Springston School News Blog

What's special about TODAY?!

2012-02-29T05:00:00.001+13:00

Our theme for the year revolves around ideas about Time. And today is a special day - it's 29 February.

How would you like to have your birthday on this date? You would only get to celebrate your birthday on the correct date once every four years! Do you know someone with 29 February as their birthday? I do, and I'm going to their special party this evening. They're having only their 12th birthday, even though they are in their 40s!

Older students will find this clever explanation of how leap year works, very interesting. You might want to pause it now and then to absorb the information.

22 February Earthquake Memorial Service at Springston School

2012-02-22T18:32:00.003+13:00

Two minutes silence

Today our school and local communities came together to remember the events of 22 February 2011. Our Memorial Service was beautifully organised by three of our Year 8 students, Kes, Tanna, and Madi.

We sang songs, and heard words of remembrance for those who had lost their lives a year ago today. We all joined in two minutes of silence to remember what happened in Christchurch at 12:51 pm during the Earthquake a year ago. We remember the sadness of that day, but are also grateful for some of the aspects of our lives that have not changed.

One of the songs we sang was 'Christchurch is our Home', an amazing song that was gifted to all schools in Canterbury by composer Dale McKay after the 4 September 2010 earthquake.

We ended the service by looking forward in a musical way with a wonderful song written and sung by James Beck and Christian Gallen: 'Christchurch City (My Home Town)'. You can see/hear their original version here.

Everyone felt very uplifted by the song and we were thrilled to have James and Christian stay a little longer to entertain students and parents alike. James and Christian also work for Attitude, visiting many schools and working with students.

James Beck and Christian Gallen

We were also privileged to be joined by two visitors to New Zealand, Nona and Tom, who were simply passing by on their way to Akaroa, and who saw that our Service was starting and decided to join us, recognising what a special time this was for us all. They appreciated their warm welcome and left us a lovely note that you will see posted in the Comments below.

Nona and Tom

School Newsletter 10 February 2012

2012-02-11T21:04:00.000+13:00

Click on the image above, to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Or download as a pdf.

Welcome back to school in 2012!

2012-01-27T14:42:00.000+13:00

We hope you have all had a wonderful, relaxing and safe holiday.

The school office reopens on Wednesday 1 February. New enrolments are welcome on this day.

School starts for the year on Wednesday 1 February with Goal Setting meetings. Appointment times accompanied the 2011 end of year reports.

We look forward to seeing you all soon!

School Newsletter 9 December 2011

2011-12-21T20:16:00.000+13:00

Click on the image above, to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Or download as a pdf.

Using Garageband to Create Radio Advertisements

2011-12-14T23:56:00.003+13:00

A small group of 10-11 year old students had the opportunity recently to spend 3 days working with Carol, through Natcoll's NET Programme. The focus was on using Garageband as a creative multimedia tool - of course there was a lot more learning involved than that!

This is one of the fun, but challenging, activities they worked on - to create a 30 second radio advertisement. Being the last week of the year, they didn't quite have enough time to fine-tune their work in terms of being precise with timing. Nevertheless, they did an awesome job, first time up! These are amazing radio advertisements - just like the genuine article.

Simon's Dreadlocks have GONE!

2011-12-14T14:16:00.004+13:00

Teacher, Simon Dakers has had his dreadlocks for more than 12 years!

But today he shaved them off to raise funds for child cancer (and raised over $1000). Isn't that amazing?!

Donations were made for the priviledge of cutting off a lock. Simon's wife and his dad helped with cutting off the locks, and teacher Rachelle Watson did the finishing touches.

Simon says his head feels a lot lighter. Doesn't he look handsome!

The Official Opening of Springston's Secret Garden

2011-12-13T00:12:00.000+13:00

The Little Red Hen - performed by Springston Junior School Students

2011-12-12T07:58:00.000+13:00

Teacher Rachelle Watson and our very talented junior students have presented two outstanding performances of the traditional favourite, 'The Little Red Hen' (from Class Act Productions).

Well done to all the students who worked so hard over several weeks, practising and learning their parts for this very entertaining production. We hope you enjoy this video of the final performance!

Springston Junior School presents... The Little Red Hen

2011-12-02T14:40:00.001+13:00

School Newsletter 2 December 2011

2011-12-02T14:33:00.002+13:00

Click on the image above, to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Or download as a pdf.

Well done, Nanobots!

2011-11-30T20:52:00.002+13:00

The 8 members of the 'Nanobots' (Springston Robotics Team) are back from their whirlwind trip to Auckland over the weekend for the National Finals of the FLL (First Lego League) robotics competition, and can pat themselves on the back yet again.

The team was placed 9th out of 20 teams in the Robot Game section, and gained 1st place and another Lego Trophy for their research in the Project section. Each student was also given an FLL Medal.

They represented the school like true ambassadors and Carol was very proud to see how they interacted with others and had exemplary behaviour wherever they went. Well done!

