MBAS Newsletter, Term 2, Week 2, 10th May 2024
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MBAS Calendar
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Kia Ora tātou – Greetings to you all
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Interest in Homestay Hosting
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Authenticity in NCEA Internal Assessment
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Uniform Shop
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Y9-13 Cross Country
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M1 - Sign Language
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M9 - Science
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Room 33 - Art
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Hei 7 - ANZAC Study
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Hei 8 - Cooking up a Storm
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Smokefree Rockquest
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Auckland Theatre Trip
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Plane Build 2 May 2024
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Wellbeing Whispers
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Tertiary Tidbits
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Hospitality Request
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Community Notices
MBAS Calendar
Kia Ora tātou – Greetings to you all
Middle Years Update
How can you help your child's learning?
So many of our students are arriving at school without the basic requirements for learning. Many arrive without a bag or any learning resources. Too often, teachers dig deep into their own pockets to pay for classroom supplies and activities so that students can have good learning experiences. We provide pens and basic resources to children who turn up without and do it all again the next lesson when they turn up yet again without the basic requirements.
We are happy to help with breakfasts and lunches and have had incredible support from New World and Buffalo Beach Four Square for which we are really grateful.
We recognise that across New Zealand there is a need to improve our children's Literacy and Numeracy skills. Encouraging students to write by hand offers many cognitive benefits. Research in neuroscience indicates that handwriting engages the regions of the brain associated with reading, more so than typing. So please encourage your child to bring a pen! Your support as parents/caregivers is invaluable.
Contrary to the message some parents are getting, we are not able to provide chromebooks for every child at school. We are a BYOD (bring your own device) school. We have invested in a small number of chromebooks to help out when students are unable to bring a device to school but we are not able to to provide one for everyone. To ensure your child gets the best out of school please ensure that if they have a device, that they bring it to school.
If you could check in with your children before they leave for school and make sure they at least have a pen for the day we would be grateful and moving in the right direction to help our children learn.
Please help us help your child's learning by ensuring they come to school prepared to learn.
Jenny Bloom
Deputy Principal - Middle Years
Interest in Homestay Hosting
MBAS is seeking interest from volunteer families to host International High School Students (Years 11-13) in your home.
Hosting provides your family opportunities to learn more about other cultures and enable your children to develop as global citizens through international connections. Your family provides hosted students exposure to the wonders of New Zealand.
If you want to know more, please email (international@mbas.ac.nz); or phone Jodie (Homestay Coordinator) on 0272489187 or pop in and see the International Team at Mercury Bay Area School.
Authenticity in NCEA Internal Assessment
Please watch the accompanying video, which explains our kura's approach to verifying that work students submit for NCEA assessment is their own authentic work. You can read more information about NCEA and internal assessment in our Student NCEA Handbook - https://sites.google.com/mbas.
If you have any questions about the authenticity verification process, please contact Principal's Nominee Ms J. Evans (evansj@mbas.ac.nz) or Deputy Principal Mr. M. Wilkinson (wilkinsonm@mbas.ac.nz).
Here's the video link: https://youtu.be/s19Jf8j8i_A
Uniform Shop
Wool blend winter jerseys (cold machine or hand wash) - size 10 up to XXL - free to school students.
Lightweight jackets (fold up small) - size 8 up - $5 each.
Lots of navy polos and white polos in stock - $5 each - pickup a few spares for winter in case the washing doesn't dry.
Donations required - we are currently low on long pants, hoodies, fleece jackets and primary polos. Also hangers - regular and clippy ones.
Drop them into the school office. Thanks.
Opening hours - card or cash - Mondays 2.30 - 3.30pm - Wednesdays 8.30 - 9.30am
Y9-13 Cross Country
It was a fantastic day for a great event. There was really good attendance but still room for improvement with participation.
Well done to Mark Irwin and Debbie Reader who did a fine job of completing the course.
M1 - Sign Language
It’s New Zealand Sign Language Week! Tamariki are learning how to say hi and sign their name in NZSL. It is really impressive how quickly some have mastered this 😊
M9 - Science
Today we explored floating and sinking. Can we make a paper clip float by using surface tension? Why can some things float and others sink? .........It's all about density. Can we make a clay ball float by changing it's shape?
Room 33 - Art
We have been out hunting and gathering for our next art project.
We are linking our learning during inquiry with art. Students will create a picture that they feel symbolises ANZAC. We will be writing our very own ANZAC poems today to go along side this art. Cant wait to see the creative ideas that our tamariki come up with.
Hei 7 - ANZAC Study
Hei 7 are learning about the ANZACs. They had read about life in the trenches at Gallipoli so this week they made a trench out of their tables and chairs. For one block they did their learning in the trench.
In the photos they are reading about the ANZACs and looking at photos of the ANZACs. They are also carrying out a thinking routine called “See Think Wonder” based on the photos.
