Kia Ora, Nǐ hǎo, Greetings,

Special greetings to students and their families who have recently joined us:  Emily Brealey, Luana Aversa & Jason Qiu.

One of our strategic goals this year has been to raise writing achievement across the school.  Staff have worked tirelessly during staff meetings, team meetings and during professional development with Dr Alison Davis, to try plan out innovative ways to engage and enthuse students to write.   I have had many students visit my office, excited to share their writing.  What has really impressed me is the way students are able to talk about what they were learning to do, and showing me evidence of this in their writing (including some very confident five year olds!).  This has been mirrored in the staffroom, where teachers have come in with student’s books, excited by what has been produced from their lessons. Later in the newsletter there is a selection of student’s writing for you to enjoy!

Congratulations to Miss Davidson, who has completed two years teaching, and now graduates to being a fully registered teacher.  Amber certainly deserves this status, as she is a fantastic teacher who really knows how to engage her pupils.  

Board of Trustees News

The last board meeting for 2017 is scheduled for 6.00 p.m. Wednesday 13 December.

Rainbows End Trip for 2017 Road Patrollers

On Thursday the 23rd of November 22 Year 6 students had a fantastic time at Rainbows End. This trip was paid for as a thank you from the PTA. Parents and students had a great time. Thank you BBPS and well done for keeping our roads safe around BBP.

PTA News

The PTA would like to thank everyone for their contribution and support over the year and we are looking forward to working with many more parents in 2018.  Watch out for BBPS at the Santa Howick Parade this weekend.  We have 40 children excitedly joining the BBPS parade this year.  Thanks to all the parents who have been sourcing, sewing and gluing the costumes together.  The costumes look amazing!

Enviro News

           planted by Room 3

The students have been busy recycling rainwater from the larger tanks at our school. Every lunchtime any child is welcome to attend and help to contribute and care for our lovely orchards and veggie patches. Thank you to the families who have been donating empty and washed milk bottles as the students are experts at making worm tea and enjoy looking after the worms.

Martina Saves the Bird! A kind and caring BBP student.

This week Martina from Room 17 joined us and noticed a small baby bird fluttering and struggling to escape from our garden fence. We all stopped our busy actions and wanted to help but Martina showed initiative and gently guided the rear wing through the gap. Thank goodness the bird flew off, a little stunned but happy to join it’s friends.

Thank you to Mr Rist and the students who have been watering the fruit trees early in the mornings. The fruit crop of figs and nectarines is looking amazing.

Exciting news, the Patch to Plate team have a draft copy of our student created Recipe book. We are hoping to order 100 and sell these at $8.00 for families who wish to try out our healthy creations such as Fejoa Ice blocks or Persimmon and Pecan muffins. All of the recipes have been tried and tested by the students here at BBP!

Ms Ahern and Mrs Riach are thrilled with the potato tyres but we have not seen an activity yet from our Beehouse. We are asking all families who visit the school over the holidays to take 5 minutes and water or weed any areas of the school. Mr Rist and the students would be grateful as we are a caring and sustainable community.  It would be appreciated if the plants at the swimming pool could be given a container full of water by parents and swimmers who are using the pool while they are there.

Is there a kind parent or friend of the school who would be willing to water the garden outside Room 3 and the sunflowers beside the orchard from 27 December until the 10 January.  Room 3 have a competition to see whose sunflower grows the tallest.  There will be a watering can and access to a tap.  Please see Mrs Chilvers.

Sports News

School Athletics   

We had a great day and all children enjoyed taking part in our school athletics. 

Interschool Athletics

We sent a large team of 8, 9, 10 and 11 year old students to the Inter school athletics at Lloyd Elsmore. All students tried their best and represented the school well. We had some good results and certificates will be given out for  some students at the next parent assembly on Friday 8th of December.

Basketball

There are only two games left and the teams are having fun and enjoying the experience of playing against different school teams. Thank you to our parents who support our players, especially Marcus Hill and Diana Spencer.

Summer Hockey

BBPS Blue played against Elim and won 2-0. A great game and thank you to Mrs Williams.

Circus Circus – Middle School Production

Swimming Pool

Swimming pool keys are now available for hire.  $80 per key of which $10 is refundable at the end of the season.

Writing around the school

Recently the Middle School had their successful production, they followed up with some writing:

… The frevo dancers want to be the clowns clowning around

The clowns want to be the drummers going bang bang bang

The drummers want to be the ringmaster leading the show

The ringmaster wants to be the animals howling and screeching

The animals want to be the sid shufflers shuffling like granny

The sid shufflers want to be the frevo dancers…

By Olly Room 13

The Ringmaster wants to be the clowns,

telling hilarious jokes.                                              

The clowns want to be the animal dancers,

dancing like a butterfly.