The trip wouldn't have been possible without the support of our parents and wider community, who fundraised to help us get to Auckland. And special thanks must go to our two parents who came and looked after us while we were away - Jill and Tim!

Talking to our new friends in Canada

Today we had a Skype call with another FLL team.... from Sudbury, Ontario, in Canada. They wanted to meet us and compare notes about the competition. It was great to meet them and find out how much we had in common. We talked about team roles, our projects, robot design, the team challenge, and which robot missions each team had been able to achieve. We wish them luck for their National Finals on 15 January!

Next week we will be welcoming some students from Freeville School, who are wanting to get started in robotics, and they are coming to see how it all works!

School Newsletter 18 November 2011

2011-11-20T22:12:00.000+13:00

Click on the image above, to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Or download as a pdf.

First Lego League (FLL) Robotics - what is it?!

2011-11-18T10:58:00.003+13:00

An excellent new video about FLL has been released that will help you understand what the FLL Robotics competition is all about.

Food Factor® Tournament Video: What is FLL® and Core Values

Springston Nanobots win Christchurch section of FLL Robotics Competition

2011-11-13T21:53:00.007+13:00

Congratulations to our robotics team, the Nanobots! These 8 students only began robotic programming this year, and entered the FLL (First Lego League) competition for the first time.

The video below shows Nanobots' third and final round of the robot performance challenge. They had scored 100 points in Round 1 of the challenge (the top score for that round). In Round 2 they got 70 points, and were lying in 5th place by the time their final turn came up in the last game of Round 3. How thrilling to then score 127 points!

Earlier, they had done an excellent presentation of their project inquiry on an aspect of Food Safety, and taken part in a challenge to see how well they worked together as a team.

The following two videos show the awards ceremony, with the Nanobots receiving the award for Robot Performance. And then, the overall award for the Christchurch competition (all round excellence)!

The team would like to thank the many people who have helped them over the past few weeks of competition preparation:

Annette, Claire and Tom for getting the team started with programming and robot design
Annette and the Russley LOL team for lending us their old table, and letting us run a practice on their new one
Jason Kyle (Kiwi FIRST) for lending us a robot and lego set
Chris Clarke (Manager of New World Lincoln), and the rest of the team there
Katherine Ironside (Tegel)
Pete Barrowclough (Lincoln Ventures)
All the parents for their support of the students in so many ways
Springston School class teachers for allowing students to practise during class time
The PTA for purchasing our first lego robotics kit
Liz (our Principal) for her encouragement and support in countless ways

School Newsletter 10 November 2011

2011-11-10T20:27:00.000+13:00

Click on the image above, to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Or download as a pdf.

What a WONDERFUL day! Pet Day 2011

2011-11-02T23:39:00.007+13:00

Today we had another fantastic Springston School Pet Day!

This year our 'A Team' invited students from Christchurch East School, and organised a wonderful day in the country for them. We also hosted a special group of elderly visitors, family, friends and other members of our local community. Several reporters from local newspapers came to see the fun, and some students were even interviewed by CTV. We were SO lucky the weather turned out to be perfectl, with a lot of heartache involved in making the decision to go ahead, at 7 in the morning when it was still raining!

Special thanks to all who made the day such a success: Our judges, the sponsors who supported the A Team in providing lunches and other treats for our Christchurch East guests (more on that in a later newsletter), our generous parents who did baking for the day, the children who all took part and brought along their treasured pets (and the parents who supported them), and all the staff who took on a role for the day under the guidance of our chief organiser of the event - teacher Allana Taylor.

Our Christchurch East guests were absolutely thrilled to be presented with a new Wii to take back to school - the result of generous fundraising by our community. The last photo in the the slideshow below, puts it all in perspective...

We would love your comments (below) of what you enjoyed most about Pet Day this year!

School Newsletter 28 October 2011

2011-10-28T22:30:00.000+13:00

Click on the image above, to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Or download as a pdf.

School Newsletter 7 October 2011

2011-10-19T00:05:00.000+13:00

Click on the image above, to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Or download as a pdf.

Advice for our All Blacks - iPad animations

2011-10-05T21:29:00.009+13:00

What would a group of 6 and 7 year old rugby enthusiasts ask our All Blacks if they had the chance? Let's see!

A group of 10 students from Rooms 2 and 3 (Years 2-3) had the chance to work in pairs to test-drive our new iPads, using the built in camera and the PuppetPals HD app. They were asked to come up with an animation showing them giving some advice to some of the All Blacks.

Carol cut out and made some cardboard All Blacks for them, using some models published in The Press recently. No scripts were used, just thinking and talking 'off the cuff'. Drawing around their characters was quite hard, so next time we might try out a stylus pen instead of fingers. They've come up with a pretty good result for their first effort, and these are certain to make you smile :-)

TIP - don't wait for all the videos to load - click on a play button and see if a video starts playing).

By Graeson and Nathan:

By Brodie and Claudia (Daniel Carter's mum teaches at our school, hence the wee gem at the end of this video):

By Zaden and Phelix:

By Liam and John:

By Jack and Regan (this animation is quite long, but there are lots of little gems amongst it, so it hasn't been edited):

Robotic Chaos at Springston School!

