Twilight Gala Celebrations

Last Friday Richmond School hosted their ' Twilight Gala ' to celebrate and thank our wonderful  parents, pupils present and past, staff and our friends and families for their support over the years. It was a lovely event enjoyed by all and though it was a little chilly, we still had a great turn out.
Room 3 pupils have written about the gala in their blogs, so I'll leave it to them to share their experiences with you all. So please take a look at what they have written.

Flick It On Challenge.

We have all returned to school feeling revitalised and ready to go after our term break. I attended a education conference in Hamilton during the second week of the term break and have come back feeling inspired and excited about the future of education in Aotearoa and although there were plenty of new ideas that I came away with, I also felt that there were many that we were already doing here at Richmond especially in the ICT area. However we have become involved with one idea that come directly from the conference and Whaea Jacquelene. We have agreed to making a movie in collaboration with two other schools, one in America and one school up North. Our film is about looking at how education has changed over time. Yesterday, we traveled to Ferrymead to film in the Early European classroom. Today, we completed some footage at Willowbank. Next week we will complete the editing process. So as you can see it’s all go here in Room 3. Keep your eye on our Class Blog and the finished product will be featured once it has been completed.

Avebury House

Today Richmond School walked to Avebury House to help begin the celebrations of the official reopening of this beautiful community house. We went armed with our ukuleles, our best singing voices, gifts and morning tea. Matua Pete Mason kindly supported us by leading the karakia and korero. Our tamariki then sang and played some of the waiata that we had learnt for the music concert. Whaea Alice then gifted the gorgeous Tapa Quilt that the children had made last term to Avebury House. The quilt along with the school's honours board and old school bell were part of a collection of precious items that have been gifted to Avebury House. It's nice to think that a part of our school will live on in this treasured building. 

So if you get a chance to take a stroll to Avebury House take a picnic and sit on the lawn and enjoy this part of history that has thankfully survived and stands proudly, protecting some of the Richmond Community history. Thank you Avebury House for the support and kind gifts that you have given us over the years and all the best for your reopening.

   

Strum, Strike, Blow.

Music Sweet Music.

Last Wednesday 18 September, Richmond School joined a number of other primary schools to play together. We were all participating in a concert featuring 800 Ukulele, Marimbas and Recorders. It was the first time that a concert of its kind was held in Christchurch.  

On the evening of the concert the children and their whanau travelled by bus to the CBS Arena before taking our places inside. Our tamariki had attended the rehearsals held earlier that day, so on arrival we were well rehearsed as to what to do and when it would be our turn to play.

The evening was a great success and enjoyed by everyone involved. Although it was a challenging task to learn the new songs that we learnt this term, it was a wonderful experience and above all else it was proof of what could be achieved if you persevere, have confidence and work hard. We have all learnt a new skill and proven to ourselves that we can make sweet music.

  

A Visit from Bernie.

Woolly Bernie

Another highlight for us today was a visit by a very cute wee lamb called Bernie. Whaea Alice brought one of her pet lambs to school for a quick visit just before the three o'clock bell. There is always something magical about watching children around young animals and Bernie was no exception. Despite her name, Bernie is actually a two week old girl lamb and she was on her very best behaviour during her visit. We all enjoyed watching her being fed and being able to get up close and pat her. Hopefully, Bernie will able to visit us again. Thank you Whaea Alice for sharing your gorgeous pet with us and all the best with those early morning feeding wake up calls for the next ten weeks.    

More Swimming News

Swimming Caps and Goggles

Today before we caught the bus to Jellie Park we all received a swimming cap, a pair of goggles and ear plugs. These were kindly donated by 'The State Kiwi Swim Programme.' This programme is part of the support that State Insurance gives The Swimming New Zealand Programme and ultimately our school in helping to teach our young tamariki how to swim and be safe in the water.

Initially, we found it difficult to squeeze our heads into the swimming caps but we soon got use to them once we were in the pool and in fact a number of the tamariki agreed that they were well worth the effort of putting them on. The swimming goggles were an instant hit and the stingy, sore, itchy eyes were not missed at all. 

So a big thank you to the 'State Kiwi Swim Safe and Swimming New Zealand Programme' for their generous contribution towards helping us become stronger, more confident swimmers.   

Swimming Lessons.

Splish Splash it's Swim Time. 

We have just returned from our second swimming lesson for the term. As we have done for the last couple of years, we have returned to Jellie Park for our annual swimming lessons. After the initial excitement, we have quickly settled into our well oiled routines. 

Our lessons are 25 minutes and due to our small numbers we all get a lot attention from our swimming tutors. Although this was only our second lesson, we already have a clear idea of what our swimming goals are. For example Salote has to work on keeping her arms straight while swimming freestyle, Kamai will be working on holding his tummy up during backstroke and kicking with straighter knees. Have a chat to your child and ask them what their specific swimming goals are.

However above all else we are thoroughly enjoying ourselves and having some good old fashion water fun.