EXPO of Learning Photos

We had a fantastic turn out to our annual EXPO of Learning last week - nearly double than last year! Thank you whanau for supporting us in the growth of your child's learning.

The Great Burnham School Snow Photo Comp

The Great Burnham School Snow Photo Comp Is Here!

Tired of being couped up inside? Bored perhaps? Want something fun to do? Check this out!

Your challenge is to take a creative photo of something to do with snow and email it to school.
Once we are back at school, all classes will be able to vote on the best photos - it might be a huge snowball, a big snowman, or something creative like a snow-ball pie - you decide! Follow these instructions:

1. Check with Mum or Dad you can do this.
2. Get a digital camera - make sure you have permission.
3. Create something using snow.
4. Take a photo of it.
5. Send that photo to: burnhamschool.snowday@picasaweb.com giving it a good subject line (that will become the title of the photo online).
6. It will be instantly online!

Let's see how many cool photos and uses of snow we can come up with!
Good luck, stay warm and have fun.

[Photos appear here...]

School Photos coming out today!

I must say, the photos that Des Ellery took are absolutely stunning. We think you'll be really impressed with the individual and class photos. 

Individual school photos are going out today.  If you wish to purchase these photos please send the money into the school office before Monday 4 July.  If you don't wish to purchase these photos please send the packs back to school in good condition.  The class photos are available in the office area for viewing and also in the classrooms.  If you have any questions re the ordering please contact the office.

Talented Tamariki

Over the last couple of weeks we've been treated at our kura to a whole range of talented students all showing strength and self-belief to share their talents. This is one of the many examples of our amazing place of learning and the partnership that supports this. Children have shared jokes, dances, songs and musical instruments. Congratulations to the Student Leadership Council, in particular Jayden and Cameron for your leadership. Organising this event has involved our SLC figuring out how to make this happen and they have led it from the start.

 

The children have learned that two important aspects of leadership are how effectively one communicates and how well we organise special events such as these. Well done to our performers, these talented tamariki have shone not only through the skill of their performances, but also in the values and competencies developed as part of taking the risk!

 

Welcome Wendy to the teaching team

We've just welcomed a new teacher to our team - Mrs Wendy McIntosh. Wendy is an exceptional teacher with lots of great experience and skills to bring to the learning mix for our tamariki.

Wendy is supporting the learning of Room 1 as Melissa takes some time to enjoy the last few weeks of her pregnancy. It's great having you on the team Wendy.

 

Athletics 2010

What amazing athletes we have at Burnham School! Congratulations to everyone who competed during last week's highly successful athletics sports. Thank you to Linda Sweeny and Mel Lawler who organised this event for our children. 

Strike Percussion Performance

These shots speak for themselves. A huge thanks to Nicky Wuts, our percussion tutor, for organising this FREE concert for our school. Nicky is leaving Burnham to move up north a her husband is posted. We will miss you Nicky and appreciate the work you've put into helping establish our itinerant music tuition programme.

More on Strike here...

 

A Celebration of Talent

On Wednesday night we held our first music celebration. This event involved approximately 55 children and attracted a huge crowd for our school of over 100 parents, grandparents, and other family members. We are very proud of all the children's achievements in their growth as musicians and performers - keep up the awesome work team!

A huge thank you to Liz Nichol and Nicky Wuts our amazing music teachers who are making such an amazing difference to our school and community through this superb programme.

The programme for the evening can be downloaded here if you would like to keep it.

We are especially grateful to the team at the Thrift Shop who have supported the school with donations of funds towards musical instruments. Thank you also Bridget and Penny from the PTA who helped provide tea and coffee.

Thank you all for your support.

Welcome back

There's nothing quite like being a teacher in Canterbury this week - especially after what we've all been through over the last week. Here are some photos of our wonderful children, amazing staff and school:

Senior Ski Trip Photos

Here are some shots from our recent ski trip to Porter Heights for our seniors. A huge thank you to Kelly Sheppard, Gemma Odering and Melissa Lawler for their organisation and determination to make this such a successful experience for our tamariki.

It was awesome to see the rapid improvement in confidence and skill of our children on the slopes. Only a small number of children had been skiing or snowboarding before, so this was another great 'first' for Burnham School!

Zones Hockey and Soccer Photos

Below are some shots from our zones hockey and soccer tournament for you to enjoy. Well done to all the students who competed well during the day. A huge thanks to Linda Sweeny and Gemma Odering for organising the event and teams. Thank you to the parents who helped us by supervising teams during the day

Whanau Hui A Huge Success

Here are some photos from our whanau hui. Kia ora to everyone who supported us and contributed. We will publish the ideas generated as soon as we can.

Leadership

"Is leadership something you have or something you gain from experience?"

Recently I had a most interesting conversation with a parent who asked me whether our intention for the Student Leadership Council was to develop leadership or to reward it. My response is that we want to do both. Developing leadership in our tamariki is a theme that is coming through strongly in our curriculum consultation.

Our Student Leadership Council have now met a number of times and are learning how to run a meeting and how to effectively manage their responsibilities in the school. Our intention is to involve students from all levels of the school in this leadership responsibility, which we plan to develop in order to represent student views from every class. 

There are many opportunities in classrooms in which students are given opportunities to lead - which start with developing self-management skills and lead into organising others and eventually leading others. 

In which ways do you think the family or sporting/cultural experiences help develop leadership skills in our young people? 

I invite your thoughts on this post...

Cross Country Photos

Here are some shots from the cross country today - thank you for the awesome support:

Burnham School Photos - sibling photo option

Our school photos this year are being conducted by a new company - Andy Currie Photography. This is an exciting change from last year and we hope families will love the new photos produced. You will get a choice of traditional or contemporary shots of your child(ren). School photos for classes and individuals will be on Monday 29th March.

Families can choose whether they want siblings, including preschoolers, to be included in a photo. These photos will be on Tuesday 30th March, from 9-12pm. If you would like to take advantage of this additional service you need to complete a form letting Trish know.

The form to request a sibling photo is coming out in today's newsletter and can be downloaded here...

Trish needs this form back by Monday please.