End of year activities

We have reached the final two weeks of school for 2009.

The PREP market day proved very popular with the students and the students were really motivated to succeed. There was so much interest in the day that the number of students away from school on the day was at an all time low! Nothing like authentic learning to motivate and engage students.

In our last two weeks there are a lot of activities.

Our Year 7 & 8's have their end of year social (3 Dec). This is always a great night to celebrate.

Our Bluestone Music Christmas Roadshow is performing at a variety of retirement Homes and Kindergartens. The skills learned and the enthusiasm to perform never fails to amaze me. Musical performances are also taking place for Rotary (Dec 16) and for the Christmas Float Parade (Sat 5 Dec), and at the Bay. We will hold a musical talent quest on Tuesday 8 December.

Celebration Journals will be sent home (Wed 2 Dec) and will show you what your child has achieved over this year. Take time to discuss the contents with your child. I hope they are proud of their efforts.

Our athletes will get to perform at the SC Primary Schools Athletics Champs (Tue 1 Dec). Those students who reach this level have shown a great attitude and determination. We wish them well.

Our sport teams will have their photos taken on Monday 7 December after school. Students involved will be given a free laminated photo before the end of the school year.

We will hold our annual pool party at Maori Park on Thursday 10 December. The Home and School will cook free sausages for the students for lunch.

Our Prize Giving will be held at the TBHS Hall on Monday 14 Dec starting at 7pm. We will have a VERY special guest who will present a wonderful role model for the students to aspire to.

Visits to Other Schools

In the past week I visited three schools, Nelson Central, Enner Glen, and Lower Moutere. I went to see examples of Human Rights In Education (HRiE) in action. This is an approach and an attitude we wish to embed at Bluestone School. Children have rights, and need to know and to celebrate these rights. With these rights come responsibilities.

The HRiE approach sees students and teachers discussing the rights and responsibilities, drawing up class, playground and school agreements which then guide decisions on actions, attitudes and behaviours. I spoke with students, principals, staff, and parents about what the schools I visited have been doing with HRiE in 2009. I visited classes and saw first hand the work completed and the understandings gained. This whole approach works in so well with what we are doing at Bluestone. Our values, our vision, the key competencies, restorative justice, and peer mediators at Bluestone all sit within an effective HRiE school.

The Principal of Enner Glen School is Isaac Day (a former Deputy Principal at Bluestone) so it was great to see his school and the pride Isaac has in his school's direction. Isaac keeps a strong interest in Bluestone and it was great to catch up with him.

With just 4 weeks left of this school year there is much to be achieved. There are lots of activities for the students so plenty to keep everyone motivated and learning!

School Camp for Year 5&6

School Camp provides opportunities and challenges for students. The key competencies of relating to others, and managing self are given a chance to be developed and used in real life settings. For many students it will be the first time they have been away from home without their parents, and for many parents it will be the first time they have had their child show such independence. It can be a nervous time for both students and parents. But the growth and the achievement and personal satisfaction that can result for students in a well organised and managed camp soon outweighs any worries.

The Camp at Woodend will give exciting new challenges and students will feel really good about what they have achieved by the end of the camp. Risk taking (within appropriate boundaries) will help a growth in confidence to give new things a go. Friendships are strengthened, people are seen in a new light, and memories are created. A terrific group of parents is going with our students and will provide wonderful support to the students and to staff. The parents involved really show they care for those on camp and have a great time themselves.

I am looking forward to getting up on Tuesday to see the camp in action. I will take a camera and post some shots of the action on the website. So here's to a GREAT camp!