Newsletter Thursday February 11 2021

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

Building work and concrete trucks

Piling is going to start next week on the building site. This means that there will be concrete trucks coming and going from about 2pm each day. They will use the site access gate which is opposite the dairy. If you are coming to collect your children it may be a good idea to meet them further down towards the bowling club. You can read Kathryn's building diary to keep up with the latest building updates.

Chess Club

There are two sessions Monday 10am to 11am for beginners, and Fridays 9.15am to 10.15am for those with more experience. There is a charge of $30 per term to cover costs, thank you for paying this as it ensures our club continues and has a very talented chess teacher (Mark van der Hoorn). If your child(ren) want to give it a go or continue from last year please complete Chess Club sign up form by Sunday 14 February.

The $30 per term cost will go onto your child(ren)'s account at the beginning of each term (unless you have already paid in advance). Please don't hesitate to contact Anneleah to discuss the club, 939 8771 or anneleah@ridgway.school.nz.

German lessons

If you would like your child to either start learning German or carry on from last year, please email sarah@ridgway.school.nz. We have a lovely German teacher, Nina Koch, who comes in on Wednesday to run German lessons. There is a cost of $40 for the year for these lessons.

Lunch orders with Lunchonline

Here is the link to order lunches. Thursday is sushi and Friday is pita pit. Please make sure your child's class is right as you need to change it if they have moved class since last year.

Scholastic Book Orders

These are now all done online. If you would like to have a look at what is on offer you can find it on the scholastic page here.

Important Dates

Tuesday 23 February: School picnic and parent information evening 5.30 - 7pm

Friday 12 March: Athletics Day at Newtown Park

Sunday 14 March: Car Boot Sale on the field (pending Council approval)

Thursday 1 April: Teacher Only Day - school closed

Friday 2 April - Tuesday 6 April (inclusive) - Easter break

Friday 16 April - last day of term

Touch rugby Year 3 and 4

We've heard there's some interest in entering a year 3/4 touch team in this term's mixed competition. Touch is a great fun game that uses passing, catching and running skills, and teaches teamwork and the value of all roles playing their part in a team.

Here are the details:

The team is open to girls and boys, and we need at least 7-8 children to form a team (5 on the field and 2-3 subs).
No experience is necessary - at this level there's a coach on the field during the game to help players know what they need to do.
It's a super short season with only six games in total. Practices are at school from next week and the season itself kicks off on 24 February.
Games are at Wakefield Park on the artificial turf - they're played between 4 and 6pm and last 30 minutes. They take place in all weather.
The cost is $165 per team - the exact amount per player will be calculated once we know how many players we have.

If this sounds like something your child would be interested in, fill out this Touch Rugby enrolment form by the end of this week (Sunday 14 February).

And if you have a child from another year that would like to play, still fill out the form - if we get enough interest, and enough parents able to coach and manage, we can enter more teams. If you'd like to know more about what's involved, contact Kerry McCarty (027 454 5628 or kerrymccartynz@gmail.com).

Music Lessons at school

Beth Chen has a couple of spaces available at the moment to teach piano during school time. You can find out more about her here and get in touch with her directly through her website.

Guitar, Ukulele, Bass Guitar and Singing lessons are available at school on Tuesday or Wednesday afternoons and the cost is $10.00 per session (2nd child from the same family is 1/2 price). In home private lessons are also available in Guitar, Ukulele, Bass Guitar, Drumming, Singing or Songwriting from $25.00 per session. Contact Andrew McPartlin on andymcpmusic@outlook.com or 0211428007 for bookings or more information.

Ngā mihi

Sarah Taylor

Deputy Principal

Ridgway School