2011-09-30T19:59:00.004+13:00

One of the robots we've built for the FLL (First Lego League) Robotics competition went crazy after school today - luckily everyone had left for the day!

Oh my, what have we unleashed?!

From an idea on the Google Maps Mania Blog, Robots are Attacking on Street View.

Put in your own street details at the Chaos in Your Town website.

This could make a great story-starter (or finisher), if it's not too scary for younger students!

Senior Learning Team Celebration

2011-09-30T14:39:00.003+13:00

The Senior Learning Team recently celebrated and shared their inquiry learning for the term, by holding an evening where parents could call into classrooms and take part in some of the ways we can feel empowered to contribute to decisions made in our society. Parents could then go and hear the speech finals. Here are some of the displays from the evening.

School Newsletter 30 September 2011

2011-09-30T14:30:00.003+13:00

Click on the image above, to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Or download as a pdf.

Springston School Speech Finals 2011

2011-09-22T13:38:00.004+12:00

Last night our speech finals were held. A large audience was educated and entertained on a range of topics related to "If I had the power..." by our talented Year 4 - Year 8 finalists. Topics ranged from mobile phones, and banning animal cruelty, to magical journeys around the world and the trauma of being a middle child. A finalist was chosen from each room, and then an overall winner (Emily W) was announced. Congratulations to all who took part!

Finalists were:

Room 5
Alice M - Room 5 winner
Georgia G
Callum S
Tom H
Haidee M

Room 6
Brook C - Room 6 winner
Libby S
Macaulay H
Lucy C

Room 7
Emily W - Room 7 and overall winner
Hannah D
Oliver G
Kes B

Video Challenge

2011-09-21T17:18:00.006+12:00

A few students learning how to make movies, have created super hero videos, within a 3 hour time limit and working effectively as teams.

Both videos did take rather a lot of inspiration from ones made from students last year...

RWC Players

2011-09-19T19:38:00.002+12:00

With all the interest in the Rugby World Cup, students were invited to draw a rugby field in Kid Pix, and then have themselves photographed in front of the green screen as if they were playing in a game of rugby. This photograph was then put into Keynote, where the instant alpha tool was used to remove the background, and the student's photograph was then placed in the picture they had drawn. A few Year 1 students took up the challenge, along with a couple of others.

Rugby World Cup Radio Commentary Challenge

2011-09-17T13:40:00.007+12:00

One student took up this week's challenge, to invent and record a radio commentary of an imagined part of a Rugby World Cup game.

Macaulay (Year 5) chose to create a commentary about the All Blacks, playing Australia in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final. This wasn't written down and read out, it was created 'on the hop', as he imagined it in his head at the time - much harder to do than you think. Garageband was used as the tool for this, with built-in sound effects chosen.

Listen to his recording of the tense final moments of Macaulay's imagined game, and find out what happens!

Photo shows our 'commentator' with his local rugby hero.

School Newsletter 16 September 2011

2011-09-17T13:38:00.001+12:00

Click on the image above, to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Or download as a pdf.

Springston School Health Consultation - Survey for Springston Parents

2011-09-15T14:21:00.007+12:00

This survey has now closed. Thank you for your feedback.

Please follow the link to complete the Springston School Health Consultation - Survey for Parents.

If you are unable to complete this online survey, please pick up a paper copy from the office.

Dan Carter's Canterbury Crusader shorts!

2011-09-14T21:22:00.007+12:00

Dan’s mum Bev teaches at our small country school in Springston, just south of Christchurch and after a dig around in his bedroom in the family home at Southbridge, she has kindly donated a signed pair of Dan’s old Crusader rugby shorts to the PTA to put up for a fundraising auction.

The Springston School PTA is a dedicated group of parents in the process of fundraising for the development of the slightly tired school grounds. Our role has increased in recent times, partly due to the events in shaky old Christchurch. It has been a few years since the playground has had an upgrade, and with more children at the school, there is a real need for better activity-based outdoor options at break time.

Part one of the wishlist includes a sand pit and an off-road bike track and senior students are now working with a Neighbourhood Engineers Programme to put together their design ideas. Go the All Blacks, how can they lose with Dan the Man in the team?

Good luck bidders and thanks for supporting Springston School’s fundraising efforts! We also have a signed pair of his brand new Adidas boots up for auction as part of our fundraising efforts so check out our other listing and help our students get the awesome outdoor activities area they deserve!

Follow this link to the PTA's fundraising auction and Daniel Carter's shorts could be yours!

Or follow this link to bid for a pair of his rugby boots!

Two Hour Video Challenge

2011-09-08T11:10:00.006+12:00

We have had another two hour video challenge (Breaking News), and this time students from the Media Team have been teaching other students how to make an iMovie. They got them started last week, and then this week the new students had to finish the movie themselves. What you see is what they managed to complete in a total of about 3 hours across two sessions.

