Kia ora koutou

Our wonderful Year 8 leader, Macy.

I would like to say a big thank you to Chantelle White who has been our student teacher for the past two years. Chantelle completes her course at the end of this year and has a job at Hurunui College next year. We wish her all the best.

Macy has been our only Year 8 leader this year, and it has been lovely to see her leadership skills shine. She has been a great role model to her peers, and is always a kind and caring friend to the junior students. She shows lovely tuakana teina strengths. We wish Macy all the best for her transition to high school next year, and hope she will come back and visit us.

Thank you to all of our parent helpers this year. Thanks to our BOT - Julie, Craig, Emma and Georgie, our bus drivers Fi and Emma, our librarian Yo, our gardener Fi, our cleaner Sharryn, our office manager Bryleigh, our teachers Kelly, Penny and Georgie, our relievers Elizabeth and Liz. You all have our students’ best interests at heart, and it’s wonderful to work with such a dedicated team. And especially thanks to our amazing students. They really are a pleasure to teach.

Next year I have been awarded a 10 week sabbatical. I will split this into two blocks throughout the year. Adrienne Simpson will be in the Acting Principal role while I’m away. Adrienne was Principal at Woodend School, and is now retired, although I still work with her regularly in our Professional Learning Group.

Have a lovely Christmas everyone, and we look forward to seeing you all next year.

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

School Notices

Year 5 - 8 Camp
Next year’s camp is from the 3rd - 5th April in Kaikoura. The cost will be approximately $200-220, we will confirm this early 2024. We are looking for parent helpers. Please fill out this form if you would like to come as a parent help.

Stationery Lists
Here are the stationery lists for 2024. Please go on and order these so they arrive in time for the start of the year.

Prize giving/Whānau Picnic
We welcome you to our 2023 Prize giving on Wednesday 13th December at 11am at the Omihi Community Hall. We then welcome you to bring a picnic lunch and join us for a whānau picnic from 12 - 1pm back at school. All children to be picked up at 1pm please.

Science Roadshow
We are hosting this at the Omihi Community Hall on Thursday 7th December. Tūpari will be attending a workshop, and helping run the workshops all day. The rest of the school will be attending at 10am.

Food Truck Friday
We are excited to be collaborating with Rural Support North Canterbury to create ‘Food Truck Friday’ on Friday 1st March 2024, across the road at the Omihi Community Hall. All details on poster below….spread the word and help us create a great community event. Bring a picnic rug, and enjoy dinner with friends, and live music from our very own Kelly Fletcher.

Dates
Our last day of school is Wednesday 13th December, and we start again on Tuesday 30th January. School will be closed on Monday 5th February, before Waitangi day on the 6th February. There is also a teacher only day on Friday 15th March.

Swimming Pool
Thanks to Kurt who has been looking after our swimming pool, it should be open very soon! Please remember to send togs and towels each day. If your child has a rash vest, we encourage them to wear this.

Pool Party
The Hurunui District Council is holding a pool party at our school pool on Thursday 25 January 2024, 11am - 1pm. See the community notices section below for the full list of pool party dates across the region throughout January.

School Accounts
Account statements will be sent this week to families who have unpaid invoices remaining. Please ensure these are paid before the end of the year.

Basketball and Miniball Uniforms
Please check to see if you have any of our basketball or miniball uniforms at home and return these to the school office before the end of term.

Our Posties
Thanks again to Jan and Mark who continue to deliver our school newsletter for us each fortnight.

Tipu Māia Kāhui update
Our term 4 newsletter covering the latest happenings in our Kāhui of schools can be found here. Maree is Lead Principal of our kāhui and Penny is an Across School Leader.

Reports
Your child will receive a Principal comment, general comment from their teacher and their graphs for reading, writing and maths in the final week of school via Hero.

John Parsons - Cyber Safety
Thanks to everyone that could come along to our session with John Parsons. He had some great resources, which are here for you to utilise.

Community Notices

Glenmark Twilight Netball
Starting Wednesday 14th February at 6.30pm then every Wednesday for 6 weeks until 27th March. Entry for team $120 or individual $20.

Please have entries in by 9th February to glenmarknetball@gmail.com or contact Jess on 027 460 4944.

Our wonderful students focused on their literacy.

Kia ora koutou,

I’m really proud to share with you that Penny recently completed the ‘Associate intensive training in the MSL approach to teaching phonology’ through the Institute for Multisensory Structured Language Education. This has been a work in progress over 2 years for Penny, some of it in school time, and some in her own time. It is a huge commitment, and shows her absolute passion for literacy, and helping our young people to read and write. We feel lucky to have Penny on our staff so that all of us can continue to learn in this area. It’s wonderful to work in a team of staff that all have a growth mindset, and are enthusiastic about continuing their own learning.

We would like to announce that Trudy Sutherland will be joining our Omihi whānau next year to cover Bryleigh’s parental leave. She will work one day a week with Bryleigh in term 1, then take over the three days after Easter. Please see the message from Trudy below.

