2022 Term 2 Week 7
Albury School Newsletter
Principal's Message
Two years ago at the height of lockdown fever, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a new public holiday for New Zealand “Matariki”.
So, what is it? And why is it so significant in our calendar?
Matariki is a special occasion in the New Zealand calendar which marks the start of the Māori New Year. Signified by the Matariki cluster of stars reappearing in our night sky, this is a time for reflection and planning.
What is Matariki?
Matariki is a star cluster that appears in the early morning sky in New Zealand during the mid- winter months.The star cluster is well known throughout the world and at different times of year can be seen around the globe. It is one of the brightest clusters in the sky, containing hundreds of member stars.
Matariki has different names around the world. In English, it is called by its ancient Greek name, Pleiades or the Seven Sisters. In Hawaiian it is Makali’I, ‘eyes of royalty’, and in Japan it is Subaru, meaning ’gathered together’.
The significance of Matariki
The rise of Matariki signals the Lunar New Year. It is a time to acknowledge the year past, celebrate the present and plan and prepare for the year ahead.
Historically, the stars were closely tied to planting and hunting. If the stars appeared clear and bright, it signified an abundant season ahead. Matariki takes place in mid- winter from late May to early July. The dates vary according to tribes and geography.
This year (2022), the first public holiday to celebrate Matariki will be on Friday 24th of June, marking the reappearance of the constellation. The best time to view the Matariki cluster is early morning, just before dawn.
The Matariki star cluster contains hundreds of stars but only nine are visible to the naked eye. Each of these nine stars has a distinct story and significance in Māori culture.
According to one Māori myth, the cluster represents a Whaea or mother – Matariki – and her eight daughters Tupu-ā-nuku, Tupu-ā-rangi, Waipunarangi, Waitī, Waitā, Ururangi, Pohutukawa and Hiwa-i-te-rangi.
So, let’s make the most of our special time of year and reflect on our sense of togetherness as a community and celebrate Matariki with loved ones.
You can lean more about Matariki using this link:
https://www.ecevoice.org/matariki-pld-series
Donna Donnelly
Calendar
2022
June
- Wednesday 22nd: Disco Albury Hall, 5.30pm-7.00pm
- Thursday 23rd: Teacher only day- SCHOOL CLOSED
- Friday 24th: Matariki- SCHOOL CLOSED
- Thursday 30th: Sushi
- Thursday 30th: postponed Board meeting, school library 6.30pm (tbc, please look out for facebook posts)
July
- Friday 1st: Ice Skating Day Tekapo Springs
- Thursday 7th: Assembly
- Thursday 7th: Introduction School Boards of Trustees (NZSTA): 6.45pm Fairlie Library or online
- Friday 8th: End of Term 2
- School Holidays
- Monday 25th: Start of Term 3
- Monday 25th: Teacher only day- SCHOOL CLOSED
- Thursday 28th: Board meeting, school library 6.30pm
- Friday 29th: Ski optional Roundhill
August
- Friday 5th: Ski optional Roundhill
- Wednesday 10th: Ski Day Roundhill
- Friday 12th: Ski optional Roundhill
- Thursday 25th: Board meeting, school library 6.30pm
- Friday 19th: Ski optional Roundhill
- Friday 26th: Ski optional Roundhill
September
- Friday 2nd: Ski optional Roundhill
- Tuesday 6th: School Photos
- Friday 9th: Ski optional Roundhill
- Friday 16th: Ski optional Roundhill
- Thursday 29th: Board meeting, school library 6.30pm
- Friday 30th: End of Term 3
October
- Monday 17th: Start of Term 4
- Monday 24th: Labour Day- SCHOOL CLOSED
- Thursday 27th: Board meeting, school library 6.30pm
November
- Thursday 24th: Board meeting, school library 6.30pm
December
- Wednesday 7th - Friday 9th: Senior Camp Aoraki Mount Cook
- Tuesday 13th: End of Term 4
- Thursday 15th: Board meeting, school library 6.30pm
Piwakawaka Classroom
The cross country was lots of fun. It was great going to Cannington School and meeting up with friends from other schools. The hay bales and tyres made running fun and we were all proud of our efforts. Some of us were a bit nervous before the race as it was our first time doing an inter school event, but everyone managed really well.
We have had lots of fun learning about the Queen and The Royal Family. Our Royal afternoon was great. The crowns were fun to make and we are able to be creative with our decorations and ideas. We loved dressing up and wearing our crowns. We felt very grown up sitting around the table sipping hot chocolate and talking. The toast was yummy and we enjoyed sharing it with the Tui class.
This week we are learning about Matariki and are excited for our very first Matariki Holiday on Friday.
Heather van der Heyden
TUi Classroom
The term is zooming through and the days are chilly. Please make sure your child has layers on and they are all named. We are lucky to have the weather warm up during the day but that leaves a few layers lying around.
Congratulations to everyone who participated in the Cross Country run and to Hayley and Jack who traveled to Waihi School to represent us against other South Canterbury primary school students.
