Newsletter 12th April, 2006 - Term 1 - No10
Winter Sports - Fair Play Charter Balloons over Waikato Class Councillors
Early Finish - Term 2 Literacy & Numeracy Canteen
Redwood Scholarship Balloons over Waikato BoP Squash Champs
Waikato Int. Inter-school Tennis Stop mobile Bullying
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Dear Parents / Caregivers

Important Notice:

Our holiday period starts this Thursday at 3:10pm and school reopens Wednesday 26th April at 8:50am.  the Y.M.C.A. has distributed its April holiday programme and has included activities on Wednesday, 16th April to Friday, 28th April.  Please note these are School Days.

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Winter Sports - Fair Play Charter

Winter sports teams are preparing for the winter season which, for most, starts at the beginning of next term. Our netball, hockey and soccer teams have had trials and a number of these teams are already practising. It is pleasing to see so many students actively involved in after school and Saturday sports competitions.

I would like to thank parents who are assisting with coaching and managing some of our school teams. Also to those parents who come along to practices or games to watch. During the year we will report on the success and progress of our school sports teams.

As a school we have a “Fair Play Charter” which is a code of conduct players and supporters must abide by. This enables all children who play sport to enjoy it and develop a positive attitude towards it.

FAIR PLAY CHARTER
- Enjoy ourselves
- Play within the rules
- Respect the referee and umpire
- Respect the opposition and their supporters
- Be gracious winners and dignified losers
- Play hard but fair

FAIR PLAY SUPPORTERS CODE
- Give teams and players supportive support
- Accept officials’ decision, without them there isn’t a game
- Condemn ugly behaviour and foul play
- Respect the opposition and their supporters
- Enjoy each game, that’s what sport is all about

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Redwood Scholarship

Chrae Awatere has been awarded the Redwood Scholarship for maths tutoring.  Cathy Redwood who runs mathZwise Ltd., an after school programme, has generously provided this scholarship.  Chrae was awarded this after a robust nomination selection process that included an interview.  Our thanks to Cathy Redwood for providing this opportunity.

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Balloons over Waikato

Chelsea Rudolph won a prize pack and a balloon ride in last weeks ‘Balloons Over Waikato’ event.  The school also received a $250.00 donation as a result of this effort.  We will consult with Chelsea about good ideas to spend this money.

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Class Councillors

Last Friday the Class Councillors were acknowledged and received their badges.  The Councillors and Deputy Councillors are elected by their class peers.  Congratulations to the following Class Councillors and Deputy Class Councillors for 2006.
 

Room 

Class Councillor Deputy Class Councillor
2 Heath Taylor Alice Meredith/Casey Scott
3 Gideon Letoga Tatyana Stowers
4 Hayley Bason Sebastian Uerata
5 Ira Pascoe Dylan Callingham
6 Centaine Treasurer Leah Hammond
7 Haraina Mani Terri Felton
8 Jake Belfield Giselle Paaki
20 Zoe Jansen Logan Costar
9 Ryotaro Wright Luana Karl
10 Chelsea Rudolph Te Maioha Makekau
11 Ben McKenzie Devon Morris
12 Aaron Sullivan Thea Keith-Matchitt
16 Renee Randall Shai-Star Whetu
17 Renee Bartie Simi Farrar
18 Mikaela Keir Allana Barbarich
19 Annalisa Te Whaiti Harley Lewis

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Early Finish - Term 2

Our third Numeracy workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, 2 May.  As this starts at 2:15 p.m. school will close at 2:00 p.m. on this day to allow staff a few minutes to get to the Workshop.

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Literacy and Numeracy

As has been pointed out on many occasions in the past, Tokoroa Intermediate School has a strong focus on literacy and numeracy.  We have three literacy targets and one numeracy target for 2006.  This focus will continue at least into 2007 as the numeracy project currently being worked through in Year 7 will carry through into Year 8.