Please look back for more videos to be added to this post soon.

School Newsletter 2 September 2011

2011-09-03T20:31:00.002+12:00

Click on the image above, to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Or download as a pdf.

The 2 Hour Video Challenge

2011-08-31T20:14:00.004+12:00

Students in the Media Team had a 2 hour challenge last week; to plan, film, edit and complete a 30 second Sunsmart TV advertisement for an audience of young people. They were allowed to use humour to convey what is really a serious message. Here are the final videos!

Book Week 2011

2011-08-25T13:38:00.002+12:00

Our Book Week Parade has come and gone for another year. Are you in this slideshow?

Lincoln Zone Netball/Rugby Tournament

2011-08-25T11:19:00.003+12:00

On Tuesday 23 August a group of mostly Year 7 and 8 students attended the Lincoln Zone Netball/Rugby Tournament. The tournament had been postponed a week because of the snow storm in Canterbury.

Mixed teams competed against teams from other local schools.

These strange characters appeared at school today...

2011-08-24T21:38:00.005+12:00

Do you recognise them?

Click on the photo to see more clearly.

School Newsletter 19 August 2011

2011-08-19T16:22:00.000+12:00

Click on the image above, to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Or download as a pdf.

RoboCup Competition - 3rd Place!

2011-08-18T08:35:00.004+12:00

On Sunday 14 August the RoboCup Competition was held at Selwyn House School. Our team, 'Lightning Squad', entered and this was the first time a Springston team had taken part in a robotics competition. The team of Oliver, Freddie, Jasmine and Jake spent all day at the competition, participating only in the Rescue section. There was also a Dance section, and only one entry in the Soccer section.

There were 8 teams in our Junior Rescue (primary/intermediate school) Competition, and each team took part in four 2 minute rounds, where they tried to programme their robot to get through a course by following a line and changing direction on the green squares. They needed to get to the green 'chemical spill' area at the end, and push a 'victim' (tin can) out of the spill area. Marks were awarded for each tile successfully completed, and turns correctly made following the green squares. You could make multiple restarts within your 2 minute round. The scores from a team's best 3 rounds were counted.

Lighting conditions were extremely variable, and this made it difficult for every team to callibrate the sensors in their robot accurately. Nevertheless, the Lightning Squad rose to the occasion, firstly working hard on Thursday, Friday and Saturday to alter their programming for a rule we had not picked up on, and then not giving up after a low score in the first round. After a downpour of hail at lunchtime, the competition was almost reduced to just 3 rounds, so we were lucky to have the 4th round reinstated because we got a better score in that and could drop off our first round score.

The team was delighted to finish in third place on their first effort! Thanks to the parents who supported the team during extra practices throughout the holidays, and who came along to support them on Sunday. We would like to enter more teams next year if we are lucky enough to have more robots to work with. Our next robotics challenge will be the First Lego League Competition starting in September.

You can see our other videos from the Junior Rescue at SpringstonTube.

Thursday 18 August Update

2011-08-18T07:35:00.003+12:00

Thanks to everyone who came prepared for the snowy and slushy conditions yesterday. School will be running as normal today, but please come prepared for those cold, wet conditions again.

Please check the Upcoming Events list on the side of this blog for dates for next week's special events.

Snowy Days

2011-08-17T14:12:00.000+12:00

A slideshow of the photos you emailed to Carol. Enjoy!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Bus issues this morning - Wednesday 17 August

2011-08-17T12:17:00.005+12:00

Thank you to those of you who notified us this morning about the bus not showing up, and children being out waiting for them in the cold.

Please accept our apologies for this unfortunate situation! The bus company was notified at 6.45 am this morning and confirmed that they would run an hour later than usual. They subsequently made a decision that they didn't need to leave as early as usual because they felt there would not be so many children on the bus... Unfortunately, they didn't notify the school of this alteration :-(

School to open Wednesday 17 August at 10 am

2011-08-17T06:53:00.008+12:00

School will be opening at 10.00 am this morning. All children must have a change of clothes and shoes please.

The school bus will be running one hour late today.

Book Week postponed until next week

2011-08-16T12:37:00.005+12:00

Book Week has been postponed until next week. The same timetable will operate, with Dress Up Day being next Wednesday 24 August.

In the meantime, snuggle up and enjoy some books now - share some reading with mum or dad, or brother/sister/friend.

Where will your imagination take you? What will you learn?

Snow Closure: School Closed again Tuesday 16 August

2011-08-16T06:45:00.014+12:00

Update 6:45 am

School will remain closed today due to the snow.
Keep checking back here and to the News Blog for updates. Further decisions about the situation tomorrow will be made as we are able. We hope you are all warm and comfortable.

See yesterday's post below if you would like to send us a photo of a snowman or snow sculpture that you have made yesterday or today!

Sports Tournaments this week

2011-08-15T20:30:00.002+12:00

The Sports Tournaments planned for this week, have now been postponed until next week. Please check the Upcoming Events list on the left side of this blog for new dates.

