Musselburgh School
Newsletter
Num be r 2: Te rm 3 , 2011
Ngā mihi o te wā kia koe me te whānau
Greetings to you and your family.
The Ideal Musselburgh School Child:
We have had an excellent response to our
“What does an Ideal Musselburgh School
Child Look Like” activity. Thank you to all the
children and their families who have
spent time completing the activity. The
School Wide Positive Behaviour For
Learning (SWBP4L) Team will now gather
all the information and feedback to the community with the
results.
Super Heroes of the Week:
Congratulations to Mr Lyndsay Kelly.
Lyndsay was nominated as our Hero
this week because of his kindness, and
his willingness to go the extra mile to
keep
Musselburgh
School
so
beautifully maintained. No job is ever
too big or too small and he always does his work with a
smile. Thank you, Lyndsay, for the extra time and effort you
put into looking after our school. We really do appreciate
your hard work.
Tahuna Intermediate Visits:
Our Year 6 students spent an informative and exciting
morning at Tahuna Intermediate last week. Here is their
report:
Character Education Through Cornerstone Values:
Our Values this term are:
Room 3ʼs ideas about what they think Honesty looks like at
Musselbugh School:
Honesty is when you…
• Hand in things that
don't belong to you
• Play nicely with others
and use nice words
• Wait your turn in line
• Break something, tell
the truth and own up
• Own up if you hurt someone
• Hand in money to the teachers if you find it
• Show you love your family
• Give back things that doesn't belong to you
• Own up if you forget something
• Respect other people's toys
• Leave other peopleʼs belongings alone
Ariki Cup:
The Musselburgh School Cross Counrty
Team performed extremely well at the Ariki
Cup Cross Counrty with Taonga Mbambo
and Chenoa Metua being nominated to
compete in the Otago Championships next
term.
Congratualtions to
Chenoa and Taonga on their
achievement. Well done to the
whole team for the excellent way in
which
they
represented
Musselburgh School.
Kapa Haka:
The Kapa Haka group will be performing at the Maori and PI
Festival on Thursday, September 1. The Year 4, 5 and 6
children will be performing three waiata and a haka. There
will be a dress rehearsal on Wednesday at 2.00pm for all
parents and caregivers to attend. A big thankyou to Whaea
Jenny, Emere, and Rawiri for their continued support.
We were welcomed to the school by the Kapa Haka Group
and the Tahuna School Choir. Mr Hunter and Mr Hutton
spoke about the school and all the opportunities it had for its
pupils. We then broke up into six groups to visit different
parts of the school. Activities included cooking, woodwork,
ICT, metal work, art, drama and music. Morning tea was
spent exploring the playgrounds. We enjoyed the morning
finding out about Tahuna Intermediate. Sam Sleeman,
Monique Groenendal
Marimba Band meets Rhythm Interactive
Our Marimba Band was lucky enough
to visit Tahuna Intermediate last week
to join in with the Rhythm Interactive
afternoon.
Two
very
talented
drumming experts from the group got
everyone involved in an action
packed afternoon of music and
singing. Each student was given a
special African Drum to play to
explore and drumming patterns and
beats. The Tahuna School Hall just
rocked with sound.
Writer of the Week:
The Writer of the Week Award has
been awarded to Amber-Leigh
Smith. Amber-Leigh is developing
excellent
writing
skills
using
conjunctions, describing words and
similes to make her writing exciting
and fun to read. Well done Amber-Leigh. You are a star!
Supa Kidz:
SuperKidz continues this term with the focus on Caring for
Our Environment. The children will explore ways of
maintaining and enhancing relationships with each other and
their environment through games, Bible stories, discussion
and activities. The litterbugs the
children made last week from
recycled
materials
were
quite
delightful. A big thank you to Sandy
Gorman and her team of helpers for
running this very popular programme.
Science Report:
The ʻWhat Happens Beneath the Earthʼs Crust” inquiry unit
report was presented to the BOT on Monday evening. Here
are the snippets from the report. A full copy may be
collected from the Office.
INTRODUCTION:
Our Inquiry focus for Year 2-6 children during Term 1-2 was called
“What Happens Beneath the Crust” in response to the February 22
earthquake in Christchurch. The Year 0-1 children were not part of
this Inquiry.
METHOD OF GAINING INFORMATION:
Assessment tools included:
•
Learning Journals:
•
Summative Assessments
At Level 1 and 2, children were expected to be able to explain:
• The Earth is a solid sphere made up of many layers.
