Otago Problem-Solving Challenge
(Years 7/8)
Set 1 - Thurs 28 May
Set 2 - Thurs 25 June
Set 3 - Thurs 23 July
Set 4 - Thurs 20 August
Set 5 - Thurs 10 September
Great Kiwi Competitions (Years 5-8)
Year 5/6 English Kiwi Competition - Thurs 23 July (9-10 am)
Year 5/6 Maths Kiwi Competition - Tues 28 July (9-10 am)
Year 5/6 Science Kiwi Competition - 30 July (9-10 am)
Year 7/8 English Kiwi Competition - 23 July (10-11 am)
Year 7/8 Maths Kiwi Competition - 28 July (10-11 am)
Year 7/8 Science Kiwi Competition - 30 July (10-11 am)
ICAS exams (Years 4-8)
Science - Tuesday 18 August
Digital Technologies - Tuesday 25 August
English - Thursday 27 August
Maths - Tuesday 1 September
Spelling Bee - Thursday 3 September
Thur 4 June HPV vaccine for registered Year 8’s
Sun 7 June Deadline for school photo orders
Tues 9 June PTA 7.30pm in the library
Fri 12 June Scholastic book orders close
9-12, 16-19
June
Moana—swimming at Canterbury
Swim School
Thur 25 June Otago Problem-solving test 9.00am
Wed 1 July Cross-country for whole school
Thur 2 July Postponement date for x-country
Fri 3 July Term ends 3.00pm
Mon 20 July Term 3 commences
Wed 22 July NW Zones x-country @ Jellie Park
Thur 23 July • Otago Problem-solving test
• UC Great Kiwi English exam
Tues 28 July • UC Great Kiwi Maths exam
• Years 3-4 interschool x-country
Thur 30 July UC Great Kiwi Science exam
10-12 August Moana at camp at Hanmer Springs
Tues 18 Aug ICAS Science 9.00am
Thur 20 Aug Otago Problem-solving test 9.00am
24-26 August Awa Nui camp at Woodend
Exam Dates
3 June 2020
Week 8 / 12
If you’ve got old spectacles lying around, the school office can take them off your hands. We collect second-hand glasses, sunglasses (and cases) for the Lions Club to test, repair and send to needy communities in the South Pacific. Drop your old specs — both kids and adult sizes— at the office today!
HPV Vaccinations
Year 8's who have previously registered will
have their HPV vaccinations at 9.00am on
Thursday 4 June. This is a make-up session for
the one that was postponed due to lockdown.
Awards Focus: Hauora—Healthy
Team Awards
Room 1 Tayla Macfarlane, Cole Sutton
Room 2 Alexia Mestanza, Ella-Rose Evans
Room 3 Ryaan Malik, Hollie Anderson
Room 4 Riley Martin, Ava Mackay
Room 5 Gus Rutherfurd, Corban Agnew
Room 6 Therese Surrey, Daniel Bercich
Room 7 Blake Weir, Jessica Thomas
Room 8 Natalia Wakelin, Farron Raasch
Room 9 Haon Kang, Denzel Sangkop
Room 10 Albie Moore, Payton Blomquist
Room 11 Lillia Poh, Morgan Campbell
Room 12 Max Jones-Johnston, Annabelle Kang
Room 13 Elise Mackay, Jasper Edwards
Room 14 Alexandra Bateman, Ethan Green
Te Kohanga Anabelle Males, Hollie Beedie
Room 18 Bella Zhang, Shine Dano
Room 19 Patricia Chen, RP Jansen van Rensburg
Kowhai Award Finalists:
Waka: Piper Mackay
Roto: Natalia Wakelin
Awa Nui: Gwyneth Walsh
Moana: Isla Sangkop
Te Tohu Kowhai winner will be announced and all award
winners will be acknowledged at a (closed) awards
presentation on: Friday 5 June, 9.00am.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, parents & whanau are
not permitted to attend however we will email parents
of award winners a video recording of the presentation.
Principal’s Message
Tēnā koutou katoa. Nau mai, haere mai ki te kura Te
Parito Kōwhai ō Russley School. I hope you all enjoyed the
extra day off over Queen’s Birthday Weekend.