Snowman or Snow Sculpture

2011-08-15T15:26:00.014+12:00

Take a photo yourself, and email it to Carol (just one photo per student please) of a snowman or snow sculpture you have created on MONDAY or TUESDAY when school was closed. Carol will put it on this blog. Send your first name and Room number with your photo.

Have fun!

Lachie (Room 1)

Fran with snow woman (Room 1)

Ashley (Room 2)

Romilly (Room 8)

Snow woman by Isabella (Room 2) and Anna (Room 4)

Snow Angel by Isabella (Room 2)

Snow Closure - School Closed 15 August

2011-08-15T06:39:00.005+12:00

School is closed today, Monday 15 August, because of snow. Keep warm and stay off the roads. We will keep you updated about tomorrow.

School Newsletter 5 August 2011

2011-08-09T18:42:00.001+12:00

Click on the image above, to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Or download as a pdf.

School Newsletter 1 July 2011

2011-07-01T16:55:00.002+12:00

Click on the image above, to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Or download as a pdf.

Library Survey for Springston School Parents

2011-06-26T00:12:00.010+12:00

The various Focus Groups at school have been busy recently, gathering data from the community to help decide directions on matters relating to the use of ICT, school environment / playground developments, and now the future direction of our Library.

We appreciate your input, so please help us with this one further survey. This survey is for Springston School parents only.

You can access the survey at Library Survey for Springston School Parents. Thank you.

We're into Lego Robotics!

2011-06-25T20:34:00.007+12:00

Congratulations to the 9 students who have been successful in getting into our first ever Robotics Team.

Oliver G
Freddie G
Alice T
Jake D
Caitlyn R
Jasmine T
Jack M
Annabelle B
Ethan K

Four of these students will be chosen to take part in the RoboCup Rescue in August, and the whole team hopes to take part in the First Lego League (FLL) Competition later in the year. We have never had Lego Robotics at school before, and so this is a new experience all round! Mrs Kendall is learning with us!

We have just started learning the basic skills involved, and will be spending some time after school on Thursdays while we try to catch up in our learning with help from experts such as Mrs Ward from Russley School, and Mrs Horncastle.

ICT Survey of Springston School Parents - May 2011 - Summary of Results

2011-06-17T15:23:00.000+12:00

Our thanks to the 53 families who took the time to complete this online survey. The survey has now closed. We hope you find our Summary of the results interesting. Simply click on the image above, to read the Summary. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Or download as a pdf.

Included in the Summary is the ICT Focus Group's brief commentary of thoughts and questions arising from the results, for each question in the survey.

If you would like to add any further comments or insights to what is in this document, feel free to leave us a comment here on the blog, using the usual 'comments' link below this post.

School Newsletter 17 June 2011

2011-06-17T15:00:00.002+12:00

Click on the image above, to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Or download as a pdf.

Watch 'After the Quake: Nigel Latta's Guide to Helping Children Cope'

2011-06-15T21:29:00.005+12:00

Image thanks to TVNZ

If you missed this evening's programme, you can still watch it here. An excellent, 30 minute programme with lots of common sense and good tips.

Further resources supporting the programme are available on the 'Safe & Sound: Helping families cope with disaster' website.

13 June Earthquakes - keep checking this post for updates

2011-06-13T16:59:00.008+12:00

Image thanks to Geonet

Update 8 pm: School will be open tomorrow as usual. You will be informed immediately if there is any change to this plan.

We are sure you are all safe and well with your families after today's earthquakes. You can keep up to date with news on the quakes at Canterbury Earthquake and the Christchurch City Council. The Ministry of Education has earthquake updates too.

Don't forget to watch Nigel Latta's programme on Wednesday evening (see an earlier post).

After the Quake: Nigel Latta's Guide to Helping Children Cope

2011-06-12T12:26:00.005+12:00

Image from TVNZ

TV One
Wednesday 15 June
8 pm

A 30 minute programme that follows Nigel Latta's visits to Christchurch, where he gave a series of talks to families on how to help their children through the stress of the earthquakes.

Playground News

2011-06-10T08:30:00.001+12:00

Reporter: Hayden

Science Alive Comes To School

2011-06-09T08:30:00.002+12:00

The girls have worked hard on their video news report - lots of firsts here (iMovie, cutaways, new videoing experiences). They've put together a great report!

Reporters: Anna, Bailey, and Georgia

Fun Multi Skills lessons for Springston Students

2011-06-08T10:29:00.003+12:00

Another example of students learning to use cutaways to enhance the way they report news. Interviewing skills were important in this report, too.

Reporters: Kes and Madison

Car Boot Sale

2011-06-08T09:25:00.003+12:00

On 22 May the PTA held a Car Boot Sale to help with the funds for the sandpit. A total of $907 was raised on what was a wonderful, fine day.

Reporters: Hannah D and Courtney

Work and Play Focus Group Survey for Springston School Families

2011-06-03T12:00:00.007+12:00

This survey is now closed. Thank you for your ideas.

