Principal's Message....
Our Purpose: To prepare students to be active participants who will contribute to their community.
Tēnā koutou katoa, Malo e lelei, Talofa lava, Bula vinaka
Today marked a very special day in the history of Oamaru Intermediate School, and after 63 years of providing excellent Intermediate Education to North Otago, we opened two new classrooms. This year marks 100 years of Intermediate Education in New Zealand.
Time and time again when I speak to past and present students, I ask them why they love Oamaru Intermediate. Yes, we have beautiful modern facilities, but as we know the most important aspect of our kura is the people, which is one of Oamaru Intermediate's greatest asset. It's the connections and the relationships that students, staff and whānau make while they are here that are important.
The weather was on our side this week allowing us to complete our Athletics Sports. A huge congratulations to all those students who participated in this event. We have a number of children who have qualified for the North Otago and Otago Athletics Champs. Well done!
It has been yet another busy week with visits from North Otago Cricket, the Fire Safe team who are delivering a programme called “Safe in Your Space” and the Youthline team back trialling a programme to one Year 7 class. We also welcome back a group of our client schools this week to technology.
For those who have visited O.I.S lately, you would have noticed a lot of changes happening on the property front. The alterations to the Administration Block are starting to take place and the fire upgrade is near the end of completion. Over the last two days, we have moved the office area over to Room 19 in the Technology area for the remainder of this year. If you are visiting or collecting your child from the office you will need to go to Room 19. When you enter through the front gate, turn right and walk halfway down the car park area. There are signs to guide you. We appreciate your support!
One of the O.I.S values is to ‘Act with Respect’. This includes how we conduct ourselves both in school and in our community. We take pride in our interactions with those around us in all areas of our lives and in more recent times, we have noticed and heard students using inappropriate language in the playground as well as in our community. Please have a talk with your child about the language that they are using and ways to demonstrate respect in every part of their lives.
On a positive note, I would like to thank Lars Finn, Archie Holding and Hunter Ball who acted fast to help an elderly lady who had fallen over and hurt herself while in town. They showed courage and were quick under pressure to get the help she needed. I was immensely proud to receive this phone call from a member of our community and to hear about our students and how they were demonstrating our IDEAL values. Thank you boys for your actions.
JR McKenzie Trust
If you have children coming to O.I.S or leaving to go to high school next year, you may be eligible to apply to the JR McKenzie Trust for uniform support. If you could benefit from this support, please see the separate article in the newsletter with the application form or you can collect a form from the school office (Room 19).
Touch
We have over one hundred students who play touch on a Tuesday night. It's great to see so many of our students participating and being active. Can we please ask that only touch players attend touch on a Tuesday night, they only need to be at the game 10 minutes before, and we ask that they go straight home after their game and not to hang around. If your child bikes over to touch they need to lock their bikes to the fence. A reminder that students at Whitestone Contracting Stadium are not one is allowed to ride their bike in the field area. Thank you for your support.
Rebecca Meek