccination Programme
The Canterbury DHB will continue to offer a School Based Vaccination Programme to Year 8 boys and girls, who have not completed their eleven year old vaccinations in General Practice.

The School Based Vaccination programme will offer the two dose HPV vaccinations to protect against genital warts, cervical cancer, throat and mouth cancers, and other types of cancers later in life. In 2018 the programme has been extended to include a one dose Boostrix vaccination to provide protection against Tetanus, Diphtheria and Whooping Cough.

To enable students to receive the vaccinations at school, a vaccination pack will be sent home in Term 1. The Parent/Caregiver will need to complete and return the consent form to school.

Omihi BOT
We are delighted to announce that Ingrid Davis has been co-opted onto the BOT to be our Chairperson. We will be sending out information later this term regarding the BOT elections in term 2. We are looking for new people to join the BOT as there are members stepping down after a long service. Here is a message from Ingrid:

David and I have two boys, Griffin at Boys High and Ace in year 8 at Omihi. We live on a small farm (100 acres), just north of Amberley. We have our own aerial topdressing business which covers a lot of the South Island. I also work part time at Arthur Burke in Amberley. I like to play tennis and netball and love to get away road tripping in our bus whenever time allows.

It is a privilege and I am excited about taking on a role with the Board as I see an exciting future for Omihi School. I look forward to helping the school community continue to grow and offer our children the amazing opportunities that they currently enjoy.

Community Notices

Glenmark Netball
Registration Day for all primary aged players & trials for the Primary Teams to be held at the Glenmark Netball Courts in Omihi on Sunday 3rd March at 10am. All Senior & High School players please register with Milly Croft at milly_croft@yahoo.co.nz. Any queries please visit & like the Glenmark Netball Club facebook page or contact Jayne Sidey at c.j.sidey@amuri.net.

Omihi School Farm Race - Sunday 24th March, 2019
The entries are coming in fast for our race, please help us to continue to spread the word. If you would like to volunteer on the day, please let me know. I will send a google doc out to parents with all the jobs we need help with.

M Factor Fashion Show for Ronald McDonald House - Thursday 4th April, 2019
This year the show is at The Tannery. We have local stores Bax and Berg and Ruby six involved again and some of our students will be modelling. We would love to see you there to help us support Ronald McDonald House. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster. More details below.