Considerable professional development in recent years has been directed at these two major areas and while we are very proud of our programmes in these areas we are always looking to make them even better.

Research has shown that to build proficient readers children need to practise the skills learnt in the classroom.  Even if it is only 10-15 minutes per night, students need to read at home.

To help your child, get them into the habit of reading at home.  It doesn’t matter what it is as long as they are reading.  Boys are often more reluctant than girls and non-fiction books and magazines are a good way to get boys reading, especially on rugby, soccer, league, skateboarding, hunting, fishing, cars, etc.  If interested in further information talk to your child’s teacher, town librarian or me.

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Canteen

As from the beginning of Term 2 the canteen will no longer be selling chocolate caramel squares.  This is being replaced with a yummy chocolate chip muffin, which will retail at $1.00 each.

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Bay of Plenty Squash Championships

On Tuesday, 11 April six students attended the Bay of Plenty Intermediate School Squash Championships.  They all played extremely well.  In the Junior Girls division Rose Ashton-Duyvestyn was placed 2nd and Hannah Adams placed 3rd.  Jake Belfield was 2nd in the F grade.  Matthew Meszaros placed 1st and Logan Costar 2nd in the J2 grade.  Jayden Watene was 1st in J3 grade.  Well done to all the players who represented our school.  A huge thank you to Brett Watene for giving up his time to coach the students.  Also thank you to the parents who took transport and supported our students on the day.

Rachel Toy
TIC Squash

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Waikato Intermediate Inter-Schools Tennis

Congratulations to Levon McCloskey, Tamati Lee, Sarah Flutey and Lauren Nicholas who were selected to represent Tokoroa Intermediate School at this tournament.  The level of competition was extremely high, however all four students did their best against very strong opponents.  A special thank you to Lana McCloskey for transporting and taking responsibility for the players.  Your time is greatly appreciated.

Jeannette Beale
TIC WAIKATO INTERMEDIATE INTERSCHOOLS TENNIS

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Stop Mobile Bullying - Telecom

What is mobile bullying?
Any type of message that makes you feel uncomfortable or threatened – a TXT, video message, photo message or phone call or any message which is sent repeatedly to harass you – is mobile bullying.

How can you stop the bullying?
Both Telecom and NetSafe, a New Zealand organisation set up to help you keep safe, recommend that you take the following steps to keep you safe from online and mobile bullying:

First steps:
• Be careful about giving your mobile number to anyone except trusted friends and family.
• Be careful when using any mobile chat services – people are not always who they claim to be.
• If you get a message from an unknown number, don’t reply. Also, don’t reply to a known number if you’re unhappy with the content of the message.
• Contact NetSafe on 0508 NETSAFE (0508 638 723) – they can help and they’re happy to talk with you! You can also send them an email at queries@netsafe.org.nz
• Talk to your parents or a trusted adult (such as your teacher or counsellor), especially early on before a problem goes from bad to worse.

Next Steps:
If the bullying persists or if it’s especially concerning to you:
• Give us a call on *123 and we can swap you to a new number.
• If you would like the calls investigated, you can ring the Call Investigation Centre on 0800 809 806 (Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.). In some instances they can send a warning to the bully or even bar the person from the Telecom network.
• If you are the victim of severe bullying, especially if the bully is threatening to harm you or others, this problem may need to be reported to the Police.
• Keep all messages if there is space on your mobile – if not make a note of the time, date and content. You might need this information if the problem gets out of control.

Everyone needs to remember
A joke can easily go from funny to offensive and when you are angry you can say or do things online that you regret later, so be careful when sending messages to others.
• Before sending a message ask yourself – could that person be hurt or offended by this message?
• Don’t take and send a photo or video message of others without their permission. Always ask first!
• Don’t send anything that could offend others.

Want to know more?
Check out NetSafe’s website for more information or give us a call on *123, free from your mobile phone or check out the Telecom website – www.telecom.co.nz

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Phil Straw
PRINCIPAL

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