Riverdale School Newsletter

Afternoon all,

It's hard to believe that we are over half way through Term 2! As we head into the winter months, Matariki is nearly upon us where we celebrate the Māori New Year and its significance. Teams are preparing for our Matariki concert and are quite excited to welcome our community onto our grounds and show off their learning in this space. Community members will be preparing a traditional hangi for us all to enjoy while we are entertained by our tamariki. A night not to miss!

It was fantastic to see the community attend our Cyber Safety Evening last night. I hope you gained some practical examples of what you can do at home to navigate the digital world with your child. Thankyou to Nic Carter, our Technology Lead within our school, for his organisation and mahi behind the scenes to make this happen.

A special mention to our PTA and community for getting right behind our Walkathon this term. The amount raised was incredible, and this is going directly into improving our hall space with new carpet tiles that we plan to install next term.

Finally, Winter sports are in full swing and if you're like me, your weekdays and weekends are spent darting between the sports field and everything else in between. Enjoy the time with your special ones, time sure does fly by!

Have a great weekend!

Jared

To our new students: We wish you happy days at Riverdale School

Sienna Korff - Piako Tahi

William Feng - Te Motu/Pae Ake

The school will be holding a small farewell Assembly for Travis Pike next Friday 14th June at 2.15pm. Teams will be presenting farewell gifts and gestures to make sure we send him off to Australia with aroha. Parents are most welcome to join us to say goodbye.

Ngā Whetu o te Pō (A Night under the Stars)

Riverdale School Matariki/Puanga Celebration

On Thursday 27th June 2024, Riverdale School will be celebrating Matariki/Puanga with a hangi and concert under the stars.

So wrap up in some warm clothes, bring a picnic blanket or find a spot at one of the tables to enjoy your hangi and be ready to be entertained. The students are hard at work preparing to share their inquiry learning about our local area along with performances by Te Puawai and Ngā Tewhatewha kapahaka roopū.

Timetable

4.45pm Karakia Kai, from this time hangi will be ready for collection.

5.00pm Find seats/table and enjoy hangi. (Cutlery will be available)

5.25pm: All performers called to the front stage area (Te Puawai, Ngā Tewhatewha, Maori Explorers).

5.30pm: School Sharing begins (Student learning, Te Puawai performance, Ngā Tewhatewha)

6.15pm: Closing

To order hangi for you and the whanau please complete the online order form coming soon on HERO

Matariki hunga nui - Matariki, the gatherer of people

During the Matariki festivities, people gather together to celebrate the passing of the year and the hope of a new season. This whakataukī speaks to us about the gathering of people during Matariki.

Piako Rua had a fantastic morning at Ahimate last week, finally getting good enough weather to go! We walked through Bill’s Bush where the children enjoyed finding fairy houses and learning tree names. Next we visited the old pā site and looked at the pou standing there. Mrs Whitta shared some of the interesting history about this site. We also headed to the Story Walk path and looked at the dog park. It was such a fun morning, with so much to look at and talk about. Two of the real highlights were having some fantail friends follow us for a lot of the time and doing our school pou under the pou at the pā site.

What a fantastic day down at Ahimate Park for our school Cross Country last Friday. The weather turned up, as did all the kids who were determined to do their best and have a bit of fun. Well done to everyone who participated, you should all be very proud.

Cross Country events like this rounds off a full curriculum not only promoting fitness but also giving students the opportunity to practise our Ngā Mātāpono values such determination to achieve goals, resilience, and support of others as they challenge each other to do the same.

We want to thank the whanau who were able to make it down to cheer on the students and a big thank you to the Awatapu High School students who helped with set up and marshalling on the day.

The Interschool Cross Country team put in a fantastic effort on Wednesday at Ashhurst Domain. The track involved running through the bush, across some paddocks and a big hill to finish. Each year group event boasts over 100 of the best runners across the Manawatū.

A special mention to Bella Hawkins- 3rd, Meleane Tu'ipulotu- 4th and Penny McLean- 9th in the Year 6 Girls race putting Riverdale School as 1st place overall winners of the Year 6 girls event.

Many others in the team placed in the top twenty. Everyone represented Riverdale School well and can all be really proud.

Last week, Mrs Whitta took 6 ākonga from the Māori Explorers down to the Public Launch of the Rangitāne initiative "He Ara Kotahi, Her Ara Kōrero". This is an amazing resource for the Iwi and our community. Along the riverside are QR Codes that you can scan and become informed about pūrakau (legends and stories). This is a digital resource that is available to one and all. The excitement from our ākonga as we listened to Rangitāne kōrero about their taonga (treasures) and viewed the landscape from the perspective of the 1600s was amazing to hear. Take a look at the website He Ara Kōrero - LINK. Ngā mihi Rangitāne!

On Friday we celebrated the amazing efforts of everyone who raised funds for the Walkathon.

The total amount raised was a record $17, 374.50 which will be going towards upgrading our hall space with new flooring.

Congratulations to all the spot prize winners taking home a bag of gifts or a brand new bike helmet and our big winners of a $50 Warehouse voucher as seen below.

Top distance: Year 1- Ivy Whatuira, Year 2- Ezra Johnston & Te Akerautangi Mio, Year 3- Kora Tu’ipulotu, Year 4- Olly Buerkeman, Year 5- Elijah Lion, Year 6- Grayson Woodmass

Most money raised: Year 1- Joe Curran, Year 2 Te Akerautangi Mio, Year 3- Flynn Patterson, Year 4- Benjamin Murray, Year 5- Kupa Tuhaka, Year 6- Christopher Cox.

