Term 2 Week 4

It's hard to believe we are almost half way through the term already! The last fortnight has been action packed with farewells, science and field trips. Below is a run down of what's been happening in the Senior School.


Young Leaders Day.

 Every year we take our school leaders to the National Young Leaders Day at the Michael Fowler Centre. The aim of the day is to develop student leadership and for it be both inspirational and practical. Since 2001 over 100,000 students have attended throughout New Zealand. The objectives of NYLD are: Empowerment, Positivity, Inspiration, Connection, Motivation, Education. Our students came back buzzing from the day. The highlights for many were Cam Calkoen, Jamie Fitzgerald and of course the Laughing Samoans!

Technicraft.

 Last week saw the conclusion of Cycle 2 of our Technicraft programme. There has been some amazing clipboards produced in woodwork along with some very tasty hamburgers in cooking. Ruth Hooke's music group celebrated the end of the cycle by sharing their talents down the road at Eastbourne Kindy. The group loved preforming to the little kids and enjoying playing with them afterwards.

 They also shared their songs in assembly on Friday. What a nice way to farewell Mr Ray and Miss Berry! Well done guys!

Science Week.

Last week Muritai celebrated our love of Science by dedicating a whole week to it! Room 24 were lucky enough to have a visit from James McKay, a physics lecturer at Weltec. They were focusing on the laws of physics to create a motorised car using a mousetrap and string! A special thanks to Caryn Ellis for organising the day so James could share his expertise with us and Sarah Turk for assisting on the day.

To conclude Science Week Barbara Ryan and her science committee organised a Rocket Launching Competition. The brief was to create a rocket using a soft drink bottle, water and a bike pump. The winning class would be the highest flying rocket. Congratulations to Room 15 which clearly won the event. Room 23's rocket was the highest rocket from the Senior School.

Te Reo

We have been having great fun with Mr Ranchod who is teaching us different Maori greetings and commands for different situations. We are learning a lot!

Gymnastics.

Our Physical Education focus for Term 2 is Gymnastics. Check out the videos below of the students in Room 24. There task was to create a choreographed routine using a chosen apparatus. Looking good!

Pumpkin Competition

We were all so proud of Mia Treadwell-Burke who used her initiative to fundraise for a worthy charity. Mia instigated a ‘Guess the Weight’ competition for a gigantic pumpkin that was donated by her neighbour. For $2, participants could take a guess at how much the pumpkin weighed. Congratulation to Oscar and Olly Sliper who were closest to the correct weight of 26.5kg. The competition raised $103.40 which has been donated to the charity So They Can

Good on you Mia!

Term 2, Week 2

Our Senior School is back in business after a relaxing Easter break. It's hard to believe we are two weeks into the term already! Below are some highlights from the past two weeks.

War Inquiry.

 The end of Term 1 bought the end to our fantastic inquiry on War. The teachers were blown away by the final presentations of the students personal inquiries. There was such variety with a huge amount of effort clearly put in by all. There is a selection of projects on display in the main school foyer. They are well worth checking out! Below are some examples from Room 23. We were particularly impressed with Eva's presentation. A true example of going the extra mile for excellence!

Science.

 This term sees us change our learning focus to science. Every student is currently going through the process of a carrying out a science investigation to present at our Science Fair at the end of the term. Once again, the teachers are thoroughly impressed with the wide variety of topics that are going to be investigated. Every step of the science process is being modelled in class through an investigation into fabrics and fibres. Each class has learned how to carry out a simple fair test and are now currently investigating the different physical and chemical properties of different fabrics.

Morning Fitness.
 It has been great starting the day with fitness in the morning. Mr Ranchod has been working us hard with fitness circuits and relays. It's a great way to get the brain and body working for the busy day ahead!

RSA Essay Competition.
A huge congratulations to Sally Bird who won the annual RSA ANZAC Essay Competition! It is fantastic that Muritai has retained this title for 3 years in a row. Brianna Kirkham received 3rd place too! An excellent achievement from both girls. We are all so proud of you both!

Hutt City Council Art Competition.

 You will recall that last term our Art Ambassadors created two amazing murals to go on display around the council buildings while they are being refurbished. Good news! The team claimed 2nd place in this competition and were awarded with $500 for our art department. An awesome achievement for everyone involved!

World Vision. 

It was Whacky Hair Day to today! The goal was for every class to raise $40 to feed 5 people in Malawi. We also had a visit from Michelle from World Vision and members of the Yellow Team from the Edge Radio station. We have many senior students that are keen to take part in the 40 Hour Famine so they can continue to raise money for the people in Malawi. Good on you all!

