MBAS Newsletter, Term 4, Week 4, 8th Nov 2024

MBAS Calendar

Kia Ora tātou – Greetings to you all

From The Middle Years

We have had such a busy week and there is still more to come. A huge thank you to everyone who contributed towards the donations in this week's "Dress your Way" day. We are still needing more so if you have anything we could use for our Gala coming up on the 29th of November please could you send it to school with your child.

As we head towards the end of the year, it is really important to ensure your child attends school. Attendance provides students with access to each other - something they really miss over the holidays. Building good friendships positively impacts their sense of belonging. When your child stays away the others will find other friends, making those connections harder each time they return from being away. Attending school helps your child stay on track. It is a precursor to student success. Let's work together to see the year out with full attendance. 

What's coming up? 

Next week is KAURI week. On Friday the 15th, our Year 6's will be visiting the Yr 7&8 area and our Year 8's, as well as our contributing school year 8's who are coming to MBAS next year, will experience a 'taste of things to come' for the day. 

In week 7 (25th to 28th November) all of the Middle Years students will present their year learning portfolios to their prospective new teachers. Please encourage your children to prepare well and share information about their best learning experiences this year with the teachers who will have them next year. They will present in small groups to two or three teachers and this is a really important part of their learning. Student portfolios are a reflection of their ability to adapt and learn. In a rapidly changing world, students need to find ways to stand out. Growing their confidence to present is a skill they will need in this ever changing world. 

Our Twilight Gala is on the 29th of November - an exciting event - mark your calendars for this event, you won't want to miss it. 

Our Year 9's are heading away on camp the week after from the 3rd to the 6th of December. It would be really great if all our students could go. Please encourage your yr 9 child to attend. Children develop their independence in a safe and controlled environment by attending school camps. They head off to Waikawau Bay which is a great spot! 

The Whangamata Sports exchange is on Tuesday the 10th of December. Our children are trialling and working hard for this annual event. 

We're in the home stretch for 2024. Lets finish strong, stay focused, each step you take is one closer to achieving your goals. Let's make 2024 something we can all be proud of. 

Jenny Bloom
Deputy Principal - Middle Years 

Why is Attendance Important?

Attendance is linked to both student wellbeing and to attainment. Ministry of Education insights studies show that attending school and kura regularly is, on average, associated with more positive wellbeing outcomes. Ministry analysis found that 15-year-old students who reported skipping a greater number of days of school in the previous fortnight reported worse outcomes on average for a number of measures of wellbeing; schoolwork-related anxiety, sense of belonging, exposure to bullying, motivation and experiences of teacher unfairness.

Attendance is also linked to student attainment in secondary students. Recent research  shows that each additional half-day of absence from school and kura is associated with a consistent reduction in the number of NCEA credits students subsequently attain – whether that is a student moving from 100% to 99% attendance or moving from 71% to 70% attendance. Students who are absent even 5-10% of the time (which is still considered “regular” attendance) nevertheless obtain fewer NCEA credits than those with higher attendance rates. In short, evidence suggests that there is no “safe” level of non-attendance which has no impact on student and ākonga wellbeing and attainment.

Here is some data facts for our MBAS students that are attending at 70% or less -  to date for Term 4 2024;

Y1-18%   -   Y2-13%    -   Y3-6%   -   Y4-6%   -   Y5-8%   -   Y6 -10%

Y7-26%   -   Y8-33%   -   Y9-19%   -   Y10-22%  

Y11-30%   -   Y12-23%   -   Y13-43%

Primary Staff Car Parking

School Board of Trustees Information

Dear Parent, caregivers and whānau.

If you are looking for information about our School Board head to our website, use the 'Our School' menu and select 'School Organisation' Here you will see who is on the Board, meeting dates, agendas and minutes.

Kindo Coming Soon!

Quick, easy online payments - 24/7.

We’re excited to introduce Kindo. This user-friendly platform will allow you to purchase school items, register for sports and support fundraisers 24/7, with one convenient account for the whole family. Enjoy flexible payment options anytime, anywhere!

We’ll share more details soon, so keep an eye out for this new way to manage school payments.

Why families love Kindo:

Flexible Payment Options:

• Pay in full, spread it out, or set up hassle-free automatic payments
• Choose from three FREE payment methods: online eftpos, bank transfer, or POLi.
• Prefer debit or credit cards? We've got you covered!

One Simple Account for the Whole Family:

• Easily track all your school-related expenses in one place
• Available 24/7 - purchase school items, manage registrations, and support fundraisers anytime, anywhere!

Any questions? Visit support.kindo.co.nz
Contact our Customer Support - Open 8am - 4pm weekdays.
Email: helpdesk@kindo.co.nz

MBAS 2024 Magazine

Twilight Gala - 29th November from 3pm - 6pm

Thank you to the following businesses for supporting with donations towards our quickfire raffles, Whitianga Paper Plus, Espy Cafe, Dive Zone, Glass Bottom Boat, Funzone, WildWood Mini Golf, Whiti Nails and Beauty, Bakes by the Fisherman's Wife, Twin Cinemas, Accounting by Design, Blue Door Therapy, Infinite Health Club, Fabian from CFM, Matilda the Time Travelling Fairy, Peninsula Party Hire, Mercury Bay Marine, Placemakers Whitianga, Black Jack Surf, Skin and of course the families of MBAS for the donations of food to go towards baskets for the quick fire raffle. 

