PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Reflecting on a ‘Normal’ Term
Who knew 3 ½ years ago that the word normal would mean so much more? As we look back at the past 10 weeks our staff have shown great commitment in providing a wealth of experiences and opportunities for our young people. This has highlighted two very important aspects.
The first is that schools are so much more than Reading, Writing and Maths. Academics are the foundation of what we do and will always be our main focus and top priority. This being said, it is the ‘extras’ that breathe life into the day including learning. Without a wealth of life experiences what inspiration do we have to draw on when asked to write? Without an appreciation for the costs involved in some of these experiences, money holds no value. When reading we can make connections to our life experiences that bring a greater appreciation and richness to the words on a page.
The second is the work our teachers do beyond what is expected of them and certainly what they are paid for. Their continued commitment to enhancing the lives of our young people is a real testimony to their passion and enthusiasm. Whilst none of us are perfect and we are as humans we make mistakes from time to time this team continues to do their best to ensure every day is as good as the last, if not better.
I know they are looking forward to some time to recharge and reconnect with friends and family. I hope that you get time to do the same and we look forward to seeing you all in Term 3.
Kyle Brewerton
Principal/APPA President
RI CYCLING NEWS
IBuilt Tour Wrap
The RI road racing crew had a big weekend at the IBuilt Junior Tour with some excellent results.
The weather was kind with temperatures cool and only a little rain. The Ibuilt Tour is five races over two days with a mix of events to test the rider's skills. Day One started with a short sharp 1.7k Hillclimb and then immediately into a 7k Individual Time Trial and later on in the day, there was a 12.5k Road Race. Sunday had two events - an 8km Kermesse (a short sharp road race) followed by a 17km road race in the afternoon.
All riders put in exceptional efforts with Thomas Still taking out the Hillclimb, winning the "Monarch of the Mountain" award and placing second overall in the General Classification (GC). Toby Lenarts, Fletcher Syme, Ryan Stewart finished 4th, 5th and 6th in the GC with Ashmitha Perera and Fletcher Gillies also putting in huge efforts in their first cycle race and getting some great results as well. Laura Allan was our only RI girl rider and finished well in all the events coming through with a great result in the Final race.
All riders finished all the events and managed to score some good spot prizes at the prize giving, with Fletcher Gillies getting a special mention and winning a flash new cycling helmet for a positive attitude to cycling. It was fantastic to see the smiles and support amongst the team and we are looking forward to a couple of races over the next weekends with a Points Race at the Hampton Downs Circuit and then the North Island Road Racing Championship at Karapiro on the first weekend of July.
Thanks to all the parents for all their support over the weekend - it made it easy for the riders to do their best.
TERM 2 TWO E'S GROUPS
Year 8 Art Extension Group
This term, 24 Year 8 art extension students have been trailing and printing a new technique called Tetra Pack printing. We opened up milk containers (washed and cleaned) and transferred our designs with the use of etching tools and scalpels. The printing process ended up being very technical, with just as many failures as successes. We all learned from the failures and are very proud of the end products. The printing plates looked just as cool as the final product.
William Pike Challenge Group
The William Pike Challenge group played Human Bulletin Board during their 2Es session. The aim of the game is to be the group that can hang the most papers on their " human bulletin board", but each paper has to touch both people, not touch the floor, and not touch another piece of paper. One group managed an incredible 26 sheets!
Bridge Club
We have had a very enthusiastic group of Bridge players in 2Es. Most of them attended last year's sessions and became totally hooked on the game. We have even had to set up some opportunities for games at lunchtime.
Golf Club
Over the course of 6 weeks, they learned putting, chipping and when the weather played ball we were outside driving (or 'smashing' as they termed it!!)
WATER SAFETY 2023
Over term 2 and 3 our year 7 students will take part in our water safety unit held at the Mt Albert Wave Pool. This is a day when our students learn about how to survive in a variety of different situations.
We take part in sessions that teach us how to correctly put on a life jacket and then wear this while we learn how to safely enter the water. Then we sit on the edge of an inflatable boat and roll backward into the water ensuring that our heads remain clear of the edge, and also swim under the upturned boat and experience the air pocket underneath the hull.
Still, in life jackets, we learn to huddle to keep warm and how to float in a group so that we don’t lose anyone. One of the most valuable experiences our students have is when they add a layer of heavier clothing over their swimming costumes and then are challenged to swim several lengths of the pool. Students are amazed at how difficult and tiring swimming in clothes is. One student commented, “This is silly you will never go swimming in your clothes - you're always in your togs!”
This is what makes this water safety program such an important experience - it helps us prepare for the unexpected!
YEAR 7 ZOO TRIPS
In term 2 the year 7’s headed out to the Auckland Zoo. This trip formed part of our Term 2 Unit “From Surviving to Thriving” where we looked at different environments and adaptations of a range of living things. During the Education Sessions at the Zoo we look at animals such as elephants, baboons, flamingos, and big cats and learn about the physical, physiological and structural adaptations that enable them to thrive.
