Monday, 31st August 2020
Kia ora koutou Whānau,
Hard to believe we are into the second half of this term already. I hope everyone enjoyed the lovely warm weather we had over the weekend. It certainly feels like the warmer months are upon us.
I would like to start this newsletter by acknowledging the loss of two very significant and special members of our community over the past few weeks. Mrs P and Ian Hamilton have been a part of our Omihi whānau for a long time and will both be sadly missed in the community. Stories of Mrs P’s genuine kindness and connection to the children on her bus, her singing to The Breeze radio station, her Christmas treats and even a pet duck flying beside the school bus have been remembered fondly.
Ian also had a long history with the school and his family have been a part of our school for many generations. Ian was such a lovely, positive and supportive part of our community and we will miss him at our school events.
We are sending all our love and thoughts to the Parish and Hamilton families during this difficult time. They will both be sadly missed.
Ngā mihi
Penny Vincent
Acting Tumuaki/Principal
School Notices
Welcome
This week we welcome Jai Bartlett into our Omihi School whānau. We are really looking forward to Jai joining us and wish him many happy school days ahead.
Exciting News
I am feeling very privileged to be able to share some exciting news with you all. Our wonderful teacher aide Tamar Habani is pregnant with her third child. This is such special news for the Habani family and we look forward to meeting their new addition in January.
Level 2
A reminder to everyone that we are currently in Level 2. This means that any time a parent enters the school grounds we ask that you sign in please. Thank you to those of you who have been ensuring this is done. You will also notice that our bus drivers will now be wearing face masks. This is now a mandatory requirement. It is not necessary for our children to wear face masks on the bus. I would like to thank you all for ensuring that your children are kept home when they are unwell and continuing to reinforce good hand hygiene and cough and sneeze etiquette.
3WLC
Three way learning conferences are coming up next week on Tuesday 8th and Wednesday 9th September. This is an opportunity for you to come and meet with your child’s teacher, review goals set in Term 1 and set some new goals for the remainder of this year. Please click on this link and write your name and your child’s name in one space to book a time. We would really like to ensure every family has the chance to come along to these. If you are unable to attend any of the times available, please speak to your child’s teacher to arrange an alternative time.
Reporting
On Friday last week a reading and a writing comment were shared for all children. If you have had any trouble viewing these on Hero, please let us know and we can assist.
Speeches
This week the tamariki will be presenting their speeches. The senior children will be presenting on Tuesday afternoon to our two special judges. The top two speeches from our senior class will go through to the North Canterbury Lions Speech competition held next Tuesday afternoon in Hawarden. The junior children will present their speech or poem in class on Wednesday and Thursday this week. Unfortunately, due to Level 2 restrictions, parents are unable to attend the speech competition this year. We will be filming each child as they present and these will be shared with you on Hero.
Production
Production rehearsals will be our main focus after speeches are completed this week. A huge thank you to everyone who has supported us with the sourcing of costumes for our production. If you haven’t already done so, can you please make sure your child has their costume at school in a named reusable bag. It is very important that those children with lines are practising these at home. They need to be learnt off by heart. We would really appreciate it if you could support this where possible. Tickets for production will go on sale next week. There will not be a limit on tickets per family, however there are a limited amount of tickets we can sell. These will be sold on a first in, first served basis. Information on how to purchase tickets will be available in the class newsletters next Monday.
Senior Camp
Planning for our senior camp next term is starting to get underway. If you have not already paid your camp invoice, can you please do so. If your child is not going on camp can you please let us know. One of our parent helpers (a mum) for camp is now no longer able to attend. We are looking for any mums who would like to put their name forward as a parent helper. If you are interested, please let me know by the end of the week.
Senior Assembly
On Friday afternoon next week our senior children will be presenting an assembly. If we are still in Level 2 this will be shared via Zoom. A link for this will be shared closer to the time. We will do our best to ensure the quality of sound this time around is better than last time.
Community Notices
Alice Archer Yoga
Omihi Hall -Thursdays 5.20 to 6.20pm - $10 plus gold coin donation for use of the hall
Suitable for all abilities. Dynamic and invigorating yoga sessions. Developing strength, balance and flexibility. All welcome to this friendly class.
Call Alice on 027-225-5851 for any more information or see you there!
RESILIENT HURUNUI presents Dr Nick Kirk from Landcare Research on Thursday September 17th at Amberley School Hall, Douglas Road entrance, at 7.30p.m
He will be presenting on workable solutions to the issues arising from the new governmental policy statements and environmental standards for freshwater management.
$5 Donation appreciated