And this brings our 2018 school year to a close!

Firstly, a warm welcome to BellaRose who joined Harakeke in our final week! We are thrilled to have you with us. 

Last day of School

Here is a run down of what is planned for our final day of school tomorrow, Thursday 13th December. 

It is a non-uniform day (mufti clothes). Students can come in clothes suitable for outside play / water play. All students must bring a sun hat, so they can play outside. As it will be a mufti day, this hat does not need to be a school sun hat.  If children wish to get wet, they need to bring a towel and change of clothes.

All lost property will be laid out in front of Te Rito hub tomorrow morning from 9.45am. We encourage you to check past and claim any items. Any unclaimed (non-uniform) items will be donated to charity. 

School farewell 9-9.35am. This will include:

• 9:10 - 9:35 am: School farewell in the hall for all leavers: Year 6 students; any other students not returning next year; any staff leaving. We will also celebrate our Amesbury Awesomeness awards and congratulate Nethmi Paranagama as our WCC Year 6 Citizenship Award recipient for 2018.
• 10 - 11:15am: Outside fun / water play across the school. School grounds will be split into different areas, where some water fun activities (such as water fight, slip 'n' slide, sprinklers, water troughs and paddling pool) will be set up. All activities will be carefully monitored by adults, and no water play will happen outside of the designated zones. There will be areas designated for non-water based play, so children who wish to stay dry can do so. If children wish to get wet, they need to bring a towel and change of clothes. We recommend that all children do this regardless, as sometimes children can change their mind when they get to school, so having a towel and shorts/top in their bag gives them this option.
  
• 11:40 - 12:20pm Shared lunch in central courtyard. There will be a sausage sizzle available - no money is required, as sausages will be free. Vegetarian and gluten free sausages will be available. All children will also have the option of having an ice block as dessert; again, these will be free. Children still need to bring their own snacks and lunch, as the sausage sizzle is an addition to their lunch, rather than the whole meal. Playing outside can make children very hungry, so they tend to want a lot of food.
  
• 12:30pm School closes for the year. Kelly Club After School Care will be operating from 12:30pm.
  

Please let your child's whanau teacher know in advance if someone different is going to pick them up as school closes.

General reminders:

*Please check/have your child check all lost property boxes in the hubs before the last day of term, as these boxes will be sorted and emptied over the holiday.

*Please look at home for any stray library or reading books and have your child return these to school before the end of term. Many thanks!

It will be a busy and fun end to the school year, and we look forward to seeing you all at some point through the week. 

Year 6 Graduation Dinner

On Monday, we had a lovely evening celebrating and farewelling our Year 6 students. It was lovely to hear the cheerful chatter and laughter that filled the hall and we will truly miss the Year 6 students and families who are leaving our school at the end of this year. In the future, we would love for you to come back and tell us what you have been up to.

One of the highlights of the evening was the Year 6 speeches. They were humorous and heartfelt and there were a number of teary-eyed people around the room. We were particularly impressed with the delivery of these speeches with comical timing and sombre tones used where necessary.

As you move on, Year 6s, we would like to remind you of Lesley's closing remarks. There is a light in each of you and that light is meant to shine brightly. You do not make your light brighter by trying to make someone else's dimmer; you make your light brighter by building others' up and making their light shine more brightly. We wish you all the best as you move on in your learning and living journey. 

Please see the fantastic range of photos that were taken on the night here. 

Year 6 Capital E trip 

The year 6's went on their city trip on Tuesday ... here is what they produced, directed and starred in at Capital E. We were very impressed with how they worked as a team. Here is the link to Wake up NZ with Amesbury School. Enjoy the show!

Camp photos - please see our camp run down articles here: 

• Year 0-2
  
• Year 3-4
  
• Year 5-6

Amesbury TV has 2 final episodes for the year. They have featured Diwali and our International students. These episodes will go live on Thursday afternoon and we encourage you to check back to view them! 

Photos from the recent Churton Park Community Christmas Carol service can be viewed here. 

Scooter discount following Safety programme

Recently our Koru and Te Rito students took part in the Micro Scooters Safety Programme provided by Wellington City Council. They learnt how to ride, stop and balance safely. And they practised sharing the footpath, checking for cars at sneaky driveways and crossing the road using ‘stop, look, listen’ (with an adult!). Micro Scooters are kindly offering all families a 20% discount, valid for 6 weeks from the training, on all online or in store purchases. Use the code SSSAMESBURY at www.microscooters.co.nz

School Leavers – notice re ezlunch / Kindo school shop
If your family is leaving our school and moving to another school that does not use ezlunch or Kindo for school payments, you need to close your account. If you’re not sure about the new school, log in, go to My Details and click on the list of schools, scrolling to find your new school.

If your new school is NOT on the list, you will need to close your account. Send an email to hello@mykindo.co.nz requesting to close your account. This request will need to:

1. Be emailed from your mykindo account email address
2. State the current balance on the account
3. Provide the bank account number for refunding the balance (or ask for it to be forwarded to the school)

Refunds and account closures will be actioned during January/February.

Kelly Club and Kelly Sports

Please check out our articles here and here for Kelly Club/Sports entertainment for your children. 

Co-curricular lessons in 2019

Parents of students currently taking lessons have been emailed regarding re-enrolment for 2019. For all other parents, if you would like to enrol your child in lessons next year, please email communications@amesbury.school.nz with your lesson/s of choice and we will respond in the New Year with confirmation and invoices.  As always, places are allocated on a first in, first served basis. Check out our website here for further information and to see our new teachers.

Newlands uniform available for sale from an ex-Amesbury pupil

Fleece jacket:Size 10 (but very big... I would say a 12)Good condition Price new: 65$ our price: 30$

Tee shirt:Size 12Slightly faded + 1 ink stain bottom right.Price new: 50$ our price: 15$

Short:Size 12Good conditionPrice new: 50$ our price: 20$

PE short:Size: 12 Good conditionPrice new: 30$ our price: 15$

PE tee shirt:Size 8 (I would say 12, sizing is a bit funny...)Ok condition (fabric is not very resistant so some pulled stitches straight from the beginning)Price new: 45$ our price: 15$Contact Sandrine: mob: 0211244728Sandpellegrin72@gmsil.com

See the attached flyer for the "Draw like an Illustrator" course being held at Raroa in the January holidays.