The animal dancers want to be the gymnasts,

balancing on one hand.

The gymnasts want to be the frevo dancers,

twirling their umbrellas.

The frevo dancers want to be the djembe drummers,

beating their hearts out.

The djembe drummers want to be the Ringmaster,

taking charge of the Circus.

Thisuri Room 13

Fireworks Poems from Room 16

Hedgehogs

Hedgehogs are clever and they have good ‘whiffs’. They could even smell a wiggly worm slithering on the ground. Baby hedgehogs are called hoglets. Hedgehogs have 7000 spikes. There is also another name for spikes-spines.

They can dig underground in deep holes. Hedgehogs are kind of mole hogs. They can also hold tight onto trees. They could really give birth to 5-7 hoglets. Some hoglets are pretty cute. They are also small and little.

By Caelum, Room 12 Aged 5

In Room 8 they wrote stories for the Joy Cowley Clean Slate Press. The children had to write about what the classroom equipment got  up to during the September holidays.

Mr Scissors always wanted to be naughty, Mr scissors shouted “lets make a mess” 

“yeah” shouted the scissors kids. Then Mrs Scissors said” stop everyone, I think it’s messy enough”.

After that they all wanted to watch TV but they didn’t find the TV.

Irma Room 8 

The school equipment came alive. Then they wanted to have a party. The pencil and the glue stick and the crayons danced. They had fun.

Shefali Room 8

The pencil and the paintbrushes got up and the pencil scribbled as fast as a cheeter, and the scissors cut a halloween shape. The paintbrush drew on the mat.

Gariad Room 8

“OK” said the scissors and the pencil, but they were hungry. So they went to look outside, they saw a lunchbox. So they looked in the lunchbox, there were two burgers! They went inside and turned the party on again and ate it all up.

Oliver Room 8

“Lets get up to mischief”

“yea, lets cut the core of  earth, crunch!!!!!

“why did you do that?

“Because ruler said”

“OK then glue it together’

“you glued it upside down”

By Li-en Room 8

Room 8 authors with their writing. At the last parent assembly they were all presented with a Joy Cowley book from Clean Press.

Room 12 Writers using the whiteboard

Year 6 Writing 

Moment in Time

Burma Trail

The Time Travel Trap

“Toooommm, wake up you lazybones!” the angry, inhuman voice of Angelina blasted its way up the stairs and into Tom’s vulnerable ears. Tom woke up with a start. His aching head caused by staying up too late last night, threatened to overwhelm him. Sunlight streamed through his bedroom window as Tom gave the 73rd unhappy sigh of the week. “ Another day means another tiresome, mind-numbing six hours at school”, he mumbled to himself. As you can see, Tom was like your typical 12 year old boy, he adored playing video games, but most of all, he was quite fond of sleeping and demolishing truckloads of food! However, he had one life-changing secret that he guarded proudly. So far he had done a magnificent job of keeping it safe, as no one with the exception of his parents knew about it. If this private confidential information was to be leaked into the world, he would be taunted and jeered and his life would officially end. Tom loved science and technology so much, that he was currently modelling and building a time portal in his cupboard, in his cupboard, that he hopes one day will whisk him through years and years of human civilisation.

While Tom was walking back home after school, from school, without a worry in the world, he heard the distinctive sound of fast footsteps. Tom slowly wheeled around and became face to face with the ugly smile of Jeff Harrison, the school bully. All of a sudden, Jeff sprang forwards at the speed of light and started chasing Tom down the driveway of Tom’s humble house. In horror, he rocketed at full speed into his house and slammed the door. He bolted up the stairs and immediately sprang into his cupboard. Whew, he thought, I’m safe for now! Abruptly, the area surrounding Tom, began to shift into a different shape, and Tom vanished in the blink of an eye and passed out.

When Tom came round, he found himself in the care of somebody with a shaggy beard, ultra tan skin and an exposed muscular chest. Tom sat up and rubbed his eyes. I must have passed out , he thought to himself. Gorilla-like people were bustling about, unfazed by the mysterious creature that was in the doctor’s hut fulfilling their daily chores. Diminutive closed off areas that looked a bit like houses, lined the inside of a wall that ran along the perimeter of the village. A lightbulb clicked just then in Tom’s head. I must be in the Stone Age! Tom guessed. As he walked around the brightly coloured village, he mucked around with some of the younger warriors, and did his best to help with the chores around the village. As he was doing so, a sudden commotion startled everyone. Heads slowly turned to see a single warrior holding a spear and something else in his other hand. As the warrior turned to address the chief of the tribe, Tom saw a flash of something shining in the sunlight. His immediate thought was Gold! Sure enough, the object the warrior was holding, was none other than a enormous lump of gold, the size of Tom’s fist!!  The warrior jogged cautiously to his hut, holding the lump of gold.  “Man”, thought Tom, if I got my hands on that gigantic piece of gold, I would be as rich as John Cena!

