THURSDAY 28 JANUARY 2016

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Tena koutou katoa

Welcome back to the 2016 school year. We hope that you managed to have a wonderful Christmas with family and friends and that the weather was kind.

We warmly welcome new members of staff to the Craighead community. Ms Kim Fairbrother has been appointed to the Junior Science, Health and PE position, having been a Head of Department prior to teaching in Dubai. Reliever Mr John Paul will take over teaching Junior Maths for Term One. Mrs Fliss Butcher has accepted the position of Deputy Boarding Manager. Formally from Dunedin, Mrs Butcher brings a wealth of experience with her outstanding organisational skills and background in local Government.

As always, a lot of maintenance work has taken place over the holiday period. We have had a number of building and painting contractors working long hours to complete various projects for us in time for when our students return to school. The remodelled main office area will provide an improved interface for members of the school community. The Kitchener Square entrance is almost completed, and the paths in front of the dining room have been resealed.

NCEA results continue to impress across all year levels. Interim results suggest that our students and their families can be very happy with the high overall attainment. 94% of all students achieved Level One, 96.9% achieved Level Two and 94.6% achieved Level Three. 91.1% of all Level three students also achieved University Entrance. Congratulations!

The Education Review Office has signalled that they have scheduled a visit to Craighead mid-year. Their review will be complementary to the school’s self-review and is part of the regular three year review cycle. We look forward to working with members of the Education Review team.

Our Uniform Committee have been working extremely hard behind the scenes to ensure all aspects of our uniform are consistent with our brand and that it also meets the needs and requirements of our students. This service is run with a team of parent volunteers, led by Mrs Sharon Shore. What you see happening in our uniform shop is only a small percentage of what actually occurs to make sure all of our uniforms look so smart. We are absolutely delighted with the new PE uniforms! From next week, the Uniform shop will be located in the Rhodes flat, on the ground floor (look for the sign at the boarding house driveway), so that it is more accessible for members of the school community—opening times will be advised in the newsletter. We are very grateful to those who assist on the Uniform Committee and always welcome new personnel.

As part of our Special Character, pastoral care is a very high priority. We have continued our staggered start to the school year so all students can get the information, support and care that they need, right from Day One. A significant change from last year is the five period day, over a 10 day timetable. This may take a little adjusting to, although the school start and finish times remain the same as in 2015. New students will receive a hard copy of the 2016 Student Handbook to further assist them. Our teaching and Boarding staff are very much looking forward to welcoming our new students and their families to Craighead next week. We are also excited to welcome back our current students and their families!

God Bless, Lindy Graham

School Phone: 03 6886074

Email: admin@craighead.school.nz Website: www.craighead.school.nz

Boarding House Phone: 03 6842251

Email: boarding.manager@craighead.school.nz

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY—First Two Weeks of School 2016

JANUARY Fri 29 Staff meet in Auditorium 8.30pm for Staff Planning Day Sun 31 Y13 return to Boarding House by 2.30pm FEBRUARY Mon 1 SCHOOL BUSES START RUNNING ALL Y13 Leadership Day; meet in Chapel; 8.40am- wear mufti, morning tea & lunch provided 2.45pm Y7 & 9 arrive in Boarding House 3.00pm Tue 2 DAYGIRLS & BOARDERS: Y7, 9 meet in Auditorium 9.00am Y13 meet in Chapel 9.00am BOARDERS: Y8, 10, 11 & 12 return to Boarding House 12.00 noon DAYGIRLS & BOARDERS: Y8, 10, 11 & 12 meet in Auditorium 1.30pm School day finishes 3.20pm Wed 3 All Forms – normal timetable from period 1, 8.30am including full school Assembly and Mihi Whakatau Thur 4 All Forms – normal timetable Junior Chapel line up in Auditorium 8.30am Form time 8.50am Fri 5 All Forms – classes p1-3, Junior Chapel line up in Auditorium 8.30am Form time 8.50am Swimming heats in School Pool 12.30pm Sat 6-Sun 7 Boarding House Open Mon 8 Waitangi Day observed – School Closed Boarding House open Tue 9-Wed 10 ID and Form class Photographs – whole school Thur 11 Swimming Heats postponement – if required, see Friday 5 February times Sat 13-Sun 14 Boarders Compulsory Weekend In Sun 14 Whole School – Compulsory Chapel Service: 7.00pm- Y13 Commissioning in Auditorium 8.00pm

Please refer to the School website for further Term One dates

PLEASE NOTE THIS DATE…

CRAIGHEAD MARKET DAY

Saturday 5 March 2016, 11am-2pm Hosted by Craighead Parents and Friends

Planning is well underway for the Craighead Market Day to be held on Saturday 5 March 2016. We have had great support for the event and are currently working on finalising stallholders etc. The aim of the day is to showcase Craighead’s beautiful grounds, raise the profile of the school in the community and of course, raise funds for our school! The money raised from the day will go towards purchasing equip-ment to be used in the new gymnasium. This is a very exciting project and one that will benefit every student at Craighead.

