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2023 Student News
Awesome Student Work
Recently I have enjoyed seeing lots of incredible student work, including the inquiry projects in Room 21, Jack’s “Jolly Roger” pirate – hand stitched with love and effort, and some creative Blossom Artwork by Room 4. All of these efforts remind me how cool it is to be a kid!
Tennis Excitement - Year 5 & 6 Students Shine at Have-A-Go Interschool Event
Last Wednesday, 52 students from the Te Moana Syndicate participated in the Have-A-Go Tennis Interschool event, hosted by the Kapiti Council and the Paraparaumu Tennis Club.
The event was filled with exciting activities that helped our students learn the essential skills to play tennis. They were guided by dedicated volunteers from the Paraparaumu Tennis Club, who made the learning experience both educational and fun.
Congratulations to Angus, Sophia, Lucie, Olive, Cash, Phoenix and Aki who were nominated by the volunteers as students who stood out as shining examples of sportsmanship.
Te Moana Syndicate Athletic Day
Over the past five weeks, Te Moana Syndicate has been preparing for our annual athletic event. Last Monday, they gave it their all, showcasing sportsmanship and determination that impressed us all. Congratulations to every student who participated and gave their best; your efforts were commendable.
Congratulations to:
Year 5 Girls: 1st Ceejay Kraus, 2nd Lucie Thomson, 3rd Jermayne Inoke, 4th equal Sophie Tee and Frankie Houston-Manuel
Year 5 Boys: 1st Jackson Grant, 2nd equal Jake Sales and Ryan Carter, 3rd Campbell Stratford, 4th Ty Gardiner
Year 6 Girls: 1st Eden Kavakura, 2nd Zoe Gee, 3rd Sophie Stevens, 4th equal Kaya O’Brien and Alyssa Hudson
Year 6 Boys: 1st Phoenix Tee, 2nd Zavier Gardiner, 3rd Francis Forsyth, 4th equal Leo Holloway and Noah Hunt
Senior Production
“NZ’s Top Survivor Island” was clever, entertaining, informative and hilarious. Congratulations to all involved – there were definitely stars on the stage, in the band and behind the scenes. From the art work and props to the additional video segments – every Te Motu staff member and student played a part in this success. Special mention must go to Colin Siversen – Script Writer and Teresa Robertson – Director.
Playground Painting
This week the Student Council added some playground painting for Tātahi Syndicate. Here’s some photos of them doing the mahi. Thank you Mr Trask for helping us to do this!
Scholastic Book Fair
Thank you to all families who supported our Scholastic Book Fair at PBS last week. It sounds like we have earned around 1400 points to buy more books for our own library. Kids also loved the visit from Clifford the Big Red Dog who was another well-behaved doggo on school grounds. Thanks to Kathryn Siversen for organising this fundraising event for PBS and helping to spread the love of literacy.
E-Pro8 Challenge
Last week, teams selected from Year 5-8 students enjoyed participating in the EPro-8 challenge. Unfortunately we didn’t make it through to the finals this year, but the teams showed great teamwork and perseverance with the technology problem solving tasks. We looked defeat in the eye this time, held our heads high and said “Bring it on 2024!”
Instrumental Session
Students are busy preparing for end of year productions, showcases, Christmas carols and the annual kapa haka hui. These photos of Te Moana students show instrumental sessions in action.
Cheerleading
Dakota Bell has been selected to compete at the Global Games Cheerleading Competition in Hawaii in May 2024. There were well over a hundred athletes who trialed to make one of the 2 teams attending this event (youth & senior teams). Congratulations!
Dakota is in the youth team and is also very lucky to have her aunty and former PBS student Chantelle Black also be selected but for the senior team.
U12 Girls Football
Congratulations to Anika Rehal who was an integral part of the Under-12 Girls’ Football Team, proudly representing New Zealand clubs. Their journey took them to Australia, where they participated in the Sydney International Cup. Anika and her team emerged as the champions of this prestigious championship. Their victory not only highlights their athletic prowess but also serves as a testament to the spirit of dedication and sportsmanship!
Eager Helpers
We have had an eager bunch of helpful students helping to move segments of the (second-hand) artificial turf. We are in the process of using this turf in spots around the school which need a little lift. Thanks team, we love your team spirit!
WOW
For the past 6-8 weeks PBS student Keeva Strawbridge has been involved with the WOW show in Wellington. Check out this Kea Kids interview that provides some insight into her very cool opportunity.
PE & Music Challenge
In Term 4 the weather usually starts to even out and get warmer, which encourages us all to get outdoors. Yesterday, whilst sitting in my office, the sounds of music filled the air. I popped outside to investigate and was delighted to see the students of Room 13 undertaking a PE and music focused challenge. Their skill and energy levels definitely made me feel like joining in! We will try and get a video of this for our facebook page soon.
Collective Artwork
I spotted this cool collective artwork by Room 1 students, which links with their inquiry unit Exploring Aotearoa New Zealand’s history through The Arts.
Writing
Thanks Kobe for sharing your recount writing with me! I was very impressed! I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the gymnastic trips.
Wrestling
Congratulations to Jordan Esterhuizen from Room 23 who competed in the Wellington Regional Wrestling Championship on Saturday and won 1st prize in his weight division. Well done.
Aimes Games
Well done to the contingent of PBS students who attended the AIMS Games last week in Tauranga. From all accounts it was a well organised event and everyone enjoyed the experience. This year’s efforts might inspire more parents and students to take up the opportunity in future years.
Netball
Saturday netball finished up on the weekend. Thank you to all of the coaches and managers for your mahi this season. Here are the impressive results (official confirmation yet to come):
- Galaxy (Year 5 team playing in Year 6 grade) – 1st in grade
- Conquerors – 2nd in grade
- Dynamites (Yr 6 team playing in Year 7 & 8 grade) – 3rd in grade
- Blazers – 3rd in grade
- Express – 3rd in grade
- Acers – 4th in grade
- Hotshots – 4th in grade and won the Kapiti Netball Sportsmanship Cup
Rm 10 Waka
Check out Room 10s collaboratively built waka as part of their current inquiry unit. Very cool!