It was a very special day out, and the fine weather encouraged many of the animals to come out from underneath their shelters to bask in the sun. Some of the classes even got to see the tigers traveling through the overhead tunnel. We were joined by many of our parents who came along to help and we hope you all had an excellent time as well!
ESOL NEWS
Towards the end of this term, our new English learners have been focusing on using their new vocabulary to write descriptions. Check out some of their work. Our focus has been 'From Surviving to thriving'. Congratulations also go to Damsithu Fonseka and Bach Mai. Both these year 8 students have excelled in their achievements in my ESOL class. Well done to both of you. 
THE VILLAGE GREEN DANCE-OFF
On Monday 26 June, the classes from The Village Green - Rooms 19, 20, 21 & 22 - held their ‘Dance Like the Stars Dance Off’. This is run annually as the culminating event of our Year 8 Ballroom Dance Classes. All students dressed up to have a chance at dancing their way to success & impress our judges.
Congratulations to our 2023 Dance Off Champions - Frida & Tim, Silver Medalists - Dhriti & Pahul and 3rd Place Winners - Guangnian & Chelsea. A shout-out also goes to four students selected as the ‘Best Dressed’ - Clara, Chelsea, Provaj & Dylan.
A huge thank you to our judges – Ms Robin Gatfield & Mrs Megan McGaw (dance) and Mr Tom Beckett (best dressed) and to all students for making it such a fun afternoon.
TRASH TO FASHION 2023
Monday's whole school assembly was a very special one when 42 groups of Trash to Fashion garments hit the stage. This is the most we have ever had to enter so it was not only an impressive turnout, but represented hundreds of RI students creating their garments over many weeks of imaginative hard work. All the garments were made using a variety of recycled materials. The RI DJs were the accompanying music with their original beat.
ART EXHIBITION EVENING 2023
What an outstanding Art evening we had, sponsored by the Remuera PTA. The standard was once again incredibly high and our students were able to showcase an array of artistic talents. Including soundscape art with QR codes for musical inspiration, steampunk pictures, clay figurines, funky clocks, tiles, memory boxes, zentangles, collages, surfboard fins, 3d animal sculptures, and so much more.
Then onto our Trash to Fashion catwalk, where our creative design teams filled the stage with ensembles that would rival WOW! This was our biggest year yet with over 40 costumes being entered, and preliminary judging earlier in the week narrowed this down to 22 contenders. And to compliment the art and the fashion were the dynamic sounds provided by our very own DJs who selected and crafted the background music for our evening.
Thank you to everyone who helped put this night together; students, teachers, admin staff, judges, MC’s, sound technicians. A special thanks to Billie Sturgis and Robert Rasmussen who’s unwavering dedication and talent have contributed to the success of this event, and to our PTA for their continued support for this highlight of the RI calendar.
The winners were:
OCEAN WAVES OF LIFE: Nikita
SOUTHERN WINTER NIGHT: Pinithi
TRIBUTE TO KING CHARLES: James and Remy
MEDUSA: Arvin, Lucy and Sammy
TOI AWARDS
TOI - A wearable art competition for student designers run in collaboration with our friends at World of WearableArt. Students can exhibit their larger-than-life creations at a live Showquest event around Aotearoa.
Last night three groups of our RI students entered the Showquest WOW event at the Aotea Centre. This is a huge occasion, encompassing schools from all over the North Island. The groups were Isabel and Jovina, Arvin, Lucy and Sammy, Myka and Mila with their wonderful WOW garments they created.
Mila and Myka were awarded the Outstanding Stage Presence Prize which is a huge achievement.
The comment from one of our parents was " RI looked amazing and they looked like they were loving being on stage"
PTA NEWS
PTA Parent Evening with Rob Cope - Kids Online
Last Wednesday 21st June, the PTA sponsored an evening discussing our children's safety online. Rob Cope set up Our Kids Online after his own experiences navigating parenting in the world of phones, social media and online gaming. Thank you to the 270 parents/caregivers who attended on the night, and congratulations to the five winners of the $50 New World vouchers, and to Room 13 for getting the most parents/caregivers to attend. You can also see that we are proudly displaying the sticker to show that we are a parent of Cybersafety School.
Rob's mantra - "We need to tackle this as a community so that all of our kids are safe. When you protect your kids online, you are also protecting mine and when I protect my kids online, I am also protecting yours."
Donating Old Uniform to Vanuatu
This week, the PTA has organised six banana boxes full of older-style RI uniform items such as red jerseys, red PE shirts and shorts to be taken to St Kent's Boys School and added to their container of donated items that are being sent to Vanuatu. Thank you to the volunteers that helped sort, wash, fold and box up the uniforms.
MESSAGE FROM TE WHATU ORA - HEALTH NEW ZEALAND
Tēnā koe e te Tumuaki,
Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand has asked that we share the following information that you may wish to forward to your school or kura community.
