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Newsletter ~20 February, 2025
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From the Principal
Tena koutou ngā whānau, ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa,
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It has been a super busy couple of weeks. Our consolidated camp programme has been very effective for reducing classroom interruptions, but it has been very busy for teachers. Over the last week our Year 5s had a wonderful camp at Orton Bradley, our Year 6s and 7s have been to Waipara and now our Year 4s are on their first school camp at Living Springs. Our Year 8s, who have their Wellington camp in Term 4, had a day working on sports leadership skills with Sport Canterbury. Our camp programme would not be able to go ahead without the generous support of those parents who assist on camp, and we are all very grateful for the generous support of your time.
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Coming up next week we have our Year 4 - 8 swimming sports which we hold at Governors Bay. Thank you to our parents who support this event, enabling it to run smoothly. These sports provide an opportunity for our excellent swimmers to excel and gain nomination for the South-East Zones swimming competition. Alongside this we have a focus on inclusivity, with support provided for our less confident swimmers to also participate. Ākonga may wear colour to show support for their house.
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In the ākomanga (classrooms), once the Unit of Inquiry around Rights and Responsibilities has been completed we are moving onto a Unit of Inquiry around Smart Cities. You can read more about Christchurch being a Smart City here.
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Behind the scenes, the Board is finalising the Strategic Plan for the next few years. The main focus of this plan is aligned with the New Zealand Curriculum Refresh, a massive piece of work that kura across the motu are engaging in. You can view a summary of our strategic plan here and you can provide feedback via the Google Form here. Your feedback is incredibly valuable to guide the direction of the school. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any pātai (questions).
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Coming up this weekend we have a number of ākonga competing in the Weetbix Tryathlon on Sunday, and then next week we have our Swimming Sports. Fingers crossed this beautiful weather hangs around for these events. Best wishes for a enjoyable rest of the week, and a wonderful weekend.
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Year 5 Orton Bradley Camp
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On Thursday 13th year 5s went on camp at Orton Bradley Park. When we arrived Shannon and Matt helped us set up the tents. Then we ate our kai and went to the playground and the line for the flying fox was really big. The playground was packed with children. Next we went straight to the river most of us hoped into the river we walked down till it was deep enough for the eels. Some of us threw in some bait then an eel came about 5 minutes later the one eel became three eels then we changed locations to an area surrounded by bushes.
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Then we went back to the campsite and ate our lunch and got ready for the waterfall track. It's quite far but fun and the view was amazing.When we got up there it was beautiful, Some of us filled our hats with water when the water from my hat spilt on my head it felt so refreshing. Then we went to the second waterfall and sat down for a little during the walk Matt told us a riddle the riddle was I have a friend butcher he's 2 feet tall and 2 feet wide when he puts his arms out how much does he weigh? Maddie got the answer it was, he weighs meat. Matt said whoever got it won a packet of gummies for everyone to share; then we walked back down.
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Next Matt organised some teamwork games. They were awesome.Then the adults set up dinner the options were coleslaw, sausage in bread, new potatoes and carrot sticks. The talent show was next.
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The talent show was super cool. There was comedy, singing, dancing, and it was filled with enthusiasm and effort. Bobby won by singing the macaroni song.Then there was dessert which was vanilla ice cream. It felt good to have a cold, creamy snack after a long day. Some of us played rugby for a little then we got ready for bed, played a little, then hopped into bed for the night.
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The next morning we woke up to the birds tweeting and the wind swaying through the trees' leaves. For breakfast there was toast and weetbix. After you cleaned your cutlery you had to make your lunch after that we packed up our tents and put them away.
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After that we went to high ropes. The instructors showed us how to put on the harness and helmet. Then we went straight to climbing the courses were the giant ladder, the bean, the centipede, and the flying kiwi.
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Then we went kayaking/raft building. In raft building we learnt to tie a knot then tied the tiers together.Then the race began. The race was super fun for kayaking. They told us how to paddle, then when we arrived we jumped off the wharf then we drove home.
