Taihape Area School

Monday 14th October 2013

Term 4 – Newsletter Number 1

Phone: 06 3880130

Email: rmcmillan@tas.school.nz or office@tas.school.nz

Website: http://tas.spikeatschool.co.nz

Principal’s Corner

Tena koutou katoa

Welcome back after the holidays, and a

special welcome to all new families. We

hope you all had a wonderful break, and

the opportunity to spend lots of quality

family time. As with all new beginnings,

this term promises much, and will

hopefully be a time of further growth and

development for our school, and for the

people we work so hard for, our students.

This is an extremely busy term with a large

number of events and activities scheduled.

And with the term only nine weeks long, it

is going to be frenetic.

The start of a new term is a very

important time for everyone involved

at school. It is essential that all

children, parents, and teachers get

things right, and begin the term in a

positive manner. Good habits and

attitudes at school need to be

reinforced by a positive support

system at home. Hopefully you were

able to take the opportunity in the

holidays to talk to your

child/children about their school

work, and provide plenty of positive

encouragement, and help set some

goals for term four.

As student’s progress through the

school system, each term, and each

year in turn, becomes progressively

more and more important. We aim to

set all children up for success from

day one at school, and hope to avoid

the “ambulance at the bottom of the

cliff scenario”, whereby students are

continually behind the eight ball, and

spend their time in catch up mode.

To ensure this happens, and that all

students are given every opportunity

of success, they really do need your

unconditional support and

encouragement.

For our Year 13 students, and other

leavers, in particular, this is a very

significant term, as it is their last at School

- next year they take another big step in

life‟s journey when they tackle the realities

of the outside world. Therefore we expect

an even bigger effort from them as they

prepare for the challenge of life away from

Taihape Area School. For a number the

next 7 weeks are absolutely crucial, as they

set themselves up for life.

A major headache we will soon face is the

allocation of the End of Year Prizes,

Awards, and Scholarships as once again

there will be many strong candidates.

Nevertheless this is a positive challenge we

welcome.

As outlined in the term calendar, a

number of major activities are planned –

see later in this newsletter for the detailed

list. As you can see, the final term of 2013,

promises to be a very exciting time for us

all.

Please remember we operate a genuine

open door policy – contact us with

any concerns, problems, enquiries, or

suggestions.

I am trying to move on from the America‟s

Cup, but what a

fantastic event that

was. The sight of those

amazing “yachts”

flying

around San Francisco

Bay was astounding.

However I can‟t help

thinking this regatta

was definitely a lost

opportunity.

While on the topic of sport, the Rugby test

between the All Blacks and the

Springboks, at the South African Fortress

of Ellis Park, was an incredible contest,

and surely one of the very best games of all

time. It was a wonderful advertisement for

all the very best attributes of our National

Sport.

Have a great week!!

Richard McMillan

Principal

End of Term We had an extremely busy and enjoyable

last week of term 3, perhaps the busiest of

the year thus far. Activities included:-

The Junior School Whanau Sharing Day;

The Celebration Assembly (hosted by

Awa);

The Ohingaiti Tough Kids Competition;

The NCEA Information Evening;

A visit by Ronald McDonald;

The start of the Girl‟s Rugby Competition;

Book Week;

Fancy Dress Day (as part of Book Week).

One of the joys of being a teacher, is the

diversity and variety that is a natural part

of each and every day. The list above

clearly illustrates this fact – it was indeed a

very busy few days!!

Planning for 2014 Planning for 2014 has started, and will

continue this term. It would be hugely

helpful if we knew of anyone who is

intending to enrol their children here in

2014 – or if you are shifting. This makes

planning easier.

An issue we face is ensuring that classes

are set up as well as possible from day one

– we endeavour to avoid disruption to

classes, but unknown enrolments can make

this difficult at times.

The Primary School Students will find out

their classrooms and teachers for 2014 in

the last week of term.

Richard McMillan

Principal

Prize Giving Cups and

Trophies

Please can all students who

received cups and trophies at

last year‟s prize giving return

these to school before the end

of this term. Thanking you.

