Tena Koutou

On Friday, Kat and I went to a course in Christchurch led by James Nottingham. It was such an inspiring day of learning and consolidating for us. James created the term ‘The Learning Pit’. Where instead of taking the easy path, you challenge yourself and go into the pit before you get out the other side. I have attached a diagram for you to see. I have summarised some of the main points from the course:

• Cause children to:

  • Think more

  • Go beyond their first answer

  • Make connections

• Challenge builds self-efficacy.

• Education should also value resilience, empathy, patience, self-awareness, hope, open-mindedness and confidence.

• Easy answers should be extended.

• Desirable difficulties lead to longer lasting learning.

• Struggling is not a sign of weakness but of developing strength.

• If children are out of comfort zone - do not scaffold, or advise. Just encourage.

• Intrinsic motivation wins hands down over extrinsic motivation.

• Easy is boring.  Challenge is interesting.

• Use praise when children are out of their comfort zone, rather than in their comfort zone.

• Focus on ‘process praise’ rather than ‘personal praise’.

• www.thelearningchallenge.co.uk

Ngā mihi

Maree Lucas
Tumuaki/Principal

School Notices

Principal’s Award
The last Principal’s Award went to…..Xsara Mann.

Teacher’s Strike Day
Negotiations are still going on between teachers and the government and we haven’t been able to come to an agreement, so we will be striking on Wednesday 29th May alongside our secondary teachers. We ask you to please keep your children at home on this day.

Clubs
This term we have a number of clubs running.

• Running club - before school, the day varies. This will be on the school calendar.

• Goal kicking club - Tuesday lunchtime

• Gardening club - Wednesday lunchtime

• Photography club - Thursday lunchtime

Photography club starts this Thursday with Claire Inkson and is from Year 4-8. If children would like to be a part of it, they need to bring a camera and memory stick and make sure it is charged. If they don’t have a camera, they will be able to share with others.

Support Staff Day
Thursday 16th May is Support Staff Day. We had a morning tea to celebrate our support staff last week. But I would like to acknowledge and thank our wonderful support staff who help keep our school running - Ruth, Thalia, Shannon, Tracy and Fi.

Grandparent’s Day
We look forward to welcoming our grandparents to Omihi on Thursday 16th May from 9.00-10.30am.

Amberley Library and Preschool visit
On Tuesday 21st May, Year 5-8 will be visiting the Amberley Library and Amberley Community Preschool to read to their tamariki.

Senior Camp Fundraiser
If you are selling pies as a camp fundraiser, please have all forms and money into the office by Tuesday 4th June (Monday is Queens Birthday). The pies will be delivered on the 23rd July. $2.30 from every pie sold goes directly to your camp account.

Mindfulness Workshops
If you would like to attend our mindfulness workshop on Tuesday 4th June, please let me know. It will run from 3.30-5.00pm.

Cross Country
The small schools cross country is on Tuesday 28th May. Broomfield School run this event and the venue has changed this year. We will send out further information this week. We will be taking some of the older children to run the course this Friday 17th May.

Community Notices

Winter Ball
The tickets for the ball go on sale on June 1st at www.iticket.co.nz. There are only 15 tables available at $900 for 10 people. The rest of the tickets will be sold separately at $95 each. The idea of only having 15 tables is so there is space for bar leaners, casual areas and a dance floor. There will be a grazing station set up throughout the night, rather than a sit down dinner. It is all about mixing, mingling, dancing and having fun! Plus we will raise money for The Omihi Hall while we are there!

Reusing Envelopes
At the Winter Ball we will be running a mystery envelope competition to raise money for the Omihi Hall. We need 250 envelopes and would like to save the environment and reuse envelopes rather than buy new ones. Please can you save your envelopes and send them along to school for us.

Hockey
Does your primary aged child want to learn the basics of hockey, but isn't old enough (or not yet have the confidence or skill) to play competitively? The skills programme starts next Sunday, led by Janelle McKellow.
10 weeks skills Program. Starts Sunday 19th of May 2019, 11-12noon at the Dudley Park Mini Turf.
Contact Janelle McKellow - mjmckellow@outlook.com with enquiries.

Kia ora koutou

What a lovely two weeks! It is such a great opportunity to recharge and come back refreshed for the new term. George and I went to Samoa in the second week and had a lot of fun exploring both islands.

We are very excited to welcome Liam, Luke, Lachie, Isla and Ze’ev to our Omihi whānau, as well as Tracy and Fi our new bus drivers. A big thanks to my Dad Al who drove the bus for us while Tracy and Fi were getting their licences sorted.

