You have some FABULOUS students!

Here is the transcript of an email we received today:

Kia ora, On Friday I was the marshal at the point where the bike leg transitioned to the run leg.  A girl in an individual race was coming last by a significant amount.  Some of your students were sitting nearby so I asked the group if there was someone who would run with her to keep her going, keep her spirits up.  I didn’t expect 3 very willing volunteers. 

Hannah and Finlay ran and caught up with her, and saw her to the finish.  They significantly changed the way that girl felt about herself and the triathlon.  Please pass on to their my very genuine and heartfelt thanks.  A younger boy (Harley) also readily offered to help.  Please also pass on to him my thanks. 

Later that afternoon, the runners for the team event marshalled at my station.  I enjoyed the company of the boy (Maka) in your Senior team.  He was charming, polite and lots of fun.  He must be an excellent role model for your other students. 

What a fabulous school Burnham must be to produce such excellent citizens.  Whatever you’re doing, you are certainly getting it right.  Nga mihi, Clare Edwards, teacher years 6/7/8, Broadfield School.

Rob's News

2 March 2012

From the Tūmuake-Principal

Dear Burnham Whānau,

By the time you receive this notice the staff, Board of Trustees and your child will know of my decision to move on from Te Kura o Tiori - Burnham School at the end of this term. My wife and I have decided that I need to work closer to our home in order to spend more time together, especially while our daughters, Isabella and Amelia are young. This is a family decision.

As I have found Burnham School to be a very special place, this decision has not been taken lightly. I have learned that staff at our school come here because they want to work in a challenging, supportive and fun environment. Our teaching and support team are superb and I would have either of my children in any of our classrooms. I have absolute faith in the ability of our Board of Trustees to ensure that a suitable replacement is found.

Beginning in Term 2 I will be Principal of Roydvale School in Christchurch. I am excited to be taking on this new challenge and hope that you and your child(ren) understand that it is important to strive for new challenges and achieve goals.

I ask that you support your Board of Trustees and staff during this transition. Burnham School will continue to be a unique place and a very special environment in which to learn - whether you are a student, staff member or parent.

Yours in learning,

Rob Clarke
Tūmuake - Principal
principal@burnham.school.nz

---

From the Board of Trustees

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

It was with regret that we received Rob’s resignation from Burnham School. Congratulation’s Rob on being appointed as the Principal at Roydvale School. We would like to wish Rob and his family all the best for the future.

The Board of Trustees have appointed Ms Sandra Keenan as Acting Principal from Term 2, 2012. Sandra has a wealth of experience and expertise that she will bring to this role. Welcome Sandra as our new Acting Principal. The Board will be appointing a replacement teacher for Room 1 in due course.

For the rest of this year, the Board will be using Lois Christmas from Lead Learning to facilitate and guide us through this important process to ensure that we find the best Principal we can. Lois is a highly regarded educational consultant who works with a number of Boards and Schools throughout Canterbury. Lois knows our school and supported us through last year’s highly successful Education Review Office review.

The Board will keep the community informed of the process as it unfolds. If you have any queries or wish to discuss this, then please do not hesitate to contact me.

On Behalf of the Board of Trustees

Jackie Freeman
BoT Chairperson
jackiefreeman@burnham.school.nz

Burnham Benjis Terrific Touch Team

Last night the Year 7/8 Touch Team Burnham Benjis had an awesome win at Prebbleton against the Purple Power from Prebbleton. Purple Power were previously unbeaten and won the competition last year.

This team is made up mainly of students from our school - Cameron, Lucas, Joseph C, Joseph T, Olivia, Tahemaka, Taleah, as well as Bradley and Tatiana.

Well done team we are proud of you!

Incredible Years Parenting Course

The Ministry of Education: Special Education and Family Works is offering the Incredible Years Parenting Programme to parents to be held at Rolleston School, Tennyson Street, Rolleston, beginning Tuesday 13 March 2012. This is an extremely well-researched programme which supports parents to develop and build on the skills which they already have as well as developing a toolkit of ways to handle  any challenging / problem behaviours and issues .

