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Home and School – Acknowledgement

Home and school would like to acknowledge Pip Mathews and her contribution to Merrilands School. Pip has been our secretary for many years, however she has been a part of the team since 2014. As her youngest, Jonathan has now moved on to Intermediate she has stepped down as secretary and from H and S. Pip thank you for your part in raising thousands of dollars for our Tamariki and community. Your organisation and guidance will be missed and we wish you and your whānau all the very best.

For those of you joining us at quiz night tonight at the Stumble Inn, we will see you soon. 

Ngā mihi 

The Home and School Team 

NETBALL PLAYERS

Parents of students who have registered for netball through school have been sent an email to register your child/ren with Netball Taranaki. If you can please do this ASAP.

Bank Deposit – an amount of $50 was deposited into the Merrilands School bank account on 31 March.

Please let Brenda at the school office know if this was you.  Reference only says Merrilands School.

Please remember to use your child’s name and what the payment is for in the reference section when paying online.

Raffle Tickets – please return your raffle tickets today. Send with the kids or drop them to the office by 3pm today.

Quiz Night 6pm Sunday 2nd April 2023

It’s not too late to register a team at the school office. Or if you’d like to be part of it and don’t have a team, leave your name at the bottom of the form at the office and we’ll see if we can get a team together.

Raffle tickets and money are due back in by Friday 3pm at the latest.

Weet-bix Kids TRYathlon – good luck to everyone competing in the Weet-bix TRYathlon today.

We look forward to seeing some photos and hearing how you get on.

Cold Weather – As the mornings are getting colder we are noticing children turning up in non-uniform sweatshirts etc.

Please check the lost property in the hall if your child has lost their school uniform jumper (or anything else – there is a lot in there – unclaimed pieces will be put in the clothing bin at the end of the term.

Secondhand Jumpers are available at the school office if you need one or brand new uniform is available at Campus Clothing on Gill Street.

If wearing garments underneath uniform they need to be plain navy blue.

Heating will be on in the whole school next term. 
The maunga is looking beautiful today with all of the fresh snow.

NETBALL

A reminder – registrations for netball are still open. Still need a couple more from each grade. Please use link on previous netball notice to sign up. 

Quiz Night and Raffle

1. Raffle money and tickets to be returned by 3pm this Friday.

2. Special prize draw for those children that have sold tickets.

3. Keep those quiz teams coming in – sign up sheet is in the office or email: kirsten@merrilands.school.nz

Nga mihi,

Home and School 

BASKETBALL

All outstanding basketball fees are due by next Friday 31st March.

Year 1-4 $50

Year 5-6 $60.

If there are any more years 1-4 interested please see Mel at school office.

Quiz Night – Have you registered your team yet for the Home & School fundraising Quiz Night?

Bring along $10/person (min. of 5 & max. of 6 per team) + some extra cash on the night for raffle and auction. There will be some fab prizes up for grabs!

Contact the office via email kirsten@merrilands.school.nz or 06 7588644 to register your team, or pop into the office and write it down on the sign up sheet.

We hope you can make it!! Looking forward to a great night!!

Home & School AGM tonight at 7pm in the Library. Come in the office door and go down the corridor. We look forward to seeing you there!!

Raffle – Important information

Our Home & School have organised a raffle to coincide with the upcoming Quiz Night. See flyer in the Notices section of the app for full details. Great prizes up for grabs! $2 / ticket.

Look out for raffle ticket sheets that are coming home with children over the next few days. 

We’d really appreciate your support by selling tickets and helping us to raise money for our school.

Raffle will be drawn at Quiz Night on Sunday 2 April.

Notices

Swimming – It was so nice to see so many of our tamariki’s families and extended whanau attend the swimming demonstrations today.

Please continue to send your children to school with their togs and towels as while the weather permits teachers may still take their classes swimming up until the end of term.

Home and School AGM reminder: Wednesday March 22nd, 7pm at school.

We would love to see you there! Come along and find out what your home and school committee are up to behind the scenes and see how you can get involved.

NETBALL

Registrations now open for the 2023 season. Use link below.

https://forms.gle/dt1nKPPHHrSqsLqB8

Swimming sports/demonstration – Reminder that this will be going ahead today. Please feel free to come along and support your children

BASKETBALL

Our year 1-2 and 3-4 teams are in need of 2-3 more players to join our teams for next term. Please contact school office for details.

