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169 Fitzherbert East Road, Aokautere, RD1, Palmerston North. Tel: 06 3574611 Fax: 06 3574116 www.aokautereschool.net
School Newsletter – 10th August 2015
Important Dates For Your Diaries:
N.B. School Assemblies are held fortnightly on Fridays at 2.10pm.
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Wheels Days are on School Assembly days (It makes it easy to remember!)
School Banking: On Tuesdays.
Ukulele Group: Friday lunchtime in Room 7
Jump Jam: 8.45am Tuesday to Thursday in the Hall. Can the children bring
sneakers for this activity, please?
 Kapa haka Group: Tuesday lunchtimes
 School Choir: Monday lunchtimes
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Monday 10th August and Tuesday 11th August: Zero Waste taught by Shirley
Goodall and supported by class teachers. “Is that really Rubbish?” “Reduce” and “Is
That Really Rubbish?”
Saturday 29th August: School Garage Sale - We have booked the Hall at IPC to
hold this fundraising event. Look out your stuff now! I have piles of bits around the edge
of my garage in readiness. Please make sure it is all in good condition, we don’t want to
be taking lots of items to the tip as it will cost us!
Monday 21st and 22nd September: The School Production will be at the Globe
Theatre. Theme = ‘Weather With You’.
Friday 25th September: End of Term 3. This is a 10-week term.
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Friday 30th October: Pet and Craft Day – Put the date into your diary now!
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Pre-warning: Highland Home Christian Camp has been booked for Tuesday 5th April –
Friday 8th April. This camp is for our Year 5-6 students. We cannot confirm costs at this
stage and they could be have increased since we went last time in 2014 ($200). This
gives you a time to consider purchasing a sleeping bag and a waterproof coat for your
child’s Christmas present - if you think this is needed.
Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends of the School,
TENA KOUTOU TE WHANAU O TE KURA AOKAUTERE,
I’m starting with a couple of glimpses of what your children are learning in their inquiry
topics, at this stage of the term. This week we are welcoming Shirley Goodall, the Zero
Waste facilitator and classes will be involved in this learning programme.
School Visit to Te Manawa: This was a successful science-based experience where we
learnt about the amount of water that is available for use after we remove, the water from the
oceans, ice floes and clouds from a 20 litre bucket. (The bucket represented the total water
on Earth.) It was upsetting to see how little remains to take care of the needs of people and
animals and brought home the importance of looking after this resource. Our survival
depends on us to do so.
We discussed that we need clean water to live and to be healthy. We need water to drink but
we also use it for showers, washing clothes, irrigation of gardens and crops, cleaning cars,
flushing toilets, cooking, fire-fighting, and we enjoy leisure pursuits – boating, swimming,
fishing, skiing, camping in and around water. The fresh water we drink comes from rivers,
lakes and streams. It also comes from underground – that’s called “groundwater”.
We made a list of the pollution that occurs when we aren’t careful about how we throw things
away. When harmful things are buried in the ground incorrectly, the earth acts as a sponge
and soaks them in. Once it is soaked in it can pollute our groundwater – e.g. paint, oil, weed
killers. Polluted water can be drunk by people and animals and can also damage plants and
can even kill animals that live in it.
Facts:
 70% of people in the world don’t have clean water to drink.
 Almost 99% of the world’s water is undrinkable because it is salty or frozen in ice caps.
This means there is just 1% of all the water on earth is healthy for people to drink.
Simple science for you to try out at home: After the trip, some parents suggested
they would like their children to experiment with science at home and asked me to think of
ways to get them started. Here goes…
1. Soil Layers
Aim: To predict how well a mixture of soils settles if shaken in water
Equipment: A mixture of soils (clay, sand, soil, gravel), some tap water, a jar or clear
tumbler, a spoon for mixing.
Method: Mix the soils; Add water; Shake gently, Watch settle, Describe the process; Draw
the results; Describe and explain what you saw;
 What happens to the levels?
 What does the dirt do?
 Is some water still muddy – why? (Particles in suspension)
 Anything floating? Does this explain some soil layers?
2. Where Does the Water Go?
Aim: To develop observation and prediction skills.
1) Pick a stone, and a piece of dirt the same size.
Predict what will happen if dropped into two, glass containers ¾ full and marked to show
water level. (Felt pen line on the glass container)
What do you observe? (Bubbles of escaping air and raising of water level.)
What changes do you see in the levels? Why?
2) Drain a set quantity of water through a yoghurt container into a glass jar or glass of sand,
soil, gravel and clay. (Use nails to form the holes in the bottom of the yoghurt pot)
Predict which makes the cleanest water.
Which drains the quickest? (Relates to erosion or gardening.)
Which soils soak up water?
Why do puddles form?
PLEASE: Give me some feedback: Do you want more science ideas to explore in future
Newsletters?
Zero Waste: Welcome to Shirley Goodall, the facilitator of this programme in schools.
People use a lot of stuff. Where does it go after we throw it away?
This is the sort of information that Shirley will be discussing with the classes in her
sessions.
After something goes in the rubbish bin, it’s collected and usually taken to a huge hole in the
ground called a landfill. There, garbage and waste is dumped, crushed and covered with dirt.
More and more garbage gets added and covered. Waste never stops coming, so eventually,
the landfill runs out of room. It gets covered in soil and grass and people find another place
to start a new landfill. We are using and hurting one of Earth’s limited resources – it’s land.
