Newsletter Friday 9 July 2021

He mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa

Welcome to the end of term! We made it! Hope your family are looking forward to some time together and some slower starts in the morning, if not an adventurous holiday somewhere.

Board of Trustees newsletter

You can read this here.

Notices coming out through app

From Term 3 we are using the app for our teacher messages and this will replace the weekly panui. Turning on notifications in the app is the most effective way of finding out if there's a new message. You can also use the app to notify the office of absences. It's a good idea to check your contact details are up to date! Here's a wee youtube clip if you need some help!

Planting around the Bike Track - Working Bee - Saturday 31 July at 10am.

Please bring a spade and gloves and sign up if you're able to help us out! Parent sign up form

Moveathon - we liked to move it, move it!

Even though it was cold, we had fun! Prizes for most raised, most laps and best dressed will be awarded next term when all the money has come in and been counted. Thanks for your support with this. It was lovely to have some parents there too!

Discovery Learning in Term 2

What a fantastic term of Discovery Learning we have had. This term, all our Discovery Learning had a social sciences focus. Here is some of what was done across the school this term.

Ruru juniors: explored the ancient civilisations of Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Aztecs, learning about these and building pyramids.

Ruru seniors: visited the Wellington Museum and explored a period of history, creating a gallery with artifacts, newspaper articles, recordings and photos. They displayed these in their "attic gallery" to allow the visitors to travel back in time to discover what made history, en français.

Year 4-8:

• Art History: Visited an art exhibition and created an artwork inspired by an artist's style or techniques. The work is on display in the office.

• Calling all the monsters: Visit to Fear Factory then an exploration of the monsters in popular culture and the creation of their own monster that has emerged as a result of current issues.

• Time Machine Drama: Made a movie that went back in time featuring some green screen action and an elevator.

• Ridgway Hero Journalists: Learned all about being a journalist, visited Stuff headquarters, interviewed lots of heroes including Dr Ashley Bloomfield. They've created a website so check it out!

• Wish you could run the world? They created and played a world wide political simulation game, where they tried to deal with some of the world's most difficult challenges.

• Who are you? An exploration of our local history, visiting places around Wellington and finding out how our ancestors have shaped our lives today.

We have noticed how engaged the children are in this learning and how much they are enjoying it! Next term, children can look forward to Discovery Learning with a science focus.

Community Notice

Beth Chen has two piano slots available from next term. See her website for information and her contact details.

Ngā mihi

Sarah Taylor

Deputy Principal

Ridgway School