2013 School Prize Giving

Friday 6 December

Important Events Term 4 October

Monday 14th Term 4 Begins

Tuesday 15th- Friday 18th Room 6 Camp

Monday 21st Junior Cross Country

Thursday 24th Tongariro Sports Exchange

Monday 28th Labour Day ( School Closed)

November

Friday 1st Interschool Cross Country

Tuesday 5th- Friday 8th Year 9 Camp

Wednesday 6th Celebration Assembly

Monday 11th NCEA Exams Begin

Monday 18th Teacher Only Day

Friday 22nd Interschool Softball

December

Friday 6th Prize Giving

Last Day of School

Tall Poppies A number of students excelled last week.

This included:-

Year 1-8 End of Term Awards

Room 2: Sports - Hinemoa Rolston,

Academic - Phoebe Huxtable, Values - Taylor

Hay-Martin –

Room 3: Sports - DeAne Raukawa, Academic

- George Abernethy, Values -

Melodie Grant

Room 5: Sport - Te Ngore

Witika Black, Academic -

Tayla Nathan, Values - Emma

Squires

Room 6: Sports - Aden

Tapu, Academic - Emma Fellingham, Values –

Caryse Clark

Room 9: Academic - Morgan Nathan, Sport

- Koal Clausen, Values - Kasey Hurinui

Other Tall Poppies

Excellent Endorsement NCEA Level 1

(already): Nicola-Mary Geraghty

Merit Endorsement NCEA Level 1 – Vidya

Vijayakumar

NCEA Level 1 70 Credits – Maxwell Sage

Excellent in Year 9 Fractions - Zoe

McCaughn, Lily O‟ Brien, David Frankham,

Sarah-Anne Cripps, James Hamilton, Leah

Murrell, and MacLayn Witika

Excellence in Year 9 Statistics - James

Hamilton

Excellences in Year 10 Statistics - Shelby

Inwood and Teresa Sumich

Wanganui Girls Representative Rugby 7’s

Team – Tayla Barrett and Brooklyn Walker *

Sarah Elwin reserve)

HOD Science Current Head of Science, Janet

Greenhough, leaves at the end of this term

to join her husband, Richard Baker, in the

sunny climes of Nelson. We are fortunate

to have secured the services of an excellent

replacement in Alan Carson, who will take

up his new position from the beginning of

the 2014 School Year.

Alan is currently Head of Department at

Piopio College, and has a very strong

background in both Science and Math‟s.

A Message for School

Leavers “One of the challenges facing many

students is deciding on which career they

wish to pursue. I was told not long ago,

that a good way to choose a career is to go

through a phone book (yellow pages), and

pick out anything that may interest you –

research and find out what you need to do,

and which courses you need to take, in

order to undertake your interest as your

chosen career. It sounded simple, but

effective”.

Shaun Carrick

Chairperson PNGHS Board of Trustees

Quotes of the week “When a child asks difficult

questions, invention is the necessity

of mother” – C.W.

“The more you sweat in peace, the

less you bleed in war” – Admiral

Hyman Rickover, USN.

Homework Getting homework done can

sometimes be an arduous task for both

parent and child. Here are some great tips

to ensure you and your child get the most

out of the time spent on homework and

hopefully make

homework time a little

less stressful for the

whole family.

1. Make sure your

child has a quiet well

lit area to do their homework.

Try and associate one room or area with doing

homework.

2. Be positive about doing homework. Explain to your child why it is important.

Remember if you are positive your child will be

too.

3. Provide help but do not give the answers. Giving them the answer

will speed things up but your child needs to learn

how to tease out problems for themselves and

learn to be independent.

4. Keep communication open between the school and home. Watch out for signs of your

child struggling with aspects of their homework or

if they are spending too much time on it. If you

think a problem exists, talk to their teacher and

maintain regular contact in order to update each

other on how you think your child is doing.

