Tena Koutou Parents, Caregivers and Whanau.
Hello everyone,
Kia ora e hoa mä.
He aroha whakatō, he aroha ka puta mai.
If kindness is sown, then kindness is what you shall receive
Production was Fabulous.
Don’t miss out on a great show – come along tonight – our final night, at 6:30pm.
Could some folk please stay a wee bit later to help pack up the staging and seating and sweep the hall. It only takes a short time if there are a few who stay.
Year 8 Graduates
Farewell to these children who are very well prepared for their secondary schooling in 2020.
*Liana Abuel, Heidi Clarkson, *Fabrice Frei, *Esther Gardyne,
*Lily Langton-Mackey, *Sean McKay, *Amanda-Rose McMath,
*Harry Morrison, *Lara North,
Scott Parker, Fletcher Pomare,
*Flynn Reed.
The * denotes that this is the last child in the family to attend Riversdale School.
I would like to sincerely thank the parents of these children for their commitment and support of the school over many years. We are so fortunate to have such a great community, with whanau/families who are dedicated to ensuring their children get the best education and opportunities possible. For many this means lots of trips to Gore, or beyond, for sporting or cultural events, coming along to working bees, donating time and goods to the Home and School to raise money for the ‘extras’ that make our school better than lots, attending school camps… all those things that form a positive partnership between parents and teachers.
Thank you once again for being such a fabulous parent community of the School.
Congratulations
Our Year 9 students at Gore High School also achieved really well. Congratulations to them for their achievements in Year 9.
All of our ex Riversdale students throughout our local secondary schools continue to do incredibly well and we are really proud of their achievements throughout their years of secondary schooling.
Lolly Scramble and Water Fight Fun
Yesterday at 1:30pm our children enjoyed a Lolly Scramble, and The Great School Water Fight in very chilly conditions, and a swim in the school pool. It was very gratifying to see children sharing their lollies. Kindness is highly valued at Riversdale School.
Coming Up This Term….
Friday 20 December - Last school day for 2019. School buses run at 12.30pm and town children will be sent home at this time. Children only need to bring morning tea.
Thursday 6 February - Waitangi Day. School closed.
Friday 7 February - First school day for children in 2020, 9am start.
24, 25, 26 February - Years 5 and 6 camp, Pounawea.
5 – 9 April - Deep Cove Years 7 and 8.
2020 Fundraising
The Committee are currently putting together a fundraising calendar for 2020. If you have any fundraising ideas, can you please let a Committee member know about them and we can look into them for next year. Thanks for helping us to support the school this year.
Prime Lamb and Calf Competition - February 21st, 2020
Riversdale School receives half the proceeds of this major fundraiser. Previous suppliers will be contacted. For new entrants please contact:
Lambs (set of 3 = most dollars on kill sheet wins) – Murray (Curly) Napier 021475853, Calf (most dollars/heaviest wins) – Greg Reed 0272764410.
Calf collection day Monday 17th February/ Lambs Tuesday 18th.
Great prizes and family BBQ evening!
Stationery Lists
You will notice on the stationery list that some books are to be purchased from the Warehouse, this is because Paper Plus does not carry the Impact brand. Please ensure you purchase the books specified. Teachers have taken some time to ensure that the books on the list are carefully selected to suit each child’s needs.
If you log into the Paper Plus website their items are online.
Three Gifts to Give Yourself this Christmas
Gift Number One – Presence
You are about to take some well-earned time off to spend with loved ones, recharge your batteries and reconnect. This is often easier said than done as we struggle to wind down, to switch off and be fully present. Presence requires us to dig deep and fully savour those precious moments, such as children opening presents or a friend or relative sharing a story. Here are my tips for remaining present this season:
1. Aim to minimise use of technology and devices. Instead play interactive games, engage in conversation, actively listen, turn the phone to silent, shhhhh.
2. If you need to get some work done during the break, schedule time to do it, decide how long that will be and KEEP your commitment to yourself (and others).
3. Re-engage all of your senses, this is a powerful way to stay present and engaged. If you go for a walk consciously notice the colours, sounds and smells around you, if you decide to cook, savour the smells and really taste your food, don't rush a single meal, enjoy it!
4. If conversation turns to work, aim to steer it away and engage in finding out from others or sharing more about those other areas of your life that are just as, or more important. Stay present and notice the enhanced quality of life and connection you can enjoy.
Gift Number Two – Patience
The gift of patience is our ability to self-regulate when things around us are different to our norm. Self-regulation is one of the 4 pillars of Emotional Intelligence. Here are my tips for practising your gift of patience this season:
1. When someone is pushing your buttons, breathe and count to ten. This helps you transfer thought processing from the limbic system (emotional centre) to the pre-frontal cortex (rational centre) in your brain. It could save your life! Or at the very least could save an argument.
2. If you find yourself becoming irritated over small things that are going wrong, remember to put things back into perspective by asking – will this really matter in 5 minutes, 5 hours, 5 weeks, 5 months?
3. Be forgiving of yourself and others. You may well have heard the same story from that elderly relative for the last consecutive 5 years, but sit back and observe their delight in telling it. It may be you one day …
Gift Number Three – Positivity
We need positivity to establish balance in our thought processes. We are hard wired from evolution to scan negative threats to positive rewards on a ratio of 5 to 1. This makes sense as we might not get to find lunch on a certain day but if we end up becoming lunch, it's game over for us! This part of our brain, the amygdala, is slow to catch up with today's world and so by consciously focusing on that which is good, we can arrive at a healthy balance. Here are my tips for practising your gift of positivity this season:
1. At the end of each day, think about three good things that happened and why. If you’ve had a shocker of a day, it may just be that you have a bed to sleep in or you had food to eat. It has been proven that at the end of just two weeks you will notice a significant increase in emotional well-being. (Martin Seligman)
2. If something challenging happens, aim to find the gift or lesson. It will always be there, it might just take a little seeking. For example, last Friday I lost the entire contents of my email inbox and when I counted to 10 and sat back I realised that I had got what I wanted as I was complaining about email inbox overload syndrome! I also now have processes in place for ensuring copies of all emails are kept on the server!
3. When all else fails - do the 'Disaster Dance' - my husband taught me this. I’d be proclaiming the end of the world, in floods of tears and he got me up and started dancing with me, a stupid silly dance that ended up in a smile!
Presence, patience and positivity are highly prized, rare and precious presents to give to yourself and share with others. To really make the most of the time off over the coming holiday period, fully engage with your friends and family, re-charge your batteries and start the New Year in a powerfully positive frame of mind, grasp these gifts with grace and gusto.
‘Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.’ Carl Sandburg.
On behalf of the staff and Board of Trustees, I would like to thank you all for your support over this year. We are looking forward to seeing children back on 7th February 2020. Special thanks to the Home and School for all of their efforts to bring the best opportunities to our Riversdale children.
Wishing you a kind and happy Christmas and New Year.
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