Welcoming Assembly for our South Korean Visitors.

Today we had a delightful assembly to welcome seven South Korean teachers of English.
We started with Mr Houltham leading us in the National Anthem and then we played the South Korean National Anthem as our guests sung along for us.
Mrs Bodley unveiled the new School Vision poster and talked us through it - it is a collaboration of ideas put together by staff, parents, students and members of the community.
Every class has a copy and it truly is something we plan to learn and work with, and learn and work by.
Each Korean teacher introduced herself and told us a bit about herself.
It was evident that they enjoyed the opportunity of practising their English language skills.
We also had a brief history lesson about the splitting of Korea into two countries and it was obvious that this is something they are sad about.
Thanks to our lovely flags hanging in the hall, it was great that most children recognised the South Korean flag immediately.
The Kapa Haka did a fantastic job and all the visitors were filming and clicking on their cameras. For a newly put together Kapa haka we were very impressed.
Mrs Smith finished the assembly by leading us with her favourite song - 'The Ukelele Song' - and evidently Will [R10] loves the song too!

Support for Christchurch Whanau Day.

We all enjoyed our last day of Term 2. It was a mufti day in Chch Colours and a Whanau Day. Scroll down for more...

Some classes enjoyed a movie as a treat before heading off in multi-level, mixed-class Whanau groups. The little ones enjoy the company and the leadership of the older ones, and the older ones enjoy sharing ideas and leading the groups.
You can see from the photos some of the variety of activities students enjoyed before ending the day with a certificate presenting, and singing, assembly.

Skiddy Pays A Visit.

I went to assembly without my camera today!! I should've known better!!
There is always so much going on at our school I should have it permanently attached to my hip!! I ran back to the class to grab it in time for Skiddy's visit. Skiddy is the mascot for our after-school care programme - SKIDS [Safe Kids in Daily supervision].
Wayne taught the school his 'own special greeting' and the students enjoyed the adults attempt at it.
The prizes were awards for the recent school-wide colouring competition with certificates, movie tickets, Smiggle vouchers and scooters awarded for each of the three levels of the school.
Congratulations to those winners and thank you Wayne for your enthusiasm!
As you know... 'Our Enthusiasm Makes the Difference!!"

Trees For Survival.

On Friday in assembly we were lucky to be awarded a Certificate from the Trees For Survival Trust.
It was also nice to meet the woman who is in charge of our area and Mr Ian Rogers from the Half Moon Bay Rotary Club.
They showed us a variety of native plants that the BBPS Trees For Survival Group grow from tiny seedlings into viable plants.
Mrs Burgess puts a lot of time and effort into this group, as do her group members, and it was great for them to be publicly acknowledged.

Cupcake Bake Sale.

Last Tuesday the members of the BBPS Robotics Club organised a school-wide cupcake sale to earn money to enter the Inter-school Lego Robotic League. As you can see it was a popular event and the bakers, the sellers and the purchasers enjoyed it.
The prices ranged from $1.00 to $2.50 each so it was also a good opportunity for children who had a variety of coins to budget and make decisions.

Winter Wonderland Concert.

This week has seen singers, dancers and instrumentalists take part in two evening 'Combined Schools' concerts at BBI.
These concerts proved so popular that tickets rapidly sold out!
We were thrilled to be given an encore performance at today's Friday afternoon assembly.
Gosh they all looked good in their 'book character' outfits! [see entry below this] ...and it is not often our usually beautifully uniformed choir get to be conducted by a pirate!!

Our Annual Book Week.

Our "Book Week" has morphed into a "Book Fortnight" owing to its popularity.
Today we finished our celebrations with a Book Character Parade in the hall. Students and teachers came dressed up, with Mrs Bodley addressing the school as Snow White.
Other events have included guest speakers, local librarians and story readers, competitions, a Scholastic book stall, a Storylines show featuring the 2011 NZ Post book award winning books.

PLAYBALL at BBPS

Today the Juniors had their first experience of Playball. There were five class groups and five coaches each with a teacher assisting. Each group got to do every activity within the hour. What fun! The coaches were great and the children made the most of each activity as they participated with great enthusiasm and enjoyment whilst learning ball skills. We can't wait to do it all again next week!