If you, or any of the cultural or sporting groups your daughters are in-volved with at School, are interested in having a stall on the day, please contact Lynne Porter by e-mail, theporters@farmside.co.nz, by Thursday 4 February 2016. The number of stalls is limited and we are focusing on showcasing local produce and goods from the greater South Canterbury area. Further updates and information about the day will follow and we look forward to your support on Saturday 5 March.

Teresa Templeton – Chairperson, Parents & Friends – 021 863 665

Sincere thanks to the Worthington brothers who kindly resurrected the Pat Foster statue outside the art room after it was vandalized last year.

NCEA REVIEWS AND RECONSIDERATIONS

NCEA examination booklets will be returned directly to students over the next two weeks. If required, review and reconsideration applications and payments can be made online. All details are available through the NZQA website. Candidates need to download their personalised review form through their Learner Login, complete it, then send it in with the relevant examination booklet or portfolio. Applications must be made by Friday 19 February

2016. If you have any queries, please see Mrs Winter.

TIMETABLES AND FORM CLASSES

The start of the year is always exciting and knowing which class your daughter and her friends are in always contributes to that excitement. Teachers are equally keen to know who is in their classes this year.

Many of you will have been waiting to see your daughter’s timetable and form class on the KAMAR Portal—please note, option selections were confirmed in December. There are still changes happening, and final adjustments are being made this week, following Deans’ interviews, when course change requests are processed and class sizes rebalanced. Form classes in the junior school are groups of students who are together for many of their subjects. However, as you advance through the school, you may only be with your form class for form meeting because more and more of your classes are optional, not compulsory core subjects.

Remember the timetable has a two week cycle (10 day) in 2016, so there are two different Monday to Friday timetables and we will alternate between these through the term. There are also five periods a day, not six, so check the new times. Printed timetables will be issued to students when they come back to school.

Mrs Hayman has emailed you with instructions for accessing the Portal on KAMAR to see timetables. Please contact the School Office, if there are any mistakes in the option subjects on your daughter’s timetable. We do not want to change timetables after the term starts. Hopefully, senior students have checked subject pre-requisites (as described in the Subjects Handbook on our website) against their NCEA results and contacted the school if changes are needed.

NEWS FROM THE BOARDING HOUSE

With only a few days left before the end of a wonderful holiday period, I would like to say how much my staff and I are looking forward to getting back together again and welcoming all the new and returning boarders.

I am very pleased to congratulate our new Head Boarder, Ingrid Wilson and Deputy, Phoebe Eggleton on their appointments - the Boarding Staff are looking forward to working with them throughout 2016. I am sure the girls are looking forward to their leadership roles too.

Please note that the Boarding House will be open and staffed over Waitangi weekend, 6-8 February. The weekend of 12-14 February, will be the annual compulsory Boarding Weekend for all boarders. This weekend is always very enjoyable and a good time to re-unite, get to know one another and learn the routines of the Boarding House. We have an outing, many games, block bookings for C/Bay and the fair ground and a picnic at Caroline Bay planned (weather permitting).

All boarders, please remember to bring the following items to the Boarding House:

Small plastic basket for your washing kit, toothbrush etc

Coat hangers

Pillow

Shoe polish and on/off brushes

Photos of friends and family for notice boards

Push pins (not drawing pins) for notice boards

Finally, if you have any concerns at all please contact me through Boarding Reception on 03 684 2251.

Mrs Yvonne Thompson - Director of Boarding

MĀORI EDUCATION TRUST SECONDARY SCHOLARSHIP

The Māori Education Trust provides scholarships for Māori undertaking secondary and tertiary study. The secondary scholarship programme is made up of the following scholarships:

Rose Hellaby Scholarship

Tī Maru Māori Trust Secondary Boarding Scholarship

Secondary school students can either apply online or download an application form from our website, www.maorieducation.org.nz. Secondary applications and supporting documentation must reach the Māori Education Trust by 4.30 pm, Friday 26 Hui-tanguru (February) 2016. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Māori Education Trust office on (04) 586 7971 or by email to shelley@maorieducation.org.nz. Heoi ano.

Shelley Gear – Scholarships Administrator Toitū Kaupapa Māori Mātauranga MĀORI EDUCATION TRUST

ROWING

The Rowing season is well underway with the Craighead squad having trained hard over the holidays. The week-long camp in Twizel earlier in January was an opportunity for the girls to really challenge themselves, but also provided them with lots of fun and great memories. Congratulations to the entire squad who worked well together and supported each other to achieve some very positive results at the Canterbury Rowing Club Championships held on 16-17 January. We wish them another successful weekend as they compete in South Island Championships this weekend in Twizel.

