Term 3, Week 4, 2019 (13 August 2019)

He mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa - warm greetings to all!

Last week we started the process of talking to a cross-section of parents as part of the 'where next' for our school. A huge thank you to all those who came along and shared their thoughts and ideas. Also thanks to the wonderful Green for allowing us to hold our conversations there. If you were not asked to contribute initially but would like to take part in this then please email me (sarah@ridgway.school.nz) and we will arrange a time. This week we are analysing the notes we took which we will then share with you all for your feedback.

Whānau Hui group

Our Whānau Hui group meet once a term to plan events and discuss how they can support the school to promote rich learning in te reo and tikanga Māori. Inclusion of every member of our community is a fundamental value of the group, and people from all cultural and ethnic backgrounds are welcome. Tanja Schubert-McArthur is the group's current chairperson and can be contacted for more information (tanja.mcschubert@gmail.com). The next meeting will be on Wednesday 30 October at 7pm in the staffroom.

Do you have a barbeque in good working order that you could donate to the school? The Whānau Hui group are keen to acquire a BBQ to use at future school events.

Parent helper in the library

Our wonderful parent librarian Leigh Borrett is standing down from her position as our parent librarian at the end of the term. We have been so lucky to have her and thank her for all her hard work. We are now looking for a parent or two to help in our library for a couple of hours a week. Tasks would involve:

• Supporting student librarians

• Ordering books (via school office)

• Processing new books

• Mending books

• Running the Summer Reading Challenge

Our current parent librarian Leigh has been incredible and can provide training/mentoring this term, and probably will be available to mentor parents through the summer reading challenge).

Budget Approved for our Rebuild

We are excited to announce that our building budget has been increased to $8.8 million. Do have a look at our Building Diary to find out more.

Brooklyn Junior Cricket Club

Have you thought about cricket for the summer months?

Brooklyn Junior Cricket Club has a fantastic, inclusive culture for boys and girls from age 5 up.

It's a great way for the kids to make friends and learn some skills. We have lots of whanau based in the central/southern suburbs, from Brooklyn to Island Bay.

Practices for junior teams are often held on Vogelmorn Park (adjoining Ridgway School), and modern formats have been designed so the kids are always doing something - games for younger grades take only an hour on Saturday morning.

Registration will open in September - watch the website. http://www.bjcc.co.nz/

Or for more information, please feel free to contact Tim Saunders on 021 813 411

Sarah Taylor

Deputy Principal