Riverdale School Newsletter

What a beautiful start to the term! We have had clear blue skies and fantastic autumn days lately, long may it continue as we head into the colder months. Fitness and general well-being are ‘on top’ at school, with students getting ready for some school events coming up soon.

The PTA is running one of its major fundraisers, the Walkathon, next Friday in conjunction with Pink Shirt Day (Working together to stop bullying). We appreciate the community getting behind the PTA, as we know what big contributions they make here at Riverdale School. Our goal is to upgrade the school with new carpet tile flooring and possibly new seating. Please collect sponsors over the weekend to make this space both warmer and welcoming for students and our community. There are also some great prizes up for grabs!

School Cross Country is just around the corner, and it would be great to see you down at Ahimate Park (Friday, 31 May). Students have been training at school to prepare for the event. Some have set goals to finish in a top place, whilst others have set goals to participate in something they find hard. There is so much value in setting long term goals and learning the value of practice, and achieving something difficult. We appreciate the support at home around positive reinforcement and realistic goal setting.

I would just like to thank those parents who offered to coach/manage sports teams this term. Without your support, core fundamental skills and experience in team sport for our students suffers. Please consider volunteering in the future to help in this space and share the load. You do not have to be a super ref or coach, just a great role model for players.

We have one scheduled Teacher Only Day this term, the day after King's Birthday (Tuesday 4 June). These are Ministry allocated days for Professional Development and Across School Collaborations to enhance teacher knowledge and capability across the curriculum.

Finally, we would like to wish Christina and Thomas Hobbs the very best on Maternity leave beginning early this term. Carol Roberts, our regular release teacher, will be teaching with Mrs Kenyon for the remainder of the term.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

Jared

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

Arlo Te Momo-Barnes - Piako Tahi

Cullen McKay - Piako Rimu

Bailey Palmer - Poutama

Monique Ditchfield-Broom - Poutama

On Friday 17th May 2024 Riverdale School will be holding a Walkathon to raise funds to improve the School Hall flooring.

Forms came home with children last Friday to start finding sponsors. For another form, please visit the school office.

What is the Walkathon:

• Everyone will have a turn walking around a set loop in our local area for 1 hour.

• The aim is to try to walk the furthest distance/ most checkpoints.

• Leading up to the event date, students find friends and family who would like to sponsor them to complete a set distance.

• There are lots of cool prizes to win.

Walk Times:

• 9.15am - 10.15am: Piako Tahi / Piako Rua

• 10.45am - 11.45am: Pae Ake / Te Motu

• 12.15pm - 1.15pm: Poutama/Pounamu Atawhai

We welcome whanau to join us. Get your walking shoes on and join in the fun!

Our Major prizes include:

• $100 gift voucher for most funds raised by an individual

• $50 vouchers for most funds raised as well as longest distance achieved per year group

Spot Prizes: Various prizes for children who have funds handed in on time.

Special Spot Prize: Opt in- for anyone who raised over $100 to have a chance to win one of two kids electric Motorbikes.

Colouring In Competition (collect from the office): $20 Movie Voucher for winners of each year level.

All money, forms and colouring in competitions need to be returned to the School Office by Friday 24th May for a chance to be in to win.

Piako Tahi

Rome Hanson - for always trying his best with his learning

Olive Melville-Grace - for her enthusiasm and creativity in our classroom

Piako Rimu

Clara Veitch - for a consistent effort in all areas of her learning

Saoirse Gilbertson - for always showing an awesome attitude towards her learning

Kalani Gray - for always leading by example and showing kindness to others

Meila Abraham - for using amazing creativity in her writing

Pae Ake

Makayla Ahern - for working hard to improve her Math knowledge

William Kent - for focus and resilience during research projects

Aria Williams - for being a stunning role model for others

Lottie Minchin - for being an attentive listener and conscientious worker

Poutama

Caleb Wong - for his positive attitude towards all aspects of school life and encouraging others to do the same

Peyton Lowe - for consistently giving 100% to everything she does

Aurora Bell - for consistent effort to improve her Math

Pounamu Atawhai

Jackson Kingston - for showing resilience and resourcefulness. Awesome start to Term 2!

Evie Morland - Striving for excellence and being a contact role model.

Enya MacGregor - for being an outstanding role model and leader in Pounamu Atawhai

Kia ora e te whānau,

Mā te kimi ka kite, Mā te kite ka mōhio, Mā te mōhio ka mārama.

Seek and discover. Discover and know. Know and become enlightened.

We had our first Māori Explorers hui this week and our ākonga were buzzing. The kaupapa of the day was to read kupu and say kupu as well as solve the ārapu - alphabet puzzles. There was a huge sense of kotahitanga - working together as the mahi was done.

Term 2 started at full throttle! Mrs Mabey organised the Pae Ake daily cross country training and she has made it heaps of fun. After each lap the runners collect a block to create a tower with after the run. It’s always great to celebrate someone’s personal best!

We are looking forward to doing lots of Te Reo and Taha Māori learning this term as Matariki approaches. We’ve begun by practising our pepehas in class and representing them visually for art. Don’t they look lovely! Ka rawe tamariki!

