Kia ora koutou.

I would like to thank everyone for their messages of aroha for Ms Wallis, her family, our students and staff. It has been a hard week for all of us but we are getting through it with the support of each other. I heard from Ms Wallis' brother today and he informed me that they held a private family funeral for her yesterday, but they are planning on a public ceremony next Saturday. I will update you next week for those wanting to attend.

Yesterday I attended the Chiefs Tackle 5 rugby competition in Mt Maunganui with our yr 5/6 team. They played really well in this new format against schools from right across the Waikato - Bay of Plenty. They played hard and fair all day which is what we expected - well done boys! Thanks to all of the parents who came along. It was a busy day and my carload was asleep just after we crossed the Tauranga Harbour bridge! It was a quiet trip home.

Thanks to the College science team, the Library team and the Otorohanga Fire Service team who have supported our learning this week. It's awesome that we live in a community where everyone is so happy to share their passions with us and engage our students!

Next Friday is our last day. We are holding Pen Assembly on Friday at 11:15. Please feel free to come along.

I hope you enjoy spending time with your family this Matariki weekend. Traditionally the principles of Matariki are:

One aspect of Matariki that I'll be focusing on is taking time to say farewell to those who have passed away within the last year. A simple way to do this is to write their name on a piece of paper, say or think their name and place the paper carefully on a fire. 

Please stay safe on the roads and we'll see you back next week.

Ngā mihi, 

Scott Lincoln 

Principal 

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Term 2 - Mon 29th April - Fri 5th July

Term 3 - Mon 22nd July - Fri 27th Sept

Term 4 - Mon 14th Oct - Fri 13th Dec

June
Thu 27th - Staff Only Day
Fri 28th - Matariki Holiday

July
Tues 2nd - Middle/Senior at College production
Fri 5th - Pen Assembly - last day of Term 2

Our values focus for the next few weeks is Engaged.

Our school-wide values are explicitly taught in all our classrooms and across various settings. These value lessons are also supported by our school councillors sharing messages and role-playing at assemblies, as well as value reminders over the school intercom each morning during our daily notices.

Below is an example of our school-wide expectations of Engaged in one of our settings.

Congrats to our tamariki who received either a K, E, T, E (Tier 1) certificate at last week's Junior and Senior Assemblies.

We also celebrated the recipients of our Tier 2 Awards, who enjoyed a waffle breakfast with Mr Lincoln on Tuesday morning - Ka Rawe!

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Earlier this week some of the Upper Juniors were lucky enough to spend the morning at the Otorohanga town library. We learnt about all the resources there were within the library and then did a quiz. We also got to do a hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) lesson. The highlight was definitely learning about circuits. There was one that held a pen and drew different patterns and a piano with lemons for the keys! We were told all about their holiday programmes which sound pretty interesting too.

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The Middle Syndicate were very lucky to have some Ōtorohanga College year 13 students, accompanied by Mrs Pemberton, come and do science with us. We dissected animal organs and the college students talked to us about what the organs do and let us touch and cut them. Some students were brave enough to use a straw to blow up the lungs! We got to see kidneys, hearts, liver, lungs and a tongue! 

The Lower Juniors were thrilled to embark on another outing, this time to the Ōtorohanga Fire Station. They enjoyed the quick bus ride and were excited to meet the firefighters upon arrival. The students had a fantastic time trying on firefighting gear, sitting in the fire truck, and the highlight of the visit was using the fire hose.

A big thank you goes to Tony Russell for making this visit possible, as well as to all the volunteer firefighters who took time away from their day jobs to give the students a glimpse into the life of a firefighter.  Also a huge thanks to the parent volunteers who came and helped out.
Check out our Facebook page for more photos.

The Middle Syndicate had a Matariki day today packed full of crafts, art and Matariki minecraft education. The students got to choose what session they wanted to go to. We ended the day celebrating with kai (soup, bread and jelly). We discussed and reflected on what Matariki is all about. A big thank you to whānau for food donations and Bubs for cooking our beautiful soup! It was a hit. Thanks to Holly for helping prepare the hall and buttering all that bread!
Please check out our Facebook page for more photos.