5. Keep a routine. It is important as a family

to get into a routine of doing homework. Sit down

together and agree a homework routine.

Remember to involve your child (even young

children) in the decision process. If they feel they

were asked and gave their opinion they are more

likely to stick to the routine.

6. Reward Progress. If your child is

working hard and making a real effort, celebrate

it. For example, allow them to pick out a DVD, go

to the cinema, get a pizza, or buy a nice book to

read together.

Nationwide NCEA Level

2 Goal The government has an overriding goal of

an 85% pass rate at NCEA Level 2 for all

School Leavers, to be achieved by 2017.

The challenge for all Schools is to ensure

this happens for all groups, ethnic, as well

as gender. The table below highlights the

challenge – the pass rate for all students in

2011 was 74.3%, a gap of 10.7%. The

table clearly highlights the discrepancy for

Maori and Pacifica Students.

Table - Accelerating NCEA Level 2

Achievement

Group 2011 Gap 2017

Projection (without

intervention)

Remaining

Gap

All

Student

74.3

%

10.7

%

73.9% 6.1%

Pakeha 79.3

%

5.7

%

84.2% 0.8%

Maori 57.1

%

27.9

%

66.2% 18.8%

Pacifica 65.5

%

19.5

%

71.6% 13.4%

Male 70.9

%

14.1

%

75.3% 9.7%

Female 77.9

%

7.1

%

82.7% 2.3%

Currently, without any form of

intervention, there is an annual growth rate

of 0.8%, which means that by 2017, the

pass rate at Level 2 would be only 78.3%.

The goal for all groups is 85%. The

challenge for schools is to accelerate the

rate of achievement. Obviously the data

above shows quite clearly that the real

challenge is to lift the achievement of

Maori and Pacifica Students.

For this to happen it is important that

Schools work hand in hand with parents

and whanau. This encouragement and

support from home is crucial to enhance

what is happening at school.

NCEA - WHAT PARENTS

CAN DO TO HELP How can you as parents help your children

succeed at School? Talk often about how

school is going, what is happening in the

classroom: - Discuss their goals for the year, for the

next 3-5years;

Be a coach on time management. Avoid

making it a battle. Gently remind them of their

longer term goals;

PART TIME WORK: Watch the amount

of hours. It is a balance. Research has shown that

10-12hours per week can enhance NCEA

performance. More than this can be detrimental.

Reduce the hours around exams and revision time;

SOCIAL LIFE: Again work out a

balance. Perhaps as a reward for completion of

tasks;

Find out when they work best on their

study, morning, afternoon or evening;

Create a good

space to learn. A desk,

good-light, comfortable

chair, quiet;

Music: Appropriate

for the task;

Revision for

externals should

mirror the

exam situation – quiet;

Breaks every 40-50 minutes;

Practice exams for external assessments

are on the NZQA website: www.nzqa.govt.nz;

Practice tasks for internal assessments at:

www.tki.org.nz.

N.B. NCEA External Examinations begin

on Monday November 11th.

PUBLIC HEALTH NURSE

ADVICE

Washing hands kills germs but how

much difference does it make to a child‟s

health? Children who

wash their hands

regularly have fewer

sick days with colds and

flus, and less time off

with „tummy bugs’.

Teach children to get into the habit of hand

washing to help control the spread of

disease. If your child is a reluctant hand

washer, liquid soap (from a pump) may be

more fun. It takes 20 seconds to wash your

hands properly … that‟s the same time it

takes to sing „happy birthday to me‟ twice.

Drying your hands is very important

too, as wet hands attract bugs like a

magnet.

COUGHING AND SNEEZING Did you know that viruses

travel about 6-metres when

you sneeze, and 3-metres

when you cough??

These days, as one way of

preventing the spread of viruses, we are

teaching children to cough and sneeze into

their elbows or alternatively to cough or

sneeze into a tissue and then throw it away.

This is a good practice to get into as well

as cleaning hands after every time you

cough or sneeze.