Kukkiwon Cup
Congratulations to Joey Olsen of Room 11 who competed at the New Zealand Kukkiwon Cup in Auckland and who won a Bronze medal in his weight division in the Nationals (making him 3rd in his weight division). He has come a long way since he started training at just 5 years old.
His next competition will be the Wellington TUNZ Open Championship end of September.
Kowhai Tree Planting
Some Student Councillors represented PBS at the 10th anniversary ceremony for the Coastlands Aquatic Centre. Annabelle, Ruby G & Ruby B along with the Mayor, Koro Don and other community leaders planted 4 kōwhai trees at each of the corners of the building. This was to commemorate the event and keep the positive energy flowing for this well used community resource.
Tournament of the Minds
Tournament of the Minds is a problem solving program. Its aim is to enhance the potential of our youth by developing diverse skills, enterprise, time management, and the discipline to work collaboratively within a challenging and competitive environment.
Over the weekend we had 6 teams of Year 5-8 students compete in the Regional competition held at Victoria University of Wellington. Ngā mihi nui to Mr Parr and Mrs McKenna for all of your mahi behind the scenes coordinating the teams (see photos below).
All PBS teams placed either first, second or third in their chosen area. An outstanding result!
EPro8
Recently PBS held an internal EPro8 event so students keen to experience and take part in the science and engineering competition get a taster before teams compete at the inter-school competition in Term 4. It was great to hear there were lots of interested tamariki.
Cross Country
Mia Thomson raced in the cross country event against 120 other competitors, some of whom had travelled from overseas. She had an amazing race, scoring a bronze medal podium finish.
Dance NZ Made Event
We had one group of Year 7 & 8 girls entered in the Hip Hop category. Thank you to Mrs Robertson for overseeing the group. Students Marcail Rosson and Dakodah Reid led the group, choreographing a great routine, which they performed with precision. Congratulations to everyone for taking out 1st place and winning the title of Wellington Year 7 & 8 champions. Marcail also received a Golden Ticket for her efforts, which means she can attend the ‘She Shines On’ conference where dancers have the opportunity to win scholarship money and a top prize of a dance tour to New York and LA.
Junior Winter Tournament
Te Moana Syndicate enthusiastically participated in the annual Interschool Junior Winter Tournament. Our students displayed enthusiasm and sportsmanship in hockey, netball, rippa rugby, and football. The event embraced participation and camaraderie, with our teams excelling in both social and competitive divisions.
Our students embraced new challenges, many venturing into sports they hadn’t tried before. Amidst this growth-driven spirit, our competitive teams emerged triumphantly. The hockey team secured a resounding victory in the finals, while the Year 5 and Year 6 netball teams, along with our competitive football teams, maintained undefeated throughout the tournament.
Congratulations to Te Moana students for exemplifying our school’s values both on and off the field. We extend gratitude to our supportive whānau who assisted in team management during this event.
Celebrating Our Athletes at the Zespri AIMS Games!
We are thrilled to introduce our fantastic team representing Paraparaumu Beach School at the Zespri AIMS Games. This prestigious intermediate tournament brings together over 11,500 athletes from across the region and overseas to compete in a diverse range of team and individual sports.
This year’s team is:
- BMX Rider: Alex Martin
- Tennis Player: Josh Crabb
- Swimmer: Tanaya Suri
- Cross-Country Runner: Mia Thomson
- Female Hockey Team: Quin Steinmetz, Holly McCullagh, Lulu Collett, Sienna Carter, Amy Summer, Kyra Pulepule, Phoebe Corin, Danika Stratford, Keely Collier-Fiske, Mia Thomson
Speeches
Our office team was recently visited by some great little speakers from Rm 4 Alyssa, Lilly and Quinn. They confidently shared their speeches, which were interesting and entertaining. Kapai koutou!
Independent Writing
Lydia, Rico and Hawaiki visited the Principal to share their independent writing. The Principal said “These moments are the highlights of my week, as I get to see student progress and celebrate their success with them. Ka wani kē!”
Māori legend Te Ika a Maui/The fish of Maui
Matilda and May shared their retelling of the Māori legend Te Ika a Maui/The fish of Maui. I was impressed with their writing and the accompanying illustration. The girls also read the story with lovely pronunciation and expression. Kapai korua!
Little Heart Day Fundraising
Last week our Student Councillors met with two representatives from Heart Kids Wellington, Angela and Rebecca, to hand over the funds raised on Little Heart Day. Angela and Rebecca shared the type of support that Heart Kids Wellington provides for families of children with heart conditions and our councillors got the opportunity to ask questions to learn more. Heart Kids were very grateful for your support.
Cheerleading
Congratulations to Dakota Bell who competed at Battle in the Bay in Tauranga in the weekend. She placed 2nd for her duo and 3rd for her team (Revolution).
Illustrator Visit
Te Moana syndicate was visited by New Zealand illustrator Isobel Joy Te Aho-White, last week. Isobel has worked with authors such as Witi Ihimaera and Miriama Kamo on a variety of books. Isobel loves superheroes so helped Te Moana students to imagine and draw their very own superhero. She then answered many questions and talked through her creative process. This was an awesome experience that sparked curiosity and has inspired many of our tamariki to want to become illustrators.
Electronic Circuit Learning
Phoenix and Max proudly demonstrated their electronic circuit learning by using their Makey Makey kit to create a joystick. The characters/players on the screen of their chromebook were playing football and through their circuit they could direct the players to score goals.
Girls' Footy Day Out Tournament
Recently we took over 120 Year 5 and 8 girls to a truly remarkable event organised by the Kāpiti Coast District Council – the Girls’ Footie Day Out Tournament held at Mazengarb Reserve. The day was made special with players from the Wellington Phoenix FC Women’s Reserve team and Kāpiti Coast United Sports Club, who offered warm encouragement and support to all the teams.
Congratulations to Eleora Biju, who was selected by the Phoenix Stars and won a voucher for a free training session at the Ricky Herbert Football Academy.
Student Art Work
Room 1/21 buddy classes shared their collaborative piece of art “How Māui Slowed the Sun”.