Absentees – please remember to leave a message on the school app or answer machine if your children are absent from school.

Message needs to include reason for absence ie cough, vomiting etc and needs to be done before 9am on day of absence if possible.

Swimming Demonstration Postponed

Mōrena Koutou

Due to the weather forecast looking to be very wet and windy all day, our swimming demonstration today will be postponed until Monday. 

REMINDER – NO SCHOOL TOMORROW (Thursday)

As you will be aware through the media, the Teacher/Principal Strike is going ahead on Thursday 16th March. Our School Board has made the decision that the school will be closed, as we can not staff the school. Please make alternative arrangements for your child/ren for tomorrow (Thursday 16 March).

Why strike?
We need to attract and retain high quality educators by ensuring that teaching is a valued and attractive profession. Principals and teachers in primary and area schools (along with our secondary colleagues) have considered at length the offers from the government to settle the respective collective agreements.
The offers presented did not meet the expectations, nor make sufficient steps towards the changes we need for our children to succeed. Therefore the vote to take industrial action has been made. It was not made lightly. Together with your support, building a case for better investment in our students is the priority.

Swimming sports – Friday 17th March – see below for more details

Demonstration times are as follows:

11.40am – Room 1
12.00pm – Room 3
12.20pm – Room 4
12.40pm – Room 5
1.00pm – Room 6
1.20pm – Room 9
1.40pm – Room 10, 11 & 2

Home & School will have a BBQ running between 12.15pm – 1.30pm – $2 sausage.  Children to still bring a packed morning tea/lunch and water bottle.

If weather is too wet on Friday this event will be postponed until Monday.

Hoping to see family and extended whanau come along and support our tamariki and to see what skills they have been learning during this term.

Last Day for Basketball registrations. Year 1-2 needs a couple more to fill the team.

Newsletter – Term 1 Week 7

Check out the latest school newsletter in the Newsletters section of the app or by clicking the button below. 
This newsletter has important information about the upcoming strike day on Thursday, as well as lots of other interesting things happening at school at the moment. 

View

Quiz Night Fundraiser – Check out the flyer in the Notices section of the app.

Get your team together for this fun Home & School fundraising event.

Bring along $10/person (min. of 5 & max. of 6 per team) + some extra cash on the night for raffle and auction. There will be some fab prizes up for grabs!

Contact the office via email admin@merrilands.school.nz or 06 7588644 to register your team, or pop into the office and write it down on the sign up sheet.

We hope you can make it!! Looking forward to a great night!!

Notices

Basketball Registration Reminder. Use link below.

https://forms.gle/6o5BZ5M9FT13tGXN7

SAVE THE DATE

Home & School are running a Quiz Night at Stumble Inn, Sunday 2nd April. Start getting your team together!

Scholastic Book Orders

Last day for book orders is tomorrow – Friday 3rd March.

Reminder that school is finishing at 1pm today.

Calling Year 4/5/6 Girls!

As part of NZ Football’s Womens and Girls month, Central Football are running a 5-aside Tournament. No experience needed – just a fun, give it a go day! Please use the Link below for more information and to register.

https://forms.gle/9oAcNE5KS3n2iAR28

Mufti Day for the Bay

Next Wednesday we will be holding a Mufti Day fundraiser for the Hawkes Bay, as a way to contribute to the devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle. This mulfti day fundraiser will be alongside many other schools in our area who are also doing the same.

Children are encouraged to wear black and white, the colours of the bay, and to please bring a gold coin donation, which they can give to their classroom teacher. 

A reminder too, that Wednesday is a shorter day with school closing at 1pm so that teachers can attend their NZEI Paid Union Meeting at 1.30pm.

Ngā mihi
Michelle Cronin
Tumuaki/Principal

Check out the poster in the Newsletter section of the app.

Newsletters

Board Policy Review

Kia ora whānau

The next Board policy review is underway. The Board is seeking your feedback on the Legislation and Administration Policy. It’s simple to contribute, just follow the instructions below:

1. Visit the website https://merrilands.schooldocs.co.nz/1893.htm
2. Enter the username (merrilands) and password (shine).
3. Follow the link to the relevant policy as listed.
4. Read the policy.
5. Click the Start your review button at the top right-hand corner of the page.
6. Select the reviewer type.
7. Enter your name (optional).
8. Follow the prompts to show that you’ve read the topic and enter your feedback if you’d like to comment.
9. Agree to the privacy statement and click “Submit review”.