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Last Thursday, year 5 went on camp to Orton Bradley Park. We left around 9:15, I was in Ben's group with Luke, Hunter and Jack. Once we arrived we put up our tents and then we went to the playground and had kai. Then once we had finished playing we went for a walk up the river to look for the eel. We had to feed it some meat to lure it out from under the rock. After that we had lunch together before the waterfall walk. On the walk we played games like tag and stuff. On the way our group had to carry the bag full of our drink bottles. When we finally got to the top we soaked our hats under the waterfall and started our descent down the mountain.
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When we finally got down the mountain we played lots of games with Matt until dinner. For dinner we had coleslaw and sausages which were nice. After dinner we had a talent show. Our group decided to audition with a comedy play about different monuments. Then we had dessert which was vanilla ice cream. Finally we had a quick game of rugby and went to bed.
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On the second day we woke up and got dressed had breakfast and made our lunches. Then we took our tents down and got ready for high ropes. When it was finally time for high ropes the instructor told us to put our harness and helmet on. Our group went to the centipede and the pole walk.I did the pole walk first. It was really fun. Some people before me said it was scary but I didn’t think so. Then we did the flying kiwi where we shot a person into the air really fast. After high ropes we had kai and got ready for kayaking and raft building. Our group started with kayaking where there were three challenges. The first one was you had to touch the very front and very back of your kayak, the second was you had to stand up in your kayak, the third was you had to swap kayaks with someone. After that we kayaked back to the beach to do raft building which was a race. We did a relay race to get supplies then we had 5 minutes to build the raft, then we had to race out to our instructor then race back and untie your raft and find one live crab, one seashell and some seaweed. Our team won. When we got back to the wharf and took turns jumping off it, then we went home.
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Excerpt from Indie's 3 pages of Orton Bradley Camp writing
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Next was hard and challenging, it was the balance beam. We had to climb up a ladder, step on some big pegs on a pole so we could get to the top. I got up to the top and went across to the end and got back into the middle. I turned around and put my arms out like a bird. It was fun. Once we were finished everything we could go on the seesaw we had to balance our weight to make it even. After that it was time for the flying kiwi, I could not wait! As time floated by I was on the flying kiwi, I got a run up so I could fly in the air.
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Year 8's PALS Event
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On Wednesday the year 8s went to Pals sports event. We went to Ngā Puna Wai which is a big sports centre. The sports leaders learnt new games for the kids to play. There were different schools at the event and our school had to pair up with another school. They learned some new games such as new ball games, spiders and scorpions. With this game, the spiders crawl on all fours to attack the scorpions. The scorpions need to survive the game without dying. There was another game where we had to try and keep all the balls in the air without them dropping on the ground. We all had a great day and learned new games.
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Year 6,7 Camp at Waipara
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On Monday, the years 7 and 6 went on a camp to Waipara. For the driving part of it I was with Mickle (Drake), Josh and Emily, and it was a great ride, nobody was sick at ALL!!... (I threw up twice..🤮)
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Right after I got sick for the second time, we went to a park in Kaiapoi.
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This is where Joe showed us a health hazard, also known as millionaire shortbread. Then we got back in the car and headed off to the camp ground.
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Once we got to the camp ground we got greeted by the people working there, and then we went on a walk through the river. After Bobby ate a pistachio whole with the shells on it we got to choose our bunk beds, I was under Joe.
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Then we got to do our first activity, it was orienteering. My group wasn't that fast: we did the equations as we went which slowed us down, then they gave us a code breaker to solve, (Emily and I did it in like 10 seconds).
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Next was the Giant Swing. Basically they had 3 levels, level one being the lowest and level 3 being the highest, they would pull us up very high and then we would free fall and swing. I was really scared! It then came to my turn. I hopped on and it was really fun!! Then I became a part of the husky crew where we had to run and run and maybe run some more.
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Then we got a nice sleep… (that's sarcasm if you didn't know).
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The next day we got dressed and waited for about an hour and then Bobby found what made the camp, camp. THE DRAKE MASK!!!!
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Then came the confidence course also known as an obstacle course, basically we had a bucket of water and we had to get it through the obstacle course. It was fun but since it had been raining, the wood was wet and slippery.
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For lunch we had sausage rolls, and I also found out that Josh likes beetroot. He says the reason he likes it is because it's juicy.
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After that we went kayaking, we played a few games whilst kayaking, like candlestick tag, It's exactly what you think it is.