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School Newsletter 3 June 2011

2011-06-03T11:00:00.000+12:00

Click on the image to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Download as a pdf.

Springston School a winner for ultra fast broadband!

2011-06-02T12:00:00.000+12:00

Check out the Rural Schools Big Winners article just published in The Press. Great news for Springston School - to be joined to the ultra fast network within the next year!

House Leader Games

2011-06-01T10:34:00.002+12:00

The challenge for our Media Team recently, is to present a video news report that includes cutaways. We have used iMovie to achieve this.

Cutaways are shots that are inserted in a video, but with the previous or another sound track continuing as the new shots are shown. We have used cutaways to illustrate what the news reporter is talking about.

Reporters - Hannah D and Courtney

The WOWOW dog comes to visit

2011-06-01T09:42:00.003+12:00

Reporters: Freddie and Oliver

School Newsletter 20 May 2011

2011-05-23T17:20:00.000+12:00

Click on the image to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Download as a pdf.

ICT Survey for Springston School Parents

2011-05-17T08:30:00.006+12:00

Our workshop for parents on Cyber Citizenship is this Wednesday 18 May at 7 pm in the School Library. Be sure to register with Mrs Brice at the office (phone 329-5724) if you haven't rsvped previously. (This workshop was originally scheduled for 2 March).

The survey below is for parents of students who attend Springston School.
We are keen to gather information about ICT use by your family to help us better understand how to develop your child's ICT skills at school.
An important part of this will be teaching students to become information literate 'cyber citizens'.

If you are a school parent, we'd appreciate you completing this form by Tuesday 31 May. Thank you.

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Tips for starting at a new school

2011-05-11T10:44:00.002+12:00

Reporter: Hayden

Rainy Days Activities

2011-05-11T10:03:00.003+12:00

Reporters: Anna, Bailey, and Georgia.

Food Tech - What do YOU like to make?

2011-05-11T09:55:00.008+12:00

Reporters: Kes and Madi

School Newsletter 5 May 2011

2011-05-07T18:54:00.001+12:00

Click on the image to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Download as a pdf.

Engrossed!

2011-05-04T15:46:00.004+12:00

The first group started exploring how to program our new robot today. Just for an hour - what fun. Oliver, Freddie, and Billy were the tutors.

Springston School Car Boot Sale

2011-04-16T15:10:00.001+12:00

Click on the image to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Download as a pdf.

What learning is happening here?

2011-04-13T15:42:00.015+12:00

These Room 6 students are nearing the end of their Term 1 Inquiry ('Power Up'). They have decided to create videos to share their learning and teach others what they need to know about how to be healthy.

They have been putting their A+ Learner skills into practice in many ways. They have worked on their presentations in groups and used Flip video cameras to film the scenes they have planned. Most importantly, they have worked hard to share out the different roles and cooperate in a group, taking turns and planning the next step.

Here is a list of just a few of the skills these students have been developing today with this activity:

Work cooperatively in a group.
Plan a presentation cooperatively.
Plan scenes using a storyboard.
Plan a video that is manageable in size for the time available to make it.
Write scripts and sequence ideas clearly.
Choose actors and take turns with the videoing.
Convey their inquiry findings in their presentation.
Manage tasks in small steps rather than run around like headless chooks. eg - video one short clip at a time.
Work quickly to meet a deadline.
Be accepting of other people's ideas - reach a consensus or take turns with the decision-making.
Smile on camera.
Acting skills.
Speak slowly and clearly, and loud enough for the camera to hear you.
Write down what they need to remember - spelling, punctuation, grammar, neat writing that you can actually read when you're being videoed.
What things people need to do to keep healthy - eat a good lunch, take brain breaks.
What things NOT to do if you want to be healthy.
Operate a Flip camera - on/off/record/play/delete - what to do if it freezes!
Take a video that can be seen and heard (be close enough, don't use zoom).
Try things out, and if they don't work try something different.
Adapt to the busy room around you.
Be quiet when someone else is recording.
Count down to start the recording so everyone knows when to start.
Download video clips - not delete what you've just done.
Delete the clips not needed.
Transfer clips to the server as they are created so they are not lost.
Undo on the computer.
Open different windows to move files between.
Take turns with each task.
Import video clips into iMovie - add clips to the timeline.
Play and stop a clip in iMovie.
Trim a video clip to remove the parts not needed.
Put the clips in order.
Play and review what has been created.
Add a title to a video clip - spelling, choice of font/size/colour for the viewer to see clearly.
Add transitions between clips.
Make the transitions or titles slower if they are too quick.
View the video and check for errors.
Enjoy the job completed and well-done!

A Team Leadership Day

2011-04-13T13:00:00.000+12:00

On 5 and 6 April Springston Schools A Team was lucky enough to have two leadership training day with Chris Allan from the Joshua Foundation.

The first day was all about learning what a great leader is with challenges in between a slideshow of what being a leader means.