The overall winner for the most money raised of a $100 Warehouse Voucher: Te Akerautangi Mio.

Finally, congratulations to Eva Standish and Ivy Van Kampen who each won the major spot prize, an electric motorbike.

Thank you to everyone who supported this event by either donating money, helping your children find sponsors, or walking (and running) with your children on the day. We could not do this without you.

Special thanks to the PTA for the organisation behind the scenes and also to All Road Adventures for donating the Motorbikes.

A few weeks ago, Poutama had the honour of hosting Mr. Ruawai, the Principal of Palmerston North Intermediate Normal School (PNINS). His visit was a captivating exploration into the world of Māori carvings, particularly the significant patterns that are deeply embedded in Māori culture.

Mr. Ruawai shared his extensive knowledge about the various designs found in traditional Māori carvings. One of the most intriguing patterns he discussed was the one resembling shark teeth, known as "Taratara a Kae.”

We extend our thanks to Mr. Ruawai for sharing his knowledge and passion with us.

We say goodbye to one of our teachers Cecilia Chavez. Cecilia will be returning to her home country of Spain with her family. We wish them all the best for their move and will miss having Cecilia around the school.

Hannah Carter will be returning to Riverdale School in Term 3 after taking maternity leave. She will be teaching in Piako Rātā. We are excited to have Hannah back at school.

At Riverdale School we celebrate that we are all different, special and unique yet we share many similarities too.

On Friday 21st June we have a number of visitors from a variety of cultures coming to school to teach us about aspects of their culture. We have people from a variety of cultures joining us to celebrate cultures within our school community.

We invite your child to come dressed in their own cultural clothing, or clothing from a culture they are interested in.

Stuck for ideas? Think of traditional clothing from your culture, country flags, supporting colours for your significant country, or important people. Even part of a costume to wear with your uniform would be fantastic. We can’t wait to see the costume your children comes up with.

This is a wonderful opportunity for children to learn more about their own culture and those of others.

If your whānau wish to present to one of our classes please email Lynette Kenyon. lynette@riverdale.school.nz

Do you or your child have a special talent? Do you play an instrument? Do you just love to put on a show? We need you for our Riverdale Talent Show, which will be held on Friday, July 5th, as part of our Right Choice Day.

This is a time for children and wider whanau to share their talent with the school. Performers may like to share a magic trick, dance, song, musical instrument, or short drama. Each item should be a maximum of three minutes.

If you or your child wishes to perform, please complete the online form by Friday 14th June.

What a fantastic day! The weather was great and the kids did an amazing job out there in the water and mud.

The Tough Guy/Gal Challenge was held at Massey University. The Riverdale School Group enjoyed the mostly sunny morning and muddy tracks from rain on the previous day. Some highlights were the big slide and the sticky mud! We are really proud of how everyone tried their best while having heaps of fun, and most importantly showed team spirit and manaakitanga for each other. Way to go everyone!

If you think your child might like to give this really well run, super fun event a go next year, keep an eye out around this time for details in the school notices.

Thanks to the parents and whanau for coming down to support the kids and helping out with packing down the tent. Your help was really appreciated.

Last Tuesday, during our Teacher Only Day, our staff attended the Rangitāne Mātauranga & Tiriti Symposium, along with many other schools at PNINS. There we spent time working with Rangitāne and opted in to different workshops to gain more understanding and knowledge.

In the afternoon we had the privilege of being welcomed on to Te Hotu Manawa o Rangitāne o Manawatū Marae on Maxwells Line and spent the afternoon being guided by Whare and Hohepa Isaac- Sharland, as they shared their knowledge with us.

Responses will be kept in confidence with the Riverdale School Management Team.

Please click here to fill in the feedback survey

Nga mihi

Jared Bron

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There is always lots of opportunities for our students to be involved in. These are some of the experiences on offer to our tamariki. We encourage our students to listen out to the Student Notices to find out how to get involved.

Term 2

• Pae Tamariki
• Ki o Rahi
• Riverdale's Got Cultures Assembly
• Riverdale Has Got Talent - Right Choice Day
  
• Vex Robotics
• Maths Explorers
• Choir
• Te Puawai
• Nga Tewhatewha
• West End Soccer Exchange
• Boys Netball
• Children's University Massey Discovery Day - July
  
• Dance Explorers
• Table Tennis
• Gymnastics
• Matariki Hangi/Community Concert

Term 3

• EPRO8
• School Production
• Kind Hearts Regional Event
• Daffodil Day
• World Literacy Day

TERM TWO

Week Eight

Wed 12th June - Pounamu Atawhai Marae Visit

Mon 17th June - Pae Tamariki (Nga Tewhatewha)

Fri 21st June - Pounamu Atawhai Assembly

Fri 21st June - Riverdales Got Culture

Week Nine

Wed 26th June - Ki-o-Rahi Tournament

Thurs 27th June - Matariki Hangi/Concert

Fri 28th June Matariki Public Holiday SCHOOL CLOSED

Week Ten

Thurs 4th July - Children's University Discovery Day

Fri 5th July - Right Choice Day - Riverdale's Got Talent

Fri 5th July - Last Day of Term 2

Term Three

Monday 22nd July - First Day of Term Three

To review any of our school policies, visit SchoolDocs https://riverdale.schooldocs.co.nz/ (Username: riverdale Password: empowering)

This term the Board will be reviewing the following topics.

• Equal Employment Opportunities

• Teacher Relief Cover

• Safety Checking

• Police Vetting

• Classroom Release Time / Timetable

Registration Link

https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/register/79b09a