Ter m 3, Week 3, 6 August , 2014

Dear Parents and Caregivers

Todays newsletter includes two important additions:

1. A letter written by Riverview School staff expressing concerns about the current restructuring
of our education system. This is the most significant change since Tomorrows Schools was
introduced in 1989, and teachers want you to be aware of this.
2. An information sheet explaining arrangements for our Student-Led Conferences. Please
read this carefully.

Yesterday, the Student Council held a Toy Trading Table and raised $108 which is in aid of
sandpit toys for the new sandpit. I commend the Council for their initiative and all the students
who took part.

Next Monday, children who are part of the Riverview School Choir will be singing as part of a
combined schools Kids for Kids concert in the Turner Centre. They will be going to a combined
practice on Monday morning, with the main event on Monday evening. My thanks to Ms
Fletcher who has worked very hard with the children to prepare them for this wonderful concert
experience; best wishes to the children. I hope you really enjoy your big evening on stage and
under lights!

This afternoon, the school held a Lock Down practice. This is, unfortunately, a necessary part of
being prepared in case of some emergency where the safety of our children is threatened by
some external risk (e.g. chemical spill, intruder). If your child shares a slightly muddled message
about hiding in classrooms please understand that this was a school-wide, well-controlled
practice.

Our old desks and chairs are off to schools in the Pacific. With the new furniture in our senior
classrooms, we are pleased to know that the old desks and chairs are to be used in some schools
in the Pacific. These have been transported to Auckland, courtesy of a very community-oriented
trucking company, and are being shipped to the Pacific through the efforts of an Auckland
Rotary Club.

Bazaar: The Bazaar Committee met again last night. We are going to make a decision about the
four Pre-loved stalls (Rooms 1 4). We dont have the volunteers needed to run these and
have to make a call by next week. If there are no people to run them, we will probably have to
cancel them from the Bazaar programmes. The stalls are Toys and Games, Kitchenware,
Sports and Outdoors, and Quality Furniture. If you can help with these, please let Judith
Payton know within the next week. Thank you.

For the Children
Ken McLeay, Principal
Phone 4077277 Mobile 0211077110 www.riverview.school.nz
P O Box 942 Kerikeri 0245 23 Riverview Road, Kerikeri
Headlice

It is that time of the year again when head lice
make their appearance. We have had
several sightings on children at our school.

Please check your child/childrens scalp for signs,
and treat them for this complaint. Unfortunately,
those that go untreated only keep the cycle
going.

Any pharmacy will be able to give you advice on
how to treat head lice.

Please do not hesitate to contact the School
office, if you have any further questions.
The Kerikeri Bay of Islands Farmers Market is having
a Young Growers Competition. Entrants 17 years old and
younger are invited to grow cabbages, potatoes, and
carrots. The judging date for entries is Sunday 12
October 2014. Entry forms and details are available on
the website: www.bayofislandsfarmersmarket.org.nz
Piano lessons available after school, in the Riverview
School Music room. Enquiries please contact Kate
0210511240 or katesheldon.kerikeri@gmail.com
Mid-North Mobile Ear Clinic - Thursday 14 August,
outside the Plunket Rooms, Wendywood Lane, 8.30am -
3.30pm.
Childrens Yoga at Community Fitness with registered
Yoga teacher Anita Vegar. First lesson free! Starting
Tuesday 5 August at 3.30pm. Come and stretch,
improve concentration, and have fun with us. More
information, call Anita 405 7892 or text 021 08271231,
Community Fitness 4077522
Scholastic Book Club

Orders are to be returned to
the school office by Monday 11 August.
Please make sure cheques are written out to
Scholastic.

Pleasesendachangeofclothesforyour
childonwetdays.
Wewillphoneparentstocometo
schoolwithachangeofclothingifyour
childiswet.Wedonotkeepanyspare
clothingatschool.
Sports Results
Netball
Riverview Ferns vs Kerikeri Dynamites 20-1
Lost Property
Mountains of lost property (clothes, as well as
shoes) are in the bay of Rooms 5 and 6. Please
come and check whether there are items
belonging to your child/ren. Otherwise, it will
be available for sale at the Bazaar in
September.
Whole School Assembly Timetable
Friday at 2.10pm in the hall.
Wk 3 - Room 13 Wk 4 - Room 12
Wk 5 - No Assembly Wk 6 - Room 4
Wk 7 - Room 8 Wk 8 - No Assembly
Wk 9 - Room 9 Wk 10 - Staff
My child/ren .........Room/s ...... would like to attend
Rap-Unzel. $4.00 is enclosed.
If you wish to pay via internet banking, our details are: 12-3091-0132140-00. Please place your childs
surname & classroom as reference.
Parent signature
Riverview School is organising, on behalf of families, a show Rap-Unzel, which your child can
attend during school hours. This is an extra-curricular activity and so it has an associated cost to
attend of $ 4.00 per student. Payment is required no later than Friday 29 August. Those
students who do not wish to attend, or who have not paid within the required timeframe as
detailed above, will continue with learning activities in the classroom.
The Middle Syndicate team is looking
for a parent helper to listen to
children read. Monday to Thursday
from 10.15 - 11 or 11 12. If you are
able to help us, please email Dave
Kirkland at dave@riverview.school.nz
Watch out for the on-line Community Consultation Survey at the end of this week.
STUDENT-LED CONFERENCES

