PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Reconnecting with the World
In the first two weeks of this term, I travelled to Korea and Thailand to reconnect with overseas agents to get an understanding of the international student market. Remuera Intermediate has had a long relationship with International Students and their families. These relationships play a critical role in helping young people understand the world around them. Our students are fantastic at welcoming and caring for visitors from abroad and the insights they get into one another's world are invaluable.
On my recent trip, I was interested to learn that many of the challenges we have faced as we move on from the pandemic are shared in two very different countries from New Zealand and from one another. The increase in youth anxiety, parental concerns and a general increase in atypical behaviour were all common across the schools we visited. I was also reminded that we are privileged to live in a city that has a great deal of green space, access to beaches and for most, a home with a place to play and entertain outside.
Whilst we may have many obvious differences, there are many less obvious similarities. For the most part, families simply want to grow up in a clean, safe environment where they can learn, work and play freely. Parents all want the best for their young people and young people want to enjoy time with friends and family. Over the coming months and years, we look forward to welcoming young people from around the world back to our community and sharing their stories, hopes and aspirations.
Kyle Brewerton
Principal/APPA President
CZ BOYS VOLLEYBALL
On September 21, the CZ boys volleyball team under the guidance of Alaric Nicholls went into battle against 9 other central zone schools. Our boys played well as a team under our experienced captain Roman Scanlan, not dropping a single set in the pool games.
In the quarter-finals we met Royal Oak who we had already beaten earlier in the day, so it was more business as usual to make it through to the Semis.
As the competition turned up the heat, so did the RI team, coming away with a sold straight sets win to put us in a playoff for 1st and 2nd against the more experienced and very slick Waikowhai team.
The first set went to Waikowhai with a fairly convincing score of 25-13. The RI team took this as a challenge, and came back to win the 2nd and 3rd sets, making them the CZ volleyball winners for 2023. Interzone is next for this talented group of lads.
Boys who competed on the day: Roman Scanlan, CJ Toa Teremoana, Lucas Parker, Henry Martin, Missenden 'Oto'ota, Alex Williams, Bronson Gosche, Usman Hamid, Ryan Duggan, Clayton Bailey
Reserves: Luka Cocker, Tuni Lea, Toby Lenaarts, Brigham Takataka, Carthew Snowden.
EPRO8 GRAND FINALE
The winning teams from the EPro8 Inter schools were The Brainy Buddies, RI Digits, and MnMs. These teams moved on to represent Remuera Intermediate in the subsequent stages of the competition. During the semi-finals, The Brainy Buddies emerged victorious in Semi-Final 1, while RI Digits claimed the top spot in Semi-Final 2.
Unfortunately, MnMs fell short of qualification. In the highly competitive grand finale, RI Digits showcased their skills and secured the runner-up position in a closely contested battle, missing the championship by a small margin of 10 points. The Brainy Buddies, although missing out on a podium finish, put forth a commendable effort.
These team’s achievements were truly remarkable, and we extend our sincere applause for their exceptional performance
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE 2023
During the last week of term three to coincide with International Day of Peace on 21 September, the Social Changency hosted ‘Peace week’ at school. Each day of the week there were different activities arranged. ‘Peace week’ was launched at the full school Assembly on Monday explaining the planned activities for the week. Each day over the intercom the word ‘peace’ was shared in two languages each day.
- On Tuesday at lunchtime we hosted a meditation and yoga session.
- On Wednesday students were encouraged to create a peace flag digitally.
- On Thursday at lunchtime students were encouraged to perform a random act of kindness in order to gain a small prize.
- On Friday students could receive a small prize if they could recall the word for peace in five languages as it had been shared during the week.
It is hoped that the awareness of everyone at school has been raised regarding the importance of thinking about peace and showing kindness to others.
We hope to do this again in 2024. Below are some of the digital flag creations
U13 HOCKEY CULTURAL EXCHANGE TO FIJI
The teams played against U15 Fiji Representative teams, sharing and learning new skills. The games were fast-paced 5-a-side, requiring speed, skill and agility.
As part of the trip, they visited schools, participated in PE lessons, and donated sports equipment, uniforms, hockey sticks and sports shoes. The students were very fortunate to visit Jerry Tuwai, a two-time Fijian Olympic medalist, and donated stationery packs to the students in his village.
