ARDMORE SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Newsletter # 4 Term 3 2024

* Hello * Kia ora * Malo e lelei * Namaste * Talofa lava

* Kia orana * Guten Tag * Nǐ hǎo * Sat sri akal * Hola

* Chào bạn * Bula * Hallo *As-salamu ‘Alakum

From the Principal's Laptop

Traffic Concerns

The Board is working with the Council and Police to try to improve safety at our school gate. In the meantime…

Before School:

Be safe. Make sure your child is safely out of the car and on the footpath before driving away.
Do not park and leave your car on the left hand side (school side) of Papakura-Clevedon Road - this blocks the drive through line.
Pull over to the left hand side verge (school side) of Papakura-Clevedon Road so through traffic can pass safely.
Drive up to the Junior gate so that as many cars as possible can queue off Papakura-Clevedon Road.

After School

Do not park in the staff car park.
Do not double park behind the staff cars in the bus bay.
Please make sure your child is safely in the car and buckled in their car seat before driving off. We witness more and more children not restrained in cars when parents drop off or pick up from school.

Being on Time for School

School starts at 9am. Please endeavour to have your tamariki here on time. The start of the day contains very important routines to help tamariki settle for a day of learning.

The Ministry of Education track attendance and we are alarmed at the number of Ardmore children arriving late regularly every morning.

Illness

Please keep sick children at home. If your child has a vomiting bug we ask that you keep them home for 48 hours after their last vomit.

We want to keep everyone safe.

Parent/Caregiver Concerns

If a parent/caregiver has concerns about incidents between students, staff, or other parents/caregivers, they should contact our school directly via email to voice their concerns through the appropriate channels. We do not encourage parents/caregivers to approach students, their whānau, or other members of the school community to privately discuss behaviour issues. This also applies to incidents that occur out of school time or off school grounds but when students are still connected with the school e.g. at camp or on school trips, and while wearing school uniform, or travelling to and from school.

Netball

This year an Ardmore staff team has competed in a local social Netball competition. Our Ardmore team contested their games with enthusiasm, sometimes to their cost physically. Earlier this term they had a chance to show off their skills when they were challenged in the annual student v staff Netball game. Ms Peterson and Mr Bradley umpired a vigorous tussle where maturity and experience prevailed over youth and energy!

Music-Al's Visit to Ardmore

Ardmore was treated to the Musical Instrument Making Show earlier this term. Mr Russell French, also known as Music-Al, brought his fun, interactive show which is dedicated to introducing students to music, and showing children how instruments make their sounds.

Music-Al explained to the students of Ardmore school about how certain instruments work such as: string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The students were also vastly fascinated by the home-made instruments Music-Al had exhibited.

Music-Al got his name from singing a song known as “You can call me Al”, he played it regularly and the name stuck with him, then people started to call him Music-Al because it’s like musical but with his name in it. When Music-Al performed at Ardmore School he also taught the students the chorus of the song he regularly played at the event; later the students had performed with Music-Al with unique percussion instruments.

For the home-made instruments Music-Al informed the students about how wind instruments work like the distance of the finger holes, how to turn a balloon into a reed, and much more. Music-Al had made wonderful instruments himself from turning a paint bucket to a drum to turning a broom into an electric bass guitar. The students were astonished by Music-Al’s creativity and were inspired to make their own instruments.

The performance was lovely and everyone enjoyed playing the percussion instruments created and bought by Music-Al. They additionally learnt how to concoct their own distinctive instruments out of anything. Music-Al really left a commendable impression on the students of Ardmore School.

~ Aaryaveer S J

Enviro Group

Trees for Survival Planting Day

We had a beautiful day for our 23rd Annual Trees for Survival Planting Day! Students and volunteers worked together to plant 850 native trees at a local farm on Brookby Road. It was a wonderful act of manaaki, particularly for the students who had potted these seedlings last year and have spent the year tending to them! We had an enthusiastic group of tamariki, a great mix of seasoned Enviro leaders and new members to our group. Everyone put in the mahi and we certainly enjoyed the treats provided by the generous landowners, Keith and Sandy!

Thank you to the Ardmore School community for your ongoing support of our tamariki in their kaitiaki efforts. We are already looking forward to our next batch of seedlings to care for!

Meredith Blogg

Enviro Kaiako

ECCS

Ardmore School chose the top Year 5 - 8 runners from the school cross country held at the end of Term 2 to participate in the E.C.C.S. Cross Country. The team practised as hard as they could for a couple of weeks in preparation for the E.C.C.S. Cross Country. On Tuesday, the 13th of August, the kids woke up with a sense of purpose and determination, ready for whatever would come at us that day.

The team had a short briefing, then departed to Te Puru Reserve in Beachlands by bus. The bus ride was short but suspenseful, with each kid nervously anticipating their run for the day. After a short journey the Ardmore children set up their majestic gazebo, which kept the team shaded from the sun.

The Year 5 girls started to warm up for the long 3 km run ahead. The races would go to girls and then boys for every year group. The starter would check if all the schools were there and would make everyone do a warm-up getting ready for the long run soon to come.

Once all the preparation had come to an end, the starter got the 2 wood blocks, and… BANG! All the kids would thrust off the line and start their run. The 3km run was a mix of muddy hills, gravel paths and lots of tall grass to cover. Some kids found the terrain challenging, but all eventually finished, dirty, sweating, but happy. All in all, the race was hard, the race was fun, and everybody had a great time. Ardmore School once again showed excellent sportsmanship towards the other competitors, cheering them on and encouraging them. Congratulations to Kalani Meredith who placed 6th and progressed to the Counties Cross Country. Thank you Miss P for organising and training the team.

Ty S-H

Upcoming Events

Please remember to check the school calendar on the APP for further dates of interest

Friday 6 September - Whānau Assembly 2;30pm

Tuesday 17 September - Ambury Farm Park Visit Rms 13, 14 & 15

Wednesday 18 September - Ambury Farm Park Visit Rms 10, 11 & 12

Thursday 19 September - Tough Guy & Gal Challenge

Friday 20 September - Whānau Assembly 2;30pm

Tuesday 24 September - Ambury Farm Park Visit Rms 3, 7, & 8

Thursday 26 September - Ambury Farm Park Visit Rms 1, 2 & 9

Friday 27 September - Ambury Farm Park Visit Rm 4, 5 & 6

Friday 27 September Term Three ends

Term Four begins: Monday 14 October

Tamariki Showcase

At the beginning of August Mason C from Rm 10 took part in a MX Schools challenge held in Whangarei. He raced a Yamaha PW50 motorbike representing Ardmore School and placed 3rd overall for the day. An awesome achievement!

Joshua Willmer

Past pupil, Josh Willmer, will proudly represent New Zealand in swimming at the 2024 Para Olympics being held in Paris currently.

Joshua shot to fame at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games when he won a gold medal. Look out for Josh when he competes tonight in the Men's 100m Breaststroke SB8 Heat 1 at 9:10pm.

Well done Josh - we are very proud of you.

PUBLIC NOTICES

Public notices are in no way endorsed by or reflect opinions or interest of those at Ardmore School.