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Head lice checks are being carried out at school this week. Please take this opportunity to check your children for signs of eggs and/or lice and treat immediately. Treatment products are available from the public health nurse and your child's doctor for FREE.

Our lost property bins are overflowing! Please encourage your child to have a look through them before the end of term.

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The Rules of Netball Application is the International Netball Federations’ official app for the Rules of International Netball including Fast5.

With this application you can review the rules, match guidelines and umpire hand signals along with the latest rules’ updates and clarifications. The application features a mixture of text and images to develop your knowledge and skills which will be extended to include examples and animations to build understanding of how the Rules should be applied during a Match.

A must-have for umpires, coaches, players and netball fans around the world.

Click here to view the rules and updates online.

North King Country Junior Soccer Draw

U13
28 June - Matariki Day - No soccer
5 July    - 4:30pm - Field 2 - Oto Gold vs Kio Kio Kings

U10
28 June - Matariki Day - No soccer
5 July    - 3:40pm - Field 4 - Oto Blue vs Kio Kio Thunder

U8
28 June - Matariki Day - No soccer
5 July    - 3:40pm - Field 11 - Oto Green vs Kinohaku
5 July    - 4:10pm - Field 12 - Oto Green vs TKP Shooters

Vision Hearing Technicians from Community and Southern Rural Health will be visiting our school. The objective of the test is to identify previously undetected vision and hearing problems.

Which children are routinely checked?
-  Children who have not completed vision and hearing checks as part of their B4 School Check
-  Children absent from previous visit, require rescreens or follow up
-  New Immigrants
-  Year 7 student’s vision only

If there is a genuine hearing concern, parents/caregivers or teachers may request a hearing check
NB parents must consent to this.  The Vision Hearing Technician will only be able to undertake a maximum of 5 screens on any visit.  If there is a concern regarding vision, parents/caregivers are encouraged to seek advice from an optometrist.  A subsidy is available for families/whanau that have a Community Services card or High Use Health card.

What tests are carried out?
Ears
-  Audiometry (hearing test)
-  Tympanometry – middle ear function test (only carried out when hearing test is not within a normal range)
Eyes
Long distance vision tests – not a complete visual examination, but a simple screening test                                                       

NB All of these checks are non-invasive, safe and should cause no discomfort.

The Vision Hearing Technician will:
-  Notify parents/caregivers of all test results
 -  Enter results on Ministry of Education database (Enrol)                                        
The Vision Hearing Technician will obtain personal details from the school ie; names, date of birth.                                                                                                                   
If the technician needs to contact parents/caregivers following the visit, addresses and phone numbers will also be required.

Our Service may share this information with other health professionals involved in the children’s care. 

If any parents/caregivers do not want their child to be checked, or their child is currently under specialist care for their vision or hearing, they should let the school know.

For more information parents/caregivers may contact a Vision Hearing Technician by phoning 07 838 3565.

Refreshed health guidance released by Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is now available to help decide if a learner is well enough to attend school | kura, including learners experiencing anxiety.

Click here for: A guide for parents and caregivers.

Many families now choose to spread the cost of the Technology fee as well as the Middle and Senior Syndicate Camps over many months by making small, regular payments to the school bank account via internet banking. These costs will be applied to your child's account early in the year and emailed to you so that you have all of the information on hand. The camp cost is not due until later in the year, but you are welcome to start making payments at any time. If you choose to take up this option, please use your child's name as a reference.

School Account:
Oto South BOT
01-0391-0023110-00

Ikura|Manaakitia te whare tangata is an initiative set up by the Ministry of Education to provide free period products in all state schools across New Zealand.  The main aims of this scheme are to support whānau with the rising cost of living and to make a positive impact on student wellbeing. If you would like to opt into the scheme, please contact the school office.