LAWRENCE AREA SCHOOL

Community Newsletter

16th February 2012 No 1

Dear Parents and Friends of the School Students have made a very positive and enthusiastic return to school. Having experienced a great summer and quite an extended holiday they are well rested, healthy and ready to learn. This year the Board of Trustees has adopted five broad goals as the bases of its Strategic Plan and Charter: * Raise student achievement and engagement * Continue the development of our school curriculum * Promote the place of Te Reo and Tikanga Maori in our school * Develop and strengthen self review practices within the school * Develop and strength IT capabilities across the school In this newsletter I would like to expand apon the first of these goals; Raise student achievement and engagement. Quite obviously all schools should aim to lift student achievement and encourage and promote positive student engagement in learning and school activities.
For our senior students, Yr 11-13, our achievement targets are related to NCEA. Our target is for our students to gain results that exceed the national norms for NCEA Level 1 & 2, which has been achieved over the last three years. At Yr 13 students have had individualised plans that ensure transition to career and learning pathways beyond school. Whilst we are pleased with our success in this area we are ambitious to do even better. For students in Yr 0-10 achievement has been measured in relation to the newly implemented National Standards. We have set ambitious targets for students in Reading, Writing and Mathematics but have struggled to achieve these. Our achievement data, 2012-2011, clearly identified that our boys are struggling and have as a cohort achieved below the National Standard. Clearly we are not happy with this situation and are being proactive in our response. In the first instance we have sought outside guidedance from SAF, Student Achievement Function, a new division of the Ministry of Education. In partnership the following strategies have been adopted for 2012: * Three way conferencing (parent, teacher, student) to set goals and draw up a Personalised Learning Plan for a broad range of students including boys * Professional development for teaching staff that focuses on best practice strategies for boys and their learning * Making better use of achievement data to establish next steps for learning * Enhancing the home school partnership The second part of this goal is to promote student engagement. For our seniors the focus is on promoting opportunities for leadership, participation and contribution (student voice). In Term One many opportunities arise; School Council, CDC Youth Council, House Competition, Spirit of Adventure, eDay, Athletics, Swimming, Cricket, Area Schools Leadership, Lions Trial Bike Ride, Kelper Track etc. For our younger students the focus will be on engagement in learning and school activities. With regard this we will be looking closely at best teaching practice to enhance engagement. As a school we are well positioned to move forward and tackle this goal.

Kind Regards John Auld

Student Leadership 2012

James Haig Responsible for Promoting Tikanga Maori

Matthew Ankerson Head Boy

Emma Shaw Head Girl

Tom Blackmore Alana Langley Deputy Head Student Responsible Board Representative for Head of School Council Promoting Arts

Liam Smith Sports Captain

Parents are invited to meet the teacher evening being held on Monday 20th February from 5.30pm to 7.30pm. Notices are being sent home with students with full details. This is an informal meeting, a chance to introduce yourself to your childs teacher and find out what 2012 has in store for your child.

A SPRUCE UP.......
Havelock Decorating (Keeley &Liz McLaughlin), Caretaker Mike Healy and Gardener Margaret Healy have been busy in the holidays and made a remarkable transformation of the frontage of the middle and senior classroom blocks. Well Done.

Well Done!!! 2011 Year 13's

As a school we are very proud of the transitions made by our 2011 Year 13's. We wish them well for 2012: Chelsea Smith - studying Agriculture at Telford Nicole Leebody - studying Education at College of Education , University of Otago Brianna Watt - studying sciences at University of Otago Tylah-Rayne Crawford - continuing education and entering the work force Ashleigh Homer - studying Sciences at University of Otago Terry Batt - studying Design at Southland Institute of Technology Adam Wilson - studying Building Pretrade at Otago Polytechnic Sam Wyber - studying Building Pretrade at Otago Polytechnic