Poor Children do Worse,

National Standards

Show By JOHN HARTEVELT AND CLIO

FRANCIS

From their first day in the classroom,

children from poorer backgrounds are

more likely to fall behind in reading,

writing and maths. National standards from

primary and intermediate schools from

across the country shows pupils at lowest-

decile schools are more

likely to perform below

national standards than those

at the highest-decile schools.

The figures have prompted

calls for real efforts to

improve inequality. Stuff published results

from more than 1000 schools nationwide at

the weekend.

Principals Federation president Paul

Drummond, who remains staunchly against

the national standards in literacy and

numeracy, said data obtained by Fairfax

Media at least confirmed the "very strong

correlation between student achievement

and socio-economic status".

"This highlights the fact that if we want to

improve and lift achievement and learning

in our schools across all things, then we

have to make a really genuine effort to

improve equity," Mr. Drummond said.

"Maybe this will be the catalyst for a

stronger Government response around

those equity issues. It has been worthwhile

in confirming those correlations, but we

knew that before national standards."

At the decile-1 Tairangi School in Porirua,

it was against the odds that 76 per cent of

pupils were at or above the standard in

reading. Principal Pip Newton said poverty

was a problem among the school's pupils,

but that did not mean they could not

achieve in the same way as their peers at

higher-decile schools. However, getting to

the same level might take longer.

At the decile-10 Worser Bay School in

Wellington, Principal Jude Pentecost said

good results were not simply due to pupils

coming from wealthy backgrounds. The

school's staff and structure also played an

important role.

Andrew Wilson,

Board of Trustees

Chairman, with two

children at the school

and a third starting

next year, said:

"Parents tend to be well-engaged, and

interested in their children's learning and

well-being. We're not having to deal with

issues like kids coming to school without

breakfast.

"There's no question that there are benefits

(of being in high-decile area): there's a

preparedness, and a willingness amongst

the parental community to take an active

interest. If you're holding down two or

three jobs, that gets a whole lot tougher."

The 69 decile-1 schools that returned data

to Fairfax had a much higher proportion of

pupils not meeting the standards compared

with pupils from decile-10 schools. Just

over half (52.3 per cent) of pupils at decile-

1 schools did not make the writing

standard. Of the 135 decile-10 schools that

sent data, the

proportion not

making the writing

standard was only

20.3%.

In reading, the gap

between decile-one

and 10 pupils not making the standard was

30.9 percentage points. And in math‟s the

gap was 31 percentage points, with nearly

half (47.6 per cent) of kids at decile-one

schools not meeting the standard,

compared with 16.3 per cent at decile-10

schools.

The National Chairman of the Quality

Public Education Coalition, John Minto,

said the socio-economic divide in

education achievement was the "elephant

in the room" from the national standards

results.

"The inconvenient truth for Education

Minister Hekia Parata is that the strongest

indicator of student achievement is the

socio-economic background of their

families," Mr. Minto said. "The

Government now has no excuses for

ignoring child poverty and allowing

income inequality to increase."

Ms Parata said the Government wanted the

results from the standards to drive "an

outbreak of student achievement".

"Actually, student achievement is pretty

good but for New Zealand, all learners

achieving to their fullest potential is what

our aspiration is," Ms Parata said.

- © Fairfax NZ News

Cricket Sadly the cricket season started in dismal

fashion with a rain enforced cancellation of

the first scheduled game, and a home game

as well, on Saturday.

This season the Taihape Cricket Team is

playing in the Wanganui Premier 2 40 over

Grade, as well as a composite Premier 1

and 2 20/20 Grade. These games are

interspersed through-out the summer.

This weekend Taihape is travelling to

Wanganui to play Wanganui City College

at Victoria Park, in a 20/20 game.

If anyone is interested in playing cricket

this season, please contact Richard

McMillan (021774121), or Brad Fannin

(0223339195). We have the nucleus of a

very good team, but life being life, things

happen and not everyone can be available

every week.

Junior Cross Country The Junior School is holding their

Cross Country Championships next

Monday, on the rec, beginning at

9.00am.