Halfway Bush Primary School

We can all be extremely proud of our children and their performance at the Polynesian Festival on Wednesday. Their performance was fantastic and their behaviour was outstanding. They have worked incredibly hard over the past few weeks to bring their performance up to a very high standard. This was a wonderful opportunity for them to perform in a large venue and in front of new people. We have had very positive feedback from the organizing committee as well as members of the audience.   Thank you to the families who managed to come along to support the children.  A huge thank you to Kaye Spooner and Christine  Te Moananui for tutoring the children throughout the year.

Book Week 2011 was a great success. We started with a family meal and launch of our “Snuggle Up and Read” promotion. Storyteller Kaitrin McMullin entertained us with tales of Matariki. With visits to the Public Library and special guests coming into the school to read to the children we have had a fabulous time exploring New Zealand literature. Thank you to Mayor Dave Cull, our local Community Constable Paul Howard, and Author Sandy MacKay for coming to read to the children. We would also like to thank the many local businesses who donated prizes of family outings for those children who participated in “Snuggle Up and Read”. We rounded off a fabulous week with a dress up day. Famous characters and  sporting celebrities to name a few came to school for the day. Can you guess which characters the staff came along as? As a school we are aiming to read One Million words over the next 5 weeks as part of our Home Learning. Wish us luck!

Room 1 have had an amazingly busy term with a number out outdoor education days. They have visited Trotters Gorge and Shag Point, The Pyramids at Victory Beach and the tunnel network at Taiaroa Heads. They walked from the Organ Pipes to Sawyers Bay down the Grahams Bush track and then on to Aramoana for a fun afternoon of sand sledging. A huge thank you to Mr McLennan and Innes McColl from Wide Horizons for organising these fabulous outings. The children are having a wonderful time exploring our local environment.

On Friday we were fortunate to visit Balmacewen Intermediate to view a performance organised by India Dunedin. We were treated to traditional music and dance items from Rajasthan. It was a colourful display with amazing traditional costumes and lively music which we thoroughly enjoyed. The show was compered by young Dunedin members of the Indian community who eagerly shared information about their culture, history and important celebrations with us. The show finished on a high with two Indian magicians – a highlight for many.

Brighton Beach became our classroom for the day on February 25th. An excited buzz could be heard all around as the children boarded the bus for the beach. Life Guards from Surf Life Saving New Zealand took the children through water safety and sun safe rules in a fun and interactive morning of activities. Fortunately the weather held out long enough for us to make sandcastles and have a lovely time in the surf until it was time to head back to school.

We finished the 2009 school year with a wonderful performance of “Little Red Rocking Hood” a modern adaption of one of our favourite fairy tales. The children absolutely sparkled as they entertained a packed hall of family and friends. With a live band the audience were transported back to the 60’s with hits like Rock Around the Clock, Pretty Woman, Hound Dog, and Jailhouse Rock. After learning  to jitterbug and jive and with moves that the real Blues Brothers would be proud of the children delivered the complete 60’s experience.

We would like to say a huge thank you to the members of the band Ben Madden, Sam Valentine and Sam Dent. The music was fantastic and the children loved working with you.

The Year 5 and 6 children have just returned from a four day camp at Sutton. Everyone had a wonderful time! The programme was action packed starting with a rock hopping expedition at Woodside Glen before the trip out to the Sutton Camp. After settling in there was an excursion to climb Smooth Cone and a walk to the Sutton Salt Lake. After a well deserved rest and tea preparation the evening programme included a Night Line experience.

On day two the children travelled to explore the Ranfurly and Naseby area with a stop off at the curling rink for a game or two. In the afternoon there was a trip to the McCraes Gold mining area where the children observed the mining operation in action and eagerly explored historic mine sites.

The campers woke to a howling gale on the third day but that didn’t deter the very keen bike riders who were looking forward to a day on the Central Otago Rail Trail. The trip from Daisy Bank to Hyde was a real challenge for even the most confident of riders but the children showed real grit and determination to make it to their destination. After exploring the Middlemarch Museum a very tired group headed back to the camp site for some free time and a chance to spend time on the very popular confidence course.

With everything packed up, and team building games completed it was time to head back to Dunedin. The Taieri Excursion Train stopped to pick up the group who thoroughly enjoyed the scenic trip home.

A huge thank you to Mr McLennan, Innes McColl and the team of parents who made camp such a fun and rewarding experience for our children.

Last term we introduced “Discovery Time” to our programme. Each Wednesday morning the children work together in a hands on, activity based programme. Children are able to choose from a wide range of physical, art, technology, drama, cooking, language and mathematics activities. The emphasis is on children making choices about, and directing their own learning. Each week we select one skill that the children will focus on. They are encouraged to practise that skill throughout the session and then to reflect on how well they have achieved their goals. It has been wonderful to see the creative and imaginative projects that the children have embarked on. The senior children have also relished the opportunity to take on leadership roles in organising activities for younger children. Discovery Time has become a favourite time of the week for both teachers and children alike.

We have just completed our first 10 week block of swimming at Moana Pool. The children have had a wonderful time and have made great progress. Each week they had half an hour in the leisure pool and then a half hour lesson with the instructors from Swimsation. Thank you so much to all of the parents who came along to help supervise. We look forward to returning in Term 4