Safety tips

The following tips are provided to help people have a safe an enjoyable Halloween.

·         Stay in areas that are lit with streetlights.
·         Although Halloween is supposed to be spooky, be careful not to frighten elderly people.
·         Don't enter any house, stay on the doorstep.
·         Only go to where you or your friends know the residents.
·         Always go trick or treating with an adult.
·         Be visible.
·         Stay with your friends. Don't split into smaller groups unless an adult goes with you.
·         Don't knock on doors where there is a sign saying 'No trick or treat here'.
·         Don't talk to strangers on the street.
·         Understand what a prank is. Don't' commit a crime thinking you will get away with it because it is Halloween.


Senior Constable Gerry Tonkin
School Community Officer
Motueka  Police
Phb 03 528 1220

A vote of thanks to our parents

From left - Brydie (Rm 13), Ms Mckenzie,
Amelia and Milly (both of Rm 12) jump off a wall
at Kaiteriteri beach.  

Hello everyone! You may have noticed we haven't published anything on the blog for a while - that's because we have been very busy preparing for camp. We went on camp with Room 12, meaning there were 36 students on camp - that required a lot of organising!

We went on camp last week - and it went on for 5 days and 4 nights (two spent at Whenua Iti Outdoors, one night at Appletree Bay on the Abel Tasman Coastal Track, and one night up Takaka Hill at the Caving Club Hut). During the week many of us faced our fears, achieved life long goals and made stronger relationships with the members of our group - including the  Whenua Iti Outdoors instructors.

We owe a big vote of thanks to the instructors but also to our parents for their amazing support. Without our parents, we wouldn't have been able to pay for our camp, and we wouldn't have had all the right gear either. They also made sure that we were happy, healthy and feeling ok about camp before we left.

The beautiful Appletree Bay, where each of the 3 camp
groups spent a night after a 2 hour hike.

This year's camp was different to other camps in that there were no parent helpers needed apart from Alfie's mother - a BIG thank you to Jane for staying on the whole time and supporting Alfie and the other students when they needed it. Some students were a little nervous about going away for 5 days without their parents. This was a big ask - but again, no one worried about this factor of the camp, so thank you parents for going over this with us
and telling us to chill - which everyone (especially Sean of Rm 13) managed to do.

Everyone in Room 12 and 13 enjoyed themselves immensely, and a lot of the students not only did things they never thought they could do, but actually liked it:

"My biggest challenge was sleeping under a fly at Appletree Bay, but in the end I actually found it really fun and it was my favourite part of camp" - Johanna, age 11

"Coasteering was pretty scary (especially jumping from rock to rock) but it was really fun as well" - Jade, age 11

The parents must've been supportive when reading the programme and realising that their child(ren) might struggle with some activities on it. So thanks again parents for being really supportive and encouraging when reading the programme with us. As you can see readers, the Room 12 and 13 students' parents were amazing and us kids wouldn't have gone on camp without them. So, for the third and final time:

From the very appreciative Year 7 students and Room 13 blog team

Putting FUN into fundraising

Room 13 students and parents have been very lucky to have Trish, Palepa and Deb organising fundraising events for the our class camp.  They organised school lunches on the last three Fridays of Term 3 and set up a cafe outside the polling booth on Election Day.  All of these events have raised a lot of money and as a result our camp fees will be lower.

Check out the ladies and their helpers having fun with fundraising!

 Long lines of hungry children!!

Happy customers told us that they tasted as delicious as they looked.

Storytime!!!

Mrs Hosie reading Underground
to Canada at story time

Despite the fact that we're nearly 12, we still love to "chillax" and listen to a story with the class. Even better - you can choose from two stories to go listen to (in Room 12 it's Harry Potter, and in Room 13 it's Underground to Canada). If you don't feel like a story, you can go into the breakout space and read another book or draw. What could be a better way to spend twenty minutes after lunch?

While the stories are being read, the teachers ask questions for the students to answer about the story to get the students involved. Sometimes students have questions about the story which the teachers are happy to answer. There's always a competition to see who gets the beanbag, but sometimes the winners share with their friends. It's a great opportunity to share a story with your best buddies, regardless of which Year 7 classroom they come from.

I spoke to Room 13 student Shaelyn about story time:

"I don't really know which part I like best; I like everything about it." 

Wouldn't it be great if anyone could come in and listen to such cool stories?

By Georgie