Click here to see our Video Newsletter Term 2 Week 9.

Coming up…

Friday 23 June – Year 6, Boys & Girls Cluster Football. Ashley Reserve, Long Bay

Monday 26 June – Years 3-4 Team Assembly, 1:30 pm in our school hall

Monday 26 June – Years 5-6 Team Assembly, 2:15 pm in our school hall

Wednesday 28 June – Principal Cafe. Embracing our multicultural diversity, 1:45 pm in our Staffroom

Thursday 29 June – Cluster Football Save Day

Friday 30 June – Years 0-2 Team Assembly, 1:30 pm in our school hall

Friday 30 June – End of Term 2 – School Closes at 3 pm

Monday 17 July – Term 3 starts. School opens at 8:30 am

A message from our Tumuaki

This term, we have delved into the exciting topic of functions and explored how they are connected to various areas of learning. We investigated three different areas of understanding: how things work (Years 1-2), animal adaptations (Years 3-4), and machines and mechanisms (Years 5-6). Each provided rich learning opportunities that expanded our skills and knowledge, igniting curiosity about the world around us.

Years 1-2 have investigated the essential functions of simple machines like levers, pulleys, and inclined planes.
Years 3-4 have explored how animals have evolved specific features and behaviours that help them survive in their environments.
Years 5-6 have dived deeper into the world of machines and mechanisms. They explored more complex systems and discovered the principles behind how things work, particularly arcade games, linking digital technology and how moving parts interact.

Congratulations! With a week to go until the end of the term, it is time to celebrate and reflect. Our students have gained valuable knowledge about the interconnectedness of various systems by exploring how things work, animal adaptations, and machines and mechanisms. Please remind our ākonga (learners) to keep asking questions, experimenting, and exploring the world around us, as it is full of fascinating functions waiting to be discovered. We hope our tamariki (children) have fun on their continued learning adventures investigating the world through the lens of technology.

Teaching and Learning Technology at Mairangi Bay School

At Mairangi Bay School, we believe technology is intervention by design. It means developing new ideas and changing things to improve the world around us. When we design, our students think carefully and embrace creativity and innovation strategies. There are specific steps we follow, respecting the unique way people in New Zealand relate to their environment and valuing culture and beliefs.

At MBS, we integrate and weave the nature of technology (to include digital), technological practice, and knowledge across our programme. This includes learning by looking at how others do things and by trying it ourselves. Students make ideas, plans, models, and finished products. They also learn about problems and things that have already been made and use that knowledge and design principles to help make their own products through problem-solving and collaboration.

Students also learn specific technical knowledge, like how things are designed and why they work. They learn to test ideas and make prototypes to see if their ideas are valid. They also learn about materials and how different parts of various systems work together.

In addition, students learn about technology (including digital technology) as a subject and how it is different from other subjects. They think about how technology affects society and the environment and how people value it at different times to improve the world around us.

The Ice Rink Tour Experience

The recent ice skating lessons and after-school discos held school-wide this week proved an outstanding opportunity for our tamariki and community to learn new skills, have fun with friends and whānau, and engage in rich learning experiences. We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Robin from the Ice Skating Tour and Di Kruyen for their efforts in organising and leading this event and creating a memorable experience for all involved.

The ice skating lessons were a memorable way for our students to explore a unique physical activity and develop new skills. Under the guidance of a professional instructor, our tamariki were introduced to the fundamentals of ice skating, including balance, coordination, and techniques for manoeuvring on the synthetic surface. The lessons were tailored to accommodate various skill levels, ensuring everyone felt included and supported.

Following the ice skating lessons, the school-wide after-school discos added an element of excitement and celebration. The disco served as a platform for students to showcase their newly acquired ice skating skills while enjoying music and dancing in a community atmosphere. The event fostered a sense of togetherness and allowed students, families, and whānau to come together and create lasting memories.

The ice skating lessons and after-school disco were great ways to round up the term. It offered our tamariki and community an enriching and enjoyable experience. The opportunity to learn new skills, have fun with friends and whānau, and engage in a positive and inclusive environment was truly invaluable.

