Kia ora koutou Whānau,

I hope you have all enjoyed our first week in Level 1. It is exciting to be back to a new normal. 

With the announcement last week that we were moving into Alert Level 1, we are now able to change some of the processes we had in place during Level 2.   We welcome parents back onto our school grounds at the beginning and end of the day.  The drinking fountains are now open, but will continue to be thoroughly cleaned every day.  Hand sanitiser will still be available, however our emphasis at school will be on washing hands regularly and catching coughs and sneezes in our elbows.  It is still very important that if your child is unwell they are kept at home please. We are looking forward to holding school assemblies and taking some trips in Term 3.

As part of their response to Covid 19, the Ministry of Education is collecting a weekly attendance survey from us.  If your child is going to be absent from school for the day, please can you let us know and give us a reason for their absence.  We have special codes that we enter for different reasons which helps to form our weekly attendance data that is sent through.

In other exciting news, we have now been able to reschedule a date for our Omihi School Farm Race. Our new date will be Sunday 8th November.  Please mark it in your calendar.  There will be more details to come about entries and online registration soon.

Ngā mihi
Penny Vincent
Acting Tumuaki/Principal

School Notices

Principal's Award
The latest Principal Awards went to…. Leni Wilkie.  Congratulations Leni!

Cross Country
We are very lucky to have been granted access to the Dormer’s property to run our school cross country.  The course is mapped out and the view from the top for our senior runners is something pretty special! The date for our cross country is 1.30pm Tuesday, June 23 (postponement Wednesday, June 24). We are looking for some parent helpers to act as Marshalls around the course.  If you are able to help out with this, could you please let me know.  We will need Marshalls to arrive at school around 1pm for a briefing before the races begin.  The children will run in three waves. Year 1-2,  Year 3-4 and then Year 5-8.  Although they will be running in groups, they will be competing against children of the same year level and sex for placings.

Online Lunches
I am happy to let you know that we will be able to offer online lunch orders again from next term.  The options will be sushi and subway, alternating fortnightly.  A big thank you to Leighana and Megan M who have taken on the responsibility of collecting and delivering our online lunch orders for next term.

Reporting
The teachers have been busy completing a range of assessments with the children over the last two weeks.  A reminder that at the end of this term the teachers will be reporting on Maths, Writing and Reading by updating the graph on Hero.  They will also write a general comment and a Science comment.

Community Notices

Resilient Hurunui is up and running again, monthly on every third Thursday. We are kicking off with a screening the 2019 film "Milk and Water" at the Amberley School hall at 7.30p.m. on Thurs June 18th.

This film is directed by Ian Spilman and was filmed locally. It attempts to objectively explore and find common ground in the complicated issues of NZ's contaminated waterways and irrigation.

Running time 75 mins. $2.00 entry charge.

This Huruunui Junior Football League will again run in 2020. This league is for kids aged 4 - 8, and runs for all of Term 2. There are two 'competitions': Ages 4 - 5, and ages  6 - 8, although students can move between the two to find a level that suits their ability. In this league the focus is on participation and developing skills. Nine year olds and older should register with our parent club, Hurunui Rangers.
Games will be held at Amberley, Hawarden, and Culverden schools in rotation, on Saturdays at 10am.
We will try to form teams of players who come from the same area, but this will depend on the number of players registered.
Some areas/schools will run mid-week training for their players, depending on the availability of parents or teachers to coach the kids.
The cost for registration is $10 per child for the term - please pay on Day 1 of the competition. Funds will be used to provide equipment for the competition. Players will need to bring boots and shin pads. There are plenty of smaller football boots available for loan on game day. Team jerseys are provided.
Please register your kids well in advance of the competition.

Please register your child using this form. This league is for kids aged 4 - 8. There are two 'competitions': Ages 4 - 5, and ages 6 - 8, although students can move between the two to find a level that suits their ability. In this league the focus is on participation and developing skills.



Kia ora koutou Whānau

I hope you have all enjoyed the long weekend. We have had two great weeks back at school. The kids have been very busy learners with water activities, cooking pizza and performing soundscapes to name just a few!

The most exciting part of our term though has been the arrival of Mrs Lucas and George’s baby girl.  They welcomed Delilah May Lucas on May 23rd. Delilah is absolutely gorgeous and Mrs Lucas and George are enjoying this special time with her. 

This means that Mrs Lucas has officially started her maternity leave and I have taken over the role of Acting Principal until she returns.  I am really looking forward to taking over this role and am lucky that we have a great team and Maree and I had plenty of time for a thorough handover during lockdown. 