Last great news for the day, now all of the funds have been deposited from the trail ride, we actually raised nearly $25,000!

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

School Notices

A message from Trudy
Kia ora Omihi School families, My name is Trudy, mum of 3 boys and I live in Waipara. I grew up in North Canterbury and absolutely love it here, we are very lucky to have such beautiful little communities.

I lived in Western Australia for 8 years and was so happy to move back home with our kids. I enjoy spending time with my family, exploring new places and just relaxing with a good book. I am looking forward to meeting you all and being a part of the Omihi School Community.

Christmas writing
The students are writing a Christmas narrative that they are going to turn into a picture book. This is the descriptive setting that they are focusing on, as written by Ze’ev:

“The snow, as bright as the moon, shimmered in the starlight. I smelt an aroma of roast boar as it wafted through the air. I heard the cheerful laughter as children unwrapped presents. I tasted sweet sugary cake as I popped it into my mouth. I felt smooth velvet blankets as I snuggled into them.”

Principal Award Winners
Congratulations to our latest Principal Award winners….Macy and Cadence.

Attendance on Hero
In case you haven’t seen it, when you scroll to the bottom of the Hero report you can check on your child’s attendance for each term. This is often used when applying for schools, so feel free to ask us if you have any questions about it.

Small School Athletics
Well done to all of our children who participated in Small School Athletics. Congratulations to the following students who made it through to Kowai athletics - Jack S, Jonty, Lily, Andy, Arlo, Taylor, Leo, Ze’ev, Macy, Fergus, Zac, Thomas, Hugo and Michael.

Congratulations also goes to Hugo and Taylor who will be going to the Canterbury athletics next Wednesday.

Staffing for 2024
Congratulations to Penny who has been reappointed as ‘Across School Lead’ for our Tipu Maiā kāhui ako. She is working across all 13 schools. Also congratulations to Georgie who has been reappointed as our ‘Within School Lead’ for our kāhui ako. Feel free to chat with Georgie and Penny to find out more about their roles.

Kowai Sports Spectacular
This is on Wednesday at the Omihi Domain. See here for the timetable. We would appreciate some more helpers at the stations. Please let Maree know if you are able to help.

John Parsons - Cyber Safety
John Parsons will be coming to work with our students and staff on Tuesday 28th November. He is also going to do a parent session for us in the evening at 6.30pm. We will have a movie playing in the classrooms if you want to bring your children, and the parent session will be in Kahiwi. He has a lot of great information on how you can keep your children safe online. This is a free session, and please feel free to invite anyone else that may be interested. Please sign up here if you are coming, so we can ensure we have enough staff to supervise students, or email Maree - principal@omihi.school.nz.

Gathering Community knowledge/talent/skills/places of interest
We would love to find out more about our local and wider community. We want to see if there are any skills or places of interest out there that our students could learn from. Please fill in this short survey for us, email us, or fill out the form below and drop in our school letterbox.

Hurunui District Library Summer Reading
Please see details below about the Hurunui District Libraries Summer Reading Program. Yo will be handing out the books and activity books to our students who wish to participate on the 7th of December.

Community Notices

Kia ora koutou,

Riders enjoying the stunning sights and weather during the trailride on the weekend.

It was a huge weekend for Omihi School with our major fundraiser of the year. We purposefully don’t have a lot of small fundraisers, as we know how busy our families are. So it was so lovely to be a part of this and see our community come together to make it happen.

A big thank you to Todd McBreen and James Blanchard from Precision Yamaha for creating the tracks, all of their work behind the scenes leading up to this, and making it happen on the day. And to Precision Yamaha for sponsoring this event. They ensured we had all of our costs covered before the event even happened! Thank you to the Evans and Littles for allowing us to use your stunning farms. Thank you to Sofia Sloss who organised the BBQ, Julie Wells who organised the registration, and to all of our volunteers who came out to support us on the day, including those that picked up stuff for us the day before. We are excited to let you know that we raised $18,000 for our school!

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

School Notices

Food Truck Friday @ Omihi Community Hall
We have collaborated with Rural Support North Canterbury to create an event for our wider community. It will be held at the Omihi Community Hall from 5-9pm on Friday 1st March, 2024. This will be a chance for our community to come together to connect, chat and eat some yummy kai. It is not a fundraiser, just an opportunity to connect. We will have live music, and are now in the process of finding food trucks to be a part of it. If you have a food truck, or know of someone that does, please contact Maree - principal@omihi.school.nz.

Small School Athletics
We will be joining Broomfield and Waipara Schools for athletics tomorrow at Waipara School. Here is the timetable. Please make sure you have let Kelly know if your child is coming on the bus or if you are meeting us there.

Year 0-3 Kowai Sports Spectacular
Our year 0-3 children will be participating in this across the road at the Omihi Domain on Wednesday 22nd November from 10am - 2pm. You are very welcome to come and watch. If there is anyone that could help with an activity, please let Georgie know.