Sometimes, instead of burying the rubbish, people build incinerators. Incinerators burn the
waste so all that is left are the ashes. Then the ashes get buried in the landfills. Incinerators
help reduce the amount of rubbish in the landfills. However, when incinerators burn the
rubbish, they can pollute the air with smoke that is dirty and sometimes harmful.
Soil that surrounds a landfill can also become polluted. Then the crops and plants that
depend on healthy soil can get hurt. When soil gets polluted, water under the ground can
also become polluted. Litter on the ground is a form of pollution that is unhealthy for plants,
animals and people.
Wearable Arts Technology Challenge: Next Friday – August 14th, we are holding a
House Challenge at school. The whole school will be involved in making up to four creations
out of recyclable materials. These creative designs will be modeled at the Production. Cecily
Hoskins has sent a notice home to request donations of newspapers, magazines, egg
cartons, wire, string, wool, wire coat hangers, empty plastic bottles. Bubble wrap, plastic
bags, material, boxes, --- anything that can be recycled into a piece of wearable art. These
donations can be left in Room 5.
Cecily got the House Captains to pick a “Season” from names in a hat raffle and this is the
season that they need to work their costume creations around. This has been decided.
We are going to start the costumes on Friday morning and we are hoping some parents will
have some spare time to help the children to glue, attach and make parts of the costume, so
we can complete this work to a standard that will make it into the Production. –e.g. a sewing
machine may be needed to secure bits on to the costume.
Please let Cecily know if you can help.
Flu Season: The flu season is well underway and hitting many of us as you can tell from
our voices – or lack of voices. Schools are a conduit for epidemics to spread into the wider
community. We offer flu jabs to staff and parents annually and know that many adults seek
their immunization from their health professionals or workplaces. A morning T.V show guest
advised viewers that many hospital beds are full, and that the flu is going to be a health
problem for longer than usual and advised viewers they should get immunized.
Working Bee: On behalf of the School, I would like to thank the team of willing workers
who gave their time on Friday for the Working Bee. ‘Many hands – make light work’ and the
Hall lights were a special job with a tall ladder being brought in to reach the lights. However,
the proverb didn’t come true as there is a problem with the lights and this will need to be
addressed. Parts of the Hall are in semi-darkness.
Other work covered:
 Bushes and trees around the front gate were trimmed, a tree behind the pool area is
to be felled and lower branches were sawn off.
 Small gardens outside Room 1 were weeded before rain fell.
 The kitchen stove was cleaned and benches wiped.
 The Hall foyer wallpaper was stripped and is now ready for painting. This will brighten
and modernize the entrance.
People who assisted at the Working Bee went in a draw to win a Pool Key. I will let you know
who won this in next week’s Newsletter.
Production Dances: Around Week 5-6 the class dances will be showing the school what
they are gong to perform in the Production on 21st and 22nd of September. The pressure is
on! The children are learning the self-discipline of working as part of a team to meet the
deadline and our teachers are thrilled with these early efforts.
Mathex: Sarah Inman and her Mathex teams can be proud of their efforts in the local
Mathex competition held on Friday. We entered a Year 6 Team who were placed 4= out of a
group of 47 teams. The Year 5 Team was placed 6= out of 41 teams. Stunning effort! You
have great maths and problem solving skills teaching, Sarah. This is an excellent result!
Aokautere Stars: Please let Jayne, Kathryn or I know if your child or their Team has excelled in a
sport or cultural activity and I will be able to acknowledge their achievement in the School
Newsletters.
STARS:
 Riley Wilson for his thoughtful science comments and his accurate explanation of what PH is. I
think we will hear more about Riley’s scientific interests over time.
 Bella Mori, George Hayman and Alexa Garnevska-Keall for being able to follow their NZ Sign
Language Sheets and sign their names confidently.
 Aokautere School Pupils for their behaviour in the Te Manawa science centre. The educators
praised their engagement in the science and appreciated that they listened to the instructions and
were careful with the chemicals and equipment. They told the teachers that our school is always
welcome to come back.
 Jessie Coxon: 1st in Under 11’s Manawatu Duathlon Champs, recently.
 Jon Spencer for his super Production Posters and tickets. Jon found a great App to make the
tickets and this help took some work off Cecily and Jayne. Thanks, Jon!
 Emily Griffiths for her super explanation about the Aesop’s fable – “The Mice and the Cat”. She
could tell me the mice were not brave enough to put a bell on the cat to warn them he was around
and about. She said he would scare the mice off with his growls, and proceeded to demonstrate
the growl!
 The Year 6 Mathex team were 4th= and Year 5 Mathex team were 6th=. We are so proud of you.
Community Notices:
Fudge for Sale: If you enjoy the taste of fudge you need to chat to Kate, Emily Ellicott’s mum.
Kate makes batches of fudge and sells it via the “Coffee Box” and various Markets. Ask Kate what
fudge flavours she makes and she will put some aside for you.
Patersonrose Pop Up Store
CRAZY PRICES……Sale stock up to 80% off
Kids Linen – Rugs – Sheeting - Cushions & more
Don’t miss out…
Thursday 20th August – Friday 21st August, 10.00 am – 4.00 pm
Saturday 22nd August 10.00 am – 2.00 pm
3 days only at the Arena Manawatu, the Barber Hall, Waldegrave St Entrance
www.patersonrose.com
Thank you for supporting your children and the school.
I welcome your feedback and invite you to email me: vferry@aokautere.school.nz
- Val Ferry