We look forward to future events that promote such growth and collaboration within our school community – so we can all learn together to create a better tomorrow.

Notices

Drop off and Pick Up – Increased Police Presence

Over the past few weeks, there has been an increased Police presence on Galaxy Drive and Agathis Avenue to reinforce appropriate drop-off and pickup expectations. The purpose is to keep our students and whānau safe. The message from PC Fox, our local constable, is:

Please wear seatbelts. Do not remove them until the car has entirely stopped
Enter and exit the car once it has entirely stopped
Students exit the car onto the pavement, not the roadside
Avoid three-point turns
Avoid parking and leaving your car in the drop-off zone
Move up the line in the drop-off zone to keep the traffic flowing.

Double Parking

There should be no double parking anywhere on Galaxy Drive. It is really dangerous, and there is the potential for a head-on collision as a vehicle travelling east would have to cross over onto the wrong side of the road on a blind corner to pass the vehicle double parked. If the drop-off zone and other parking areas before it is full, then parents need to find parking on a connecting road, probably Matipo and then walk to the school for pickup. Otherwise, they would have to loop around until a space becomes available. We understand it might be difficult and cause some problems, but the action of double parking causes the road to block up and the potential for an accident is too dangerous to ignore.

PC Fox and his team will continue to give support during pick-up and drop-off to enforce this message. We thank you for your support and cooperation in keeping our community safe during these busy times.

Enviro Club

This term the Enviro club has been busy being kaitiaki of our school and helping to care for our school environment as well as implementing a new recycling program to encourage our akonga to be more sustainable. Through a company called Terracycle, we now have the means to recycle used whiteboard markers, pens, coloured pencils, permanent markers and felt tips. This is a private recycling program and as such is at a cost to our school, however, the benefits for our environment are considerable as we have nearly filled the box after just one term. We hope to be able to continue this programme next term. We also were lucky enough to have a visit from Julia Clavel, Restore Hibiscus Coast. She brought in her taxidermy pests and explained to the children how these pests were a problem to our native wildlife and fauna. To finish the term, on Monday we harvested our carrots from The Bach Patch and made carrot fries. The children all agreed they were delicious!

Congratulations

Lydia Xing competed in The VIVACE International Piano Competition involving 40 regions globally.

She won the second prize in The New Zealand Preliminary Junior Group. Lydia has been invited to compete in France in October.

Congratulations Lydia!

Reminders

2024 Term Dates

The term dates for 2024 have been added to the sidebar of our newsletter to help you plan for 2024.

Reminder to our community to complete your Census form

Close to 4.5 million people have participated in the 2023 Census to date, and there are only a few weeks until it closes on 30 June 2023.

Everyone who stayed in New Zealand overnight on Census Day, 7 March 2023, is required by law to complete a census form. That includes people
staying in New Zealand on a temporary basis, and children/babies.

This is a reminder to the community to return their census forms by the end of June if they have not yet done so.

As you will be aware, census data is used by governments, councils, community organisations, iwi, and businesses to make important decisions that affect us all. Census data informs the funding and location of services like schools, hospitals, and public transport, and infrastructure like roads. Any community that doesn’t count all its people will always be disadvantaged in population-based decisions.

If you have any questions, please get in touch by emailing
[email protected]

Community Notices

Te Whatu Ora Minor Ailment Scheme has been put in place to ensure that students and their families have access to free advice, free medicines, and with the ZOOM Pharmacy service, free delivery to their homes.

Any child under the age of 14 and any family members with similar symptoms are able to receive this service completely free!

To learn more about who is eligible and what conditions are funded you can visit www.zoompharmacy.co.nz/mas

Please see this flyer for more information.

Local Information

Mairangi Bay Village Magazine – Take a look at page 8 for the article on our Working Bee.

Tots to Teens Magazine

Channel Magazine – Take a look at page 64 for the article on our Working Bee.

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