Thank you..... a big thanks is extended

A big thanks is extended to the Lawrence Cricket Club for the donation of uniforms for our three Cricket teams. Quote from Brent Taylor A team that looks smart, plays smart.
The day after prize giving I got up early to catch an aeroplane flight from Liam Smith Dunedin to Wellington to go to the New Zealand Secondary Schools Athletics New Zealand Championships. Secondary Schools The first day was hot. I ran the 200 metres. I got first in the heat. I also did the Athletics 2011 discus. Wellington The next day was the finals. It was still hot so we ate lots of ice-creams and had lots to drink. I did the shotput, long jump, 400 metres and the final of the 200 metres. We had a break and went to the zoo. The zoo was near the sports field. After each event there was a ceremony of the medals. I stood on the podium facing the crowd two times. It felt good. I was third in the shotput and the discus, forth in the long jump by a millimetre. I got fourth in the 200 metres. Raffle Results In our free time we went to Te Papa and walked around the city. My 1st: Wendy Haywood favourite part was the giant octopus. 2nd: Janine Lyders I arrived back to school on Monday the last day of school tired and sore. Scratchie Board: Bill McKnight Thank you to Kate, Sharon, the PTA and all my sponsors and also to my Mum for taking me.

Tom Blackmore - My Outward Bound Journey

My Outward Bound Journey began as I boarded a plane at Dunedin airport destined for Blenheim, Picton, and then, after piling onto The Beachcomber launch with all 150 students of the December Outward Bound intake. We finally moored to the jetty at Anakiwa, we had arrived at Outward Bound! We got off the jetty and were met by a haka from the instructors before a couple of speeches and songs on the front lawn, before we moved to the assembly circle and we were put into our watches. After having some quick introductions we were then given a length of rope and had to thread the end of the rope through an item of clothing on every person, and tie the ends together. From there we had to find all of our bags and get them all into the bunkhouse, all the while tied together in a loop. We were then untied and told to get into our PT gear, and we went for a running tour of the school. That night we individually introduced ourselves to the whole 150 students in the school, before going off to bed for the first night or our experience. Day 2 started with a 5.45am start, with PT at 6.15, which involved 20 minutes of Zumba styled exercises before a 3.2km run. After a dip in the sea and a cold shower it would be off to breakfast at 7.30, having until 8.20 to have our bunkhouse, duty area, and the toilets cleaned along with having had breakfast and being ready for the days activities.We spent the morning doing activities to get to know each other and work together as a team. We spent ages doing a skipping game which took us probably half an hour to work out what we had to do as the instructors gave no instructions, we finally worked it out.... felt a bit silly when we finally did. We also learnt how to pitch our tents and pack our packs. After having lunch we were told that we were going to go away on our first tramping trip, we packed our packs and got all ready, it was scorching that afternoon. We had an hour and a half trip in the un-air conditioned van that was really a small truck, with windows that did not open. We finally got to the start of our tramp at around 6pm and after a short half-hour walk up the river valley we set up camp for the night, being taught the finer skills of Tarpology and using a spondoodicle. We had a big earthquake rumble up the valley that evening which was pretty exciting standing in the middle of nowhere. The next morning we woke to rain, rain that would be hanging over us for the next 2 days. We spent the whole day slogging uphill, 12 hours later finally finding a place to set camp feeling pretty damp and weary. Had a good day though, getting to know the rest of the watch a lot better.