We were extremely lucky to have Ella and Divya visit from Meridian Energy. They shared their knowledge about renewable energy and what/who Meridian are.
After learning about riprap and the other two layers needed to support a dam we got to build our own. It was quite chilly on our hands! To test if our dam building skills were good, we got to kick the side of the dam to see if it would break.
It took a while but eventually the dam broke on the side at its weakest point. With the knowledge we had gained, we were put in groups to go and collect our own materials. Once again, our dam was pretty strong, but the water did leak through.
We are hoping that the Covid Levels will change and to go and visit one of our local dams.
Hannah Beynon
Canopy Classroom
The last few Canopy days, we have had a theme.
One Friday it was Bee day. We watched some videos, listened to books, and shared facts. Students wrote about Bees and then created a piece of art, which is now hanging in Tui classroom.
The next Friday we celebrated the Queen's Jubilee. After learning about the queen and her family tree we created a piece of art of a king or queen. They look outstanding. The students should be very proud of their art work.
Assembly Thursday, 26th May 2022
Piwakawaka Principal's Award: Digby
Piwakawaka Class Award: Digby
Piwakawaka Class Award: Jack
Tui Principal's Award: Azayah
Tui Class Award: Sophie
for always having a friendly smile,
for always working hard,
fantastic handwriting and
100% effort.
Tui Class Award: Maddison
for continuously putting in 100% effort.
Assembly Thursday, 9th June 2022
Piwakawaka Class Awards:
Max and Edwards for positive attitude to learning.
Tui Class Awards:
Hayley for always being focused and willing to do more.
Olivia M. for being kind and caring, sharing ideas and offering to help others.
Piwakawaka Principal's Award: Paige
Tui Principal's Award: Sophie
Happy Birthday: Harry and Digby
Interschool Cross country 1st June at Cannington School
We competed against students from Cannington, Fairlie Primary, St. Joseph's Fairlie and Lake Tekapo.
Congratulations
Year 1 girls: Georgie (2nd)
Year 1 boys: Digby (1st), Lennox (3rd)
Year 2 boys: Harry (2nd)
Year 3 girls: Meila (3rd)
Year 4 girls: Pippa (1st)
Year 5 boys: Ben (3rd)
Year 6 girls: Hayley (2nd)
I was very privileged to be a teacher of Albury children at the cross country on 1st June. The children were friendly, well behaved, and respectful in their dealings with others in our community of schools.
The students have all been impressive with how hard they trained for this event, always making the most of their practice time and trying to better previous attempts. Then on the big day, running hard, giving their all, getting up and continuing when falling, being proud of where they came, proud of personal goals like only stopping once, and learning to deal with leading a group all the way only to be pipped on the finish line. And of course, with how they supported each other in a caring and kind way.
Thank you to all the parents who were supportive and willing to help where needed.
-Heather van der Heyden-
Meridian Energy Visit
The students learned about the process of the hydro electric schemes, experienced some static models for creating electricity and got to build their own dams.
Art competition winners
Category 5-7 years: Max (1st), Natalie (2nd), Ava (3rd)
Category 8-10 years: Olivia M. (1st), Olivia Mc. (2nd), Tilly (3rd)
South Canterbury Primary Schools Cross country Waihi School
A shout out to Ben and Blake, who were both selected to compete but unfortunately were unable to attend.
Ice Skating Trip Tekapo 1st July 2022
Where: Tekapo Springs
When: Friday 1st July 2022
Cost: NO COST for our Albury students. Ice skating entry is covered by the school's curriculum budget.
Any additional food or activities are at your own cost. If parents/caregivers are skating they will also need to cover their own cost.
Parents are responsible for transport of students to and from the event.
Arrival time at Tekapo Springs: 10.00 am.
Depart Ice rink: 1.30pm
As in the past you are welcome to make your own arrangements after 1.30pm, as technically the "school event" is completed and staff will head back.
Please note: Terms & Conditions at Tekapo Springs apply
If you know your child will not be going ice skating please let us know by Tuesday, 28th June. As this is a school trip, students not ice skating will not be required to be at school as we will not have staff here.
Bring Along: Warm clothing adequate for these conditions.
Jacket: waterproof and windproof
Gloves
Mouth Guard (not compulsory but highly recommended)
A complete set of spare clothes
Helmets must be worn when on the ice. Helmets are supplied as part of the skate hire but you are welcome to wear your own.
Lunch: Either bring your own lunch and drinks or purchase hot food at the Winter Park
A google form to complete has been emailed out.
Albury School Board Parent Election 2022
Nomination round
Our school will be undertaking a parent election for 4 School Board vacancies.
This process will start with the issuing of nomination papers to our caregiver community by Friday 15th July 2022.
We have employed CES to undertake the election process on our behalf. This year with legislative change, our nomination form and full instruction on how to place your nomination into our own School’s Election website will be emailed to you if we have your email address in our database or you will receive it by post if we don’t have your email in our database.