Little Heart Day
Thank you for supporting the Student Council’s Little Heart Day fundraiser for Heart Kids New Zealand last Friday. Together we raised $934.00. That’s a fantastic effort! We have a handful of students with heart conditions at PBS so to be able to support a charity that they will hopefully benefit from is heartening!
Chess
Recently we had 4 students represent PBS at a Wellington Regional Chess event. This was the first time we’ve sent a chess team so it was a great experience for those involved. Well done Jamie, Amy, Griffin and Devin!
FIFA Women’s World Cup Player Escorts
PBS students Solomon, Hosheia and Mahālia Bolton-Smithson and Lilly James, were chosen as official player escorts for the FIFA Women’s World Cup at the Westpac Stadium. Player escorts get to walk with the teams onto the field and join in singing the national anthems with players and fans. Solomon had the special honour of being the flag bearer for Spain.
Pedal Cart for High Needs Students
Ka rawe Blake, Dante and Kade who have been working with Mr Trask to repair an antique pedal cart gifted to the school by Melissa Chrystal. The boys disassembled the cart, did repair work, sanded back the wood, reassembled and painted the cart. The pedal cart will be a great resource for our high needs students.
Hangi Helpers
A massive thank you to all of our parents and student helpers who enabled last term’s Matariki hāngī to be such a success.
Crest Card Champs
Congratulations to Adelia Rm – 24, Cash – Rm 29 and Amelia – Rm 10 who were our CREST Champions for Term 2.
Matariki Celebrations
We love celebrating Matariki at PBS. Below are some photos from our celebrations.
Kapiti Inter-School Event
We are thrilled to congratulate our Interschool team on their resounding success at the recent Cross-Country event. The day was blessed with excellent weather and our students showcased exceptional attitudes throughout the event, displaying sportsmanship throughout.
Room 29 Art Work
Check out artwork by the talented kids of Room 29! What creative minds we have at PBS.
Helping the Caretaker!
Check out our leaf clean up crew below! You know your school caretaker is respected when kids constantly ask to do jobs for him and with him in their spare time. It’s also great for kids to be practicably involved in taking care of their own school environment. Thanks Mr Trask.
Rugby League Skills Training
Last week, our students had a fantastic day of rugby league skills training with the Kapiti Bears Rugby League Club. The experience left a lasting impression and ignited a passion for the sport in our young learners.
We express our appreciation for the Kapiti Bears Rugby League Club’s time, expertise, and enthusiasm in sharing the joy of rugby league. Their visit has made a significant impact on our students and many are now eager to continue their rugby league journey.
Yr 1-4 Cross Country Results
Te Moana Cross Country Results
The Te Moana Syndicate arrived at their cross-country championships with high spirits, proudly displaying their whanau colours, banners, and chanting songs in support. The question loomed: Who would be crowned the winner of the Golden Shoe in 2023? It was truly inspiring to witness our tamariki running with pride and giving their best in the race.
Individual Results:
Year 5 Girls: 1st: Lucie Thomson 2nd: Frankie Houston-Manuel 3rd: Olivia Noble
Year 5 Boys: 1st: Ty Gardiner 2nd: Isaac Ransfield 3rd: Ashton Chester
Year 6 Girls: 1st: Angelica Bonnar 2nd: Kaya O’Brien 3rd: Peyton McGarry-Paku
Year 6 Boys: 1st: Kade Gardiner 2nd: Hosheia Bolton-Smithson 3rd: Mason Morrison
And the winner of the Golden Shoe was Kowhai.
Congratulations to all our students who have qualified for the Interschool Cross-Country Championships, which will be held on Tuesday, 6 June at Waikanae Park.
Te Motu Cross Country Results
The Te Motu syndicate cross country was held at Mazengarb Park on Friday. Many students gave their all in the competitive races, on a challenging course, and the following students placed highly:
Year 7 Girls: Mia Thomson 1st, Quin Steinmetz 2nd, Emily Hamden 3rd
Year 7 Boys: Corey Whitfield 1st, William Hamden 2nd, Juvan Scholtz 3rd
Year 8 Girls: Anika Rehal 1st, Emily Johnstone 2nd, Lucy Gestro 3rd
Year 8 Boys: Zac Chandler 1st, Tyron Baker 2nd, Makana McEwan 3rd
National Young Leaders' Day Conference
Last week we attended the National Young Leaders’ Day Conference for the Wellington Region. It was a great day out listening to speakers with very different backgrounds and life journeys.
Cross Country
PBS kids gave Cross Country their all last week!
Congratulations to every student who persisted and gave the course their very best effort. A BIG round of applause to our race place getters too – your achievement was awe inspiring! We look forward to hearing how you go at the Interschool Competition.
Pink Shirt Day
Thank you for supporting Pink Shirt Day and our Kindness campaign! There was loads of pink to be seen at PBS. Well done to everyone who made it around our Pink Shirt themed Scavenger Hunt.
Te Moana Trip
Te Moana Syndicate attended the Hutt Indoor Sports Complex in Lower Hutt in April.
Rm 19 Self Portraits
The self portraits Room 19 kids shared at our school assembly recently were simply fantastic!
Tennis
Congratulations to Joel, Jamie and Devin who won all their games this season with a total of 53 points out of 56 points! (The next highest score was 40 points so they played exceptionally well!) The league they played for is the ‘Kapi Mana Mixed Junior Interclub’ – Mixed Green Hot Shots Interleague U12. The league competes with teams from Tawa, Pukerua Bay, Waikanae and Otaki – 11 teams in total. Super proud of them – all really good players.
PTA Fun Run
Oh what a slippy, sloppy, colourful time we had at the PTA Fun Run! See pics below.
Athletics
Congratulations to the following students who competed at the annual Manawatu – Whanganui Athletic Championships:
Phoebe Corin: 1st in shot put, race walk, and the discus with a huge throw of 31.04m, 2nd in the long jump and 3rd in 100m
Mia Thomson: 1st in 400m, 800m and 1500m
Mia and Phoebe also competed in the 12-year-old girl’s relay gaining 1st place
Frankie Houston-Manuel: 1st in 60m, 100m and 2nd in 200m and long jump
Interschool Swimming
Congratulations to all our fantastic swimmers who competed at the Kapiti Primary Interschool Swimming Festival last Thursday. P.B.S. was extremely proud of your willingness to participate and the effort you put into your events, giving them your very best.