On the second day Yaldhurst school came to us and we joined together to make four determined teams. Together we faced hard, challenging tasks that tested our leadership skills and communication. These tasks included much creative thinking and teamwork. Getting to know the other people in your team was very important. The first five challenges were on the field using planks of wood, barrels, rope and lots of ammo boxes. The final two challenges were water tasks using wood and inner tubes to make a bridge across the pool and filling a barrel with holes to the top with water.

All in all the day was great fun and the whole A Team really enjoyed getting active and using all their leadership skills!

Reporters: Courtney, Hayden and Madi

Hard Work On The Rail Trail

2011-04-13T10:33:00.002+12:00

Rail Trail on PhotoPeach

Yesterday, Tuesday 12 April, Rooms 5 and 6 biked either 22 or 13 km to raise money for new sports equipment. It took about 4 hours to bike 22 km from Little River to Motukarara and about 2 hours to bike 13 km from Birdling’s Flat to Motukarara.

Parents came to bike with us. Some parents took our bikes in their trailers instead.

Thanks to the Room 5 and 6 teachers for organising it and also thanks to the parents for volunteering to help!

It was a FANTASTIC day!

Reporters: Anna and Georgia

Lego Robotics

2011-04-13T10:21:00.005+12:00

Freddie, Billy and Oliver have been learning to construct and program a robot using a lego mindstorms robotics set. The set is made up of lego pieces that resemble the Lego Technic kits, 3 interactive servo motors and various sensors including the colour sensor, light sensor, ultrasonic sensor, touch sensor and the sound sensor.

The robot can be programmed to do just about anything, from dancing to playing soccer!

There is a robot competition, called the Robocup. There are 3 categories: Rescue, Soccer, and Dance. We plan to enter this competition, which is part of the reason the school bought the set in the first place! There is also a competition called the FLL (First Lego League). We hope to enter teams of students in these.

So far Freddie, Billy and Oliver have succeeded in building a robot that is sturdy, robust and, most importantly, can follow black lines, part of the rescue section of the Robocup. They are continuing to make more advanced and effective programs for the robot and have high hopes of doing well in the competition! More students will have the chance to learn how to program the robot next term, before we look at who will be in our team/s.

We thank the PTA for donating the money that bought the set.

Reporters: Oliver and Freddie.

School Newsletter 8 April 2011

2011-04-08T18:28:00.003+12:00

Click on the image to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Download as a pdf.

Springston Agrikids are winners!

2011-04-06T10:23:00.008+12:00

Awesome Field Days on PhotoPeach

The Lincoln Field Day was held on Friday 1 April not far from Springston School. People came to show what they knew about farming and agriculture.There were lots of displays with tractors and other farm machinery. There were lots of tents with other displays about things to try on your farm.

Four teams of Springston students from Rooms 5, 6 and 7 were entered in the Agrikids Competition, competing against teams from as far away as Westport. There were three students in each team. And guess what - our Year 7 Team won! They got filmed for What Now, and will be going to compete in the national finals in Masterton in June! That team is Oliver, Hayden and Billy. Congratulations!

Some of the competition activities were: Push someone in a go-kart, use a slingshot to put a sheep into a sack, milk a fake cow, put the fake parts of a sheep together, build a gate and put on the hinges and put it on a poll, pour water into a pipe and get a packet of biscuits on the top, identify machinery, put a bridle together and put it on a horse, identify breeds of cows and whether they were for meat or dairy, identify safety checks and equipment for riding a motorbike, and there were also random general knowledge questions.

A wonderful group of friends and family of our school volunteered to be part of the overnight security for the Field Day and raised a lot of money for our school.

Reporters: Anna, Georgia, Bailey

New Springston Media Team

2011-03-30T14:24:00.009+13:00

We had an amazing 28 applicants to join the Media Team for the next term. We will start with 10 people who will be in the team for the next 10 weeks or so. The students who missed out this time will have other opportunities to learn many new skills in workshops that Carol will run. And we will have a new Media Team at a later date.

The successful students are Hayden V, Courtney J, Hannah D, Madison J, Kes B, Freddie G, Oliver G, Anna T, Georgia G and Bailey S. Congratulations!

Reporters: Hannah D and Courtney

School Newsletter 25 March 2011

2011-03-25T23:33:00.001+13:00

Click on the image to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Download as a pdf.

Craft Day Outdoor Activities

2011-03-18T15:04:00.000+13:00

It was a great day for having fun with our buddies while we waited for our craft work to be judged.

Craft Day 2011 Produce & Hottest Home Baking Competition

2011-03-16T14:45:00.005+13:00

One competitive section of our Craft Day is for produce created from home gardens. And another section is for the parents who wish to enter the Springston Hottest Home Baker Competition. All the staff and judges really enjoyed their morning tea today!

Click on any photo to see it in a larger size...

A Wonderful Craft Day Today!

2011-03-16T14:08:00.004+13:00

Today was Craft Day at Springston School. What a busy day!

There was something for everyone to be involved with. Some crafts were made at home, and other things displayed were created in classrooms during the morning. We thank the many wonderful friends from our Community who came and helped with the judging.

