PARENTS NEWSLETTER TERM 3, WEEK 8 6 September 2012

1 Timothy 1:17 “But to The King of the universe, to him who is indestructible and

unseen, who is The One God, be honour and glory to the eternity of eternities. Amen.”

Revelation 22:7 “And behold, I come soon. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” (Aramaic Bible in English)

Maranatha Christian School 180 Hill Road, Belmont, Lower Hutt 5010, New Zealand

T 565 0749 F 565 0747 E maranatha@maranatha.school.nz W maranatha.school.nz

Debbie Middleton - Principal

Dear Maranatha Christian School Community, In this newsletter we have printed the school’s attendance procedure. Student achievement is the core purpose of schools; in order for students to achieve, they need to attend school and be engaged in their learning. Research shows that a child who does not attend, or is late to school, will achieve at a lower standard than (s)he should. Attendance and punctuality are life skills, and form part of the key competencies - especially self management - in the New Zealand curriculum. After all, non-attendance and lateness are not tolerated in the workplace. A big thank you to all the families who make school attendance and punctuality a priority. Please remember that the first school bell rings at 8.55 a.m. All students need to be in class with all their classroom equipment between 8.55 and 9 a.m. Those who arrive in the classroom after the 9 a.m. bell rings risk missing out on important instructions for the day. Students who are not in class by 9.05 at the latest are marked as late.

I have noticed an improvement in uniform over the last few weeks, so thank you to parents who have replaced or found missing uniform items. A couple of areas though that I would like you to check are school shoes and jacket/coat. A reminder that sports shoes are part of the sports uniform, not the regular uniform. For new entrant and year 1 children Velcro is fine, but we expect children to wear traditional black leather/vinyl lace-up shoes, not sports shoes. Please see me, or the school office staff, if you require clarification on this item of uniform. The school coat is red. We have red, waterproof, fleece lined coats for sale at the uniform shop at the very low cost of $42.00. Jackets that are not red are not to be worn with the school uniform.

Congratulations to all our wonderful students who have good school attendance, and wear the uniform correctly, and a big thank you to all the parents who help make this happen! God Bless You, Debbie Middleton

Mark your calendar: Monday, 10 September BOT Meeting 7 pm Tuesday, 11 September Production Rehearsal, Hope Centre, 9am-12 Tuesday, 11 September Interzone Netball Thursday, 13 September Interzone Netball (alternative date) Thursday, 13 September Prayer Meeting in Office Tuesday, 18 September Production Dress Rehearsal at Hope Centre, 9am—2 pm. Students to wear Mufti Tuesday, 18 September School Production at Hope Centre, 7.00 pm Wednesday, 19 September School starts at 10 am Thursday, 20 September Prayer Meeting in Office Friday, 21 September Loud Shirt Day Fundraiser Tuesday 25 September Welcome Assembly Wednesday 26 September Shake– out 9.26 on 26.9 (Nationwide earthquake drill) Friday 28 September School closes at 3pm—end of term Monday 15 October Term 4 commences

Bible Reading Plan.

For those of you who are following the Bible reading plan, the scriptures for this fortnight (i.e. 6—19 September) are: Luke 11-24. See the last newsletter for information about S.O.A.P.

Maranatha School Production 2012

“King of the universe, coming King”

Thank you all for taking the students to Hope Centre on Tuesday. The first rehearsal for the production went very well. Another rehearsal will be held next Tuesday, 11 September and students will again need to be taken to Hope Centre in the morning. The school bus will, however, return the students to school at 12pm, and the school will close as usual at 3pm. Thank you to all our teachers, staff and those who are so diligently helping in putting the production together. We cannot wait to see the end-product on the 18th!

If you have not yet filled out the 2 minute survey on attendance, please do so now by following the link: http://tinyurl.com/mcsproduction

Tuesday 18 September– Dress rehearsal We would like as many people as possible to be blessed by the production. If you have people who you would like to invite, that are available during the day, then please invite them along to Hope Centre to watch the final dress rehearsal at 10.30am, on the day of the production.

Students need to wear mufti to the rehearsal.

NAG 6 ADMINISTRATION AND LEGISLATION MARANATHA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL ATTENDANCE PROCEDURE Guidelines: Parents/caregivers will be regularly reminded in the Maranatha newsletters of the need for regular student attendance. The Principal will report to the Board of Trustees on any matters of concern to do with attendance. Students’ attendance will be monitored daily, and a system for following up unexplained absences will operate. Any planned absences require written notice to the principal at least 2 weeks in advance, giving date and time, reason for absence and a plan for ongoing teaching and learning. Absence Procedures: • Parents will notify the school each day of their child(ren)’s absence(s) using the dedicated absence line, or by email. They must include the reason for the absence. Office staff will make the appropriate entry into the student’s attendance record. • Class registers will be completed by classroom teachers from 8.55 to 9.10am and 1.30-1.45pm. • Office staff will follow up any unexplained absences as soon as the registers have been taken. • Relieving teachers and regular teachers unable to access the Student Management System

‘Assembly’, will record student attendance and absences on a pre-printed class list, which they will then send to the school office. The office staff will enter the details into ‘Assembly’. • Attendance and absences will be recorded using the Ministry of Education codes detailed in

Appendix A (available from the office on request). Arrival / Departure during school hours:

• All students who arrive in class after 9.05, or after the register has been taken, must report to

the school office to confirm their arrival. Office staff will mark them on the student management system as late. • Parents/caregivers must ensure students sign out at the school office when going offsite during normal school hours (except when participating in offsite school activities).