We had some outstanding results with placings from the following athletes:
Year 8 Girls: Tanaya Suri – 1st in freestyle, breaststroke and butterfly
Year 7 Girls: Holly McGregor – 3rd in breaststroke
Year 5 Girls: Lucie Thomson – 3rd in backstroke
Year 4 Boys: Nico Van Reenen – 1st in breaststroke and 2nd in freestyle
Year 4 Girls: Ella Quirke – 3rd in backstroke
Touch Rugby
The Touch Tournament was an amazing success with U8s competing for the first time. The U14s came 3rd in their grade while the U12s had a PBS v PBS final for 5th and 6th place. All the players had brilliant attitudes and gave it their best. Proud to watch the PBS kids once again represent our school CREST values out in the community.
Reflections from the Opera
I found something that was unexpected and cool!
A rather large man oddly wearing camo pants that made a gender change role-playing Sleeping Beauty!
I was frozen in my seat as the evil witch came rushing into the opera stage
I saw a person that was having a puppet cat and another person with a puppet tui!
It was not a regular Wednesday instead it was an exciting Wednesday
The opera was cool and Ahhhh! went the fairy and Sleeping Beauty was snoring loudly
There was lots of loud applause and there was a potion of something too
My favourite part was when the cat puppet was chasing the character that was allergic to cats
By Angus Wilson Rm 4
*********
SNORING* Went the sleeping beauty
But just listen, this isn’t your average Sleeping Beauty because in this the beauty is a man instead of a Woman
There was even a VILLAINOUS Witch that cursed him FOR LIFE until a true love’s kiss wakes him
Today the NZ Opera Team performed sleeping beauty with a twist the gender roles were SWAPPED
It was an absolutely marvellous show and there were so many props
One of the best parts is the fact that they doubled up on using the props
During this Opera, I was utterly amazed by the effort put into it
By James Fenwick
Wellington Athletics Championships Day 2
On the final day of the Annual Wellington Athletic Championships, held at Newtown Park, students from P.B.S. continued to perform to an outstanding standard. Congratulations to all our students who participated in this popular event, who qualified to make finals, who gained new personal bests and to those who persevered and never gave up to overcome new challenges along the way.
Congratulations to the following students who earned placings:
Grade 11 Girls
Mia Thomson: 1st in 1500m, 3rd in 400m
Phoebe Corin: 1st in shot put and the 1200m walk
Girls 4 x 100m relay 1st for Mia Thomson, Phoebe Corin and Holly McCullagh
Grade 9 Girls
Zoe Gee: 3rd in shot put
Grade 8 Girls
Frankie Houston-Manuel: 3rd in 100m sprint
Pedal Ready
The Pedal Ready programme is once again proving to be incredibly beneficial. Our Year 5-6 students are loving the new skills they are learning. Watching self confidence and independence blossom in these young riders is fantastic. Huge thanks to the providers who are helping keep our kids safe and road-wise.
Senior Camp
Our second group of senior campers out enjoying Kaiteretere Beach and Abel Tasman National Park.
Sailing
Congratulations to Amy Summers who represented PBS at the Wellington School’s Regatta in the Optimist fleet. Amy completed all four races and came 2nd overall out of a fleet of 10.
Wellington Athletics Championships
Congratulations to all our P.B.S. athletes who are competing in the annual Wellington Championships. Over the first day of this event, we had some outstanding results from the following students:
Grade 11 Girls
- Mia Thomson: 1st in 800m
- Phoebe Corin: 1st in discus
- Holly McCullagh: 2nd in the high jump
- Mixed Medley Relay: 3rd for Mia Thomson and Holly McCullagh
Grade 9 Girls
- Lucie Thomson: 1st in discus
- Ceejay Kraus: 3rd in the discus
- Ceejay Kraus: Girls 4x100m relay
Grade 8 Girls
- Frankie Houston-Manuel: 2nd in 60m, 3rd in 200m, 3rd overall for the 22 – 23 season
- Frankie Houston-Manuel, Aglika Angelova, Hayley Kirton and May Newlove: Girls 4x100m relay
Magician - Be Bright, Eat Right
PBS kids loved the magic show recently. The magician used tricks, fun and good humour to teach kids about healthy eating. This show focused on the benefits of a healthy, nutritious and balanced diet.
Busy, Happy Kids!
Unless you wander in our playgrounds at breaktimes it can be hard to truly appreciate how awesome PBS kids are. Yes, there’s the odd niggle or disagreement (there are 530 kids though), however we find that busy kids are happy kids! It’s awesome to see the variety of ways kids use their downtime, from chess games, reading in a shady spot, to highly energetic games of basketball, scootering, and even teamwork to carry a friend around on a plank…we’ve seen it all!
Year 2 Art Work
These, and more, were created by the clever Year 2 kids of Room 20. I think you’ll agree that they are true artists! The students were inspired by the illustrations of Eric Carle, who wrote more than just “The Hungry Caterpillar”.
2022 Student News
Innovation Showcase
All the classes loved touring around the Innovation Showcase displays in rooms recently. Staff and students were amazed and delighted with all the incredible inquiry projects. This work definitely shows the CREST values of Curiosity, Excellence, and Team Work. Ka pai tamariki ma!
Senior Debate Cup
The Principal enjoyed watching/judging some of our senior teams in action and was impressed by their ability to speak in front of an audience, the passion and confidence with which they spoke, and their ability to put forward a strong argument. The final, between Room 7 and Room 14, is on this Friday – Best of luck teams!
Te Motu Inter-School Athletics
On 9 November a team of 36 Te Motu students headed to the Kapiti Interschool Athletics competition, held at Paraparaumu Domain. PBS achieved some excellent results, including:
- First placings in Year 8 Boys 100m, 200m, and Vortex (Fletcher Cooper)
- Year 8 Girls Discus (Vienna McDowell)
- Year 8 Girls Vortex (Alex Kenny-Schlupp)
and an outstanding effort in the four exciting relay races, with two firsts, a second and a third. A total of 16 PBS students qualified for the Regional competition in December.