Nomination papers will also be available at the school office.
The school will send those on to CES for processing upon receipt from candidates.
Nominations close on Friday 5th August at 12 noon.
We look forward to your participation in this process.
Introduction - School Boards of Trustees 2022
The triennial School Board Elections will be held in September this year.
To help prepare people who are curious about being a trustee, Te Manahuna Kahui Ako are running a combined school event on Thursday, 7 July, starting at 6:45pm.
NZSTA (New Zealand School Trustees Association) is running a webinar designed to provide members of the public with an opportunity to find out more about what it means to be a school board member and to answer any questions you have about the election process and board member role. During the session, you will have the opportunity to direct questions to a panel of experienced school board members and NZSTA advisors.
You can join online here or in person at the Mackenzie Community Library with other prospective school trustees and some experienced ones. Although arranged by Mackenzie schools, it is available to anyone interested in trusteeship in any school.
This session is open to anyone with an interest in school governance.
When: 6:45pm, 7 July 2022
Where: Mackenzie Community Library, 25 Kirke Street Fairlie
Who: Anyone interested in school trustees
RSVP: Click this link to register for the Mackenzie session
For more information, contact Jason Reid at jasonr@mackcollege.school.nz or 03 685 8603.
Winter Optional Roundhill Ski Programm 2022
Term 3, Friday afternoons, 29 July – 16 September 2022
The popular ski optional is available again for Albury School students, a brilliant opportunity to strengthen their skiing.
Each Friday:
· Depart Albury School around 11.30am. This allows for travel, ticketing and rental time.
· Each student will be assigned to a group lesson matching their skill level
· Lesson 1.30 – 3.00pm
· 3.00 – 4.00pm free range skiing
When registering for this optional, attendance is expected every week.
NB: Each student must have a parent/caregiver attend every session.
2022 Prices TBC
As well as rental equipment being available on the mountain, The Ski Shack in Fairlie offers rental equipment for the whole season.
For all questions and to register your interest, please contact Annabelle Bray.
036855743 / 0212200711
Magic Show Fairlie
"Elegregoe" The Magician presents
The Magic Show
Sunday 26th June
Mackenzie Rugby Club
1pm to 2pm
FREE
mackenzie half marathon 23th july 2022 Discount offer
We have received a discount offer for our Albury School families who would like to register for the Mackenzie Half Marathon on 23rd July 2022.
The organising team would love to see as many children and their families entering from all around the Mackenzie Region.
You will be eligible for 10% off registration costs for the 2.5km Hole in One Fun Run, the 5.5km Flat Jack or the under 19 run or walk 10km River Dip by entering the code 'ALBURY' when registering.
Race Tekapo 17th September Discount offer
Police Vet Checks
To attend camps or overnight trips you must have a current Police Vet Check.
For some parents their PVCs are expiring this year (Kathrin will email you to let you know).
If you wish to renew your current PVC, and for new requests, please let Kathrin know and we will get the applications underway. They take quite a long time to process, so we need to plan months ahead to get these processed.
Contact school
To contact school during school hours please ring the office: phone number 03 685 5844.
If we are unable to take your call, please leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
To let us know that your child is away for the day, please ring the office or send an email to office@albury.school.nz and we will pass on the information to the classroom teacher.
Please be aware that if your child is away or if there are changes to their pick up routine we are required to collect this information from a caregiver -just give us a quick call or flick us an email.
Thank you!
Albury Playgroup
ERO Profile Report
Te Ara Huarau is the evaluation approach that the Education Review Office (ERO) is using in our school. This a developmental approach to evaluation where ERO and our school work together over time rather than one off reviews that happened previously. Te Ara Huarau is used in most English-medium state and state-integrated schools.
ERO maintains a regular review programme to evaluate and report on the education and care of young people in the schools. Our school worked alongside ERO to write our Profile Report. This type of report will only happen once as part of our initial engagement with Te Ara Huarau. The profile report reflects our strategic goals and a shared evaluation focus one or more areas that are important to us as we work together to improve outcomes for all our learners. ERO, like us, have a strong focus on equity and excellence. Future reporting will show our progress and achievement towards meeting the goals we have set. Public reports like the Profile Report are published on ERO’s website.
A Board Assurance Report that shows how we are meeting regulatory and legislative Requirements has also been published.
School Policies
Healthcare and Behaviour Management
Albury School Policies are located online at School Docs.
User name: albury
Password: queen
Concerns and Complaints Process
Contact Us
Donna Donnelly: principal@albury.school.nz
Piwakawaka teacher:
Heather van der Heyden: heather@albury.school.nz
Tui teacher:
Hannah Beynon: hannah@albury.school.nz
Office:
Kathrin Burgert: office@albury.school.nz
Email: office@albury.school.nz
Website: https://www.albury.school.nz/
Location: Albury School Station Street, Albury 7984, New Zealand
Phone: 03 685 5844
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alburyschool