Student-led Conferences follow on from the Parent-Teacher-Child conferences
held last term. The child is at the centre of these conferences, and s/he will be
sharing the learning that they have done, are working on, or need to improve.
These conferences are scheduled to take place this term; please note that
there have been changes to the original dates due to teachers commitments
and to the inclusion of a Mid-Term Break. The dates and times are:

Years 0, 1, and 2
Tuesday 26 August 6.00 6.45pm
Thursday 28 August 4.00 4.45pm

Years 3 and 4
Tuesday 2 September 6.00 6.45pm
Thursday 4 September 4.00 4.45pm

Years 5 and 6
Tuesday 26 August 4.00 4.45pm
Thursday 28 August 6.00 6.45pm

Please note that the Years 5 & 6 and Years 1 & 2 conferences are scheduled for
the same days, but different times.

Bookings for the Years 3 & 4 and Years 5 & 6 conferences will be paper-based;
bookings for the Years 1 & 2 conferences will be done on-line as they follow a
slightly different format. You will receive this information via your child/ren.

These all take place in your childs classroom.

What to expect at Student-led Conferences:

At a student-led conference, your child should do most of the talking.
Your child will tell you where s/he is meant to be at (in terms of national
standards / levels).
Your child will discuss his/her progress in the class.
Your child will discuss his/her improvements and next learning steps.
You may be required to do some prompting (you will have prompt cards).
After your child has finished, s/he will ask you if you have any questions,
and will take you on a tour of the classroom.
RIVERVIEW SCHOOL BOARD OF TRUSTEES
MID-YEAR NEWSLETTER 2014


Ng mihi mahana ki a koutou

Last term was so busy and short that we didnt manage to put a newsletter together,
so hopefully, we will catch up now at the beginning of Term Three.

The relief for staff and the Board is huge with the opening of the new classroom
block signalling the end of Riverview Schools leaky building rebuild projects. After
some clever negotiation from Ken and Alison, the Ministry came to the party and
supported us to complete the reconstruction of the large playground and basic
central school landscaping. The combination of these projects, the amazing attention
to detail, and the efforts of Adrian, our caretaker, have resulted in the school
gardens and buildings looking fantastic. We are very pleased that the construction of
the Junior Playground has finally begun. We look forward to seeing the children
playing on the final product.

The Board recently hosted a Community Consultation evening as part of our regular
cycle of strategic review. We would like to thank those parents and staff who came
along to contribute their feedback and ideas. In addition, the staff held a
consultation meeting, and students were surveyed. All of this valuable information
has been analysed by the Board, which then met to identify the areas, that were
indicated as priorities, for inclusion in the new Strategic Plan. We are writing an
online survey which will come out soon to clarify those priority areas. We are keen
for every Riverview School family to participate in the short survey.

There are big events coming up this term which we can all support. A large Riverview
School Choir is performing at the Kids for Kids Everything is Ka Pai Show at the
Turner Centre on Monday 11 August. It is an entertaining programme which will be
presented in a professional setting: a fantastic opportunity for our children. You can
book tickets online or by going into the Turner Centre. There is a mid-term break on
Friday 22 August for the children to recharge their batteries and, of course, the huge
event for the term is the return of the famous Riverview School Bazaar on Sunday 14
September.

For new families, the Bazaar is a popular event in the wider community that has run
for many years. Due to property rebuilding issues over the last several years, we have
run other smaller events which have also been great but, due to popular demand,
the Bazaar is back! It is a huge fundraiser and a fantastic, fun-filled family day. The
success of this day relies on the team effort behind it. The Bazaar committee needs
all parents to put their hands up to help any contribution is greatly appreciated.
Their organisation will make your job easy; you can sign up at the school office.
Please remember to advertise the Bazaar by displaying the posters, which your
children coloured in, on your car windows. Share the date with family, colleagues,
and friends to help promote the event!

