Kia ora koutou parents and whānau,

This week I was fortunate to be able to join my son for the robotics competition as part of the Taranaki Science and Technology Fair. It was a great opportunity to have my eyes opened to a world I don’t know much about! I came away really pleased that this was an opportunity available to everyone and with my brain in overdrive. It was fantastic to see everyone having an authentic opportunity to put their knowledge and skills to use, and do plenty of problem solving along the way since not everything worked or went according to plan!

In reflection, robotics offers a variety of valuable lessons and skills for kids including:

• Real learning: Creating a robot for competition gives the children an engaging purpose for learning.
• Extending STEM knowledge: Robotics is a great way of integrating science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning. For example, understanding the mechanics and electronics involved in robotics teaches children about things like gear ratios, motors and power supply, and structural design.
• Developing problem solving skills: Building the robots requires children to identify problems and devise solutions, fostering critical thinking and analytical skills.
• Encouraging teamwork and collaboration: These projects were done in groups, encouraging the children to develop a range of skills to enable them to work effectively together.
• Fostering creativity and innovation: Designing and building robots encourages creativity and innovation as they think creatively to meet the competition challenges and create functioning machines.
• Developing perseverance and resilience: These projects often involve trial and error, teaching kids to persevere through challenges and learn from their mistakes - even on the day!

When your children enter Year 7, I would encourage them to look into the possibilities of the science fair. There are plenty of options available for children who have an interest in this curriculum area: robotics, bottle rockets, observational drawing, scientific journalism, scientific photography, scientific investigation, advertising, posters, and technological development...and you never know...this may be the spark that leads to a fulfilling career.

Mā te wā! See you later!

Ryves

It is important that children arrive at school on time. Arriving at school early gives children the chance to settle before the day begins.

Arriving early ensures that:

• Your child is able to connect with the teachers and classmates before the day begins.
• Helps your child complete early morning routines and get ready for their school day.
• Makes sure that your child doesn’t miss out on the important learning activities that happen at the start of the day.

Routines are the best way to ensure you can get to school on time and some examples include:

• Being organised for the next day by making sure bags are packed, clothes are laid out, and homework is completed the afternoon/night before.
• Making sure children get to bed at a reasonable time. A well-rested student is a student prepared to learn.
• Having a good breakfast. Research shows that students who do not eat breakfast have poorer performance than students who eat before class.
• Be happy! For a child who may already be reluctant to go to school, a positive start to the day is really important. Despite how busy your mornings may be, try to keep a smile on your face and stay upbeat!

The Paetoki team are right into Build a Business and as a part of this, they were fortunate enough to have the amazing Ash Carley from Knead come in and speak to them. Ash shared some valuable insights around business, including many things that our students may not have even considered. They also got to ask lots of questions, including some about the famous donuts that Ash and her team create every week. We are sure that Ash's knowledge will prove invaluable as the teams move forward. Ngā mihi nui, Ash!

We know there are a lot of bugs going around at the moment, in particular some gastro bugs. For the safety of our staff and other children, please keep your child home if they are unwell. We are continuing to practice good hygiene at school by regular handwashing and not sharing food or drinks. We also have hand sanitiser available for children to use. You can find more information at this link:

https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/gastroenteritis-children

On Thursday we had a visit from The Ned Show, which is a positive behaviour programme. The performers took our tamariki on an interactive educational journey filled with storytelling, illusions, yo-yo tricks and humour. Information went home last week regarding the yo-yos that are available for purchase. The yo-yo's will be available to purchase next Monday 12th August to Thursday 15th August from 8:00am to 9:00am at the senior office (cash only). You can find information about the yo-yos and all the cool tricks you can do at http://www.thenedshow.com/videos.html#programvideos

After the last few days of chilly weather it’s hard to believe summer sports registrations are just around the corner!! Registrations for all Term 4 sports will be open on our Kindo shop in the next few weeks. Below is a list of options available and an idea of costs. These costs are based on last year - hopefully they won’t change.

• Touch Rugby - Monday after school at Devon Intermediate - $30
• Summer Soccer - Tuesday evenings at Merrilands Domain - $20
• Kiwi Cricket (Yr0-2) - Friday evenings at Sutherland Park - $15
• Softaball Cricket (Yr 3-6) - Friday evenings at various grounds - $15
• Summer Hockey - Saturday mornings - $38 (Yr3/4) $48 (Yr 5/6)
• Netball (Y0-2 only) - Wednesday after school - $ FREE!!

We love that Kindo allows you to have your account in credit so once registrations are open you are able to pop the registration through straight away. If you haven’t used Kindo over the winter months you will notice they have added a new and fee free way to make immediate payment. This is by using online eftpos. At this stage you can only use online eftpos if you bank with ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Westpac or The Co-operative Bank but more options will be added in time.

If you are yet to set up a Kindo account, please use the following link for first time users:

https://www.vogeltown.school.nz/school-information/kindo-shop/

If you have any questions at all please feel free to contact me on michelle.sleep@vogeltown.school.nz

Friday 30th August is Daffodil Day, which supports those who are going through cancer. We are proud to support the Cancer Society and will be taking cash donations on this day which will be given directly to the Cancer Society. Thank you for your support!

It is important that we know if you have a child starting school sometime in the remainder of this year or next year. This will allow us to put organisation in place for new students - especially those starting school, and to understand our predicted roll throughout the year.

You can do this by contacting the office to confirm that we have your child on our records, or by completing an enrolment form (which can be collected from the school or downloaded off our website).

If you know of anyone else living in zone that may be looking to enrol then please share this message with them.

TERM CALENDAR

Put all these dates in your diary or your phone! Remember we will put all updates on Facebook, Skool Loop and Seesaw.

TERM 3

12 August - BOT meeting

16 August - LEAD conference (Class Reps)

16 August - Whole school assembly

23 August - Foodbank Donation Day

23 August - Four Year Old Friday, 9:00am to 11:00am, Junior School

23 August - Ukelele at Woodleigh School (selected stduents)

26 August - Cohort entry #2 starts

30 August - Whole school assembly

30 August - Highlands Intermediate Out of Zone enrolments close

30 August - Daffodil Day

4 September - Vogeltown Cross Country

5 September - Market night - Build a Business

6 September - Four Year Old Friday, 9:00am to 11:00am, Junior School

13 September - Whole school assembly

16 September - Māori language week starts

18 September - Starting School the VS Way, 5pm to 6pm, Junior School

20 September - Four Year Old Friday, 9:00am to 11:00am, Junior School

TERM 4

14 October - 13 December

1 November - Four Year Old Friday, 9:00am to 11:00am, Junior School

15 November - Four Year Old Friday, 9:00am to 11:00am, Junior School

29 November - Four Year Old Friday, 9:00am to 11:00am, Junior School

Stay safe and be kind to each other. Thank you for the ongoing support of Vogeltown School, we really appreciate the efforts everyone makes to ensure our kura is such a great place to learn and work!

On behalf of the Vogeltown team, ka kite ano!

Ryves Hunt and the VS team

Email: office@vogeltown.school.nz
Website: www.vogeltown.school.nz
Location: Vogeltown School Huatoki Street, Vogeltown, New Plymouth, New Zealand
Phone: (06) 753 6843

Our school policies, like many schools, are now in an online system through a portal called 'Schooldocs'. Any time you want to bring up a school policy, just log in to schooldocs and you can access the policies.

The login is: vogeltown

The password: huatoki

The website link to Schooldocs is below.