 

Every parent brings their own unique contribution and it is this mix and variety which makes the programme so worthwhile. Parenting is a hard job and we are not born experts – the group process is a great way of gaining some fresh ideas and support from other parents.

 

Parents meet in a group situation once a week- 9.30 am through to 12.00 pm - over a period of 16 weeks. Programme sessions are not held during school holidays. You are welcome to ring or email us at any time if you need some further information or wish to clarify any aspects of the programme. We can be contacted at the numbers below.

 

There is no cost to parents and we provide weekly handouts to build up a parenting tool kit and a book (worth over $45) for parents who regularly attend.

 

If you are interested in participating in this programme please contact either Rolleston School or one of us directly – we would love to hear from you as without 16 parents we cannot begin this great programme. Texting as a means of contact is welcome

 

A morning tea is also provided.

Link to the pamphlet for this course is here...

Link to general pamphlet for this course is here...

Anna Mowat                                                    Erin Sturman - erin.sturman@minedu.govt.nz

Family Works                                                 Ministry of Education – Special Education

Cell: 021 712 173                                            Cell: 027 205 7950

Swimming Sports Timetable

Don't forget to the adults/staff/students race at 11.30-12.00!

Sharing some of the great practice in our kura

I'm excited to announce that we've just had three videos published by the Ministry of Education highlighting some of the exciting developments in our school. Here are the first three of five videos. Late last year (...not quite sure how we managed to fit this in, but we did!) a film crew from Core Education came in on contract from the Ministry of Education to interview a number of students and staff on issues relating to elearning, community engagement and modern approaches to teaching and learning. This is really exciting and is great exposure for our kura!

Using Google Apps - explains how and why we use Google Apps. I discuss the implementation process and the benefits to staff and students:

Using Google Apps from CORE Ministry Video.

e-Portfolios in the classroom - Linda Sweeny explains the process for setting up Blogger for students to use as an e-Portfolio. Linda and some of her students share the benefits created by collaborating and sharing their work with peers, whānau, and teachers:

e-Portfolios in the classroom from CORE Ministry Video.

Online resources supporting te reo and tikanga Māori - I discuss setting up our Taha Māori @ Te Kura o Tiori  as part of the school website. I explain the intention of the site is to bring together elements from our whānau hui action plan including basic vocabulary in te reo Māori and tikanga Māori:

Online resources supporting Te Reo and tikanga Māori from CORE Ministry Video.

Rolleston Community Picnic Feb 22nd

This might be a great chance to enjoy an evening with friends and family:

Preparation for Learning Conferences

Dear parents/caregivers,

There are two things that parents/caregivers need to do for our Learning Conferences this Wed/Thurs:

1. Book the conference by going to: www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and putting in school code of: PGKF2.
2. Complete the 3 Wishes Survey which feeds into our goal setting.

The chart below shows the number of responses to our 3 Wishes Survey. As you can see, this part of the preparation for our Learning Conferences this Wednesday and Thursday is well underway. Please ensure you've completed this survey prior to the conference as your class teacher will be checking and using this information to help formulate goals with your child.



I will be emailing those who have yet to complete the survey this afternoon. We'd love to see all children at the conference, if you or your teacher wishes to have a private chat about your child's learning, they will be asked to wait outside.

We are also planning on getting you to check your contact details while you wait for your conference outside the classroom.

Wednesday Back To School Community Picnic & Meet the Teacher

Last year we planned a back to school picnic and we've invited the Pre-School and Kindy to join us (Kindy aren't able to this time). This starts on the school field at 4.30 with music, games and if the weather is good the possibility of a sprinkler! Please bring a picnic to share to relax and enjoy with your family and meet new people, including staff. The camp pool is booked for our use also (parents must be responsible for their children).

At 5pm, meet the teacher will begin. The schedule for this is posted here, starting with R1 & R6 @ 5-5.15. We very much hope to see you there.

Warm regards,

Rob and the team