 For more information, check out: https://www.worldvision.org.nz/Portal/famine/default.aspx

Term 2 2014

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

 I hope you all had a relaxing Easter break and managed to get out and enjoy some of the fine weather. It's hard to believe that Term 1 has come and gone and we are now full swing into Term 2!

All the teachers in the Senior School were extremely pleased with the start of the 2014. We have also been very impressed with the attitude of the students in Year 7/8, particularly throughout our leadership selection process and their personal war inquiry. It was excellent to see so many individuals step up to the challenge of a leadership role, their positive attitude and strong work ethic is a credit to them! Term 2 is set to be a busy (and short) one with a heavy classroom programme planned. Below is a run down on what your child will be focusing on.

 Inquiry. This term every child will be undertaking a scientific investigation and will be presenting their results at the Senior School Science Fair in Week 9. Each step of the investigation process will be explained in class and the students will be given some time at school to work on their project. However the bulk of this investigation will be done at home. This week each student will receive a booklet that contains information which will help them plan, research, and conduct their investigation. A copy of this booklet will also be uploaded to our classroom blogs for your reference. Your child will require support at home from you to ensure they are successful. There are many elements and a lot of work involved in a science fair project. Time management will be a very important element in a successful project. Each project will be judged at the end of the term. Several projects that are completed to a high standard will be submitted to the Annual NIWA Science Fair in Term 3.

If you would like more information about this project, you are welcome to attend our parent evening on Thursday 8th May at 6pm in Room 21.

 Throughout the term each class will be focusing on the Material World of Science, carrying out an investigation on different fabrics. We will be modeling the same process that the students will need to go through for your own investigation.

 Writing.

 We will be focusing on several different genre of writing this term. Firstly we will be report writing when gathering our background research for our investigations. Our second focus is procedure writing; learning how to write instructions in a clear and detailed way – another important part of our investigation. Along with these two genres we will also be focusing on narrative and creative writing through mini lessons. The focus for these lessons will be to develop our deeper features in writing.

 Mathematics.

 We are changing our maths programme slightly this term. We continue with our cross grouping for 3 days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Tuesday). These sessions will focus on Multiplication and Division. On Tuesdays and Fridays maths will be taught in home classes focusing on Statistics and Problem Solving. Statistics fits nicely into own science fair investigations throughout the term.

 The 'Mathletics' programme is proving a success throughout the school. Each child now has their login details and their maths teacher is regularly assigning them tasks to complete each week. The tasks that are set by the teachers relate to work that is happening in the classroom so it provides you with a useful platform for seeing what your child is focusing on in the class.

 The Arts. We continue with our Arts programme on Thursday afternoons throughout the term. Through these sessions each group have the opportunity for painting (with Lisa Allen) and drama (Ruth Hooke).

 Physical Education. The focus for this term is gymnastics. Our halls times are Tuesdays so it would be appreciated if all students have appropriate clothing to participate in all activities on these days. Our sport rotation programme will continue on Wednesday afternoons plus Anand Ranchod will continue to develop large ball skills with small groups on Thursday afternoons.

Fitness is programmed in for every morning (weather permitting). We are finding these sessions incredibly beneficial. It's a great way of building on personal fitness and waking the brain up to start the day!

Other things to note...

 Homework.

 Due to the amount of work that will be required from the students for their science project, this will be the major focus for homework this term. They will have several deadlines to meet throughout the term, which they will be regularly reminded of. They will still need to read for at least 15 minutes every night plus complete their mathletics tasks set by their maths teacher.

 Wet Weather.

 With the winter months fast approaching, many of us start to get a bit hairy being stuck indoors all day! Wet lunchtimes can often be difficult so we welcome students bringing to school indoor games, such as board games or cards.

Learning Journeys and Celebration of Learning.

 At the end of this term the classrooms will be open for the afternoon for your child to share their learning with you from the first half of the term. This year your child will have two platforms to record and share their work with you; in their clearfile and online on Google Drive. The date for this celebration is Thursday 3rd July (3pm - 6pm). We would love to see as many of you attend as possible as it's a great opportunity to hear first hand (from your child) about their learning. So ask the boss if you can leave work an hour early on the 3rd!

 Cell Phones. We understand students may require the use of cell phones before or after school, so they are permitted at school, but they are not to be used during school time. If students bring their valuables to school they are responsible for them and need to be kept in their bags. Our advice is to keep them at home.

 Finally if you have any concerns or questions regarding our classroom programme or your child's learning, please don't hesitate to make contact with us. Feel free to pop in before or after school or the easiest way to touch base with us is email:

Anand: ranchod@muritai.school.nz
Melissa: coton@muritai.school.nz 
Lisa: allen@muritai.school.nz
Stu: devenport@muritai.school.nz

Thank you again for your support,

Stu Devenport
Associate Principal