Finally, I would like to announce a significant achievement for our Principal. Mr Ken
McLeay was awarded an ASB-APPA (ASB Bank and Auckland Primary Principals
Association) Travelling Fellowship for 2015. This award is one of the most
prestigious in New Zealand education and those who are successful are held in high
esteem by their colleagues. The travelling study award will be of benefit to our
school and others in New Zealand. It will involve one terms leave in which Ken will
undertake research both in New Zealand and overseas. He will publish his findings
on a selected area of education in which he is focusing on rural schools. We
congratulate him on this significant achievement, and wish him very well for his
travels and study.

Enjoy the last of winter and see you at the Bazaar.

Nku noa

Roz Clent (Board Chairperson)
On behalf of the Board of Trustees


Bazaar 2014
SUNDAY 14 SEPTEMBER
GETTING INVOLVED CAN BE FUN; GIVE IT A GO!!
Next Bazaar Meeting - Tuesday 19 August at 2.00pm in the staffroom
Raffle News
Are there any Riverview parents
who work in retail who would be
able to sell tickets from their
store? Please contact Sheree
Edwards on 021 552 621 or
sheree@vodafone.net.nz.
We can not issue any more raffle
books to students unless the
previous raffle books and money
have been returned.
Room 16 is the class that has sold
the most books so far. The results
are in the library window.
Sub Co-ordinators Required
We require four sub-co-ordinators for the Pre-Loved equipment.
If you can help, please contact Judith at the school office.
Thanks
Toys and Games Kitchenware
Sports & Outdoors Quality Furniture
Drop-off points:
Clothing Room 5
Books
Toys and Games
Sports & Outdoors
Kitchenware Caretakers Shed
Furniture
Plants
Weneed
"Vicms"forthe
DunkTank.
Ifyoucan
organisea
persontoget
dunked(e.g.a
scoutleader,a
policeocer),
letVeeLarsen
knowon
4016016or
0220258851
This is another
activity that Go
Vertical is
bringing to the
Bazaar.
Watch out for the food
contribution lists coming
home this week.
Twobalesofhayforthe
TreasureHunt.Pleaselet
VeeLarsenknowon
4016016or0220258851
80volunteersrequired.The
signupboardfor
volunteerswillbeoutside
thehallonFriday,
otherwisecallintothe
schooloce.
38 more
sleeps

Dear Parents/Caregivers
The present governments new policy, titled Investing in Educational
Success (IES), is a cause for concern to the staff at Riverview School.
The IES policy is regarded as the biggest system shift in education in
the past 25 years. The current government plans to spend $359
million on this policy. After discussion with Riverview School Board
of Trustees, staff would like to share their concerns about this
policy.
The staff at Riverview School is concerned about the impact of
proposed changes, announced by the Prime Minister, which will have
a huge impact on the children and staff, not only at our school, but
across the country.
The stated purpose of the Investing in Educational Success policy
(IES) is to lift recorded student achievement levels by supporting the
education profession to build quality and consistency of teaching and
leadership across the system.
Paul Goulter, National Secretary of NZEI Te Riu Roa, however, had
this to say, when the policy is considered in the light of National
Standards, charter schools, PaCT, EDUCANZ and unqualified people
pretending to be teachers, the review of the Education Act, and data-
driven performance measures - the purpose becomes more suspect.
Teachers and staff at Riverview School, along with many others
around New Zealand, have concerns about a number of the
proposals (e.g. the new roles initiative, which includes Change
Principals, Community of Schools Leader, Community of Schools
Teacher, and Community of Schools In-School Teacher). It is highly
likely that the implementation of these new roles will affect your
childs learning outcomes. Your childs teacher may be seconded out
of their class, on a regular basis, to support and work alongside
teachers and students in other schools. Our principal could also be
expected to work alongside other principals out of our school on a
regular basis. These two scenarios alone would disrupt the teaching
and learning outcomes of students at Riverview School, as well as
impacting hugely on management roles and leadership within the
school. The new roles will cause major change in the New Zealand
education system, along with an impact on the role of the board of
trustees, school/community relationships, teaching practice and,
therefore, student learning outcomes.
see these proposals supporting day-to-day or long term
learning for students or teachers
There is no evidence that the proposals
will provide any benefit to students learning.
A number of services to schools and children have been cut in the
past few years. $359 million would be better spent on ensuring
smaller classes, providing specialist teachers such as RTLB, Psych
Service, Speech and Language, ESOL, Teacher Aides, a return of the
Advisory Service for teachers, and ensuring 100% fully-trained
teachers for Early Childhood.
We remain concerned that the implementation of the new teacher
and principal roles, along with a number of other proposals, has
been rushed through without adequate consultation and
collaboration.
Teachers and staff at Riverview School encourage you to become
aware of this policy and its implications for you, your child/ren, and
their learning. For a breakdown of all party policies on education,
visit www.educationaotearoa.org.nz
Clare Murdoch (B O T Staff Rep), Karen Josephs (NZEI Worksite Rep)
on behalf of Staff at Riverview School.