Newsletter 15 November 2010

TEAM 2 NEWS – Week 6 – 15 November 2010
Dear Parents
What an amazing weekend of beautiful weather! We hope you had a wonderful time enjoying the sunshine. This is such a busy time of year for everyone and school is pretty hectic at the moment. The children are loving their swimming lessons at Wharenui, they are also starting to prepare for our Run Jump Throw Day (Junior Athletics), they are learning Christmas Carols in preparation for our Cathedral visit in December and are preparing for their Student Led Conference this week. Phew!
Some News…
After 15 years at Fendalton School, I (Kirsty) have finally decided to move on. I have won a position teaching New Entrants at Cashmere Primary School in 2011. Two of my children go to Cashmere Primary (my eldest will start High School next year), and it will be so much easier for me to be at the same school as them. Instead of sending my children off in one direction, while I head off in another other each morning, we will be able to go to school together! It has been a really hard decision for me to make as I have loved working at Fendalton – the children are gorgeous, the parents so supportive and the staff are fantastic. And of course Paulette is just amazing to work with and I’ll really miss her. So I am a bit sad about it, but excited at the same time.
What’s coming up…
Week 6
Student Led Conferences - Wednesday 17th November and Thursday 18th November.
This week we will be holding Student Led Conferences on Wednesday and Thursday. Your child should have brought home a timetable last week so that you know which day your conference will be on. If you didn’t receive a timetable, please check the timetable in the classroom, or ask Kirsty or Paulette. The Student-Led Conferences are run by the children - with some guidance from us! The children will share with you what they are doing in class at present and will show you work that they did when they first started school. Please celebrate the progress your child has made. The children will also share their Learning Report with you. The Learning Report is a portfolio containing assessments and comments about pupil progress and samples of your child’s work. Learning Reports have replaced the formal school report that used to be sent home at the end of the year. You will be able to take the Learning Reports home at the end of the conference. Please take it home for the week and then return it to school. The Learning Reports will continue to be added to throughout your child’s time at Fendalton School, so it is important that it is returned to school in Week 7. The Student-Led Conference is a celebration of your child’s learning in a relaxed setting. Several families will be present at the same time. It is not a formal Parent-Teacher interview. Please make sure your child comes to the conference! And please ensure that he/she is wearing school uniform. We look forward to seeing you there!

Swimming
This is our last week of swimming at Wharenui. Please ensure your child has their swimming gear at school every day this week. Many thanks to our parent helpers who have been assisting with this.
The school pool is now officially open. We won’t use it while we are still attending lessons at Wharenui, however we will begin using it (if the weather is good) from next week, onwards. Our swimming days will be Mon, Tues, Wed, and Thurs. Please send along swimming gear on these days and ensure that ALL school clothes (and undies!) are named. Many thanks

Week 7
Orchestra Demo Concert Friday 26 November - The school orchestra will demonstrate all the instruments that will be available to learn next year. Should you wish your child to learn an instrument, a form will go home following this concert for you to fill in for next year's tuition.


Week 8
Junior Athletics Day - Run, Jump Throw day, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM, Thursday 2nd December. This is the Junior version of Athletics Day and the focus is on participation rather than competition. This is only for the Junior School and parents are welcome to come and watch and then share lunch with them afterwards. Sport uniforms to be worn on this day. (Postponement day is the 6th December)

Read, Feed, Speed Day – Friday 3rd December - This is a day for the Dads to come in and have some fun with their children. They will come to the classrooms and read with their children, then share in a sausage sizzle and then partake in some physical activity on the fields. It really is the most wonderful day and we encourage all fathers or other significant males to attend if possible.

National Standards Reports – National Standards Reports go home Friday 3 December.

Week 10
Cathedral Visit - Thursday 16th December 1:30 -2:30. Come and listen to the lovely singing voices of the Junior Team as they sing Christmas Carols at the Christchurch Cathedral.

Final School Assembly - Friday 17 December – Last day of school. This is a shortened school day and most parents attend the final assembly at 9:30, and then leave with their children after the assembly has finished 10:30 (approximately).

That’s all for now, but expect more things to follow as we continue with this busy term!

Kind regards
Kirsty and Paulette