THE LION ABOVE THE DOOR by Vicky and Yiyi

The Lion Above The Door is a book based on racism. It is about a boy named Leo who feels different. He often felt people staring at him from the corners of their eyes. His best friend Sangeeta didn’t feel the same either.

The friends lived in a small village named Whot, filled with a bunch of farms and people who were not like Leo and Sangeeta. One day on a school trip to an RAF museum (Royal Air Force) Leo sees his exact name carved on top of a door, under a golden lion! Suddenly, he feels like a part of his town and country.
So he made a promise to that Leo, that whoever he really was, he would get people like him outside of the United Kingdom to be known in the world and be treated fairly.

At school, Leo and Sangeeta were bullied by Toby, Catherine, and Harry, who were racist to them and called them outsiders. Tobey called Leo “chopstick head” and told him to go home. It was awful, but kind of inspiring and it made me feel like it is just not me. Leo shows persistence throughout the book as he tries to find information about the ‘real Leo’ for the display board his class will be showing on TV. He also shows persistence in dealing with racism and bullies. Leo and Sangeeta make friends with a girl named Olivia as they try to show the world people like them are important.

I would recommend this book for ages 8 and upwards. I think it is really important to learn about racism, friendship, and equality.
Book written by Onjali Q.Rauf

Gracefield School School Board Elections

Gracefield School

School Board Elections

Parent Election Notice

Nominations are open for the election of 5 parent representatives to the school board.

All eligible voters will receive a nomination form. Use this form to nominate yourself or

someone in your community. You will also receive a nomination cover letter calling for

nominations. Information on who is not eligible to be a board member is provided with the

nomination form.

If you need more nomination forms, contact the school office.

Nominations close at noon on 3 rd August 2022. You may provide a signed candidate

statement and photograph with your nomination.

The electoral roll is held at the school and can be viewed during normal school hours.

As nominations are received, there will be a list of candidates’ names kept at the school up

until election day, which you can view.

Voting closes at 4pm on 7 th September 2022.

Signed Robyn Luke

Returning Officer

BOT Election Notice 2022

Kia ora koutou,

This year as we have previously communicated is an election year for the School Board of Trustees (BOT) across New Zealand.  A BOT is responsible for the overall performance of a school and to ensure all legal requirements are met. By being a member of the BOT you have a great opportunity to increase your governance skills, to get more involved in the school, and to have a voice about the future direction of the school.

The BOT meets twice every term for about 2.5 hours but also contributes time and expertise in a range of portolios e.g. Finance, Property, Health and Safety, Community outreach and engagement, and Personnel.  This year the BOT have agreed to reinstate the parent/community representatives from 4 places to 5 places.

The following outlines the timeline for our BOT election process:

6th July - Select a Returning Officer. (The Returning Officer is Robyn Luke)

13th July - Close MAIN ROLL

15th July - Call for NOMINATIONS by

1st Aug - Close SUPPLEMENTARY ROLL

3rd Aug - NOMINATIONS close

10th Aug - Voting papers issued by

7th Sept - Election Day

After the MAIN ROLL closes on 13th July. You will receive a Nomination form with a Cover letter by email. If Robyn doesn’t have an email address for you, you will receive this by post.

Nomination forms and Cover letters are available in Maori, Samoan, Simplified Chinese and Tongan. Please email Returning Officer – Robyn Luke office@gracefield.school.nz

If you have any questions about being on a BOT please reach out to any of the current BOT parent representatives:

Jonny Mckenzie - Jonny.bot@gracefield.school.nz

Rochelle Gribble - Rochelle.bot@gracefield.school.nz

Damian Carder  - damian.bot@gracefield.school.nz

Kylie Seumanu - k.seumanu@gracefield.school.nz

 Or chat to Kelly Barker (Principal) or Tracey Mitchell (Teacher representative).

 Ngā mihi

 Gracefield School BOT

Diwali by Arushi

Diwali is the festival of lights. In ancient Sanskrit language, Diwali is called Deepavali meaning row of light. Diwali is celebrated for five days. We light oil lamps (diyas) for five days in the whole house. Diwali is celebrated to mark the return of lord Rama after 14 years of exile and his victory over the demon Ravana. Diwali also marks the new year for Indians and the triumph of good over evil, and light over darkness. The most fun part of diwali is the fireworks. We make rangoli patterns in the front of our home to welcome gods and people using sand colours and flowers. We cook indian sweets like bharfi, ladoos.We also cook spicy and soury indian snacks. Early in the morning, we take a bath and dress up in our new pretty Indian dresses called chanya chory and go to the temple to pray to god. After that we visit our friends and family. It is a new year for the indians.

I hope you have a happy diwali!

Happy Diwali everyone!