This winter, between Monday 12 June and Saturday 30 September, participating community pharmacies in Auckland will provide a Minor Health Conditions Service for Māori and Pacific people, children aged under 14 years, and community service card holders. The service allows pharmacists to have a clinical consultation and provide advice as well as medication if needed for a select set of minor health conditions at no cost to the patient. It also includes whānau members of a child with similar symptoms. For example, if the pharmacist determines your child needs treatment for scabies and they have older brothers or sisters, or you yourself also have symptoms, they may provide advice and medication for all of you.
The following health conditions are included in the Minor Health Conditions Service:
- Acute diarrhea
- Dehydration
- Eye inflammation and infections
- Scabies
- Headlice
- Pain and fever
- Eczema/Dermatitis
- Minor skin infections
If your condition needs further support, the pharmacist can tell you the best place to go to get further help.
Let’s spread the word to our friends and whānau about this new service! It’s also important to remember that you can always speak to your local pharmacist for free health advice, even if you are not eligible for this service.
Participating pharmacies can be found by going to HealthPoint and searching “Minor Health Conditions”. You can also find a list here .
Ngā mihi / la manuia
Filivaifale Jason Swann
Director of Education for Tāmaki Herenga Manawa
Auckland Central and East
ICAS EXAMINATION
We are delighted to inform you that our school will be participating in the world-renowned ICAS competition this year.
What is ICAS?
ICAS is an online academic competition that is designed to assess students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee and Digital Technologies. Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. Every student who participates will receive a printed certificate and an online results report. Top performers will be eligible for medals.
This year, RI will be participating in English, Science, Mathematics and Digital Technologies. The ICAS dates are listed here.
How to participate in ICAS
If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please:
- read about ICAS subjects and prices here
- read the terms and conditions here
- go to Parent Portal to purchase tests here
- enter our school’s access code – RRG122
- enter your child’s details, select the tests you would like to purchase, then proceed to payment.
After payment is made via the Parent Payment System, you will receive an order confirmation email, please keep this for your records. The last day to order is Monday 31 July 2023.
2024 ENROLMENTS
Our 2024 Enrolment is now open. If you have a Year 6 student who will be coming to RI in 2024, we encourage you to start the enrolment process early to ensure we are well prepared for the coming year. You can now apply online by clicking this link. If you have a query regarding the enrolment process, please contact Ms. Amy McGowan at enrolments@remint.school.nz
IMPORTANT DATES
| JULY | |
| July 17 | Term 3 Starts |
| July 18 | Year 7 Water Safety - Room 27 PTA Meeting |
| July 20 | Year 7 Water Safety - Room 12 |
| July 21 | Tree For Survival Planting Day |
| July 25 | Year 7 Water Safety - Room 28 CZ Netball Boys Year 7 Immunisation - Bootrix |
| July 27 | Year 7 Water Safety - Room 11 |
| AUGUST | |
| August 1 | Year 7 Water Safety - Room 1 BOT Meeting |
| August 3 | Year 7 Water Safety - Room 14 |
| August 8 | Year 7 Water Safety - Room 16 PTA Meeting CZ Squash School Cross Country |
| August 10 | Year 7 Water Safety - Room 18 |
| August 11 | CZ Netball Girls |
| August 15 | Year 7 Water Safety - Room 17 |
| August 17 | Year 7 Speech Final CZ Rugby League Boys |
| August 21 | CZ Basketball Girls |
| August 24 | CZ Cross Country |
| August 28 | CZ Basketball Boys |
| August 30 | 2024 Out of Zone Application CLOSED |
ABSENCE
All absences need to be reported by 8:45 am at the latest. To report an absence please:
Use the 'Report an Absence' link in the top right corner on the school website homepage http://www.remint.school.nz
Use the school app or phone the office on 09 522 9890 Option 1
Please do not email absence notifications to classroom teachers
ABSENCE TEXT NOTIFICATION
Your children’s safety is of paramount importance to us. In order to ensure the safety of all our students, at 9:45 am if your child has not been marked as Present we will send out a text notification to alert you of his/her absence. We are aware many parents are very busy people and forget to notify the school so please respond with a Y and a reason for the absence/lateness. Respond with an N if you have dropped your child at school or know that he/she was coming to school and we can investigate this promptly. Should your mobile number change, please notify the school immediately so that we can update our records accordingly.
PARENT PORTAL
Parents are able to use our portal to pay for their child’s donations and fees. We encourage anyone who has not already signed up to do so. The address is https://parent.edgelearning.co.nz/
REMUERA INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL APP
You can download the free SchoolAppsNZ from the App Store or Google Play. It works on both android and Apple phones. It sends important school messages and forms a big part of our school communications.
Features of the App:
- You can subscribe to alert groups of interest to you and your child
- You can complete the absentee form directly from the App
- You can access the school calendar, news and events directly through the App
- We can send out targeted alerts to everyone with the App or to specific groups