This review closes on the 6th April.

If you don’t have internet access, school office staff can provide you with printed copies of the policy and a review form.

Ngā mihi
Michelle Cronin
Tumuaki/Principal

BASKETBALL – Term 2 2023

Please use this link to register your child/children.

Brass Classes 2023 – please see notices section of the app for details

Notices

Reminder – Home and School Meeting tonight at 7pm in school staffroom – new members welcome

Newsletter Term 1 Week 3 2023

Kia ora koutou

Please see our latest school newsletter in the newsletter section of the app.

Home and School Meeting – Monday 20th Feb 7pm in school staffroom. New Members welcome.

Touch

Unfortunately we have not had enough interest to enter U6, U8 and U12 Touch teams for this term. The U10 team has enough players, we are just looking for a coach and manager before we can enter. Thanks to those who have paid fees – if your child/ren is no longer playing these will be refunded. Please contact Brenda before Monday 3pm.

School will be open tomorrow – Thursday

Kia Ora Merrilands Whānau

After a hive of activity today at school, you’ll be pleased to hear that it will be safe for students to return to school tomorrow – Thursday. 

We have had tree work happening, and an arborist in to further assess what more needs to be done. There will be some areas of the school roped off. Please talk to your children about staying out of roped off areas, for their safety. The secret garden will be out of action until further notice. 

The fixed canopy area is sadly also out of action until this structure is fixed but the team at Elco Canvas are already onto things and we hope that this won’t be for too long. We hope to have the pool back up and running, if all goes well. Children should bring their togs just in case.

Staff, alongside Murray our contracted caretaker, have been working hard to clean/tidy up all the debris together this morning. What a fantastic team of staff we have at our kura, as well as a friendly neighbour who kindly dropped off some tasty scones for morning tea. Thank you!

I again extend thanks and appreciation for your understanding with us needing to be closed today. We are really looking forward to seeing everyone back again in the morning.

Ngā manaakitanga
Michelle Cronin
Tumuaki

School Closed again tomorrow – Wednesday 15 February

Kia Ora Whānau 

As you’re all aware, we have been experiencing a significant weather event as Cyclone Gabrielle has moved through the region and our community. 

This has had a significant effect on our school with a number of trees uprooted or broken, and damage to shade sails and the fixed canopy. 

 
School will be closed again tomorrow so that we can further assess damage, remove trees and get the school cleaned up and safe again before our tamariki to return.

While we understand this may be inconvenient to some, the safety of our students and staff is our highest priority. 

 
We trust you and your whānau are safe, and doing the best you can during this significant weather event. Stay safe whānau! 

Ngå manaakitanga 
Michelle Cronin
Principal

School Closed – Tuesday 14 February

Kia Ora Whānau

Due to the severe weather predicted to hit our region tomorrow and to ensure the safety of our students while Cyclone Gabrielle makes its way across our region, we have made the decision to close school for tomorrow – Tuesday. 

MetService has upgraded the wind warning to Red, with severe gale force winds expected, gusting to around 120 km/h. These winds have the potential to cause damage to trees and powerlines. We are concerned for the safety of our children getting to and from school, and for potential damage at school while this pattern moves through during the day.

We understand that this is not an ideal situation but we have made this decision because the safety of our students and staff is our highest priority.

At this stage the forecast has the weather improving for Wednesday, therefore we intend to again be open on Wednesday. If the situation changes, we will let you know via the school app and email.

Thanks in advance for your understanding. Stay safe everyone and we look forward to seeing tamariki back at school again on Wednesday.

Ngā mihi
Michelle Cronin
Principal

TOUCH

A reminder to register your child/ren for Touch. At this stage we are needing numbers to fill teams and coaches.

CRICKET REGISTRATIONS

Cricket registrations must be in by 5pm this Sunday. We do not currently have enough players to form teams. 

Years 4-6 Sat morning
Years 1-3 Fri evening

Cost is $20 per player. 

Please see previous alert/notice for link.

TOUCH UNIFORM

Please return all Touch uniform to school office immediately, regardless if your child is playing again this term or not. We are unable to allocate team sets until we have the whole sets available.

