Thursday 9th March | Term 1 Week 6

Kia ora e te whānau,

We proudly congratulate our Country High School Athletics participants and swimmers who competed in the Upper Waitaki Swimming Competition. Our athletes represented our school with dedication and sportsmanship, and we commend them for their hard work and commitment to excellence. Available results are included in this newsletter. We’d also like to congratulate Dave White, who was recently selected to represent North Otago in Under 17 Basketball.

Thank you to all the parents who attended our recent New School Design Meeting. Your participation and feedback are invaluable to us as we work to create a better learning environment for our students. Once the internal plans for the property have been developed by the architect team, there will be a further meeting.

We are pleased to introduce a new Digital Technology Curriculum project throughout the remainder of this term and the start of next term. Each class from Years 1-10 will compete to create the best short film on the theme 'Do the right thing'. We are thrilled to have the support of our Core Education Digital Technology expert, Nicki Tempero, who will provide guidance and expertise throughout the project. Don’t forget; you can check in with your Year 1-10 child’s Digital Portfolio of Learning via Seesaw - ask your child’s teacher for login information if you have not yet received it.

Parents of students registered to use school transport will have received communication about the provider change and routes this week. Please check your emails; if you have not received them, please call Chelsea at the main office at (03) 435 0650.

Looking ahead, we have a disjointed week arriving:

• Monday to Wednesday are normal school days, with the added excitement of a non-uniform day on Monday.
• At the end of Wednesday (6.30 pm), we will have a NetSafe Parent Presentation on internet safety, which we encourage all parents to attend. This will be held in MPR; please enter via the bus bay doors.
• On Thursday next week, there is a nationwide teachers’ strike - further information can be found in the Board of Trustees communication later in this newsletter. I cannot confirm the affected students yet, so the Board has summarised the possible outcomes in their communication.
• On Friday, the school has a Kahui Ako Jumbo Day - on this day, all of our teachers, Year 13 students and support staff travel to Cromwell to meet with the Southern Area Schools for necessary training. The school is closed for students in Years 1-12 (similar to a Teacher Only Day).

Lastly, we want to remind parents to ensure their children bring a water bottle and healthy lunch to school daily. Drinking enough water and having a nutritious meal can greatly benefit your child's health and learning. Check-in with these ideas for lunchbox items. This is the overall guidance document, which assists schools in developing their policy. Please note that parents should not deliver takeaway-style items outside this policy to the main office for distribution to their children. Students in Years 1-10 cannot leave school property to purchase lunch items during the school day.

Thank you for your ongoing support and involvement in our school community.
He waka eke noa,

Kate Staniford
Tumuaki | Principal

→ Friday, 10th March | Settling-in Reports Published for Y7-13
→ Friday, 10th - Sunday, 12th March | SISS Rowing Regatta
**Please note there is NO JUNIOR ASSEMBLY this Friday**

→ Monday, 13th March | Non-Uniform Day for SISS Touch Tournament
→ Monday, 13th - Wednesday, 15th March | Life Education Year 1 to 8
→ Monday, 13th March - Friday, 17th March | M3 camp
→ Wednesday, 15th March | Aoraki Athletics
→ Wednesday, 15th March | North Otago Swimming
→ Wednesday, 15th March | Netsafe Parent Meeting | 6.30 pm MPR
→ Thursday, 16th March | Teacher Strike | See here for more information
→ Friday, 17th March | Kāhui Ako Jumbo Day | No Classes for Year 1-12

*All dates above are subject to change*

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