Results from Canterbury Rowing Club Championships: Girls U18 Coxed Eight: 3rd—S Tulley, K Jackson, E Gawler, A Horne, V Taggart, E O'Reilly, S Dunbar, S Innes, K Holland (cox) Girls U17 Double Sculls: 1st—S Templeton, O Hughes Girls U17 Double Sculls: 3rd—S Tulley, K Jackson Womens Club Coxed Four: 3rd—S Templeton, E Trolove, O Hughes, E Gawler, G O’Sullivan (cox) Girls U18 Coxed Quad Sculls: 2nd—E Trolove, A Horne, E O’Reilly, E Gawler, V Shore (cox) Girls U18 Coxed Quad Sculls: 3rd—S Tulley, K Jackson, O Hughes, S Templeton, K Holland (cox) Womens Novice Double Sculls: 1st—M Templeton, P Trolove

Boat Naming Ceremony During the holidays, members of the Rowing squad were privileged to have the company of our distinguished Craighead old girls and international rowers, Renee Olley (below left) and Emma Dyke, at the naming ceremony of our new boat, “Renee”.

Please forward brief details of student news and achievements to Katie.Mackenzie@craighead.school.nz

STARTING SCHOOL — WHAT FORMS TO BRING ON DAY ONE...

ALL STUDENTS: On the first day of school we require all students to return certain permission forms. These forms are to be signed by parents/caregivers. They can be found on our website (www.craighead.school.nz) by using the “CraigNet” button on the homepage. The CraigNet page is still under development but the information below is there for you now, ready. There is a PDF or a 2007 Word Document format for you to use, depending on your computer system and what it will work with. Required forms to be completed, signed and returned on the first day of school are listed below:

Forms found on the “CraigNet” page: 1 2016 Permission form: Every Family will have something to complete on this form 2 Student Digital Citizenship Agreement: Every Student will need to sign this agreement 3 Student Privacy, Media and Internet: ALL Parent/Caregiver’s need to sign this form 4 Bus Student Registration form: Only Bus students 5 Winter Kilt Order and Alteration Form : For ordering a new winter kilt or requesting an alteration to an existing kilt Returning these Forms: a Girls are to bring the above forms on the first day and hand them to their Form Teachers , or... b Families may prefer to scan these forms and email them to haymanka@craighead.school.nz or fax the forms to: 03 684 2250 BOARDERS : Please Note—On our website under “Boarding”→ “Boarding Forms”, a selection of forms are available. Complete any of these that are appropriate to you and hand them to the Boarding House Reception when you arrive.

YEAR 13 SCHOLARSHIP 2016

Information and application forms for this Scholarship will be available and given out to Year 13 students on Monday 1 February when they will be at School for their Leadership Day. Applications close at 3.00pm on Tuesday 9 February. The Year 13 recipient of this scholarship will be announced at the Commissioning Service, Sunday 14 February.

UNIFORM NOTICES

WINTER KILTS: THURSDAY 18 FEBRUARY is the day the Uniform Committee will measure for new winter kilt orders and will take any kilt alteration requests. Girls requiring alterations will be reminded before 18 February to bring their kilts to school.

YEAR 13 BLAZERS: Boarders can collect their blazers from the Boarding House when returning to School. Daygirls blazers not already collected, will be available at the School Office. If payment has not already been made, $65.00 must be paid when before picking up the blazer, plus any extra small charges for repairs.

UNIFORM SHOP and SECOND HAND UNIFORM SHOP

Our next open day is Friday 5 February, 3.30-4.30pm

EFTPOS available for Uniform Shop Cash or cheques only for Second Hand Shop

FINANCES

A 2016 Craighead Fees letter, from the Bursar, has been attached to your email with this newsletter link.

This letter is available on our website under the “Enrolment” section. Look for a button titled “Fees”, should you need to refer to it.

IMPORTANT

Updating your contact details, emergency contacts and student medical information:

This week, you should have received an email regarding the KAMAR Parent Portal, your contact details, emergency contacts and medical information for your daughter. Please look for this email if you have not seen it already. If any changes are needed, please follow the email instructions.

STARTING SCHOOL — WHAT ITEMS TO BRING IN WEEK ONE...

Monday 1 February Year 13 Leadership Day: Students to bring along only their diary and pens, wear mufti, morning tea and lunch provided Tuesday 2 February Years 7, 9 & 13 Daygirls: Students to bring morning tea and lunch (or the Dining room will be open for purchases) Years 7 - 13: Students to bring along their diary and pens Years 9 - 12: Students to bring along their locker padlocks Wednesday 3 February Years 7 - 13: Students need to bring subject stationery from this day on (Finalised timetables can be viewed on the KAMAR portal from Saturday 30 January) The swimming pool will be open at lunchtimes for students who wish to swim.

CRAIGHEAD PARENTS AND FRIENDS

Our first Parents and Friends meeting for this year is next Friday 5 February at 2.00pm in the Auditorium Foyer.

All are welcome to come along and join us for a cup of tea and a chance to meet and chat to existing and new parents of Craighead students. We look forward to seeing you there.

Teresa Templeton Chairperson, Parents & Friends 021 863 665

STUDENT HANDBOOKS

An updated Boarder’s Handbook is now available on our website in the Boarding section. New boarders to Craighead in 2016 will already have a hard copy of this.

A Student Handbook will be issued to new students by their Form Teachers on their first day of school. This handbook has a wealth of information, including a site map of the school, to help new students find their way around. This updated handbook will also be available on our website, on the “CraigNet” page.

We hope you all enjoy the Handbooks and find them helpful. We welcome feedback and any suggestions you may have for improvements.