Dance
Eloise Barber has successfully auditioned for the Scholars Programme at the New Zealand School of Dance. This is a wonderful opportunity for her and she is looking forward to training with other talented dance students selected from all over New Zealand.
Innovation Showcase
Students across all classes have been creating weird and wonderful creations for our Innovation Showcase and the Principal has been amazed with their products and solutions. Here are just a couple of photos of what were on display.
Pink Ribbon Walk
Recently the Bolton-Smithson family walked 5kms in the breast cancer pink ribbon walk in Wellington. They raised $540 for breast cancer. Great achievement!
Dressage
Congratulations to Alex Kenny-Schlup who had her second start at Level 4 Dressage recently and won one of her tests.
Spelling Bee
Congratulations to Emily in Room 4. Emily received the top results in the Canterbury University Spelling Bee for PBS and she achieved EXCELLENCE in the nationwide competition! Wonderful news Emily!
E Pro8
Congratulations to our “Technically Cool” Year 7 -8 EPro8 team, consisting of Ruby, Mackenzie, Bailey and Monty, who won their heat. They are through to the Interschool’s semi-finals. The “Fabulous Four” team, Sakura, Vienna, Abbey and Ayla, narrowly missed a slot in the semi-finals – it all came down to one loose nut and bolt!
Hockey
Congratulations to Kyra Pulepule who was awarded Horowhenua Hockey Associations U11 girls most valuable player at Prize-giving. Well done!
Te Moana Syndicate Pataka Museum Visit
Last week Te Moana syndicate took it in turns to head to Porirua to visit Pataka museum and to play a spot of golf. Students were able to explore family life as it was a century ago through a range of hands-on activities. This was a neat experience which tied in nicely with our current inquiry into ‘Technology’.
Have-a-Go Tennis
Last Wednesday Rm 1, 2, 28 & 29 participated in an awesome ‘Have-A-Go’ Tennis skills day run by members of the Paraparaumu Tennis Club. This was great exposure to a new sport for many students and lots of fun and exercise for all!
Apple Art Work
Year 8 student, Ryan, and his teacher Aide, Melissa have been busy creating this wonderful Apple Artwork. It took time to collect all the plastic bottle tops, before the lengthy process of glueing each individual item onto wood. This artwork is such fun – everyone simply loves it! In the coming days you will be able to see it on the wall outside our office. Great work Ryan!
Dark Horse Golf Tournament
Recently a group of keen golfers participated in the Dark Horse Golf Tournament organised by Paraparaumu College’s Sports Ambassadors. It’s fair to say that it was a successful day filled with competition and lots of laughs.
A special congratulations to our prize winners:
- Jessica Ellames and Raegan McGregor for their excellent dance moves
- Lauren Boyle, Eva Thorn, Matilda Davies and Jessica Ellames for demonstrating the colleges C.A.R.E values (Collaborative, Active learner, Respectful and Effective self manager)
- Ethan Storey, Jonathan Naude, Cameron Beasley and Joshua Crabb for overall 1st place winners!!!!
Well done everyone!
Softball
Year 5 to 8 Softball players thoroughly enjoyed their tournament in the last week of Term 3 at Te Atiawa Park. Congratulations to all the athletes who participated and a HUGE thank you to whānau who came and managed the teams. We could not have had such a great day without your help and positivity!
A special congratulations to the Year 5/6 PBS Catchers who placed 3rd overall. Well done to Kyra in Room 2 who was awarded ‘MVP’ of the competition, winning movie tickets. Joy (Room 2), Isla K (Room 3) and Angus (Room 15) were awarded ‘All Star of the Week’ prizes of a swimming pool pass.
Basketball
Fletcher, Keegan and Lewis represented the Kapiti Basketball Association at the recent AON U13’s Central Region Tournament. Congratulations to the A Team! Fletcher was a key player in their success.
Lewis and Keegan represented the B Team; Lewis was also the Team Captain. This was the first time the B team had played together, and their enthusiasm and team work was fantastic.
New Greeting Signs
Our newly installed greeting signs on Gray Ave are creating lots of interest. Kids and parents are stopping to read the signs, identify the languages they know and to just admire the brightly coloured artworks. A huge THANK YOU to all the students and staff of Ngaru syndicate for all their work during Term 3 making these signs; Ka mau te wehi!
Onesie Day
Thank you for supporting Onesie Day! Together we raised a grand total of $782.10. We’re stoked and we’re sure Wellington Free Ambulance will also be stoked. Watch this space in the coming weeks for when we hand over all the funds.
Science Roadshow
Te Moana syndicate had lots of fun at the Science Roadshow last week. This travelling roadshow offers students the opportunity to explore various science and technology concepts in a hands-on way. It was great to watch our students’ curiosity and surprise at the discoveries they made..
Tournament of Minds Success for PBS
Last Saturday PBS attended the Tournament of Minds in Wellington. We entered 5 teams; one Year 7&8 team called Literally Cool and four Year 5&6 teams; The Peanut Butter Sandwiches, The Dream Team, The Warriors and The Peeps.
Hockey
All our PBS teams wrapped up their hockey season this week, with some great final games including two PBS derby games for Years 5/6 and 7/8, and some fun kids v parents games on Sunday for the Year 1/2 and Year 3/4 players.
Puppies at PBS
Our fostered puppies are teaching kids kindness, empathy and responsibility.
Student Council Filming
The Principal came back from gate duty this morning to find kids from the Student Council using her office as a film set! Watching from the sidelines she was so impressed with the technical skills they were using and can’t wait to see the finished advertisement for Onesie Day (fundraiser for Wellington Free Ambulance).
Sustainable House Model
Check out Emilie and Ruby’s sustainable house model! It’s on stilts, has a mechanism for collecting rainwater, and on the other side it has water wheels to catch water from the roof to generate power. A lot of time, thought and creation has gone into this project. Great work team!