Two weeks on from our full return to school and things
have been going better than we could have hoped, for a
number of reasons:
• The children returning have generally been very posi-
tive about getting back into action
• Those initially not so keen
have been brave and stepped
up
• Parents have trusted the
school’s systems and have
also been brave about letting
their children come into
school by themselves
• Teachers have embraced the return to face-to-face
teaching and learning, and have brought enthusiasm
and energy to making things work without fuss
Operating at Level 2 over the past weeks has reinforced
how lucky we are to have the staff we do at Russley
School. Without question, all staff have willingly engaged
in the planning necessary to return to school and have
sought to do whatever is needed to make the experience
of returning to school the best possible for students and
their parents. Thank you all very much.
School uniform
Wearing the correct uniform during the winter months is at
times a challenge. It is time to reinforce what we require
at school. But first, let me congratulate those students
who are wearing school uniform proudly. I can see that
there has been a real effort to buy new garments and
those wearing them look smart — thank you. On the other
hand, I see a number of students coming to school on cold
mornings, wearing only a short-sleeved polo on top. This is
a quick way to get sick! It is important to wear layers in
winter, plus a jacket on cold mornings. Pink, yellow or
green tops or hoodies are not suitable for school.
The Board of Trustees has prescribed a uniform for stu-
dents and it is important it is worn respectfully. If you re-
quire winter garments, you can purchase instore or online
at mainlanduniforms.nz. Since the school fire, our second-
hand stock is very low. In fact, if you have clean and tidy
uniform that your child has outgrown, consider donating it
to the school office. Another good place to search for sec-
ond-hand uniform is TradeMe.
Continuing term event changes
We will continue to update you as events are cancelled
and timetables altered over coming weeks as various
groups decide their plans. Where possible, we hope to
continue as normal but some flexibility is necessary. On
the horizon is cross country in July, camps for Teams Awa
Nui and Moana in term three and winter sport for a short-
ened season in term three also. We are proceeding with
our school production in Term 4 as well. Hopefully a return
to alert level 1 will make things much easier.
Greg Lewis
Tumuaki
Congratulations to year 8 student,
Micaiah Veer, on her selection to
Burnside High School’s Performance
Music Programme for 2021.
Ukulele Orchestra is starting tomorrow
in the old hall. The Strum Strike Blow
Festival at Horncastle Arena has been
cancelled but we are still going to
learn the songs and hopefully will get
an opportunity to perform them at
some stage. Remember to bring your
ukulele on Thursday—it’s important for
students to have their own instrument
during this Covid–19 period.
Music
russley cross-country @ Crosbie park
Wednesday 1st july Awa Nui & Moana 11am-1.00pm
Waka & Roto 1.15-2.30PM
In case you were unsure about term dates
following the Covid-19 lockdown, the dates for
the remainder of the year remain unchanged.
Term 2, 2020 Wed 15 April to Fri 3 July
Term 3, 2020 Mon 20 July to Fri 25 Sept
Term 4, 2020 Mon 12 Oct to Tues 15 Dec
Closed on:
Labour Day Mon 26 October
Cant. Show Day Fri 13 November
Russley School Dates 2020
Year 8 students Micaiah Veer and Reu-
ben Veenstra have both been long-
listed for the National Flash Fiction Day
Youth Competition. This prestigious
competition is open to international
submissions up to the age of 19 and
organisers were inundated with entries
this year. It is a huge achievement for
these students to have made the
longlist of 40. The shortlist and final
results will be announced on National
Flash Fiction Day, 22 June.
https://
fingerscommatoes.wordpress.com/nffd
-youth/
Congratulations also to Eliza Sellier
who was published in the journal Toi-
toi #19 with her script titled 'Finger
Play'. Eliza's writing was illustrated by
former Russley School pupil Ahmed
Abdelfadil (now at secondary school).
Another ex-pupil, Kimberly Currie was
also published in this issue, with her
descriptive piece titled 'New Zealand
Forest'.
The following students have had their
writing selected for publication in the
next issue of the Toitoi journal:
Isaac Elkins | Interview with my Gran-
dad (article)
Henry Peters | Fabulous Sea Turtles
(article)
Micaiah Veer | Fort of Feathers (poem)
Shona Beedie | Space Beast (poem)
Ruby Jones-Johnston has been select-
ed to be an illustrator for Toitoi 20.
