What's on this Week?
Amesbury Community Gathering - Rescheduled for Friday 5-7pm
Our next Amesbury Community gathering will now be held this coming Friday (25 November) on the sports field starting at 5pm.
Our apologies for having had to postpone from last Friday due to the inclement weather
Ice cream cones will be provided by the school, and a bouncy castle and various games and sporting equipment will be available. Come along and hang out, bring a family take away or picnic, have a play and connect with other families.
Wellington Breeze 'Pack the Bus' Donation Drive
The annual Wellington Breeze 'Pack the Bus' Donation Drive is on again this month.
There is a collection point in the office foyer for you to drop off some essential goodies to help out those that need extra support around Christmas.
What to drop off? There is a comprehensive list here of those things needed.
The bus will be along next Monday 28 November to make the collection, so just one more week to drop off a little something that will go a long way to help out some of our Wellington families. A sincere thank you.
Northern Zone Athletics
Wow! What an amazing set of results our tamariki achieved at the Northern Zone Athletics at Newtown Park last week. Congratulations to the 32 athletes who represented Amesbury with pride and their best efforts and double congratulations to the 7 athletes who achieved top 3 placings and will now go on to represent our school at the InterZone Athletics on Tuesday 29 November, again at Newtown Park.
To find out about the day and who achieved what, you will need to follow this link.
Library Books
The library is looking for everyone to return their books prior to the stock take which will start on 27 November which leaves only one week to return all of the school's books
Please look round for any library books or school readers that you may have at home and return them prior to the stock take.
Calling all adventure, adrenaline-seeking tamariki!
The Tough Guy & Gal Junior Challenge returns to Camp Wainui next year and we wish to get a sense of how many students would be interested in taking part.
With registrations opening on the first day of Term 2023, we would like to have an idea of numbers in advance so that we don't miss out. If your child would love to run through water trails, crawl under obstacles, clamber through tunnels, wade through swamp crossings and pull themselves up hill climbs please register them by completing this expression of interest form.
Your child must therefore be okay with being cold and wet as they make their way through the course. There are hot showers and changing facilities available at the end of the course for everyone to use.
This 'Extreme Off Road Running Event' is open to Y3-6. School years 3 & 4 will complete the Ankle Biters 1.5km course option while the Y5 & 6 complete the Little Nippers 3km course option.
It is hoped that Amesbury will enter to compete on Thursday 25th May 2023 with an entry fee of around $30 per child. Please register your interest now and Eilís will be in touch with further information.
Amesbury Games & Fundraising
The inaugural Amesbury Games will be held on 1 December.
It is a great opportunity for all of our tamariki to try out new sports and physical activities that they have not participated in.
Additionally, you have the opportunity to sponsor your tamariki as they participate in this event with the funds raised going to the Kiwi Hoops Programme that our ākonga will be participating in in Term 1 next year. See here for details.
For more information please read through Eilís' Amesbury Games article which we also provided last week and the new Fundraising component.
Camp Week
Amaria has provided the final updated details for the Koru Camp Week. If your tamariki are in Koru please go through the final information to check where they will be during the week and what they need when they are there. As always if you have any questions please contact your child's whānau teacher.
Below is the latest information for each Harakeke's & Pōhutukawa's camp week which takes place in Week 8 (5-9 December). This was provided last week so if you have already read it, there's no need to read it again.
Lost Basketball
One of our tamariki has lost his basketball at school. If you see it lying around please hand it into the office and Rachel will return it to its most grateful owner.
It's easy to identify as the Nike symbol has been coloured in. It will be slightly pinkish in colour it that area, on both sides of the ball. This is similar to what you are looking for:
Interested in Miniball Coaching Next Year?
Are you considering being involved as a miniball coach next year but need to touch up on your coaching skills? Register now for a free 2 hour coaching workshop delivered by Capital Basketball.
Please find details of these upcoming Kiwi Hoops Coach workshops designed for coaches / teachers working with 5–12 year-olds. Each workshop is free of charge but participants need to pre-register.
CLICK HERE to register. (Spaces are limited)
The Kiwi Hoops Coach accreditation is the entry level of Basketball New Zealand's coaching curriculum. It focuses on the ‘How’ to coach tamariki to maximise their enjoyment, learning and development.
Entertainment Membership - Black Friday Sale
For the first time ever, when you support our school's fundraising with a purchase of an Entertainment Membership from us between 6.00pm, Thursday 24th November and 6.00pm, Monday 28th November you will receive a second membership FOR FREE. Yep, that’s double the fun, double the dining, and double the savings! This year's Entertainment Membership is packed with hundreds 25% off or 2 for 1 offers from all your favourite local restaurants, takeaways, attractions, shopping and more. Plus, for only $69.99 you only need to use your membership twice and you’ll save what you spent on it. So order now to get double the savings! Most importantly, 20% of every Entertainment Membership purchased goes directly towards supporting our our school's fundraising! Thank you so much for your support Order here at our fundraising page: https://subscribe.entertainmentnz.com/fundraiser/11026z1
Poems Wanted
Tūhono, Wellington City Libraries’ poetry journal for children and teens has returned for 2022!
All throughout the month of November, submissions of poetry will be accepted in English or Te Reo Māori from young writers aged 5 - 18 in Wellington. In previous years, more than 200 young poets have been published in Tūhono - so this year, again, contributions will be split it into two books, one for kids and one for teens. As long as submission rules are followed, all pieces received from individuals, and groups or classes, will be published!
The theme for Tūhono 2022 is “Whakangā | Breath.” Whakangā refers to the taking in of breath, or to the process of breathing. It also calls to mind the idea of inhaling from the world; taking a breath to create calm; taking time to stop, slow down, relax, be.
This is the link to the poetry submission form: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7081226/Poetry-Submission-2022
You can find out more over on the Tūhono blogs:
Wellington City Libraries' Summer Reading Adventure
From 1st December 2022 through to 31st January 2023, Wellington City Libraries are inviting the tamariki, rangatahi and pākeke of Wellington on a Summer Reading Adventure - an adventure that will take them around the city, into their own back yards, down to their local library, into the pages of more than a few books, and back home again in time for tea.
Along the way, children and teens will be reading books, drawing pictures and maps, taking videos, completing challenges, getting out into nature, and maybe fighting off the odd monster or two — all in the name of seeing who shall have the honour of being crowned Supreme Champion of Words, Books and Deeds. Along the way, our intrepid young adventurers will be earning all kinds of awesome prizes for their efforts, from collectible badges to ice-cream vouchers, free books, movie tickets, family passes to Zealandia, Wellington Zoo, the Space Place, and much more.
This year is the first time we are running a Summer Reading Adventure for adults, and our librarians have delved deep into the book mines to come up with challenges and booklists that should satisfy readers of many tastes and sensibilities. As they review books and participate in challenges, adults will be earning digital achievements and tickets towards one of our awesome Grand Prize draws.
Kids Singing Competition on Newstalk ZB
For more information on the Newstalk ZB website HERE. If you have any further questions, feel free to contact Duncan via email (duncan.tolmie@nzme.co.nz) or call on 022 476 1401.
Johnsonville Cricket Club - more players needed
Would your son or daughter like to join a cricket team this summer?
JCC need a few more players for their Year 3 (soft ball grade) and Year 5 (hard ball grade) teams. (Your child must be in Y3 or Y5 at school in Nov 2022)Matches are on Saturday mornings starting at 8.30am, and training could be on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday nights depending on which team your child goes into.
Please email info@jcc.org.nz to register your interest and we will be in touch. This offer is only open until we get the number of players required for these Y3 and Y5 teams.
