Newsletters

Parent helpers letter (See student letter below)

Monday 30^th June

Dear parent helpers

Thank you for your offer to support during our camp in Week 1, of Term 3 from Wednesday 23^rd July – Friday 25^th July. My apologies for not making it clear in our last correspondence that we were gratefully accepting your offer.

Due to my recent absence from school we have been unable to hold a parent camp meeting, however the following information should give you enough understanding of what your responsibilities will be while we are away.

On the day we leave, please be at school by 8.00 am. You will be issued with a booklet that clearly outlines the students in your group, any health, nutrition, learning or behaviour conditions they may have; contact numbers of both students’ parents and the parents and teachers at the camp; and your groups’ programme outline.

The students will be split into six groups of approximately 10 -11 children. There will be 2 adults responsible for each group. I have hired a caterer to do the majority of the cooking, so each group will only have cleaning or breakfast duties.

On the Wednesday and Thursday we will undertake activities at the camp and on Thursday night we will go to Waiwera Hot pools for the evening. On Friday we will go to MOTAT for the day. To ensure students get enough time there, we will leave for home at about 3.00pm so will not be back in Hamilton until 4.30pm-4.45pm.

I am still in the process of working out how many cars we will need to take, so I will contact you directly in the second week of the holidays to confirm whether we need you to transport students. If so, a $100.00 petrol voucher will be issued on the Tuesday. I will also need to sight your license, warrant and registration on either the Monday or Tuesday before we leave.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me either by emailing khandley@maeroa.school.nz or leaving a message at school, phone 8475014 ext 210. I will check phone messages in the second week of the holidays.

Kind regards

Karen Handley – Rimu Team Leader

Student newsletter

Monday 30^th June 2014

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Whanau,

We can hardly believe that it is the final week of Term 2. After the holidays we will be straight into camp preparation, as we leave in Week 1, from Wednesday 23^rd – Friday 25^th July. Thank you to all the families who have paid their camp fees. Please aim to make the final payments by the end of this week. For those of you who may need a little extra time to finalise this, the school office should be open at times during the holidays.

Before leaving, students must have paid in full, or if you have set up time payments, over $100 must have been paid.

Last week I contacted the camp and gave them an estimate of our numbers therefore, any major changes will have an impact on the budget. Please if your situation changes, email me at khandley@maeroa.school.nz or leave me a message on 8475014 ext 210.  I will get back to you in the second week of the holidays.

To save costs we have opted for some of the parent helpers to take their private car rather than hire another bus which would be ¾ empty. If you do NOT want your child to travel by private car, please fill in the form below. * ( We will make sure they travel in the bus.)

Attached is a gear list. This is also on our team blog at teamrimu.blogspot.com . On the Wednesday that we leave all students will need to have a cut lunch (not money as we will not have access to a shop). We would also appreciate every student providing a donation of either fruit or biscuits, for morning and afternoon teas. These can be brought to school on either Tuesday 22^nd of July or the Wednesday morning that we leave.

All students should be at school by 8.15 am on Wednesday 23 July.  We aim to leave at 8.30 am. Being on time shows organisation and respect for others. If we have to wait for latecomers, we will arrive at our destination later in the day and have less time for activities.

We will return between 4.30 and 4.45 pm on Friday. Please be at school waiting for your student, so we can all head home quickly for a rest!

These are the contact numbers for the camp.

Sir Peter Blake Marine Education Centre

1045 Beach Rd, Long Bay, North Shore

 Ph. (09) 473 0714      Fax. (09) 473 1945 

I hope everyone has a wonderful break and that our students come back refreshed and relaxed for another busy term.

Kind regards

Karen Handley – Rimu Team Leader

*I do not wish my child __________________________________

of Room ___________ to travel by private car.

Parent signature ________________________________________________________

Friday 23^rd May 2014

Dear families,

Thank you for your deposit to confirm your child’s participation in our E.O.T.C experience at the start of Term 3.

In week 6 of this term, I have to pay the full camp fee for all students attending. We will need another $50 payment by this date, to ensure we can cover this and confirm your child’s place at camp.