While I am Acting Principal I am also teaching in Paemoana.  I am in the classroom all day on a Monday and then until lunchtime on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  This means that I am not always accessible straight away.  Please be assured that I will reply to emails, texts and phone calls as soon as I can during times when I am not busy teaching.

Ngā mihi
Penny Vincent
Acting Tumuaki/Principal

School Notices

Cross Country
With the Government announcement that we are now able to hold gatherings of 100 people, we have decided we will go ahead with our school cross country this term.  The date for this will be Tuesday, June 23rd (Week 11) and the postponement will be the following day Wednesday, June 24th.  This will be held at school, in the afternoon and will involve all ages.  We will let you know more details closer to the time.

Bus
Please make sure to message me and let me know if your child is not on the bus.  If I have not heard from you I will assume that your child is on the bus and put them on.  Maree has shared my contact details with you all, but please let me know if you don’t have them.

Lunches Online
As you all know, Pita Pit closed its doors during lockdown.  Subway are able to take over the school lunches, but they are not able to deliver.  We are looking for someone who is willing to take on the responsibility of collecting and delivering our lunches each week.  Sushi is collected from Amberley and Subway from Rangiora.  If you are able to help out with this, please let me know.  If we are unable to get someone who can commit to this each week, then we will not be able to have school lunch orders any more.

Kia ora whānau

We are so excited about having our students and staff back at school. Thank you for all of your support throughout the lockdown. We have loved seeing what our tamariki have been doing and as hard as it was at times, we hope you managed to enjoy some quality time with your whānau. George and I definitely got used to a new normal and I really enjoyed taking a bit more time out playing cards, reading, knitting, walking and yoga. We feel very ready (as much as we can be!) to welcome our little baby girl.

I would like to say a big thank you to our staff for being so adaptable during this time. Penny, Megan and Sally worked hard to create engaging opportunities for your children and to be available when you needed them. Ruth continued working from home so the school admin could still tick along. Tamar enjoyed some online learning with one of our students and helped get the school back to shipshape for our students. Thalia (and Dylan) worked hard to ensure the school is clean and the garden is up to date and Ingrid, David and Wendy have ensured our lawns are looking good. Our BOT have also had regular zoom meetings to ensure they are in the loop and are always looking out for the wellbeing of our staff and students. Thank you Ingrid, Jaz, Julie, Leighton and Nicholas. We look forward to seeing Fi, Tracy and Yo back. We are lucky to have such a dedicated and supportive Omihi team.

I will be going on maternity leave in the next couple of weeks. I’m feeling really good, so am just taking it day by day. Penny will be taking over as Acting Principal and she will send you an email when that happens. She is all ready to go and we have had plenty of time for handover, which has been very helpful. As of next week Megan and Penny will be teaching 4 days a week.

Ngā mihi
Maree Lucas
Tumuaki/Principal
principal@omihi.school.nz

School Notices

Principal’s Awards
Today we gave out the Principal Award from the end of term 1. Congratulations……Arthur Brown! We won’t be holding assemblies this term, but we will continue to give out certificates throughout the term.

New build/Septic tank
During lockdown we have still been working hard to progress with our new septic tank and new building. The BOT have made a number of decisions on the new building and we are excited about the multi-purpose space our school is getting. At the moment the architects are confirming the final drawings and then it will go out to tender in the next couple of months. This goes to a national database and we will also send the link to our community in case any locals want to apply. When we are able to, we will share the drawings with our community.

The septic tank plan is getting finalised at the moment and we are hoping to have this work completed before the new build starts.

Reporting
Due to the amount of distance learning this term, we have had to rethink the way we are reporting. Already in term 1 we have reported on Social Sciences, PE and Maths. At the end of this term the teachers will be reporting on Maths, Writing and Reading by updating the graph on Hero. They will also write a general comment, which will include Science. There will be no comment on Reading and Writing, these will come in term 3.

Camp/Events
As a BOT we have decided to postpone our term 3 camp to Arthurs Pass. At the beginning of term 3 we will be surveying parents and reassessing whether we go to Arthurs Pass in term 4, or postpone until 2021. We are aware of the uncertain times coming up and also financial stress on families, so we want to make the right decision for our students and community. We will also be discussing the ski trip, production and kapahaka festival at the start of term 3, so will continue to follow the Ministry guidelines and keep you informed. We will be continuing our kapahaka sessions, starting next week, we just aren’t sure about the festival at this stage.

