ISLA BANK SCHOOL
NEWSLETTER
30 July 2015
Term 3, Week 2
Rural Support Southland
With a busy lambing and calving season
approaching please see the attached
pamphlet put out by the Rural Support
Southland group.
NOTICES FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Winter Sniffles
With lots of children having colds and needing lots
of nose blowing, could we again ask each family
to contribute one large box of tissues for the
classrooms.
GYMNASTICS
Just a reminder that gymnastics starts tomorrow in
Invercargill. Please ensure all children are suitably
dressed. We will be leaving at 9am in the morning
and will be back by lunchtime; therefore heat-ups
are fine. Thankyou to the PTA for paying for this
activity.
TEACHER ONLY DAY
This is on the 27th August. All three staff will be
away on Professional Development.
ASSEMBLY AWARDS
WEEK ONE
READING TROPHY: Caleb
WRITING TROPHY: Maddison
MATHS TROPHY: Alex
VALUES AWARD: Anaru
MERIT AWARDS
Meg – Massive improvement in presentation
Gabby – Achievement in Geometry
Estelle – Achievement in Geometry
Caleb – Achievement in Geometry
Jake Batrina – Achievement in Geometry
Daneka – Managing blog in class
Mativa – Managing blog in class
Assembly will be held on Fridays at 2.25pm
TUESDAY 4TH AUGUST
We have 12 children attending two different
courses on this day. The Jump Jam course is yet
to be confirmed. We have sent out a tentative
permission slip for Jump Jam with the hope that
our school is selected to attend. Please return the
slip by Monday 3 August. We will use the mini
bus for the library trip and request a parent car for
the jump jam trip. We should know by tomorrow
whether jump jam has been confirmed.
FUN RUN
A big thank you to the children that participated in
the school fun run. This bought money in for the
school, and their prizes have been distributed.
Thankyou for supporting our school.
NEWSLETTER
Week four newsletter will be put out on the 11th
August. Please note change of date.
LIFE EDUCATION
This is when Harold will be here for two days on
the 19th and 20th August.
Scholastic Book Orders
Orders are due back to school by:
7th August
COMMUNITY MEETING
The next meeting is to be held on the 18th August,
7.30pm at the school.
Commissioner Details:
Paul Ferris
pferris@xtra.co.nz
02748898822
ACCOMPANYING THE NEWSLETTER
TODAY:
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KIND REGARDS
CLARE ROBINSON
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Rural Support Southland pamphlet
Permission slip for 2 trips on the 4th
August
Bobby calf fundraiser from the PTA
PTA ski trip
Uniform questionnaire
Calendar of Events
31 July – Gymnastics Invercargill
4 August – Winton Library visit 9.30-10.30
7 August – Gymnastics Invercargill
12 August – Public Health nurse visit
14 August – Gymnastics Invercargill
18 August – Community Meeting
19-20 August – Life Education visit
21 August – Gymnastics Invercargill
26 August - Book Bus
27 August – Teacher Only Day-School closed
4 September – Parent Teacher interviews
10 September – Community Meeting
11 September – Family night-Production
16 September - Public Health nurse visit
19 September – PTA Cardrona Ski Trip
20 September – PTA Cardrona Ski Trip
21 September – Technology in Winton Yr7&8
23 September – Book Bus
The American bison!
The American horned bison is one of a kind ungulated mammal.
Characteristics
The bison weighs 750kg of pure muscle it’s got 2 heavy layers of brown shaggy
fur for the white winters. They have a huge hump on their backs for pushing the
snow to get the delicious lash vegetation.
Habitat
They are commonly found in the north America, Alaska and Mexico. They roam
the planes looking for
shrub berry and small plants, also the domesticated ones like to eat hay like Bobo.
TRANSITION CLASSES
We also run 4 year old transition classes each Wednesday
morning in Room 3. So if you have, or know a 4 year old who
will be coming to our school soon, please contact the school to
advise us of this.
SKI TRIP
The PTA have organised a ski trip in
September.
Please see attached forms.