The full payment of $200, ideally needs to be paid by the end of this term. Because we leave on the Wednesday of the first week of Term 3, it will be extremely difficult to add or remove students from our list after the end of this term.

Our fees have been tightly budgeted to meet camp expenses. There will be nothing extra to pay for students who haven’t paid, so your support with prompt payments is very important. 

Those on automatic payments do not need to worry, as your fees will be paid in full through your repayments.

Shortly we will add the gear list to our Rimu Team blog, which you can find at www.teamrimu.blogspot.co.nz . The medical form will also be on the blog.  If your child’s form has not already been completed and returned to school, please do this immediately.

This is extremely important as without an up to date medical form the students will not be able to attend camp.

If you have any questions, or would like to discuss other options, please contact me directly as often we can find a solution.

Have a great weekend.

Kind regards

Karen Handley – Rimu Team Leader

 

Rimu Team Camp Newsletter 1

Monday 31^st March 2014

Dear families,

This is the first of several newsletters that will keep you informed and updated about camp.

This year we will be attending E.O.T.C camp in Week 1 of Term 3 from Wednesday 23^rd  – Friday 25^th  July.  We are going to the Sir Peter Blake Marine Education and Recreation Centre in Long Bay, Auckland.

Our aim is for the students to experience a variety of team building and communication activities, learn how to sail, and undertake bush safety and navigation. We will also spend an evening at Waiwera Hot Pools, and on the Friday, we will spend the day at MOTAT exploring the amazing advances in technology over the past 50-80 years.

We will travel by bus to and from the camp, however, to keep costs down several parents attending camp with us, will also be transporting students. There will be a further newsletter to gain approval for individual students to travel by car.

The cost of this experience is $200.00 per student. An initial $50.00 deposit will be required by the end of this term, Thursday 17^th April. If you have a direct credit please let the office know that you would like this deposit transferred to the Rimu team camp fund.

If your financial circumstances mean your child may not be able to attend camp, please let either me or your child’s teacher know. We can sometimes find a solution to this.

Please fill in the form below and return to your child’s teacher by Friday this week. If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards

Karen Handley – Rimu Team Leader

My child __________________________________________of  Room _______________________

Will / will not be attending Rimu Team’s Camp

Parent signature

I ________________________________________________ (adult’s name)

Child’s Name and Room __________________________________

Would like to be considered as an adult helper to support Rimu Team EOTC experience. I am/am not able to provide transport for __________ children. (All vehicles will need a WOF, registration and working seatbelts for all passengers.)

14 February

Dear caregivers/ whanau,

We are at the end of Week 2. Where has the time gone?

Thanks to everyone who attended our pool evening. We met several new families and really look forward to working with you and your child.

Thanks also to those of you who are supporting your children to be organised learners, so they wear full correct uniform and bring togs and PE gear on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. They also need PE gear for Dance/ Drama tech and interclass sports games. Some Year 8 children are without PE gear and this will need to be replaced. If it is named in two places – one obvious and one not obvious - and only ever left in the classroom, it should be safe from theft.  Classes are locked when we are not here.

We truly appreciate the effort you have made to provide students with their stationery. We realise this is an expense, however the students need their stationery for learning. Those who do not have it are now falling behind with organising books and journals. We have provided some stationery for these students to get them started, but it is now urgently required. Sales will soon be over and stationery will become much more expensive.

On Monday this week we welcomed Sheree Julian into our team. Due to roll growth at the school it was decided to add a class and Sheree has now found herself here! She has many skills to offer and will be an asset to our team and school.

Please remember to start those automatic payments for camp. $10 weekly will see the cost paid off before we go. A number of students missed out last year and we would really love to see them go this time. Camps provide opportunities to spend time with friends developing team work and confidence doing things many children would never get the chance to do otherwise. We will also be calling for adult help with these, and can promise a busy, enjoyable few days!

We have two blog sites up and running at the moment. They are  www.Rimu18.blogspot.com  and www.TeamRimu.blogspot.com .  We are trying to keep these up to date for you with newsletters and news about the class and team. Please keep an eye on one or both sites. In due course Rooms 10 and 17 are likely to have their own blogs too.