The small schools and kowai cross country will not be going ahead this term.

Lunches Online
Sadly during the lockdown Pita Pit have had to close their doors permanently. We would like to thank them for all of their delicious lunches over the past year. Lunches online now have the option of Subway and sushi. These will not be happening this term, but we will keep you informed if we are able to set them up for term 3.

Change of clothes
A reminder for children to please bring a change of clothes on Tuesday and Wednesday this week as we will be doing science experiments in the afternoon. They still need to wear their uniform to school in the morning.

Mufti Day
This Friday 22nd May it is our SPCA mufti day. Children to dress as animals and please bring a gold coin donation.

Year 7/8 Technology
This will be starting on Monday 25th May.

Kia ora Koutou Whānau

I had written my newsletter on Friday and it was about all the excitement for the Omihi School Farm Race coming up this weekend. Sadly with the events and actions over the weekend regarding the Coronavirus, we have now decided to postpone our race until further notice. We will keep you updated and will hopefully aim to run it again later this year.

Thank you to all of the families who have offered to help and donated prizes, and to our fundraising committee for all of your support. All the hard work is done, so it will be easy enough to pick up later in the year and run with it again. I had listed all of our sponsors below and will leave those there, as we really appreciate your support for our kura.

We are in touch with iticket regarding refunds for entrants, so you will receive an email from them at some point this week.

Ngā mihi

Maree Lucas
Tumuaki/Principal
principal@omihi.school.nz

School Notices

Thomas loving the warm days in our pool!

Principal Award
Our latest Principal award went to……Eva Harris.

Reports
A reminder that our report comments are being spread throughout the year. On Friday this week you will receive your child’s PE comment through Linc ed, then in the last week of this term you will receive their maths, social sciences and health comments. These will be a mixture of self reflection, teacher comments and evidence of their learning.

Coronavirus and Infectious Disease Policy
Please have a read of these two policies on School Docs that we are following, along with guidance from the Ministry. We will keep you updated with any changes. If you or your family are planning any overseas travel in the next few weeks, please let me know. Also if your child is showing any signs of illness, please keep them home. We will be continuing to discuss and be diligent with sneezing into your elbow and hand washing at school, especially before morning tea and lunchtime, and would appreciate you continuing those messages at home.

School Docs
The policy we are reviewing this term is ‘recognising cultural diversity’ . We would love you to review this with us. The login details are: www.schooldocs.co.nz
Username: omihi
Password: glenmark

Swimming Sports and Duathlon
Congratulations to all of our Year 4-8 children who participated in the Small School Swimming Sports. They did themselves proud. Well done to Charlie, Jeremy, Tom and Georgie who then went on to compete in the Kowai Swimming Sports.

Well done to our juniors who completed their duathlon last week. It was so lovely to see them all giving it a go!

Omihi Bus
If your child is not on the bus in the afternoon, please let me know as early as possible. Last Friday Tracey arrived to drive the bus and there were no children on it, but I hadn’t heard from anyone. It is usually when there is a school event on, but we can’t assume that all parents are coming, so please still let me know.

Plywood
Paemoana are after some plywood. If you have any lying around, can you please let Penny know. They would like 4 or 5 pieces approximately 30-60cm square

Omihi School Farm Race
Thank you to all of our sponsors and volunteers:

• Downer - traffic management 

• Croft family - farm

• To our Omihi fundraising committee - Jane, Megan, Kate, Amy and Jaz

• To our Omihi families for all donating a prize and donating their time today to help.

• Forestry - Rayonier

• FMG

• Commodore Hotel - one night’s accommodation

• Commodore Hotel Park and Fly - one week’s free parking

• The Good Home, Pegasus

• Carrfields, Feilding - organised by Mickleson family

• www.Gwamma.co.nz

• Crafty Weka Bars

• Rangiora New World

• Smartwool socks

• Fire and Ice Hanmer Springs

• Push Bikes, Rangiora

• Little Vintage, Amberley

• Pita Pit, Rangiora

• Vege’n out, Woodend

• The Good Home, Pegasus

• PURE

• Aaron Harris Electrical - sponsoring the signs.

• Water cups donated by Hazeldine Family

• Mt Lyford

• PGG

• Fonterra

• Swanndri

• The Office Cafe, Waikuku

• Thanks to the Glenmark Lions for the sausages and pumpkin soup at the finish line!

Community Notices