If you still have some items to come in for the bric-a-brac/white elephant stall and book stalls then please bring them in as soon as possible. Donations can come to school with your child to their teacher or to the office.

School Colour Fun Run - Sign Up Now

Join up and be part of the best day of the school year!

Sign up - create your fundraising page - share your unique link to friends and family via social media, text and email.

Share the fun with friends and family while getting fantastic rewards.

Sign up at schoolfunrun.co.nz

Room 22 - Science

Lots of exploration around electrical circuits this week. We used wire, batteries, nails, paper clips and tin foil.

We learned that a circuit is like a circle, everything needs to be touching for the electricity to go around the circuit and turn on.

Prev

Showing images 1 - 8 of 11

Next

Room 34 - Cricket

This week the year 5 and 6 classes had cricket skills training. Room 34 had a great time, we need to keep practicing our catching. But we loved hitting the ball off the tee.

M1 - Electrical Circuits

Things got a little tense this week as the sun wandered off behind the clouds. We were working on our electrical circuit but this time our power source was solar power. Would we have enough sunlight to power our fan, buzzer and lightbulb all at the same time? How should we hook up our wires to the terminals? Lots of experimentation and lots to repeat when we do get a brighter day. 🌞

Community Service Academy

The Community Service Academy went out to the storage sheds to help local legend Juile Johnstone. Julie collects donated goods and then distributes them to families. Our group helped sort a variety of things ranging from heaters to books to cots to baby clothes. Everything was then neatly stacked away so people could more easily view what Julie has to offer. A big thanks to Summer, Charlotte, Meg (and mum Denise), Develyn, Maddie, Olivia, Jaykin, Nataria, Tahlia and Harlem.

Y 7-8 Totara Springs Camp

Totara Springs was amazing. The parents were fantastic and we can not thank them enough for giving up their sleep, time and energy to help us run the camp activities. The teachers of years 7 and 8 were outstanding and went the extra mile to make camp run so smoothly. The students gave everything a go and stepped out of their comfort zone to try new experiences. A huge thanks to everyone who supported the camp fundraising activities to make this experience accessible to all of us. 

Y 7-8 Athletics

It was a great day for the Y7-8 Athletics on Tuesday, see here for full results from the day.

Prev

Showing images 1 - 8 of 15

Next

Sports Camp for Y9-10 students at Tōtara Springs, early Term 2 2025!

We are excited to offer an incredible Sports Camp for Year 9-10 students at Tōtara Springs, early Term 2 2025! The camp will feature a range of sports, including Basketball, Cricket, Hockey, Netball, Soccer, Touch, Tag, Frisbee, Volleyball, Swimming, Athletics, Croquet, Petanque, Rock Climbing, Spikeball, and Table Tennis.

Students will compete in multi-sport events, building teamwork, leadership, and resilience. Special guest speakers will also share their inspiring stories.

More information can be found on the Totara Springs website.

To join, students must complete an application form, explaining why they should be selected. Forms can be collected from the PE office or MBAS reception. Selections will be based on attitude and effort in PE classes. Year 8 students not currently attending MBAS should provide a reference.

Applications close on Tuesday 19th November at 3pm.

A team of 30 students will be selected by the end of 2024. If selected, to secure a spot, a $150 non-refundable deposit is required. Total cost to attend sports camp will be approximately $380. This price will be confirmed before the end of the school year.

Don’t miss this amazing opportunity to represent our school!

Nurses Notes

Important reminder about the Dentist

All year 9 students need to enrol at Lumino dentist

Many have not enrolled, and it means they miss out on FREE Dental Care

Parents and Caregivers - Please call in to Lumino Dentist on Blacksmith Lane and fill out the form.

Community Notices

Opportunity to do fully funded Skipper Restricted Limits Level 4 course

Summer Sailing Program

The Mercury Bay Boating Club's sail training program for youth and adults will be kicking off mid-November and running through the end of March.  The club offers courses for our youth aged 8 - 18 and will also be offering adult learn to sail options.  Youth courses in November - December will be after school and on weekends (depending on the age group).  Adult course days and times are yet to be announced but will likely be a total of 9 hours spread over late afternoons/early evenings and a weekend.  During the summer holidays, our youth courses will be run in "blocks" of 4 days, spread over a 5-day week, with younger sailors training in the morning and older sailors in the afternoon.  

For more information and to receive our registration letter and Google form, please email mercurybayyouthsailing@gmail.com or visit our FaceBook page Mercury Bay Youth Sailing.

Need Help Getting your Drivers Licence?

Skool Loop - One Stop School Information App