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A bit later we did raft building. It was pretty fun but the only problem was that it started raining and a bit later it started thundering, so then we got evacuated from the water.
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For dinner we had nachos.
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Before we went to bed we did the Camp Talent show or something like that. Me, Finn, Bobby and Drake did some comedy.
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The next day we did archery. It was really fun, I almost got a bullseye and hit the target a good amount of times. Lastly we packed up and drove back to the school, and then we said goodbye to the Drake mask, (don’t worry it’s Kendrick Lamar next).
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On the 17th of February 2025 the current yr 6s and 7s (20 of us) went on a school camp to Waipara Adventure Centre, the camp lasted 2 nights and three days before we returned home.
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The drive took 1hr and 30mins. We stopped at a playground on the way for morning tea before arriving to a safety briefing and a river walk. After the riverwalk we ate our packed lunch (I had spaghetti) and then got split into groups group A (with Kat) and group B (with Shannon). For the first activity we did orienteering while group A did a Giant Swing. Then we did the Giant Swing. IT WAS AMAZING! After that we had some free play before having dinner (curry) and doing a flying fox and unique tarp water slide. Lights out at 8:45.
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We woke and got dressed at 7:30, had peaches and cereal for breakfast and had a bit of play. Then we went and did an obstacle course and then rope swings.Next we went out kayaking. We went down the watering hole and paddled through a skinny gap before playing a tag -like game and getting out of the water. By then the sky was getting cloudy… then we did the water slide again quickly. Next we did the raft building by creating a raft out of big rubber rings, wood and paddles before paddling it across the river to test its floatability. BUT! There was thunder and according to ‘very important safety precautions’ we had to get out of the water and head for the cabins because there was a one in a million chance that we would be frazzled. 😡 (Over protective I say!). When the storm was happening we did some indoor games, played cricket, ate nachos then did the camp concert before going to sleep.
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We woke up and had the same brekkie as day 2 before having the most boring part yet THE CLEANUP! After that we did archery by shooting arrows at a target. Then we had lunch and left.
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On the way back we started off fine BUT THEN! Piper rolled down the window and said “here goes nothing” then said “sup dude” to the people out the window. It carried on like that greeting every person hilariously. Mum and I dropped Ellie and Piper off at school and drove home because we could!
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What's Coming Up at Diamond Harbour School
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- Thursday - Friday, 20 - 21 February, Living Springs Camp - Year 4
- Tuesday, 25 February, Diamond Harbour School, Year 4 - 8 Swimming Sports
- Thursday, 27 February, Mihi Whakatau for new families to our school
- Friday, 28 February, Pātiki Assembly
- Friday, 7 March, Non-Uniform Day (supporting Cholmondeley Children's Centre)
- Monday, 10 March, Year 7 & 8 Police Competency Test competition (selected students)
- Monday, 10 March, Board Meeting - School Staff Room @ 6:30pm
- Friday, 14 March, Year 2 & 3 Te Kōhanga Assembly
- Sunday, 16 March, Diamond Harbour School Charitable Education Trust Fundraising Rogaine at Port Levy
- Tuesday - Wednesday, 18 & 19 March, Year 6 & 7 Cycle Safety
- Tuesday, 25 March, School Enviroafternoon
- Thursday, 27 March, Junior School Swimming Display
- Monday 31 March - Friday 4 April, Book Week
- Wednesday, 2 March, Book Character Parade - 9:15am
- Monday, 7 April, Board Meeting - School Staff Room @ 6:30pm
- Thursday, 10 April, Celebration of Learning 5:00pm - 6:30pm
- Friday, 11 April, Diamond Challenge Assembly
- Friday, 11 April, Final Day of Term 1
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Lunch programme $3:50 per week (a slight increase from the last few years) - Thursdays
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After School Care: Contact Ursi - ursina.riederer@diamondharbour.school.nz
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What's Up In The Local Community
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Art Tuition with Bex Gibbs
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Join Bex Gibbs for creative art sessions every Friday from 2:45 pm to 4:00 pm at Diamond Harbour School. These classes are a fantastic opportunity for aspiring artists to enhance their skills.
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Each session costs $25.00, and all materials are provided,
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To enroll or for more information, text 021 250 1596. — spaces are limited!
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What's Up Outside Diamond Harbour
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