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

School Notices

Principal’s Award
The last Principal’s award in term 1 went to….Jeremy Pennell.

School Calendar
Please remember to keep up to date with what is happening on our school calendar on the website.

Literacy Week
This week is Literacy Week. There will be literacy focuses in each of the classes, as well as our trip to Tūranga Library on Wednesday, watching The Tortoise and the Hare at the Omihi Hall on Thursday and our ‘Book Character’ dress up day on Friday. Children do not need to bring a gold coin donation on this day.

Omihi uniform
We have had a chat today about our uniform as we have noticed it is getting a little too relaxed. Please note that children must wear navy on the bottom. These can be shorts, leggings, track pants or culottes. We would rather children didn’t wear rugby shorts or black shorts. They also need to have their navy merino, not black jerseys. If they are wearing a thermal under their polo, it needs to be navy.

We have Omihi jackets and beanies in stock if you would like to purchase any. It is fine for children to wear their own jackets if they don’t have an Omihi one. Sports tops are optional. We will be putting in another order this term as we have had a couple requests. Please email office@omihi.school.nz if you would like to order one and what size you would like.

Tūranga Library transport
Here are the transport details for our trip on Wednesday. The Omihi bus will still be running morning and afternoon.

Pita pit and Sushi
There are no lunches this week. Sushi starts next Wednesday and Pita pit will start in week 3. If you would like to order lunches on Wednesdays, you can order online - www.lunchonline.co.nz

Road safety after school
It is getting busier at the gate at 3pm. Children are not allowed to cross the road on their own, especially when the buses are around as it is hard to see. If you aren’t able to park on the school side of the road, then the children must cross the road with you or an adult.

Mufti Day for Ronald McDonald House
This is on Friday 10th May. Please bring along a gold coin donation.

Paid Union Meeting
On Thursday 9th May there are paid union meetings being held for teachers and Principals. We ask that you please pick up your child at 12.30pm on that day. The Omihi bus will leave school at 12.30pm and take all children at once if they haven’t been picked up.

Grandparents Day
We welcome all of our grandparents into our classes on Thursday 16th May from 9.00-10.10am, and then we will enjoy a shared morning tea. Please let me know if you are happy to send along a plate for morning tea.

Tipu Maia Kahui Ako - Community of Learning
Stephen Walters from Rangiora New Life is our new kahui ako Lead Principal this year and myself and Mike Hart from Oxford Area School are the supporting Principals. I have attached Stephen’s term 1 newsletter below for you to see what is happening in our kahui ako.

Reporting to Parents
In the last week of this term you will be receiving your child’s report. We will be reporting on reading, writing, maths and there will also be a general comment. This will be a digital report through LINC ED. You will be sent login details in the middle of the term so you can access them. You will have the option to print them if you want to.

Movie Night Fundraiser
The senior leaders are organising a movie night to fundraise for their school camp. This will be on Friday 21st June at 6pm at school. They will be selling tickets at $5 each for children to come and watch a movie in Paemoana and Awaawa. Parents are invited to bring a plate and come and socialise in Tūpari.

Arthurs Pass Camp Info
Student health forms will be sent home this week. Please send them back by the end of the week. Thank you to everyone who put their name down as a camp parent. Camp parents will be notified this week.

BOT Nominations
Omihi School Board of Trustee Elections are being held this term. This is a fantastic way to be involved in our school community, so please give it some serious thought. Call for nominations open on Friday 10th May and close Friday 24th May. If you would like any information on becoming a trustee, please don’t hesitate to contact me on 0272384769. Thanks, Ingrid, BOT Chairperson.

Mindfulness Workshops
We are running two more mindfulness workshops for our staff, parents and community. We have one this term and one in term 3. This term it is on Tuesday 4th June and is from 3.30pm - 5pm. The school are covering the cost, so if you would like to be a part of this, please email me - principal@omihi.school.nz.

William Pike Challenge
William Pike is coming to Leithfield School to talk about his experiences and launch the William Pike Challenge at Leithfield School. This is something we are interested in taking our Year 7/8 students to so we can look at the opportunity for Omihi to be a part of this in the future. I will email all of the Year 7/8 parents to see who is interested. More details are below.

Violet’s Merino and Jacket
Violet has misplaced an Omihi jacket and two merino jerseys. Can you please do a double check of your child’s uniform and make sure they have the correct items.

Community Notices

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.