Positive Behaviour for Learning Focus Week 5-8

PB4L Focus for Week 5-8

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Walk calmly around buildings

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Keep hands, feet and objects to ourselves

Teachers are keeping their eye out for students following the expectations of the above focus areas.

New River Primary Preparing for Polyfest

HAND SIGNALS: Eitiare Tangatakino, 6, moves to the music during rehearsals at New River Primary School in Invercargill. Eitiare was one of 24 pupils getting ready for the 2012 Polyfest at the Civic Theatre from Wednesday to Friday.

Organisers for the 2012 Polyfest are looking forward to months of hard work paying off on the Civic Theatre stage this week.

At the New River Primary School, organiser Lisa Tou-McNoughton watched from the sidelines as 24 children swivelled their hips to the beat of the music, polishing off their moves before their debut on Wednesday.

About 50 groups across Southland and Otago who will be taking part in this year's festival.

It had been rewarding to see both the rural communities as well as Invercargill get on board the event through the years, she said, and seeing the practice time and co-ordinating pay off made it worth it.

Some of the children who will be taking part in Polyfest - including her own - had grown up performing in the event, she said.

"We're really looking forward to this - the community involvement so far has been wonderful."

The St Patrick's Polyfest group is doing a pre-Polyfest performance for the Elston Lea Kindergarten today at 11am, at St Patrick's in View St.

The Polyfest Cultural Festival will be at the Civic Theatre from Wednesday to Friday.

Tickets are gold-coin entry.

New River Primary Pacifica group performance time - Friday 10th August at 11.45am 

He Kakano o te Te Awa Hou Kapa Haka ropu performance time - Friday 10th August 1.30pm

We suggest that you arrive at least 30min before your child performs, so that you don’t miss their performance.   

Maori Language Week 2012

Learn it, Live it, Love it!

How are you celebrating Maori Language week this week?  When your children come home ask them about the exciting things they have been learning.

Bilingual Health Resources

FOREARMED: Heart Foundation Southland health promtions co-ordinator Stella O'Connor and 

New River Primary pupils (from left) Blade Walker, 9, Mia Henry, 10, and Brody Miller, 11, 

with the new bilingual health 

Low-decile Southland primary schools will have a new bilingual health resource in time for 

Maori Language Week. Heart Foundation Southland health promotions co-ordinator 

Stella O'Connor presented the Hauora Hautipua books to New River Primary yesterday. 

Twenty low-decile primary schools in Southland will receive the books over the next week. 

Ms O'Connor said she believed the books were needed in the south. She applied for a grant 

through the Southern District Health Board's Healthy Eating Healthy Action (HEHA) and received 

funding for 20 sets of books to be given to low-decile Southland schools. 

The books, which cover the four seasons, follow superheroes Maui and Hina and look at traditional 

Maori concepts, incorporating health and nutrition messages, she said. The messages promoted 

healthier lifestyles, diet and exercise to whanau and the wider community, and a teachers' guide 

had suggestions on further teaching on the topic with links to the curriculum, Ms O'Connor said.

"Education can play a key role in tackling the spiralling rates of obesity and diabetes in New Zealand, 

and sadly the rates are even higher among Maori and Pacific communities." The books, which were

 released by the Heart Foundation to celebrate Maori Language Week, can be bought from the 

foundation. Adapted from an original resource developed by Te Hotu Manawa Māori and Robyn 

Kahukiwa, the books also aim to improve Maori literacy. The foundation was developing a 

storyboard format for early childhood centres, Ms O'Connor said. 

New River principal Elaine McCambridge said it was always wonderful to get new resources 

for the school, especially those related to health promotion. "We are a health-promoting school 

and it all ties in with that at New River," she said. It was important to have resources such as 

the Hauora Hautipua books, which were in a format children could understand and relate to, she said. 

Maori Language Week, Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2012, runs from Monday to Sunday next week.

Samoan Language Week

Celebrate Samoan Language Week 27 May - 2 June 2012

World Smoke Free Day

Thursday 31st May 2012

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International Road Safety

This week is International Road Safety Week and it is a great opportunity for us to run a magnifying glass over our schools road safety issues and/or develop greater road safety awareness in our community.

Road Safety Week is all about community engagement to help get the road safety message out there!

New River Road Safety Week Activities:

1.    Practice crossing the road with your class. Remember to “Look all ways and always look!”

2.    Encourage students to be highly visible on or near the roads by wearing our New River High Viz Vests.  Make an effort to remind students to be wearing their vests daily.

3.    Students could create a road safety slogan.  This could then be shared on their class blog or in the school newsletter.

4.    WOW day. WOW = Walk or Wheel.  We will have a WOW day this FRIDAY 11th May .  Students are encouraged to walk or wheel to school and can then use their wheels on the court at lunchtime. 

What have you done this week - tell us about it by leaving a comment