Chess
Congratulations to Devin Direen who won third place in the primary division at Kapiti Junior Chess Championship last Saturday. It was Devin’s first time competing outside the club and the participants came from across the Wellington to Horowhenua region.
NZ Maths Week
Congratulations to these kids, who together with their whānau participated in the NZ Maths week activities on the school Facebook Page.
48 Hour Film Competition
For the first time in PBS history we have entered the 48 Hour Film competition! Thanks to David Parr and Caty Spencer, a group of our senior students registered and prepared for this. Over the weekend the group had to select a genre from a list published on Friday night; they chose “Multiverse”. Then they had to write, plan, direct, act, edit, produce and submit their work before the end of the weekend. The photo below is from the night shoot they held at school on Saturday.
Netball
Congratulations to our Year 5 Netball team, PBS Galaxy, for winning the Andrea Hadfield Sportsmanship trophy this season! You have made us all so proud. Big thanks to your coach Sila Mulitalo for her amazing work with you all as well.
Hockey
Congratulations to Kyra Pulepule who was selected to play for Horowhenua Hockey Associations U13’s Girls representative squad. They will be playing in the Lower North Island tournament out of Palmerston North in October.
Gymnastics
Congratulations to Shion and Seiji Tavendale who took part in a gymnastics competition in Levin last term.
Shion Got 3rd in vault, 2nd in parallel bar, high bar and pommel horse and 1st in rings, and came 1st overall. Seiji came 3rd in high bar, rings and floor, and 1st in parallel bar and came 2nd equal overall.
CREST Card Winners
Congratulations to our CREST card draw winners for Term 2 – Ruby, Kaia and Heulyn!
Well done to all PBS tamariki who demonstrate our school values everyday 
Cross Country Champs
Gold for sisters Mia and Lucie Thomson at North Island cross country champs held at Taupo on the weekend! Lucie took gold in the under 10 and Mia gold in the under 12s. Congratulations girls.
Dance
Eloise Barber (Room 1) has been selected to dance with the Royal New Zealand Ballet in their upcoming season of Cinderella. She is very excited – it will be a fantastic experience for her. Congratulations!
Gymnastics
Indy Dinou has qualified as the youngest gymnast in Wellington for the Wellington Nationals Squad to compete at NZ Gymnastics Nationals in Invercargill in July. Well done!
Matariki Competition Winners
In last week’s competition, students researched and found out the different names for this constellation in other countries. The winners are Margarita, Jake, Jackson, Ashton, Jayden, Ema and Norah. They were able to name some of these and included Subaru, Makali’i, and the Pleiades.
Student Work
Savannah and Alexis were delighted to share with me their coding work. Their class has been working in collaborative groups to create electronic information boards about the stars of Matariki. They talked me through the process of creating the artwork and wiring features of the picture to metal pins. Each pin acted as a button. The groups then created coded instructions with voice recordings using the Scratch coding programme. The voice recordings contained separate pieces of information about each of the Matariki stars.
The end product allows the audience to push the metal buttons which in turn plays the pre-recorded information about each star. Needless to say these projects were out of this world!
Te ara o ngā whetū o Matariki - Follow the stars of Matariki
This week’s question for our weekly competition highlighted the significance of Matariki and the traditions in Māori culture. Congratulations to Kayleigh, Sasha, Dakota, Freya and Skyla who were drawn out from this week’s entries.
Inter-School Cross Country
We are ecstatic with the results of the Interschool Cross Country races which saw many PBS kids on the podium!
Mia Thomson 1st place in Year 6 girls race, Lucie Thomson 1st place in Year 4 girls race, Haley Kirton 3rd place in Year 3 girls race, Angus Wilson 3rd in AWD race, Harrison Stratford 1st in AWD race, and Anika Rehal 3rd in Year 7 Girls
Te Motu's Cross-Country Results
Congratulations to everyone who participated in the competitive event. Many have qualified for interschools, and the top placings were as follows: Anika Rehal, Emily Johnstone, Lucy Gestro, Zach Chandler, Matthew Byrne, Raegan McGregor, Alex Kenny-Schlup, Sakura Foulds, Natalia Gardiner, Fletcher Cooper, Luca Steinmetz and Zach Weir.
Te Moana's 2022 Cross-Country Championships
Well done to the Te Moana syndicate for an outstanding cross-country championship. Students painted bright banners, enthusiastically danced and sang class chants and wore bright running outfits in unison with their class. Throughout the event, they ran with pride and supported each other to the end. Te Moana syndicate showed their courage, and perseverance and showed great sportsmanship.
Congratulations to the outstanding results of our top placers: Mason Morrison, Hosheia Bolton-Smithson, Noah Hunt, Kaya O’Brien, Zoe Gee, Angelica Bonner, Max Wood, Juvan Scholtz, William Hamdan, Mia Thomson, Holly McCullagh and Quin Steinmetz.
From the Student Council
Last Tuesday the Student Councillors of PBS were lucky enough to go to NYLD, which stands for National Young Leaders Day. There were lots of other students and teachers from other schools there. The event was held in Porirua. Some cool speakers came to talk about resilience and leadership. They had a lot of great advice for us. We also got to do some fun games, and one involved a giant volleyball!
Te ara o ngā whetū o Matariki - Follow the stars of Matariki
This week’s competition was to name tikanga activities around Matariki. Congratulations to Bailey, Madi, Emilie, Monty and Noah who were able to list some of these activities that included kite and lantern making, sharing kai, singing, goal setting and spending time with whanau.
Could You Draw the Matariki Cluster?
This week’s challenge was to draw the cluster of stars named Matariki. What talented artists we have in this school!
Pink Shirt Day Photos
Just some of our awesome Pink Shirt Day photos!
The Nine Stars of Matariki
With our upcoming celebration of Matariki, we are running weekly competitions to encourage our ākonga to be curious, research and present their findings. This week’s question was “What are the 9 stars of Matariki called”? All correct answers went into a draw where five lucky winners were pulled out of a box. Congratulations to Avah, Kaysi, Frankie, Ripeka and Ruby for being our first prize winners.