John Parsons - Cyber Safety
John Parsons will be coming to work with our students and staff on Tuesday 28th November. He is also going to do a parent session for us in the evening at 6.30pm. We will have a movie playing in the classrooms if you want to bring your children, and the parent session will be in Kahiwi. He has a lot of great information on how you can keep your children safe online. This is a free session, and please feel free to invite anyone else that may be interested. Please sign up here if you are coming, so we can ensure we have enough staff to supervise students, or email Maree - principal@omihi.school.nz.

Transition Days for 2024
Our teachers are staying in their current classrooms in 2024, and the year groups will be staying the same. Year 0-2 in Paemoana, Year 3-5 in Awaawa and Year 6-8 in Tūpari. During the rest of the term we will be having some transition days where the current Year 2’s spend the day in Awaawa with Mrs Vincent, and the current Year 5’s spend the day in Tūpari with Miss Fletcher. The first one is next Monday.

School Pool Key
If you would like to purchase a pool key, please email Bryleigh - office@omihi.school.nz.  It is $50 for school families and $70 for community members. This includes a $20 refundable bond when you return the key.

Assembly
This term we are having a whole school assembly in Kahiwi on Friday 10th November. We welcome you to come along from 2pm. 

Report Comments
This Friday you will be receiving your child’s writing and reading comments through Hero. Please let us know if you don’t receive these.

Community Notices

Some of our Best Dressed entries on Pet Day, Fergus and Lily.

Kia ora koutou,

After a windy start to the week, and no power, it was lovely to have our annual pet day on Wednesday. We loved seeing such a variety of animals come along - spiders, chickens, dogs, lambs, a horse and a teddy bear! Thanks to Georgie for the organisation on the day, Julie for organising the lamb drinking competition, and Kurt for setting up our pens. Plus a big thanks to our judges. It was lovely to have Neil and Margaret Evans, Alison Sloss and Leon Parish to judge on the day. They all have strong links to our school.

I want to acknowledge ‘World Teachers Day’ this Friday. I feel so grateful to have such wonderful, dedicated teachers to work alongside. It really is special to be in a school where everyone is so passionate about our students and their learning. Thank you to Kelly, Penny, Georgie, Chantelle, and our relievers Liz and Elizabeth. Also thank you to Rachael who is our Learning Support Coordinator. Rachael works across 5 schools, and we are lucky enough to have her at Omihi each Wednesday afternoon. We will be having a special morning tea this week to celebrate them.

Ngā mihi
Maree Lucas
Tumuaki/Principal

School Notices

Fixed term part time Office Manager Position (covering maternity leave)
We are looking for someone to join our Omihi whānau while Bryleigh is on maternity leave. It would be one day a week in term 1 working with Bryleigh, then 3 days a week in terms 2 and 3. All details are on our website. Please email Maree for more information or if you would like to apply.

Subway
Thanks to Dave Elphinstone who has collected our Subway orders over the last couple of years. Dave is no longer able to do this. Is there anyone else that is able to pick them up every second Wednesday from Rangiora? Please let me know by this Friday, otherwise we will need to cancel the Subway orders.

Preschooler morning
We welcome you in for our preschooler morning on Wednesday 25th October from 9.00am - 10.30am. Please bring morning tea and a drink bottle for your child.

John Parsons - Cyber Safety
John Parsons will be coming to work with our students and staff on Tuesday 28th November. He is also going to do a parent session for us in the evening at 6.30pm. We will have a movie playing in the classrooms if you want to bring your children, and the parent session will be in Kahiwi. He has a lot of great information on how you can keep your children safe online. This is a free session, and please feel free to invite anyone else that may be interested.

Gumboot Friday
We are taking part in Gumboot Friday this year, but will be doing this on Thursday 2nd November, as we are at river safety on Friday 3rd. So please can children bring a gold coin donation, and wear their gumboots on the 2nd. This is to help raise money for free counselling for kids of NZ.

Precision Yamaha Omihi School Trail Ride
This is not far away! If you have volunteered for the event, we will be in touch with more details next week. If you are available to help, please let Maree know, we still need a couple more volunteers. It would be great to see every family there if possible. The funds from this race help us to fund our third classroom and ensure we have smaller class sizes. You can also enter the trail ride at www.iticket.co.nz.

Second Hand Uniform
We have a lot of second hand uniform for sale. Hats are only $15, and we have a range of sizes of polos, merinos, jackets and sports tops. Please contact Bryleigh if you would like to purchase any - office@omihi.school.nz.

Schools Docs policies to review
We work on a 3 year cycle, and each term we review a number of our policies. These are open for review from our community as well. Please review the following by clicking on this link: http://omihi.schooldocs.co.nz. Username: omihi Password: glenmark

• Curriculum and Student Achievement Policy

• Student Achievement Information

• Home Learning

• Distance Learning

• Health Education

Community Notices