PRINCIPALS REPORT   
 
17 November 2011
Recently, I have written about the importance of setting goals and pushing boundaries to achieve excellence. The other half of our school motto is Integrity. Integrity is about moral excellence or honesty. As the school year draws to an end, it is important that we keep in mind our personal integrity. What do you want people to think of you – that you are honest and have moral excellence, or that you are easily swayed by your peers into making poor choices. I have faith that each of our students knows how to make good decisions, based on personal integrity and honesty. I want to be able to look each and every student in the eye on the last day of school this year and say what a fine young person they are.  My challenge to all students is to be true to themselves and to display moral excellence in all that they do.
 
9 November 2011
Over the last couple of weeks we have had the opportunity to share in a lot of student successes. As we continue to focus on our school goal of excellence, it is very rewarding to see the gains in student achievement and the effort that students are putting in to their academic studies. This is a term where we test the students in a number of learning areas and report to parents on what students have achieved. It is a time of celebration for many students as they reap the rewards of the hard work they, their parents and their teachers have all put in during the year. 

It is important for students to continually set themselves new goals and challenges and to build on their past success. For our Year 8 students, this is an opportunity to set themselves up for their continuing learning journey at secondary school. It is a chance for them to ask questions, seek help where necessary and to build a solid learning foundation for themselves.

I have had the pleasure this week of presenting a number of students with STAR awards. This is something the students really work hard at and it is always a pleasure to present an award and acknowledge the effort that has gone in to achieving it.
 
3 October 2011
One of the things we have been focussing on at school this term is Values. Encouraging, modelling and exploring values is one of the requirements of the New Zealand Curriculum. Values are deeply held beliefs about what is important or desirable. They are expressed through the ways in which people think and act.

During September, we have been talking in classrooms about the value of ecological sustainability, which includes care for the environment. As a school, we have been aiming to minimise the rubbish we create. We have been recycling paper since last year and have decided to recycle cardboard as well. Mrs Penn has offered to take all our food scraps home to her pigs, so these are being collected from classrooms each day. Our aim is to have a rubbish free school, which will not only save us money but will also create a much better environment for us to work in. All students are being encouraged to take home wrappers from their lunch boxes. In this way, everyone plays a part in making our school a better environment. It also means that by emptying the skip less - or even doing away with it - we have more money available to spend on students. 

I am keen for all our students to really think about their environment and the impact they have on it. I was delighted to receive the following letters from students after I spoke about rubbish at assembly.

Dear Mrs Simpson.

I’m writing to say thank you for letting us recycle. I believe this is a fantastic idea because Room 10 is already recycling. We put food scraps in a pig bucket, paper goes in the paper bin and pencil sharpening and tissues go in the bin.

By Tyson Richardson.

Dear Mrs Simpson

I am writing this letter to say thank you Mrs Simpson for bringing to our attention the big rubbish problem. It has made such a difference to the amount of rubbish that 23 children, 1 teacher and our bird Nemo create.I believe this is a spectacular idea. We have now got a pig bucket that we put food scraps in. Pencil sharpenings and tissues go in the bin. We put cut up paper in the bin.  Have you noticed the difference in the playground?

Yours sincerely

Robbie Heller

11 September 2011
Over the last week I have been very privileged to hear the finalists in our Year Five, Six, Seven and Eight speech competitions presenting their speeches. I am very impressed with the high standard of the speeches and the dedication the students have shown towards achieving excellence. I look forward to hearing our top three Year Seven and Year Eight students presenting their speeches at the Rotary Speech Competition on Wednesday 21 September.


4 September 2011
Last Monday I travelled up to Dunedin with six of our students who had been chosen to represent Rosebank School with their science fair projects. The students all had excellent projects that reflected the hard work they had put in. A special congratulations to Sophie, Bailey, Meg, Camden and Laura who all gained awards in the Otago Science Fair. The six projects will be on display in the school foyer this week.

One area of home / school communication we have been working hard on, is electronic portfolios of students work. On Monday 5 September, teachers will be at the Home and School meeting in the Board Room at 7:30 p.m. They will be demonstrating the class pages they have created and the students e-portfolios. We would love to see parents come along and share in our electronic journey. The students who are using our school website are gaining a lot of benefit from having more ownership of their work and learning. Any parent who would like their own log-in can contact Gail at the school office and she will organise this for you.

Pauline Simpson
Principal