Music Challenge
A highlight from my week last week was watching Te Motu’s Music Challenge for 2022. Wow, what a varied and fun-filled show! Each class was designated a genre of music to perform to. Within that genre they could choose the song or artist to create a performance around. Every student needed to be involved in some way. These performances included dance, acrobatics, humour, storytelling, clever props and wigs galore
Umbrella Crew
It’s getting wintery – check out this wonderful umbrella crew who came into school at the same time this morning! They all arrived warm and dry.
Netball
The 2022 season is now well underway for all of our 10 teams. The Year 5 – 8 teams started their first games of the season last Saturday. It was so much fun to watch our netballers learning new skills, working together and enjoying the game of netball.
Check out the awesome Acers and Blazers’ teams for 2022.
Measuring & Estimating Skills
Rooms 1 & 2 have been honing in on their measuring and estimating skills. Maths minds at work – keep up the super mahi!
Golf
Congratulations to Callum Rice who won the Royal Wellington 9 Hole Junior Golf Open last week with a great round of 38! This is a competition for kids aged 18 and under in the Wellington region. This season the Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club (PBGC) entered a team of Juniors in the Interclub 9 Hole Competition held from February-April. Callum was also part of this team, which included three 10 year olds and a 16 year old. None of them had ever been in Interclub competitions before, but performed really well as a team, and proudly represented PBGC – managing to make it into the finals, finishing 3rd overall on Sunday – a great result for their first season!
Wakeboarding
Theo and Mila competed in the National Wakeboarding Championships over the weekend of 1/2 April. Theo placed 4th in the 8 & Under Boys Division and Mila came 2nd in the Under 15 Girls. Well done!
Waka Kori Play
The whole school had fun using all the play equipment on the WAKA KORI play trailer. This play trailer is organised through KCDC and can be hired out to schools free of charge. The aim of the Waka Kori play trailer is “to remind us that play is super important for our tamariki’s physical and mental health”. Below are just a few photos of kids at play.
Movin' March
Some of the fruit and vegetable characters roaming around the school!
Movin' March
Thank you to our incredible PBS Sports Ambassadors for encouraging us all to get active. Here are some PBS kids getting active in the sun!
Track & Field
Congratulations to the following students who gained places on the podium for Paraparaumu Track and Field Club:
1st – May Newlove
2nd – Hayley Kirton
3rd – Aglika Angelova and Lara Thomson
Manawatu Wanganui Children's Champs
Congratulations to Phoebe Corin & Mia Thomson who both went up to Palmerston North on 27 March for the Manawatu Wanganui Children’s Champs. Each athlete is allowed to do 5 events and they both did very well:
*Phoebe – 1200m race walk Gold 9:16 new PB; Discus Gold Shot Put Gold; 200m Silver 32.4s new PB
*Mia – 1500m Gold (only 10 year old running); 800m Gold 2:28.50 new PB; High Jump Silver; Discus Silver new PB of around 19m
Athletics
Some amazing results achieved by Mia and Phoebe at Wellington athletics champs…
*Mia gold 1500m (breaking the Wellington record) 5:01.56, gold in 800m, silver in 400m & 200m and bronze in high jump
*Phoebe Gold in discus 25.62 gold in shotput 10.08, gold in race walk
Student Council 2022
Congratulations to this year’s newly appointed PBS Student Council!
Back row: Benjamin Ross, Ella Stevens, Hunter Page, Isobella Marshall, Fletcher Cooper, Max Darton, Kayla Turner
Front Row: Alex Kenny-Schlup, Kayla Collett, Jessica Ellames, Peycience Seymour, Bailey Hunt, Monty Parr, Luka Dinou & Samantha Barrington
Maths
Last week Maxwell from Room 10 shared his brilliant Maths work with me. Maxwell was very proud to share his measurement work with me. It was great to see his ‘workings’, showing how he arrived at his final answer. Great work!
Wakeboarding
Mila and Theo competed in the North Island Wakeboarding Championships recently. Mila won the under 15 girls division and Theo came 3rd in the under 8 boys. Wonderful results from these two specialist athletes!
Unicycle Star
Amy in Room 29 has been learning to ride a unicycle! I asked Amy about her new passion and this is what she told me. “I started unicycling about 2 months ago. My sister helped me learn how to unicycle because she started unicycling about a year before me. It is really fun but quite hard when you start. I did a lot of falling off. Now I can unicycle to school and home again for Moving March.
Martenitsa
Ema and Aglika from Room 11 have been sharing the tradition of Martenitsa with their classmates. Ema and Aglika’s families are from Bulgaria and last week they proudly shared this tradition with me too. They presented me with a small bracelet made from white and red wool. Martenitsa are worn from Baba Marta Day (March 1 when Spring starts in Bulgaria) until the wearer first sees a stork, swallow or blossoming tree (or until the end of March). The red and white woven threads symbolize the wish for good health, which is of paramount importance right now.
PBS Actor
It was awesome to see Griffin (Room 28) acting in “Wellington Paranormal”, on TVNZ recently. It’s awesome to see that he’s so passionate about pursuing his acting career. Griffin is registered with a talent agency and hopes to get another role soon. Well done Griffin; keep aiming for the stars!
Former Student's Outstanding Recent Achievement
Former PBS student Nicholas Harman being applauded for an outstanding recent achievement. Nicholas, who went on to become Head Boy at Paraparaumu College, received a New Zealand Qualifications Authority Premier Award. This achievement is due to the scholarships he received last year in biology, health and physical education, physics and statistics as well as a scholarship in calculus and chemistry. This year Nicholas is off to Otago University to study health-science; he will receive $10,000 each year for three years, provided he maintains a B average.
Treaty Waka Project
Emily, Alyssa and Sofia from Room 11 presented me with their Treaty Waka project last week. They had been reading about Tiriti o Waitangi and learning what treaties are all about. They then created their own treaty and presented it in a ‘waka’ with other important items. This is great learning kids!
2021 Student News
Diorama Projects
Students in Room 4 started creative diorama projects in lockdown and have completed these this term. Here are a few inspiring examples from Keely, Isabelle, Josh and Charlie
PBS Swishes
Congratulations to PBS Swishes who made it through to the Interschool Basketball girls final and came second in the grade. By all accounts it was a great game, however, Kapakapanui came away with the win. I have a feeling that 2022 will be your year girls, so keep up the excellent game play!