The rain continued to fall most of the day, with only a couple of times where it cleared up, but not enough to be able to see the views. Apparently we should have been able to see the North Island from a couple of high points, but all I saw was the mass of cloud and fog all around us. After 12 hours of walking we finally came out back at the van. That day seemed to go on forever, and there were a few pretty grumpy watchmates, but we were all pleased with ourselves by the time we finally dropped our packs. Day 5 meant back to the old system with a 5.45am start, PT, Breakfast and morning assembly. We spent the morning doing the low, and then high rope courses. I really enjoyed them both and the instructors always had a trick up their sleeve to add an extra element of challenge to the ropes 10m up in the trees. On day 6 we went on a two day sailing trip through the sounds. We were on a cutter with just enough room for the 14 of us from our watch and Annie one of our instructors. We spent the day cruising up towards Picton, getting towed a couple of times by Manu, our other instructor who was following behind in the launch to help us. Late in the afternoon we rowed into Toiria bay where we spent the night cramped into the cutter, trying to rest in any position that was slightly comfortable. Next morning we had a PT session on the cutter which got the boat rocking, then a cold early morning swim around the boat, and then back on board to row out of the bay and sail all the way back to Anakiwa, being tested by Manu as he threw Buoys over the side and made us maneuver back up to get them. We spent the afternoon packing gear, getting the cutter Shipshape, and evaluating how well we were performing as a team. Day 7 was Service Day, where after the same morning routine we all piled into the cramped van and drove an hour until we were very close to Blenheim and civilization. We spent the day tramping grass in a conservation area full of native seedlings. A whitewater kayaking adventure came the next day, once again after PT and the other morning routines. After getting geared up we had an hour dive to the Peloris River where we learnt how to manouvere the short whitewater kayaks. We made our way over two rapids that afternoon, ending up about a kilometer down the river. We then had to get our kayaks back to the van ... back where we started, back up the river. so after carrying, dragging and paddling back up to the van we drove to Bills Kayak Shack on the edge of the Rai River. Next morning we attacked som more rapids, including a waterfall about 3m high before driving past the filming of The Hobbit on our way back to Anakiwa. That evening we found out we were to be going on our solo. So after having dinner, packing, and handing in our watches we climbed onto the launch in the dark and after an hour powering through the sounds we moored on a jetty and were delivered to our sites which we would call home for the next 36 hours or so. All of day 11 was spent catching up on some much needed sleep and doing the assigned activities, all the while alone in the bush, being annoyed by 2 files and a Weka, animals that seemed to be annoying every member of our watch judging by the stories. After arriving back to Anakiwa around lunchtime on day 12 we talked about our solo experience then planned our next adventure ...... a 6 day, 5 night sailing and tramping expedition through the sounds. The next morning we once again started the day with the familiar routine which included the 3km run and freezing cold outdoor shower. After getting our gear sorted we finally sailed away from the jetty in the pouring rain. This rain stuck with us for the next 48 hours and it was fair to say we were pretty wet and miserable by the time we made it to Moemorangi Bay for our transition to tramping midway through day 15. We piled our gear into our packs along with enough food and water to last the next 3 nights and days. We drove for half an hour to the start of our tramp where we then walked that afternoon up through farmland and into the clouds where we spent the night camping in a sheltered saddle. The next 3 days were pretty tough, but I think the best part of my experience. We climbed some mountains, crawling at stages, dropping down off the side of a ridge and taking a couple of hours to find our way back to where we had been. We had climbed from around 100m, all the way up to Mount Royal at 1400m, and then back down again. Late on day 18 after having tramped for 14 hours and rising at 4.30am we finally spotted the van and piled in. We arrived back to Outward Bound just in time for dinner and piled into the dining hall wearing clothes we hadnt been out of for 6 days, ready for some proper food and looking forward to the hard vinyl mattress we now considered luxury. Day 19 was pretty cruisy for Outward Bound standards, as we started to wind down, having to scrub our packs and clean our tents. At 7.30am on day 20 we all started running our half marathon, running along the Queen Charlotte Track. I was really pleased with my time of 1 hour 50mins, coming in the top 30 or 40 of the 150 runners. That night after the concert we went out under the stars and had our badging ceremony sitting in a circle with hot chocolate and candles. On day 21 we said our goodbyes to the mates we considered strangers 21 days ago. Received our certificates from our instructors and the manager in front of all 150 students, and all began the journey home. I really enjoyed my time at Outward Bound and would like to thank Mr Auld and the Community Trust of Otago for the amazing opportunity.