CRICKET TERM 1 2023 – Please use the link below to register. Registrations close Sunday 11th Feb.

https://forms.gle/HYfoKCUnYSYWij7z8

Reminder – School Picnic tonight from 5:30pm

Between 5.30pm-7.00pm (or there abouts) bring a picnic dinner and blanket down to school and join staff and families for kai together. We will mainly set up in the middle quad area but encourage you to branch out to the field, playgrounds or swimming pool for a game or bit of fun interacting with other whānau after eating, or just sit and relax chatting with one another while the children play. (If your children are swimming, you’ll need to supervise them yourself).

Staff will have a BBQ going, selling sausages for $2 if anyone would like a top up but there will be a limited number so please bring the picnic too. Nothing beats the smell of a BBQ!

Looking forward to seeing you there.

TOUCH Term 1 2023 – Please use link below to register. Registrations close Wednesday 15th Feb.

https://forms.gle/KvRXpp2nZWsKBXYq5

Community Picnic

Kia Ora Whānau

We’ve had a wonderful first week back at school, and I hope your child/ren are positively settling into their new school year routines. There’s a really positive vibe across the school and we are looking forward to this continuing throughout 2023.

A full school newsletter will come out next week, we are moving to a digital newsletter that will link really nicely in with our school app and website so look out for this. We are still in the ‘learning pit’ so to speak so look forward to climbing out the other side and sharing this new version with you soon.

Not being able to wait for the newsletter, I’d like to draw your attention to a Community Picnic / BBQ next Tuesday evening that you will mostly have already seen in the school calendar. This is a low key opportunity to meet other whānau at school and connect with each other in a really informal way. Post covid restriction times, we’ve been putting things in place to connect staff with whānau and we’d also love our families to feel connected with one another.

Between 5.30pm-7.00pm (or there abouts) bring a picnic dinner and blanket down to school and join staff and families for kai together. We will mainly set up in the middle quad area but encourage you to branch out to the field, playgrounds or swimming pool for a game or bit of fun interacting with other whānau after eating, or just sit and relax chatting with one another while the children play. (If your children are swimming, you’ll need to supervise them yourself).

Staff will have a BBQ going, selling sausages for $2 if anyone would like a top up but there will be a limited number so please bring the picnic too. Nothing beats the smell of a BBQ!

The weather is looking great for Tuesday but if this changes and we need to cancel, a message will be shared on the app.

A reminder that Waitangi Day is on Monday, so we have a long weekend and look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Tuesday.

Ngā manaakitanga
Michelle Cronin
Tumuaki/Principal

Inline Hockey – posted on behalf – please see below for details

Come join the Merrilands inline hockey team! Have fun skating around while hitting a puck. No experience needed, you learn while you play and all year levels are welcome. 
Super fun, supportive environment. 
Hire skates and sticks are available to borrow free of charge. 
You will need to provide bike helmets, mouth guard, leg and arm coverings. 
Games are played Thursday nights between 5:30-8 starting 9th Feb and end 30th March.  
Cost is $25 per child
Let me know before 3rd Feb if your child is keen 
Keisha 0223409274

Breakfast Club will be starting up again in the school hall on Wednesday 1st February.

Please remember that this is a free service for any/all students that wish to attend.  Breakfast Club runs from 8:15 – 9:00 every morning of the school week and is a great social activity to start the school day.

Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers that give up their time to help make this happen.

Get Connected Interviews

Please remember to book your Get Connected Interviews for Monday.  If you have problems doing this please phone the school office from 8:15am on Monday.

Welcome Back to 2023!

We are really excited to be welcoming both current and new families to our kura for the 2023 school year. 

Class lists have been finalised and are on display in the windows under the main canopy. Please wander down to school and have a look, then go online and book a ‘Get Connected Day’ appointment with your child’s new classroom teacher. This is on Monday and is a great opportunity for students, parents and teachers to meet one another, to have a look around your child’s new classroom, to drop off stationery orders and to collect digital access codes. This all helps to make for a smooth start into the new school year.

To book your time go to:

https://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/code/hfa4h

or scan the QR code alongside the class lists on display.

– Enter your details

– Select your child’s teacher

– Select a time that works for you

We highly encourage ALL families to book an appointment time and we look forward to seeing everyone on Monday, with everyone back at school to start the new year on Tuesday 31 January. 

Note: Please DO NOT post photos of class lists online. 

Reminder – School stationery orders

just a quick reminder to make sure you have ordered your stationery online through OfficeMax so that it arrives in time for the start of the school year.

Looking forward to seeing you all in a few weeks.