Thank you to the school for supporting them to attend the Cultural Exchange.
Back row: Henry Martin, Kieran Lash, William Bason, Jayden Naran-Patel
Front Row: Giuliana Gianesini, Shyam Dhanji, Pahul Singh Saini
Absent: Lizzie Hawksbee
CHEER FACTOR 2023
Over the first weekend of the holidays, the RI Cheer Team travelled to the Claudelands Events Centre in Hamilton, to compete at the 2023 Cheer Factor. This was the first competition and performance in front of an audience for the team this year, and so hugely exciting. After months of dedication and training, they approached the day with confidence and a huge amount of enthusiasm, which was literally bubbling out of them.
Nothing interfered with their happiness throughout the entire day, not even finding out all the teams they were up against were High Schools or a fire alarm causing the stadium to be evacuated right before their performance phased them. While others around them were stressed, the RI Cheer Team didn’t let it dampen their high spirits.
Performing their routine with the same attitude and enjoying every second, the team more than rose to the occasion and was awarded 3rd place in the largest scholastic division seen in NZ. With just 0.035 points separating them from first place, and the team in 4th place over 8 points behind - their pride in themselves is deservedly so.
Miss Faulknor could not have been more delighted for them or more grateful to have such an amazing group of students. The best moment of the day was in the minute after they finished, when the team realised they had hit the routine and their joy burst out of them so loudly the MC had to wait for their screams to stop before he could move on.
Thanks to all the families who came in to support us, especially those parents who helped!!!
HARVEST TIME FOR GARDEN TO TABLE STUDENTS
It’s been an exciting first week in Term 4 for Year 8 Garden to Table (GTT) students. Spring growth has meant that lots of our vegetable crops, which were planted by Cycle 1 & 2 Year 8 GTT students, are ready to harvest. We have picked kilos of beetroot, silverbeet, celery and much more!
Along with harvesting we have staked growing vines of tomatoes, mounded up the potato crops and tilled around plants such as the blueberry bushes that have been dwarfed by weeds. In preparation for planting our kumara tipu, we have slashed the nitrogen-rich cover crop ready to rotary hoe into the ground.
The photos speak for themselves!
NZ SCULPTURE ON SHORE
This year, Remuera Intermediate is one of the 16 schools that have been selected to participate in the 2023 NZ Sculpture on Shore - Schools Exhibition section. The event showcases the imagination and creativity of Tāmaki Makaurau’s youngest artists and continues to surpass our expectations at every event. The school exhibition will be staged in the historic underground fort which offers a unique space. There are also over 50 NZ sculptors exhibiting over the two weeks. Funds raised go towards Women's Refuge.
For more information about this amazing event, please visit https://nzsculptureonshore.co.nz/
IMPORTANT DATES
| OCTOBER | |
| October 31 | CZ Girls Touch Waterwise - Room 29 |
| NOVEMBER | |
| November 2 | CZ Touch Mixed & Boys |
| November 3 | Mufti Day - Gumboot Friday |
| November 7 | Athletics Day |
| November 8 | IZ Volleyball Boys Year 8 HPV 2 Year 7 Boostrix Catch-up |
| November 9 | Waterwise - Room 7 Orientation Evening for 2024 Year 7 |
| November 10 | Teacher Only Day |
| November 13 | Teacher Only Day |
| November 14 | PTA Meeting |
| November 15 | Year 8 HPV 2 Catch-up Year 7 Boostrix Catch-up |
| November 16 | William Pike Graduation and Information Evening for Year 7 |
| November 21 | Dance Showcase |
| November 22 | Waterwise - Room 4 CZ Athletics |
| November 30 | Waterwise - Room 23 |
| DECEMBER | |
| December 1 | Term 4 Awards Assemblies |
| December 5 | BOT Meeting |
| December 12 | Prizegiving at Holy Trinity Parnell Rainbows End Year 7 |
| December 14 | Rainbows End Year 8 |
| December 15 | Term 4 Ends at 1:00 pm |
ABSENCES
All absences need to be reported by 8:45 a.m. at the latest. To report an absence please:
Use the 'Report an Absence' link in the top right corner of 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 simply 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