Meanwhile, author Paula Green has
commended some of the talented writ-
ers from Team Roto, saying "These
poems are magnificent... I love the mu-
sic, the detail, the flow, the mood, the
shared experience. These are the best
and most moving things I have read all
year." The following students will each
receive a copy of her latest book,
Groovy Fish:
Finn B Henry P Willow R
Oliver P James DW Isaac E
Annabelle K
Read more at https://
nzpoet-
rybox.wordpress.com/2020/05/30/
poetry-box-may-challenge-russley-
schools-astonishing-bubble-time-
poems/
Writing Excellence
Mana Ake
Over the next few weeks while we are
still in level 2, Mana Ake is offering
support to parents via Zoom. They are
able to support and guide parents and
whānau who need support with their
children, and to promote wellbeing
and positive mental health. Our Mana
Ake kaimahi have a diverse range of
skills and include psychologists, social
workers, counsellors, teachers and
youth workers. If this is something
that you wish to access, please email
QR Code Contact tracing is essential at Alert Level 2. If parents must come
in to school, we ask that they sign in at the kiosks in the admin.
foyer or outside the new hall. You can use pen-and-paper, or use
your smartphone to scan a QR code and record your name.
To the many parents who have complied with the
school’s request to stay off site during Alert Level 2,
a big Russley thank you! Your support has helped us
immensely with our Covid-19 crowd management.
RUSSLEY HUG!
FREE
DELIVERY on
school photos if
you order by
Sunday
7 June.
ICAS Examinations 2020—entries close Wednesday 29 July
Registrations are open for Russley students in Years 4—
8 who wish to sit tests for the International Competi-
tions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS). These tests
are an opportunity for academically proficient children to
sit an external exam at school. A child may enter one,
several or all tests.
Science Tuesday 18 August
Digital Tuesday 25 August Technologies
English Thursday 27 August
Mathematics Tuesday 1 September
Spelling Bee Thursday 3 September
NB There is no writing exam in 2020 because of the
Covid–19 risk of sending test papers for individual
marking. All other exams are conducted online.
If your child wishes to enter, please copy-and-paste the
form below into an email, complete details and email to
[email protected] by Wednesday 29 July.
Please pay entry fee via internet banking.
ICAS Registration 2020
Due by Wednesday 29 July—NO LATE ENTRIES ACCEPTED Student Year Level Room Please select the tests this child is to sit: Digital Technologies $15.00
Science $15.00
Spelling $15.00
English $15.00
Mathematics $15.00
Total: $
I have paid by internet deposit to Russley School Board of Trustees 03 0830 0307669 00
(include student name and ICAS as bank reference)
Burnside High School
Due to COVID-19 re-
strictions, our Open Evening
has been cancelled. Pre-
enrolment applications for
2021 for in and out-of-zone
places is 4pm on Friday
31st July 2020. https://
www.burnside.school.nz/
enrolment/
Community Notices
St Thomas of Canterbury
College
No open day due to Covid-
19. Enrolments for 2021
close July 31st.
www.stc.school.nz
MASH Kids Programme
Before-and-after school,
and holiday programmes,
onsite in Russley school
hall. www.mashkids.co.nz
Riccarton High School
If you are considering apply-
ing for Year 9 in 2021, we
will accept applications un-
til Friday 31 July. https://
www.riccarton.school.nz/
enrol/
RHS Peerswick Scholarship
applications close Monday
15 June. Three scholar-
ships each worth $1,000
on offer for Year 8 students.
https://hail.to/riccarton-
high-school/article/
BaJ65xo
Villa Maria College
Apply for our 2021 intake.
Applications for 2021 close
on Friday 26 June.
http://www.villa.school.nz/
new-parents/enrolment/
KidsFest which runs every
winter school holidays, will
go ahead from Sat 4 July—
Sun 19 July with steps to
ensure the health and safe-
ty of participants. Also some
new online activities acces-
sible thru KidsFest website.
Tickets avail from 5 June at
kidsfest.co.nz
Avonhead Community Trust
Holiday Programme
Monday 6th July-Friday 10th
July, 8:30am-3pm. $150 a
week per child or $35 per
day / per child. Based at
Avonhead Baptist Church,
102 Avonhead Rd.
http://actrust.org.nz/
Programme contains 30min
per day Christian content.