If your child is feeling unsettled or you have any concerns about their learning, please keep in touch. Likewise, if there are family worries which may be upsetting your child please let us know. Sometimes children behave out of character and we find out the families are dealing with sick relatives etc. If we know there are difficulties, we will be ready to offer support.

Goal setting conferences are coming up in early March. They are an opportunity to find out how your child has settled into 2014, and assist in setting learning goals. We look forward to meeting more families then.

If you wish to contact us at any time, our email addresses are:

khandley@maeroa.school.nz

dbird@maeroa.school.nz

sjulian@maeroa.school.nz

Regards

Karen Handley, Diana Bird and Sheree Julian.

Rimu Team Newsletter Term One – Monday 3^rd February 2014

We extend a warm welcome to all students of Rimu team for 2014.  We hope you have enjoyed the Christmas break and returned rested and enthusiastic to start the New Year. Rimu is a wonderful team where your child can develop the necessary skills and attitudes to ensure consistent progress, show positive citizenship and enjoy a successful transition to high school.

At Maeroa we pride ourselves on the positive way our students conduct themselves in a range of public situations. Part of this is how they present themselves in their uniform. It is important that students know our uniform policy and are correctly dressed at all times. If this becomes a problem, please discuss this with the class teacher or alternatively, send a note. 

Please support us by ensuring that unnecessary jewellery and nail polish is removed after the weekends. A reminder that canvas shoes are not acceptable. They will, in the first instance, be removed at the start of school and returned to your child at the end of the day, with a letter sent home. If your child persists in wearing these, they will be removed and you will be required to collect them. This is a health and safety regulation and our uniform policy.

Maeroa has many extracurricular activities offered. Please encourage your child to make the most of their time here and take up these challenges. It is critical that once your child has committed to being part of a team they turn up to practices and games. If practice time is in school hours, we will support your student, so they can attend. If games or practices are after school we would appreciate your support in ensuring your child attends regularly, as if they do not, they will be letting down their whole team.

We have high expectations of our students in Rimu Team and know that every child has the ability to do their best at all times. With this in mind, it is important your child is at school before the 8.35 am bell. This gives them time to get organised for their learning. If your child has an appointment, or will be late, please ring the school or send a note. All students who leave the school need to sign out at the office.

Parent/Whanau Picnic Dinner Evening

Next Tuesday 11^th February 5:30 – 7:00pm, we will be holding an informal meet the team evening. This will be held at the school pool where you will have the opportunity to ask questions and meet your child’s teacher and the rest of the team, in a relaxed, informal situation. Please bring your family, togs for those who would like a swim, and a picnic dinner for your family to share. This is an excellent occasion to share in your child’s learning and find out about the opportunities available, particularly in this first term. 

Stationery

To ensure a great start to the year, we need all students to have their stationery organised by the end of this week. Thank you to the many parents/ caregivers that have already done this. If you are having difficulty with this, please do not hesitate to let us know, as a solution can usually be found.

Swimming / P.E

We started our swimming / P.E today. It was great to see many students displaying our cornerstone of being an organised learner by bringing their togs and P.E gear. Swimming is a compulsory part of our curriculum and all students are expected to participate.  If they can’t, a signed and dated note is required. For ongoing medical issues, a doctor’s note is required.  At Maeroa we have a P.E uniform which all students are required to wear. Our Swimming and P.E days are Monday, Thursday and Friday, and it is essential that students bring the required uniform. However, your child will occasionally be given opportunities to swim at lunchtime and participate in a range of physical activity, so it would be a great idea if they got into the habit of bringing both every day.

E.O.T.C

E.O.T.C this year, has been programmed in to take place in week one of term 3, July 23^rd – 25th. This year we will be attending the Sir Peter Blake Marine and Research Centre in Auckland. The focus for this year’s camp is around building team work and communication skills. However, we highly recommend that you set up a direct payment to the school of $10.00 per week, as this usually covers all expenses, including EOTC, school fees and sport payments throughout the year. More information will be sent out confirming pricing.

Once again welcome, please feel free at any time to contact your class teacher if you have any queries.

Rimu Team

Karen Handley Rm17     Diana Bird  Rm18   

khandley@maeroa.school.nz

dbird@maeroa.school.nz