BISON REPORTS
Buffalo
Bison are ungulate animals; they are also members of the cattle
family.
Bison originate from North America but are now being breed
worldwide. Bison have very little meat, so it is being breed with
cattle beasts to create beefalo.
Identification
Bison have a very shaggy coat, which are a chocolate colour. They
have a large hump in the middle of their back, horns on either side of
head. Bison are very scrawny in the hinds but the meat is very tender
and one of the richest meat you will ever find.
Diet
Bison are herbivores and in the rugged wild country that they
originate from, the like to eat fresh grass and sweet tusks but they
will also eat dry grass, twigs and some types of thistle. Farmed Bison
eat fresh grass, tussock and twigs in the summer, and during the
winter months they are given balage and hay.
Habitat
In North America the Bison love to live in rivers valleys and open
grass areas however
Predators
Grey wolfs, brown bears and grizzly bears make these mammals one of their
main food source.
Reproduction
A Bison breeds year long on when ever their cattle are cycling. A
female Bison takes up to 9 months and 9 days on average before she
gives birth. You can sometimes guess when a cow is going to give
Behaviours
These beast usually travel in groups of 25 to 50 bison’s pair heard, the fierce males clash birth because their teats will fill with milk and they will leave their
herd to have their calf by themselves.
it out, charging at each other with their bony shock absorbing heads for the crown of
alpha dominants and mating rights.
These ancient animals have been roaming the earth for hundreds of years. Sadly they
are endangered and have a low reproduction rate. These animals need to be protected
luckily their numbers are slowly growing higher and higher every year.
Linus
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Bison
The bison is an angulated which means that it belongs to the hooved family.
The average size of the Bison’s foot is pretty big even bigger than a humans foot.
Its hooves are separated in two parts. The bison only
has two toes … weird.
The bison normally eats dry grass, shrubs and twigs in the wild but
When farmed, the Bison are given barley, sometimes
hay and wheat if they are lucky.
The Bison has a few predators such as the Grey wolf, Brown bear,
Coyole , grizzly bear and even humans. If the Bison is hand- reared by
Humans, they become friendly animals.
The Bison’s normal behaviour in the wild is Jumpy, playful and
Sometimes like a kid even if the Bison has grown up. Bison like
to play and kick around any solid things they can find in the wild.
When attacking predators the Bison we know as playful jumps
out of playful mode and jumps into attack and destroy mode to
attack predators and crush their skulls.
The Bison has a few hidden weapons such as its powerful horns,
Its massive head and beastly hind legs.
Meg
The Bison only have one calf a year, so if people try to kill them out,
it wouldn’t take much for the Bison’s numbers to decrease a lot and
then they could become extinct, which is not what we want, they are
amazing animals.
By Estelle
THE AMERICAN BISON
This North American bison is a colossal ungulate beast and are also members
of the well know cattle family.
Characteristics
Bison are the largest territorial animals in North America striving for
dominates. There thick skulls and rough body’s ranges around 2 to 3.5 meters
long approximately 1 ton of pure destruction. There fury coats acts like a
scorching hot heater in the wintery times.
Habitat/diet
The North American bison habitat is a semi open grass lands as well as
semiarid lands, and scrublands. They also will graze in hilly or mountainous
areas. These mammals can also live in narrow rivers and cramped valleys.
North American bison’s are ginormous nomadic grazers travelling in herds of
25 to 50 these herbivores forage on vegetation and its main food source is
twigs, tussocks and fresh grass.
Predators
Due to their size, bison have few predators the grey wolf, humans, coyote,
brown bear, and grizzly’s. The grey wolf generally takes down bison with
their deadly pack, brown bears also prey on bison calves
The bison is one of natures most strongest grazers in North American many
organisations are working towards their conservation.
Cameron
COMMUNITY NOTICES
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School Blog Sites
http://room1islabankschool.blogspot.co.nz/
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http://room3islabankschool.blogspot.co.nz/
Take the time to check out our blogs, and please comment.
The children would love to see your comments. We have
been updating them.