Hei 8 - Cooking up a Storm
Hei 8 made a yeast dough on Tuesday and turned it into pizza today.
Smokefree Rockquest
We would like to extend our best wishes to our talented music students who will represent our school at the Smokefree Rockquest Band Competition in Tauranga this Saturday!
Good luck to our solo performers, Sunny Steele, Francie Lidgard, Poppy Carpenter, Carolina Van Royen, and the members of Prisoners of War: Zach Greenfield, Reef Denton, River Bovaird, Vienna Blofield and Band.com: Toby Gamble, Brynn Ramage, Isaiah Johnston, and Leaham Hurlock. We are proud of your hard work and dedication! Have fun, team!
Auckland Theatre Trip
On Friday of Week one we had 21 keen students travel to Auckland's Te Pou Theatre to watch an inspirational and moving live theatre performance called 'I Love You G'. This was devised and performed from NZ's acclaimed Massive Theatre Company and also had an Ex-Student of ours, Harmony Hogarth, working on the performance as the Sound Designer. At the end of the show Harmony spoke to the audience about the process and also her time at MBAS which was highly inspirational to our students. Overall it was a fantastic trip and the students have all spoken very positively about the experience. We also highly recommend going to check out the play too if you get the chance!
Plane Build 2 May 2024
Rudder, Mid Fuselage Section, Parts Preparation, Empenage.
Open the photos below to read the full log.
Wellbeing Whispers
Tertiary Tidbits
Hamilton Student Evening
We’d like to extend an invitation to you and your students to attend our Regional Information Student Evening.
Tuesday 30th July 2024
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Claudelands Event Centre
This evening is open to all high school students and their whānau and will provide attendees time to meet our representatives, learn more about our university as well as answer questions.
WTPT is an on-campus experience targeted at Year 13 Māori students from outside of Tāmaki Makaurau. The programme offers attendees the opportunity to visit the University of Auckland, make connections, and introduce them to what life in Tāmaki Makaurau could look like for them! We are inviting expressions of interest from students wishing to participate in workshops, activities, and the opportunity to explore their study options further by attending Mānawa Mai, our Open Day!
The deadline for EOI is May 31st, registration link can be found here.
Hospitality Request
If you have any plastic rice cup containers that you don't need anymore could you bring them in to school please? A photo is attached below. The Hospitality students use them to collect small small amounts of ingredients.
Thank you.
Community Notices
Empower Your Parenting Skills with Safe On Social
Parenting in today's digital era can be overwhelming. Are you finding it challenging to keep up with the constantly evolving apps, online games, and social media platforms? Do concerns about cyberbullying, screen addiction, adult content access and online privacy keep you up at night?
We at Safe On Social are transforming how we support parents and carers like you. Our renowned Parents and Carers Programs, previously available only in schools, are now accessible via webinar to cater to our global audience more effectively.
We're here to empower you with the knowledge and tools you need to navigate the complexities of the online world with confidence.
Join us for an informative and transformative webinar, designed specifically for proactive parents/carers.
If you are a school representative keen to sample our work, we would love you to attend.
CoroCine Film Festival
We are hosting our inaugural film festival this year on the weekend of September 6th, 7th, 8th. We already have several items committed but are looking for more!
The only criteria is that the artist/filmmaker either lives on the Coromandel Peninsula OR that their work features the Coromandel Peninsula. It doesn't have to be "new" work and we're looking for various lengths and genres. This can be any presentation we could show on our big screen. Got a gallery of your visual artworks set to music or with a voice-over? Got some claymation/lego-mation videos? What about videos of your original music? Work needs to be with us by August 1st so you still have time to create something.
Please register your interest and we will be in touch.
https://forms.gle/
Upcoming at the Mercury Bay Library
Badminton Junior Development Day - Thames
Our first Badminton Junior Development Day was held in Waihi at the start of April. It was a really successful day and the kids loved it! We are holding our second session in Thames on the 26th May.
Key information:
• Where: Thames High School, Jack McLean Recreation Centre, Rolleston Street, Thames.
• When: Sunday 26th May, 9am-12pm
• What: Coaching with Thames Valley coaches (9am-10.30am, and games from 10.30am-12pm)
• Who can attend: School age children under 18 years of age
• What to bring: Please bring your own drink bottle, non-marking court shoes if you have them, bare feet is ok.
• Cost: Just $5 to be paid on arrival
I have attached a flyer with a QR code that can be used to register. This QR code will link to the next upcoming session, so you only need to print it once. I have also attached another flyer with the key info for the Thames session, which is also on the registration form. Alternatively, players can register using the link below;
https://forms.gle/
Registrations close Friday 24th May
Thanks for your support,
Melissa MiersBadminton Thames Valley Secretary