PURAKAUNUI SCHOOL

by Bridget Davidson

We finished last term with a wonderful day in Port Chalmers. We had a tour of the port and a great talk from Ian Church, local historian. We were lucky to have Peter Cole to show us around the museum and the town, including the Art Park, Rhododendron Dell and cemetery.  It was a blustery day, so thanks to the library for letting us have lunch inside. Thanks to everyone who made this day really successful.

We had our usual end-of-term assembly which showcased the students' writing and study of Port Chalmers. We are now back after a well-earned holiday, and this term we are studying weather. It is a good time of the year to be looking at this with great variation in what each day brings. We are including a trip to the Otago Museum shortly and will look at many aspects of climate in this topic.

The popular football and winter sports season is upon us but we are still managing to get out and do a range of fitness activities, including our Friday walks. Planning and fundraising are also under way for our end-of-year whole school camp to Mount Cook, following on our outdoor education theme from last year's very successful camp at Long Beach.  Grateful thanks also to the Bendigo Valley Sports and Charity Foundation for providing funding for the school swimming programme.  

One of our strategic goals is for the school to become carbon-neutral and we are a step closer to this with the installation of double-glazing in the library.  We have plans in place for solar heating and other carbon-reducing initiatives, all of which the children have been involved in studying and formulating.

Our pre-school group, Little Cockles, is up and running and we welcome all pre-schoolers to join us –  telephone the school on 482 1026 for more details.