Did you come and see the displays? Leave us a comment to tell us what you thought.

Craft Day this week!

2011-03-14T17:16:00.001+13:00

School Newsletter 11 March 2011

2011-03-12T17:32:00.000+13:00

Click on the image to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Download as a pdf.

Craft Day Notice #2

2011-03-12T17:30:00.002+13:00

Click on the image to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Download as a pdf.

School Triathlon 11 February 2011

2011-03-09T10:21:00.005+13:00

Our School Triathlon is a fabulous event where senior students assist their buddies around the course, before they tackle the event themselves.

2011 Senior Swimming Sports 16 February

2011-03-09T09:42:00.004+13:00

With all the disruptions caused by the earthquake we hadn't posted any photos from our Year 4-8 Senior Swimming Sports of 16 February at the Halswell Pool. We have a few that we hope you will enjoy.

Springston PTA Fundraiser

2011-03-08T17:56:00.002+13:00

The PTA urgently needs your help - please read the information below, and respond by this Friday.

Click on the image to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Download as a pdf.

Whole School Assembly 4 March

2011-03-04T15:10:00.009+13:00

Singing God Defend New Zealand after 1 minute's silence in memory
of the victims of the Christchurch Quake.

Assembly being taken by Room 6 students.

We welcomed 17 new students to our school this week - people who have had to shift
schools because of the earthquake.

Singing 'e waka e whitu' with the wakas we have been designing.

Announcing the A+ Certificate winners

And the 'Gotcha' Award winners

Craft Day Notice #1

2011-03-03T21:00:00.001+13:00

Click on the image to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Download as a pdf.

Earthquake Update Newsletter 1 March 2011

2011-03-01T16:58:00.000+13:00

Click on the image to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Download as a pdf.

Earthquake Update - Saturday 26 February 1 pm

2011-02-26T13:42:00.005+13:00

Image thanks to Geonet

We are pleased to be able to tell you that Springston School will be open for students on Tuesday 1 March.

Teachers are meeting at the school on Monday to discuss programmes and other issues that may arise. Teachers will be supported by two additional teachers for this week. Staff will also be checking whether buses will be running.

Teachers will be phoning class parents to reassure you that the school buildings have been checked and are ready to go. They will also be checking your general welfare, whether you will be sending additional children along with your own, and whether your family has any connections to people who are missing.

Please note, there will be no Meet the Teacher or Cyber safety meetings on Wednesday this week.

Earthquake News Updates - latest 4 pm 25 February

2011-02-22T21:00:00.014+13:00

Image thanks to Geonet

Updated 4:00 pm, 25 February - The BOT will be meeting to decide whether the school can re-open on Monday. Watch this space over the next 24 hours for an answer. Hope you are all coping well.

.......................................
Updated 6:11 pm, 23 February - Information from the Ministry of Education:

All schools and early childhood education services in Christchurch City, Selwyn District and Waimakariri District must remain closed for the rest of the week.

Schools, ECE services, parents and students in Christchurch City should follow Civil Defence advice about the conditions of the state of emergency.

PLEASE NOTE - TEACHERS HAVE BEEN TRYING TO PHONE ALL STUDENTS FROM THEIR CLASSES TO PASS ON THIS INFORMATION. Any questions or comments, please post a comment below.

Take care.

Carol Kendall on behalf of Liz and Staff.

........................................

Updated 3:45 am - Latest Civil Defence information available here.

Updated 10:10 pm - Please check the Ministry of Education earthquake updates for schools. If you have any questions, please post a comment at the bottom of this post, and we'll do our best to answer. Schools definitely closed tomorrow Wednesday 23 February.
.............................................
We hope you and your families are all safe and well.

Apologies about the lateness of this update, I've just got power back on here at home in Avonhead.

I have heard news on TV reporting that all schools are to be closed until further notice. However, please check here for further updates (unless I lose power again) in case the situation is different in the Selwyn district. You may possibly also hear directly from your child's classroom teacher, as in the 4 September quake. I will update as soon as possible.

Take care.

Carol Kendall
ICT Teacher
Springston School

School Newsletter 18 February 2011

2011-02-18T09:51:00.001+13:00

Click on the image to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Download as a pdf.

School Newsletter 4 February 2011

2011-02-04T17:49:00.003+13:00

A new year under way, and our first week of learning has passed already! A warm welcome back to all our students and their families, and a special welcome to the new members of our Springston School community.

Click on the image to read the newsletter. Double-click to zoom in, click the corner of the page to turn to the next page. Download as a pdf.

School Newsletter Archive including pdf and Word versions.

Peter and the Wolf

2010-12-16T17:30:00.005+13:00

A few scenes from 'Peter and the Wolf', our recent A+ Production led by teacher and Director Rachelle Watson. If you were at one of the performances, how about leaving us a comment below. Enjoy!

Final School Newsletter for 2010 - 16 December

2010-12-16T16:35:00.001+13:00

School Newsletter 10 December 2010

2010-12-12T22:08:00.002+13:00