Assembly

As Room 8 didn't do assembly last week due to the Middle and Senior school being out at Athletics, we will be doing it this Friday- it will be the same format as we had planned and practiced for last week, so if your child was involved last week, he/she will be involved this week.

sausage sizzle

Once again we will not bother with sausage sizzle for Room 8 for this week- Friday. The Senior and Middle athletics sports have been postponed till this week, as with what was supposed to happen last week, we need to have ordered the sausages tomorrow, however, we will be going to the Museum in the morning and we don't get back till lunchtime. So could you please send a normal lunch with your children on Friday.
Thanks.

Student Led Conferences

Student Led Conferences will take place on Monday 30 November from 3.15pm to 7.00pm. The conference takes place in your child's classroom and bookings will be set at 5 minute intervals. However this does not mean that conferences are only limited to 5 minutes in the classroom. You may take as much time as you wish and other parents and students will also be present in the classroom at these times.
Bookings for your time slot may now be accessed:

www.schoolinterviews.co.nz
Code: 6ARLU

Sausage sizzle

According to today's newsletter, there will be NO sausage sizzle for the Juniors on Friday, I think the safest thing to do is to send your child's ordinary lunch!!

Homework.

I have told the children that I will not be sending home books for the rest of the term for them to read with you. What I would like them to do is: - help with preparing meals, - read books you have at home, - talk about their day at school, and what they have learnt, - help with making grocery shopping lists and then help with finding the items in the supermarket.Any other ideas that you have around your homes would be great.

Sausage Sizzle for this Friday

If your children want a sausage for lunch on Friday, they will need to order it on Thursday to fit in with the Seniors and Middles being out at Athletic Sports..

Google Apps for Education Accounts and Chromebooks

Google Apps for Education Accounts and Chromebooks.

You may or may not be aware that in 2014, with the support of our Board of Trustees, we introduced Google Apps for Education accounts for all our Year 3 and 4 students. Since June 2014 we have allowed students to bring a Chromebook to school. 

This programme was expanded In 2015, so now all our students in Year 3-6 have Google Apps for Education accounts and a large number of the students bring their own Chromebook to school. This has resulted in all our Middle School students having access to a device, which is used on a daily basis for learning purposes. Some common questions parents have are:Why have we done this?What is a Chromebook? What can you do on them? Why this particular device? Can my child bring a different device?What is a Google Apps for Education account? Why and how are students using this to help them with their learning? Aren't Year 3 students too young for this?Is it worth buying a device for my child? How much do they use it in class? What are the benefits of bringing a personally owned device to school? Where can I buy one? How much do they cost? Which model should I get?On Monday 16 November, our Elearning Lead Teachers, along with some of our 2016 Middle School Teachers, will provide an information session to help parents gain a better understanding of how and why we are utilising Google Apps for Education accounts, along with devices, to assist our students with their learning.On Friday all Year 2 students were given a notice to take home. In case this notice never reached you, this is what it said.

Notice for Parents of 2015 Year 2 students

On Monday night we are holding an information evening for parents who have children who will be in Year 3 classes at St Mary’s in 2016
When: Monday 16 NovemberWhere: Room 14Time: 6pm - 6.45pmPurpose: To provide parents with a better understanding of why and how  students use Chromebooks and Google Apps accounts in our Year 3-4 classrooms.
We hope you are able to attend.

Mufti Day

Just a reminder there is a Mufti Day tomorrow- we are raising money for the Annual Special children's Christmas Party at Mystery Creek- the children are to bring a gold coin.

Lost Camera

Last Friday there was a camera lost by a Grandparents while we were having the concert on the field- it is a Panasonic LUMIX camera in a silver and black case and there were a few accessories like memory sticks and adaptors in the case. These have lots of precious family memories on them, so it you are able to help with finding it, please let the school office know..

morning tea

Just a quick reminder that the children need to bring morning tea to share with the grandparents tomorrow after Mass. Could you please send finger food, like muffins, little sandwiches, cupcakes etc. Thanks for your help.. 

Grandparents/Grandfriends Mass

This Friday we have our annual Grandparents Mass- we have re-named it Grandfriends as well, in case the children don't have grandparents who are able to come to the Mass. The children will be bringing home an invitation for their grandparents/friends this week. The Mass is at 9.00 in the Church and afterwards the children will escort their grandparents back to the class to share their work. We would like the children to bring morning tea, so we can share it with the grandparents after Mass. At about 10.30, there will be a concert for the grandparents to watch outside the Hall.