Cook Islands Language Week 2021 : Sunday 1 August - Saturday 7 August

Kia orana!

This year’s theme for Cook Island Language week is ‘Epetoma o te reo Māori Kūki ‘Āirani – Cook Islands Language Week is ‘Ātuitui’ia au ki te Oneone o tōku ‘Ui Tupuna which means, connect me to the soil of my ancestors.

Please come in and see our awesome display in the school foyer and check out some of the lovely books we have available. The artwork on the table was made by Room 7!

Below is a link on how to learn a word a day from Christchurch libraries.

https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/cook-islands-language-week/

And the official Facebook Page celebrating this week for more information.

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialCookIslandsLanguageWeek

Aere ra!

Waiwhetu Stream Planting By Sophia and Rosa

The other day, we had a lovely lady named Rachel visit the senior syndicate at Gracefield School. She was a part of the friends of the Waiwhetu Stream organization, and had come to talk to us about the stream. We really enjoyed her talking to us and learning.

Problem

In 2010 The Waiwhetu river was voted the 3rd dirtiest stream in New Zealand. With help from the Council, the Friends of Waiwhetu Stream was formed as a group to help clean up the river. The reason behind the dirtiness was because the industry nearby the stream didn't realize that their paint was going into the river and the toxins made it disgusting and dirty. This is killing fish and some of our beautiful native plants and needs to stop!

Today the Petone and Lower Hutt area is very populated. Only 170 years ago, this was a forested floodplain, with lots of birdlife. In the 1920s, Waiwhetu Stream was popular for swimming and fishing, but as development took place around its banks. At times the stream would turn bright purple or red as a result of the pollution and waste from the nearby Lower Hutt factories being put into its waters. The wastes were then carried out to the shores of Wellington Harbour creating a mess. By the mid-1970s, it was one of the most polluted streams in New Zealand. In times of high rainfall in areas where there are big collections of water, lots of water flows through this river and plain.

Plants help in many ways for rivers. Plants help the stream by stopping bank erosion. Bank erosion is when the sides of the bank collapse and fall into the river. It is dangerous and can clog small passageways through rivers and fertile soil can be lost. Planting trees helps the environment. Twenty people from Room 5 and 6 went to the Waiwhetu Stream to help plant some plants. We planted 40 Carex all together, meaning each pair got two Carex. We found a good spot and started digging.

After we had finished planting all the Carex, we took our gloves off and it was time to go back to school. We really enjoyed planting today with Rosemary and would love to do it again. We thank them so much for giving us the opportunity to help and get involved with our community stream.

https://www.waiwhetu-stream.org.nz/

Samoan Language Week!

This week is Samoan Language Week. From the Ministry for Pacific People here is the description of this years language week -

This year’s theme for Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa - Samoa Language Week 2021 is Poupou le lotoifale. Ola manuia le anofale which means strengthen the posts of your house, for all to thrive.

Below is a photo of some of our amazing students dressed in some of their traditional clothing. We have had different phrases to practice in our daily notices, a great display in our library, and some super activities in classes. If you are in the school, please come in and see our library display and have a look at some of the wonderful Samoan books we have in our collection.

Hutt Science Student Challenge 2021 and Otago University Problem Solving by Perrin.

On Wednesday, two teams from Gracefield School participated in the Hutt Science Student Challenge 2021. It was a great day out and we had a fun time collaborating on the answers. I think the thing I enjoyed most was seeing all the different teams there, trying their hardest. The trickiest question was how many sides does a banana have and also estimating which objects would float and which would sink.

On Thursday, we worked on Otago University Maths Problem solving, which was also pretty tricky but lots of fun.

By Perrin.

Library News!

This week marks the anniversary of the attacks in Christchurch, in 2019. We have gathered a collection of books that celebrate diversity within our community. These are displayed on the shelves just inside the library door.

If you have time you are more than welcome to come and see some of the wonderful titles our librarian, Justine, has organised for this week.

Below are some of the books we have on display, click through to read more about these titles.

Chinese New Year by Yiyi

Today is the first day of the year of the Ox. Chinese New Year celebrates the beginning of the new lunar year. Chinese people celebrate Chinese New Year all around the world. China has celebrated the Chinese New Year for around 4000 years.

Chinese people buy new clothes to wear for the New Year. There are dragon dances and firework displays too. In China, people put up golden and red decorations in their homes. Everyone that is Chinese gives red envelopes to their family. I love Chinese New Year because it makes me feel happy.

I hope you have a great Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Written by Yiyi.

To find out more information about Chinese New Year and events happening locally, go to these links. We also have a display of books in our library, so please come in and see them.

https://www.chinesenewyear.co.nz/

https://www.chinesenewyear.co.nz/events

National Library Links