Parnell District School Pānui

Thursday

• Bike Skills Room 26

Friday

• Assembly - hosted Room 30
• PDS Quiz Night Fundraiser 7:00pm in the School Hall (with Silent Auction)

Tuesday

• Bay Suburbs Rippa Rugby Zone Day (Y5/6)

• New Parent Breakfast (Staff Room)
• Assembly - hosted by Room 13

Monday

• Board of Trustees Meeting

• Bake Sale - Te Arawa

• Assembly hosted by Enviro Group
• Mid-Year Reports go home

Tuesday

• Student Learning Conferences

Wednesday

• Student Learning Conferences

• Matariki Celebration

• SCHOOL IS CLOSED - Matariki

Friday

• Assembly - hosted by Te Arawa
• No Friday Fizz

Wheels Wednesday continues every Wednesday, dependent on the weather. Please check the school App each Wednesday morning for cancellations.

I hope you made the most of the weather and enjoyed some valuable time with your whānau over the long weekend.

Quiz Night Fundraiser & Live Auction - See you There

This Friday 7 June is our Quiz Night Fundraiser & Live Auction from 6:30pm. If you don't already have your tickets, there is still time to organise a team and join us for what is going to be an exciting night of fun and healthy competition - both for the quiz and the auction items! The Silent Auction is online so get your bids in. This auction will end 6pm Friday evening, with some items going to live auction throughout the evening.

PDS Whānau and Friends - Get Involved

We are very grateful to the dedicated volunteers in our PDS Whānau and Friends team who are working hard to ensure a successful fundraising event on Friday. Our Whānau and Friends group work hard to organise events and activities for our students and community. We are always looking for more parents to get involved in our group, so if you haven't attended an event, helped provide your skills and talents in the organisation of an event, or supported the team who are doing it, it might be time for you to put your hand up and support the school. To get involved at PDS and to volunteer your time and energy, please contact Helen at pta@parnell.school.nz . We are always looking for new ideas and helpers to make the school the best it can be for every student.

Opportunties for Excellence Programme (O.E.) - Volunteers Invited!

Another way that you can get involved at PDS is by volunteering to be a part of our Opportunities for Excellence Programme (O.E.) which focuses on academic opportunities. The programme starts next term, and we are working hard to ensure a variety of options for our Year 3-8 students. If you have skills in a specific area and would like to offer your time and expertise every Friday (11:10am - 12:40pm) in Terms 3 and 4, please follow this link to register your interest. In the past we have had whānau sharing skills in areas such as Design, Art, Science and Social Sciences but we welcome suggestions for ways to grow our tamariki.

We have noticed that some of our students are wearing incorrect uniform. Please follow the guidelines below to ensure that your child(ren) are dressed for success at PDS.

If you have uniform sitting at home that no longer fits your child/ren, we would love to take them off your hands. Our Second-Hand Uniform Shop is in need of a top up. Thank you in advance for your donation!

Our Year 7 and 8 learners are visiting the National Library over the next couple of weeks to support their inquiry learning about the economy of Aotearoa New Zealand. Room 24 visited yesterday and Ive Du from Room 24 has shared her experience.

The National Library - Iva Du, Room 24

We entered the doors of the library, and were greeted by a tall man, his name was Mr. T. He was super energetic and seemed just as happy as I was to be there. He liked to crack dad jokes from time to time, which made our time there so much more special. His voice was very friendly and bright. When he spoke, I felt very warmly welcomed.

We had a bit of morning tea together, and we started listening to Mr. T’s exciting speech, about trading before the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. I heard that people back in the olden days weren’t allowed to travel without a flag, otherwise they would be thought of as pirates.

Mr. T talked about how important it was to trade, because in the time before the British came to New Zealand, The Māori would trade all the time. Sometimes what would’ve happened if two Māori chiefs couldn’t come to an agreement, what they would do is trade using their sons and daughters in arranged marriage. That way it would resolve their problems. The reason why they didn’t go to war instead was because it was way too costly. You’d have to pay a large sum of money, just to fight and lose loved ones, so they decided to trade children instead.

To make things a lot more interesting, Mr. T got us to dress up as characters from the past. For example, some of my classmates were dressed up as Māori Chiefs, others dressed as whalers, some were women, and one was Captain Cook. Mr Cowlrick was dressed up as the king of England, and the parent helpers dressed up as missionaries. The whole thing was so fun, yet educational, which in my opinion, was quite impressive.

That day I learnt a long of new things, the things I've shared are only a quarter of what I learned that day. I would love to go back again someday. Who knows, maybe next year?

By Iva Du

We have the Quiz Night THIS FRIDAY (7 June) and the online auction has been going really well! Get your bids in NOW to 32auctions.com/pds2024. We've got over 100 amazing items for you to bid on - from a signed All Blacks Rugby T-shirt, a selection of after school classes, enough toilet rolls for 6 months, and even a fridge! Use the search bar or category filter to find things you're interested in, then give them a heart to save them as your watchlist.

Some items will continue bidding at the Live Auction during the Quiz Night. This is indicated on the item as "Online and Live Event Bidding" in the item description. If you want to put in a final bid for these items, you'll need to be present at the Quiz Night on Friday 7 June, so buy your tickets now!

Quiz Night tickets are available from the School Office. $35 per person, with tables of 8 people. Come with your friends or join your class table. The theme is Olympics & Paralympics 2024 - only 65 days to go! We'd love to see you dressed up to suit the theme - come as your favourite sportsperson, the Eiffel Tower, or join with some friends to make the Olympic Rings... Let your imagination go wild!

Join us on Social Media!

Follow us on Instagram or Facebook to see the latest featured Auction items. Click on the icons below to straight to our Instagram and Facebook.

Special thanks goes to the following companies who have made generous donations to the auction. Check out their listings at 32auctions.com/pds2024 and view the full list of items available and their donors. Please support the companies who have supported us.

Have fun bidding!

The Great PDS Bake-Off continues on Wednesday 19 June, with Te Arawa rising to the challenge set by Aotea last term. Baking instructions will be sent home to all Te Arawa families next week. Baking is to be sold at morning tea for $2 CASH each (maximum of 2 cupcakes per student). Any leftover baking will be sold after school outside the hall.

Check out our Term Two Holiday Programme below.

Please book through PDS.aimyplus.com.

More information on Term Three's after school opportunities for extra curricular classes will come out closer to the end of the term.

Email clairej@parnell.school.nz for any further queries.