Roll up, Roll up, …Roving reporters in Te Motu have been busy writing information reports for “Te Motu Times”. Our newspaper is full of interesting pieces - order your copy today! We made stunning bookmarks, learning that kowhaiwhai patterns differ from tribe to tribe. They represent the mana of the house, ancestors and people. Red represents warmth, blood and life. White - purity, promise and awakening. Black - the earth. For a Statistics Challenge, we each had to decide on a topic to collect data on; prepare and conduct a survey; present data in a table, pictogram and bar graph; and report back our findings.

This week our Kind Hearts Teina (year 1 - 4) group met for the first time. They made a wonderful portrait of themselves and thought about what they did that was kind. A big thank you to Mrs Stratford for running this group for 2024.

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.

Junior Tough Guy and Gal Challenge 2024- Register NOW! (Click the Link for more details)

Palmerston North - 28th May- RIVERDALE SCHOOL Group Attendance

Please note that this is not a school run event, and parents will need to transport and accompany their children. Riverdale School will have a teacher there for support and a tent site that you are most welcome to use as a home base for the day.

To Register

Click the Individual Entry link. Register your child for the correct age group on Tuesday 28th May Event. Partway through the registration add Riverdale as the school and select 'Teacher will Pick up the Race Number'. This will bundle all gear together and save you from waiting in long lines on the morning. Whaea Ebony will collect the box and bring it to the Riverdale School Tent for distribution.

Registrations close 9:00 am 25th May and cost $30.00 per person.

More Information

Event Day Timetable: 8.30 am - 9.30 am: Registration at venue 10.00 am: Start of the 3km event (School Years 7 & 8) 10.05 am: Start of the 3km event (School Years 5 & 6) 10.10 am: Start of the 1.5km event (School Years 3 & 4) 12.00 pm: Prize-giving

Age Limit Competitors must be at either primary or intermediate school in years 3 to 8 to compete. Finishers Medals Every competitor will receive one the stunning Junior Tough Guy and Gal Challenge finishers medals.

Limited Numbers Each event has limited places available, so make sure you enter early to avoid disappointment, as these events do sell out! We will advise on the website when an event sells out.

Pink Shirt Day works to reduce bullying by celebrating diversity in all its forms and supporting schools, workplaces and communities to be safe, supportive, welcoming and inclusive for everyone.

On Friday, 17th May, children are welcome to wear a pink top instead of their usual school top in support of Pink Shirt Day. In addition to wearing a pink shirt during the Walkathon, children will participate in a range of activities in their class to raise awareness.

This is our chance to Kōrero Mai, Kōrero Atu, Mauri Tū, and Mauri Ora—Speak Up, Stand Together, and Stop Bullying!

Last week, we celebrated the graduation of one of our amazing kaiako at Riverdale School. Zyphrine Christall attended the official Graduation Ceremony at the Regent on Broadway after completing her Degree in Education. We are very proud of her achievements and love having Zyphrine as part of our Riverdale School Team.

Today, 19 students represented Riverdale School at the Manawatu Orienteering Champs. They used a map to navigate a course at the Esplanade.

All students put in a huge amount of effort and encouraged each other throughout, showing amazing Riverdale sportsmanship. Mrs Carson was very impressed with the determination, speed and problem solving skills shown by all the students.

Congratulations to the following children who came in the top 10 for their age group.

• Grayson Bron 3rd

• Elijah Lion 4th

• Maddy D 2nd

• Harper Brown 6th

• Annie Conwell 7th

• Rylah Henderson 9th

This week, lots of fun things have been happening at school to celebrate one of our official languages. There have been songs and activities in classes, a colouring competition, and lunchtime games and activities as well. We finished off the week with a teachers versus students sign quiz. Spot prizes were won, and lots of fun was had. Poutama had the challenge of using sign language to ask for one slice of chocolate cake. Thank you to everyone who got involved!! We all learnt a little more.

A special thanks to Pieta Higginson, who put together an amazing week of fun sign language activities across the school.

Have you paid your school donation yet? Just a friendly reminder that this can be paid directly through our school HERO app. This contribution makes a big difference to our school. Thank you for your support.

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.

• Cross Country Training
• Pae Tamariki
• Ki o Rahi
• Tough Guy and Gal
• School Cross Country
• 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
• Sign Language Week
• Cybersafety Evening - Navigating the world of Social Media
• Kind Hearts Event
• Walkathon/Pink Shirt Day
• St John in School (Basic Emergency Procedures for children)
• Support Staff Celebration Day
• Matariki Hangi/Community Concert

TERM TWO

Week Three

Fri 17th May - PTA Walkathon

Fri 17th May - Pink Shirt Day

Week Four

Fri 24th May - Piako Rimu Assembly

Week Five

Tues 28th May - Manawatu Tough Guy & Gal

Fri 31st May - School Cross Country

Fri 31st May - Walkathon Assembly

Week Six

Mon 3rd June - Kings Birthday SCHOOL CLOSED

Tues 4th June - Teacher Only Day SCHOOL CLOSED

Wed 5th June - Interschool Cross Country

Thurs 6th June - Cybersafety Evening

Week Eight

Fri 21st June - Pounamu Atawhai Assembly

Week Nine

Wed 26th June - Ki-o-Rahi Tournament

Thurs 27th June - Matariki Hangi

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)