Tom noticed the people didn’t know anything about clothes, as they only had a piece of cloth covering their behind. He decided to teach the women how to sew clothes out of animal skin, in the hope that they would repay they give him the him with lump of gold. Exhausted, Tom stumbled into the path of the chief. He was shielding something with his hand! Tom’s heart leapt with excitement as he hoped with all his heart it was the lump of gold. The chief lifted his hand to reveal the gold. “Ugg Ugg” he proclaimed as he pressed the cold piece of the rare mineral into Tom’s outstretched hands.

“Yes!” Tom shrieked with glee. He then proceeded to try and climb over the wooden wall and sprint into the forest, but he realized that he was stuck to the place! So Tom had to remain in the village forever, tending to the chiefs every need.

Yuke Room 19 Year 6 

Keeping our children safe crossing the road

Thank you to everyone who has been using the manned pedestrian crossings on both Clovelly Road and Waller Avenue. It is disappointing to see a few parents still choosing to cross the road not using the crossing when it is manned by the students. We would strongly encourage parents to be good role models for their children and cross the road safely. 

Upcoming Events – Important Dates

Y6 Graduation/Prizegiving

This is scheduled for Tuesday 12 December at 7.00 p.m. in the BBPS hall.  We look forward to seeing all of our Year 6 students in correct school uniform at this important ceremony along with their parents/Whanau.  Further details will be given closer to the date.

Y6 Big Day Out

This is scheduled for the day after Graduation.  The students will wear their Year 6 t-shirts and spend the entire day out of school visiting Skateland and Gravity Trampoline Park. Lots of parent support has been offered and organisation for this event is in place for a fun and safe day!

School Lunches

The last date for school lunches will be Friday December 8.  The first day will be Thursday 8 February 2018.

Stationery for 2018

Next year stationery packs will be available from Paper Plus (Crandall Peters) Picton Street, Howick from Monday 15 January.  Please ask for the pack of the year your child is in.  Stationery lists, for those wishing to get their stationery at other locations, will be available at the office from Thursday 25 January.

School Office Holiday Hours

School will finish at 12 noon on Thursday 14 December and re-open on Thursday 1 February 2018.  The office will close at 12.30 p.m. on 14 December and will be open from 9-12 noon from Thursday 25 January.  Should you wish to contact the school office outside of these times, please leave a message on the answerphone or email office@bbps.school.nz and we will get back to you asap.

School Term Dates for 2018

Term 1: Thursday 1 February to Friday 13 April.

Term 2: Monday 30 April to Friday 6 July.

Term 3: Monday 23 July to Friday 28 September.

Term 4: Monday 15 October to Tuesday 18 December.

Santa Parade

The PTA along with 46 of our students have worked together so that BBPS is part of the Howick Santa Parade again this year.  It is this Sunday at 2.30 p.m. so do come along and look out for us.

Christmas Present Appeal

The Student Council are collecting Christmas Presents on behalf of the Auckland City Mission. 

All gifts will go to those children less fortunate than others.

Please drop wrapped presents to the school office under the Christmas Tree. Please put a label with the gender and age for the gift. Thank you on Behalf of the Student council.

Tonga Appeal Thank You

Thank you on behalf of the Student Council to all those who contributed food, school items, clothing etc for the school in Tonga. It is in a container on its way to the school.

Kind regards

Kelly Slater-Brown

Community Notices

THE FLASH BANG SCIENCE CLUB – CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY SCIENCE WORKSHOPS (7yrs-12yrs) are open for bookings now and filling fast! Inspire your curious kids with practical, hands on experiments with a Christmas theme these holidays with classes available in Pukekohe and Pakuranga.  Learn about all things fizzy in FIZZING FRENZY and electrical fun in ELECTRIFYING SCIENCE. For more information and bookings please check out www.flashbangscienceclub.co.nz or email: admin@flashbangscienceclub.co.nz. We are looking for new areas to bring our after-school classes in 2018! If you think your area would be a great idea please let us know!

SANTA FUN RUN & BIKE! – Wednesday 13 December at Sir Barry Curtis Park – FREE EVENT – 6.30-7.15 p.m.

Dress up Christmas themed (there will be prizes!)

Children (up to 12) – bike 2km

Adults – run or walk 2km

We will provide Santa suits on a first come, first serve basis

Bring the whole family and enjoy the fun!

To register contact Sharon for more information: sharony@cmsport.co.nz

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