It is with much regret that the Board of Trustees received the resignation of Dave Bennie, our Presiding Member.  Dave has been a member of the Otatara Board of Trustees for over 5 years and Presiding Member (aka Board Chair) for at least 3 years.  In this time he provided strong leadership supporting the development of a number of projects.

We are delighted that Caroline Rain has taken over the role of Presiding Member on the Board.  Caroline is also an experienced trustee and brings a raft of knowledge and skills to our Board.
 
Dave's resignation has created a casual vacancy on our Board for an elected parent representative.
The board has decided to fill this vacancy by selection.
If 10% or more of eligible voters on the school roll ask the board, within 28 days of this notice being published, to hold a by-election to fill the vacancy, then a by-election will be held.

Request for a by-election should be sent to:
Caroline Rain
Presiding Member (Chair)
Otatara School Board of Trustees
c/o Otatara School
146 Dunns Rd, RD 9
Otatara 
Invercargill 

by: September 4th 2024

Congratulations to Kavahna and Aalia who were place getters in the Murihiku T-Shirt Design Competition as a part of Polyfest celebration. 
We are proud of you! The theme was "Legends of Our Lands."  
What 'Legends of our Land' can you see in their designs?

MATHS WEEK - NEXT WEEK!
It's with much excitement and anticipation that we can finally say Maths Week is nearly here!
We have an exciting week planned with activities and prizes all themed around maths!  You can expect to see quizzes, scavenger hunts, the launch of a Maths Club and colouring in competitions happening throughout the week. Be sure to ask your child about all the exciting things they get up to during Maths week next week!

Mathematics in the media
On Sunday the Government shared some alarming statistics about mathematics achievement at Year 8, noting that only 22% of Year 8 students are achieving at or above curriculum expectations.  It is important to provide some context about these statistics.  The statement is based on data drawn from 42 schools and a sample size of 853 students using a one off test benchmarked against a curriculum that has not yet been taught in schools. 
Our 2023 end of year results for mathematics and statistics saw 83% of students meeting or exceeding curriculum expectations with 92% of Year 6 students (42/46) achieving at or above their expected level.   

Mataī - Room 3 celebrated 100 days at school last week by sharing collections of 100 and enjoying a shared lunch together. We interviewed Mary who is over 100 years old and sung her a waiata.
 

Yesterday our Year 4 students had a big day out.  They were guests at the the Invercargill Books Alive event held at Centre Stage Theatre, Southland Business Chamber, and Invercargill Public Library which celebrated finalists in the NZ Book Awards.  This event featured authors and illustrators who have been shortlisted for the 2024 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.   The 2024 finalists at the Invercargill Books Alive event were:

Students relished the opportunity to interact with these authors and illustrators and certainly got more than their hour a day of reading and writing yesterday!
The joy of being a part of this experience is captured in the words of some of our students:
Natasha Race - Happiness filled my body as soon as we got out of the bus...I explored the world of books...One minute I'm completely calm, next second I'm laughing like everyone in the world could hear me.

Student reflection - What brought us joy today? 

Dr. Cody Sanders is an Associate Professor of Physical Education at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise. She completed her Bachelor of Science in health and physical education with a focus on public health (2010), and her Master of Science and doctorate (2015) in Kinesiology with a focus on community youth sport development. Dr. Sanders’ research explores teaching personal and social responsibility (TPSR) through sport, physical activity, and physical education. Her research is grounded in community engagement that includes program implementation and evaluation, as well as leadership development.
She is here working with our Deputy Principal, Carla Werder, and the TPSR group.  On Tuesday after school the group shared their learning with 40 teachers across Southland, working with these teachers to share their learning journey as well as support the teachers to implement TPSR in their own classrooms and schools.

Welcome to Ruby-Lou Young who has started in our new entrant class. We hope you and your whānau enjoy being part of our learning community.

Our Year 5/6 leadership system is made up of 3 levels based on our school’s graduate profile.

Students write a letter outlining the service they are providing, the responsibilities they have and how they are managing themselves in relation to our school values of ako, manaakitanga, whanaungatanga and kaitiakitanga.  
 

Congratulations to our latest Level 1 leader Emily Bragg and to Maddi Cowan who has now achieved Level 2. 

 Ako - “Te manu e kai ana i te miro, nōna te ngahere; te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga nōna te ao.”
 The person who takes on learning can do anything they choose

Kaitiakitanga | Manaaki whenua, manaaki tangata, haere whakamua
Care for the land, care for the people, go forward

Manaakitanga - “He aroha whakatō, he aroha ka puta mai”
If kindness is shown, then kindness you shall receive

 

Whanaungatanga - “E hara taku toa i te takatahi engari he toa takitini”
Our biggest strength is not as individuals but as a group

Friday 09 August - 2:10pm Junior Assembly
Friday 16 August - 2:00pm Whole School Assembly

                          Morning                          Afternoon

Monday           Deidre Murphy            Deidre Murphy
Tuesday           Pip McIlwrick              Pip McIlwrick
Wednesday    Sarah Hamilton          Sarah Hamilton
Thursday        Mandy Oosterbroek   Mandy Oosterbroek
Friday              Taryn Bellman            Taryn Bellman           

 

Parent helpers please be at school by 8.20am for the morning patrol and 2.40pm for the afternoon patrol. If for some reason you are unavailable on your rostered day please swap with another parent.