Thanks to Our Helpers
Many hands make light work – a saying which has been proved over and over again at PBS this term. With all your work comes genuine gratitude; thank you so much to all who have helped out recently.
Hockey
Congratulations to Mason Pulepule who was asked to trial for the HHA U13 Boys team to compete in the U13 Lower North Island Festival. He was selected for the top squad and they competed well and finished unbeaten over the 4 day event. Mason has now been awarded MVP for his U13 HHA Team. Well done!
Thanks to Our Gardening Volunteers
Many thanks to our hard working gardening volunteers who helped tidy up the school frontage gardens recently! A very big thank you also to Gus and Glenys Evans for their generous support in plants.
PBS TV
David Parr has set this group of students up to work independently every morning to broadcast the daily messages to classrooms. Classes tune into the TV station at 9.05am for the daily news and weather, there are also advertisements included. Of course this is only the beginning of what we hope this group will achieve in the future. We hope that in 2022 we’ll be able to share more of this with a wider audience. Thanks for bringing the joy team!
Visit from HUHA Co-Founder
Recently Student Councillor Phoebe organised for Carolyn Press-McKenzie, Co-Founder of HUHA, to speak to the students of Te Moana. HUHA, which stands for Helping U Help Animals, is a charity that teaches empathy to the community and provides shelter for less fortunate animals. Carolyn brought a puppy named Olive with her to explain her life journey and how we can give animals a good life. The students had a lot of patai (questions) for Carolyn!
New Junior Playground
Children are buzzing with excitement over the new junior playground near the office. It’s been so great for the students to have had input into the playground design and watch it’s construction first hand!
Mayoral Visit
Recently our senior school had a visit from Mayor Gurunathan of the Kapiti Coast District Council. Jack, one of our councillors, invited the Mayor to share his life story and some wisdom that might inspire others.
Basketball
Lewis Chandler and Sam Scriven were selected for Kapiti Basketball U13 Representative teams for 2021. Although the main BBNZ tournament was once again cancelled due to Covid restrictions, the Kapiti teams were able to play in a number of smaller regional tournaments over the last 5 weeks and were very successful, winning against top rep teams from Wellington, Hutt Valley, Porirua and Levin. An awesome achievement for the boys!
Inter-Regional Cross Country
Congratulations to PBS student Mia Thomson, who today won the Inter Regional Cross Country final for Year 5 girls. Mia not only won an individual gold, but was part of the Wellington team to win a team gold. We are all very proud of you. Ka rawe!
Acers Netball Final
The team had a really tough final for the plate on Saturday and came together to support each other and seal a well desired win. They should all be proud of the growth and progress they have made since coming together in April for their first round of games!
Kiwi Competitions
Every year PBS enters students into the University of Canterbury’s “Kiwi Competitions” for English, Mathematics and Science. A number of students achieved merits for their efforts and seven PBS kids received EXCELLENCE awards! Congratulations to Chester Jackson and Cuinn Walmsley who achieved excellence in Mathematics; Isobel Chisholm and Monty Parr for excellence in English; and to Callum Rice, Monty Parr and Benjamin Ross for excellence in Science. We are so proud of you all!
Senior Speech Cup
This year’s winner was the highly talented Isobel Chisholm with her speech on “English”. This is the fourth year in a row that Isobel has won one of our Speech competitions, having won the Year 5-6 Speech Cup in 2018 and 2019, and the Year 7-8 Speech Cup in 2020. Phenomenal work Isobel!
Wellbeing Awareness Day
Eva, Vienna and Chester got to meet some of the Kapiti Youth Support (KYS) team and explained about the KYS fundraiser they had organised, and the support they received from the PBS community for their Wellbeing Awareness Day. KYS were very impressed and grateful for the money raised!
Gardening Bee
Thanks to our “Green Thumb” kids – Ethan, Max, Jack, Emily, Amy, Callum, Josh and Shaun, and adult helpers – John Trask, Zoe Pearson and Nikki Bradley for their gardening bee recently. The garden beds around the hall are looking so refreshed and tidy as a result of your mahi!
Poetry Challenge
Congratulations to Olive Knap, Danika Stratford, Mahālia Bolton-Smithson, Hosheia Bolton-Smithson, Jacob Wood, Sonny Rehal and Carter Harris who have been selected to have their poems published on our school website from the recent Poetry Challenge!
GROWING UP IN KĀPITI
I love living at Paraparaumu
I love doing DAPA with my friends
I go to DAPA to learn to dance
I like going to the parks
It is fun because they have swings
I like the beach
By Mahālia Atawhai Bolton-Smithson
Age 6
GROWING UP IN KĀPITI
Watching movies, playing games, going on trips, living by friends.
Cool house, big back yard, living by beach, going fishing.
Catching big fish about 2cm wide.
Living in Kāpiti is so fine.
By Hosheia Wairua Bolton-Smithson
Age 8
OUR KIWI HAIKU
5 kiwis live in dens
7 big flightless wings and small feet
5 brown body, long beak
By Jacob Wood
Age 8
LIMERICK
A limerick is a five line poem with the first, second, and fifth lines rhyme and the third and fourth lines rhyme
I love the Kāpiti beach,
It has a lot to teach:
I can count shells,
Can spell on sand well,
And hear the seagulls screech.
By Sonny Rehal
Age 9
MY ACROSTIC POEM KĀPITI
Kāpiti Island I see every day on my walk.
A playground for every day of the week.
Peka Peka Beach we like to visit.
Interesting animals at Nga Manu.
Touch at Mazengarb Park.
I love playing at the local parks.
By Carter Harris, Age 7
GROWING UP IN KĀPITI
Growing up in Kāpiti is so much fun
Come visit Kāpiti, It’s number 1
The people here are super friendly
Also kind and caring
I love the beach
And the playgrounds too
Everything is so colourful
And also very fun!
If I had to pick a favourite place, its PBS!
By Danika Stratford, Age 9