• The Earthʼs crust or outermost layer is not made up of one single
piece of rock. It is actually made up of independent sheets of
rock called tectonic plates
• The Earth is always changing
• The Earthʼs landforms as a result of natural processes e.g.:
earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis
• Scientists make and record observations systematically and
seek patterns in their data (fair testing)
At Level 3, children were expected to be able to explain:
• The Earth is a solid sphere made up of many layers. The Earthʼs
crust or outermost layer is not made up of one single piece of
rock. It is actually made up of independendent sheets of rock
called tectonic plates
• The Earth is made up of different types of rock: sedimentary,
igneous and metamorphic
• The Earth is always changing
• The Earthʼs landforms as a result of natural processes e.g.:
earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis
• Earthquakes are usually caused when rock underground
suddenly breaks along a fault. This sudden release of energy
causes seismic waves that make the ground shake. When two
blocks of rock or two plates rub against each other, they stick
slightly, catching on one another and not sliding smoothly. The
rocks still push against each other, but do not move. After a
while the rocks break because of this built up pressure,
causing an earthquake. During and after the earthquake, the
plates or blocks of rock start and continue moving, until they
become stuck again. The place underground where the rocks
break is called the focus of the earthquake, and the place
immediately above the focus, at ground level, is called the
epicentre of the earthquake.
•
Scientist make and record observations systematically and
seek patterns in their data (fair testing)
RESULTS:
•
84% of all boys were at and above their expected level
•
84% of all girls were at and above their expected level.
•
91% of Yr 2 and 3 boys were at and above their expected level
•
90% of Yr 2 and 3 girls were at and above their expected level
•
94% of Yr 4 and 5 boys were at and above their expected level
•
87% of Yr 4 and 5 girls were at and above their expected level
•
55% of Yr 6 boys were at and above their expected level
•
70% of Yr 6 girls were at and above their expected level
CONCLUSIONS:
•
The data is similar to that collected in 2009 with some
improvements, however it must be noted that there is
approximately 28% transience among Musselburgh School
children which does have a significant impact on data.
•
The What Happens Beneath the Crust Inquiry was very
topical, with children and staff learning new concepts,
alongside personally experiencing earthquakes
•
The Year 2 and 3, and Year 4 and 5 data is surprisingly similar
illustrating consistency across these year groups
•
The Inquiry culminated in fundraising for and the creation of a
generous and personalised care package for St Albanʼs
School in Christchurch
Movie Night:
The PTA will be holding its annual Movie Night on
st
Wednesday August 31 . The Movie Night will have a
Christmas theme to it. Bring along your
take-aways, pillows and cushions
and snuggle down for a fun night
of entertainment. The hall will be open
from 5.30pm onwards and the movie
will start at 6.00pm. All families are
very welcome.
Peninsula Cluster Art Exhibition:
Bayfield High School is
holding itʼs annual Art
Exhibition and Wearable
Arts Evening this week. We
have
several
entries
included in the exhibition.
Room 7 has submitted their
beautiful kete and their Frida
Kahlo inspired portraits,
Room 3 have created the most amazing brooches from
reused and recycled materials and Room 1 are performing
in the Wearable Arts Evening and displaying their beautiful
“Maui and the Sun” suns. Congratulations to Hunter Carson,
Emily Trevithick and Caitlyn Elder for winning a prize for
their artworks. Everyone is welcome to visit the Exhibition
which is open daily until 5.30pm in the Bayfield High School
Hall. Best wishes to Room 1 for an exciting evening on
Friday.
A word from our Public Health Nurse:
BEDTIMES
Children need a good nightʼs sleep so that they have enough
energy for the next dayʼs activities. Sleep is important for our brains
as well as our bodies. Children cannot fight colds and viruses
when they are tired.
Research has shown links between lack of sleep and learning and
behaviour problems in school age children.
Rather than appearing tired, children who do get enough sleep at
night may display the opposite signs, bouncing around, being
unable to concentrate, losing interest quickly and even becoming
uncooperative, irritable and angry.
Children may not be a good judge of how much sleep they need,
as they may not recognise they are tired. Children of primary
school age may require 11 or 12 hours sleep.
Suggested bedtimes for 5 to 11 year olds are 7 pm to 8.30 pm.
Generally 12 year olds need only 10 hours. A good bedtime
routine will help.
If parents are having difficulty with their childrenʼs bedtime routines
they can discuss these with the local public health nurse or Plunket
nurse.
Our public health nurse is: Amanda Cochrane
Contact details: ph: 4769885
Dates for Your Diary
•
•
•
•
•
Swimsation starts: Every Friday
Peninsula Art Exhibition: Aug 15 – 19
Mathalon: Monday August 29
Kaharangi Dance Group: Monday August 29
Maori and PI Festival: Thursday September 1
Ngā mihi nui
Debbie Smith
Principal