New Zealand’s big shakeout - 26.9 @ 9.26 So far over one million participants have registered for New Zealand’s largest earthquake drill. Maranatha will be participating; we will note areas where we can improve, in the event of a real earthquake. Watch the short clip from GNS Science on why New Zealand gets so many earth quakes: http://youtu.be/aQTfFCMYEI4 Students from Room 7 sent artwork to Rhema broadcasting Group, to say thank you for the Word for Today booklet. The Publications Editor placed the art work up on their wall and sent them this photo.

NIWA Regional Science Fair:

Seven enthusiastic students from Room 7 had the honour of representing Maranatha in the Wellington Regional Science Fair (NIWA). This is what happened on Thursday the 30th August (Judging day). Walking through the front doors, we felt nervous about the outcome of the next 3 hours. At least half an hour passed before we spotted the special prize judges. Every time a judge came near we would stand perfectly still, faces and ears going bright

red as we explained our scientific investigation. The judges went as swiftly and quietly as they came, and we heaved sighs of relief. We filed into the van and headed back to school to await the results of this long and hard day. Unfortunately, none of the students received a prize. Written by Gemma & Annie

Loud Shirt Day—Hawaiian Theme Maranatha will participate in the Loud Shirt Day on Friday 21 September. Students may wear a Hawaiian shirt for a gold coin donation. Proceeds will go to The Hearing House and Southern Cochlear Implant Paediatric Programme. For more information, visit http://www.loudshirtday.org.nz/

Marketing Letter to Churches The Marketing Team at Maranatha has put together a Marketing Pack which will shortly be distributed to one family from each church represented at Maranatha. We ask that these families please deliver it to their local church, to promote Maranatha Christian School to their church members. Thank you for your help in encouraging other parents to consider this excellent Christian school experience. Prayer Meetings Everyone is welcome, and encouraged to come along every Thursday morning to pray for the school. Please come straight to the office, rather than the staffroom.

International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) Congratulations to Kevin Jose for obtaining Distinction in the Spelling Competition. His score was in the top 6% of Year 6 participants!

School Roll for 2013 Leavers If your child will be leaving Maranatha at the end of 2012 (and is not a current Year 8 student) please notify the office in writing immediately. Parents are required to give one term’s notice of intention to withdraw a child; however, the school would appreciate knowing this information as soon as possible, to assist us with 2013 roll planning. New Entrants - Siblings Applications for 2013 will be finalised during September. All sibling applications for 2013 should have been received by the office by now.

Repeat-notice for before and after school care: Rachel Lesicki still has a few spaces for after-school care until the end of the year. You can contact her on 04 21 00110. We are also looking for expressions of interest from people prepared to provide before and/or after school care (particularly for 2013). Please contact the school office if you are interested.

Lost Jerseys: Rachel Koshy and Brooke Fransen have lost their jerseys. Both of them are marked with their names. Please check the label in your child’s jersey. Thank you.

Public Notices

Download a FREE copy of Ultimate Maths Invaders for your family Build kids’ rapid-fire maths skills, which are so easily lost in today’s digital world. To download a copy for your family go to www.edalive.com and follow the prompts. Ultimate Maths Invaders teaches children aged 5 – 15 all their tables and number facts while building mental maths ability. Ultimate Maths Invaders extends able mathematicians, deepening and broadening their abilities with advanced challenges in fractions, decimals, percentages, numeration, counting, squares, square roots, powers and directed numbers. Hutt City United Softball Club Inc Junior Muster Dates: 2nd & 16th September, 21 October. Venue: Fraser Park, Upstairs in the Grandstand Clubrooms Register: www.sportsground.co.nz/hcusoftball or email: hcunited@hotmail.co.nz

School Holiday Computer Classes

For ages 5 to 15. Create 3D games, Web Design and Animations, Film and Video Editing, Learn to Program or Build a Computer. Free transport from Lower Hutt and Petone. For further information call Ed Brown on 499 2211 or www.grandtraining.co.nz. Naenae Junior Cricket 2012/2013 Naenae Cricket Club is looking for junior players, boys and girls aged 5-13, for the 2012/2013 season. The Club is pleased to announce NO REGISTRATION FEES will be payable for the 2012/2013 season. Cost: $15 for a team playing top. Two Grades: Softball (for younger children) Hardball (for older children) Registrations: Saturday 15th September 9.00am to 11.00am

Saturday 22nd September 2.00pm to 4.00pm

Naenae Cricket Club, Seddon Street, Naenae Or contact: Dan Henson 022-328-5336 or

email: naenaejuniorcricket@gmail.com