Please make sure that you scroll down the page for all the correspondence in regards to the earthquake - the most recent communication with parents will be placed below this message and all the older pieces of correspondence below that.

Information for Senior College Pupils

Dear Senior College pupils,

I hope and pray that the past few days have not been too traumatic for you, we are looking forward to seeing you all back at school next week!  It is in times like this that we really see our own frailty and our need to depend on God for his strength and comfort.

As you know, exams have been shifted back a week to Wednesday 15^th September.  It is crucial that you use the time this week wisely and productively.  At the end of this week I would expect all Senior College pupils to have comprehensive study notes prepared for the school exams and the NCEA externals at the end of the year.  This would be of huge benefit to you.

Because we have “lost” a week of school there will be pressure on staff and pupils to get through all of the remaining course material prior to NCEA exams.  This will require all pupils to be focussed in class and possibly spend more time then usual in the evenings completing homework.

At the bottom of this email are a few study websites that would be beneficial for you to look at.

Set yourself a couple of goals for the remainder of this week:

1 – Excellent study notes

2 – answer a number of past external Achievement Standards – these are on the NZQA website below.

Well done to all the pupils who represented the school during tournament week, I have been impressed with the commitment and passion shown by you at these tournaments.

All the best.

Mr R Vanderpyl

Principal

Study advice (how to) 

http://www.studyit.org.nz/studyandexam/study.html

Subject content for Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Science, Mathematics, English

http://www.studyit.org.nz/subjects/

Previous Years exam papers from NZQA (and assessment schedules)

http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/assessment/search.do?query=Search&level=01&view=all&

From here old exam papers can be found by subject and level.  Assessment schedules are also available.  When downloading the exam papers the pdf files are in a format more consistent with the final examinations than the word files.  Also the assessment specifications for each subject will let students know of any special conditions for the assessment.

MGS Principal Update 12pm Wednesday 8th September

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

The News media have indicated that schools may open this week if certain conditions are met by the school.  Given the sizeable after-shock this morning, I want to remove any uncertainty for the families of Middleton Grange by making the following statement:

Middleton Grange School will NOT reopen for pupils until Monday 13^th September.  This decision is to remove confusion about whether or not we might reopen, or for just some Year levels. 

I met briefly with the staff this morning and we (staff) will reconvene on Friday morning to continue our preparation for the return of pupils to school on Monday 13^th September.

School will start at the usual time.  Buses will run.

There will be an extended Form time so that the initial return to school for pupils can be dealt with in a sensitive manner.

The Guidance Team have prepared some material which teachers will use with their pupils and this information is attached for you to look at.  The school Guidance Counsellors will be at school during next week to assist pupils and staff where needed.  They will also visit each of the Year 1 – 8 classes to speak with them over the first few days.  The Ministry of Education website has some good information as well.  Their website is www.minedu.govt.nz

A few more practical matters:

The Middle School Celebration of Learning evening is cancelled.

Pupils involved in planning for the Year 9/10 Dance should hold off until it becomes clear whether we will have this event in the future.

Year Wellington Trip is still on.  Information will go home on Monday 13^th

Praise Be – Our school choir was to sing next week for the TV show: Praise Be.  This has been cancelled and we are hopeful that another opportunity can be arranged later this year.

Parents – on Monday 13^th September – if you would like to discuss any aspect of your child’s return to school, Senior Leaders including myself will be available from 8.45 to 10.30am to chat with you.  We will be at the main school reception area.  If you any particular concerns for your child, please send a note through to school with your child OR, you may wish to email the school already and we can pass the email onto the child’s teacher on Friday 10^th September.  If you intend to email the concern early then send it to office@middleton.school.nz CLEARLY stating your child’s name, their teacher and the nature of your concern for your child.  Note these are concerns specific to your child’s emotional well-being, not general issues such as water, structural safety as these will be dealt with.  Send your email BEFORE Friday 10^th so that I can pass it to your child’s teacher at the 9am meeting.

God’s Word also provides many comforting words to share with, talk about and pray with your families.  Psalm 23 in particular speaks of the comfort of the Lord being our Shepherd, watching over us and in particular restoring our soul.  Our children, while feeling vulnerable, need to know that God is our sure foundation and that we look to Him for strength and comfort.  As we do so, He will indeed restore our soul.  As I write these words I am so convicted of this truth and pray that in this time of difficulty, hearts are turned to the Lord.  Praise be to God!

God Bless

Richard Vanderpyl

Principal

MGS Principal Update Tuesday 7th September 10:30pm

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Another update from me, slighter sooner then expected, but I omitted to mention two pieces of important information for parents and caregivers of Middle School and Senior College pupils. 

Parents of Year 10 to Year 12 pupils

The 2011 Senior College Course Selection evening which was to have taken place on Thursday 17^th September has now been brought FORWARD to Monday 13^th September  7pm in the school gym.  This is an important evening for parents and pupils in Year 10 to Year 12.  We encourage you  to come in for the information evening as subject choices for next year must be based on good quality information.  The evening gives you an opportunity to talk to Curriculum Leaders.  Tomorrow, we will post home the Senior College Course Books.  This contains all the necessary information about each course.  Please take the time to read it through prior to the evening.

Parents of Year 9 and 10 pupils

The Year 9/10 Dance (was Friday) has been postponed, possibly cancelled.  Mr Le Roux will provide more details later this term.

For all Middleton Grange School families

We have also received a number of emails from Middleton Grange School families offering assistance ranging from accommodation, bedding, vehicles and clean water.  If you have a need or know of a need please email Ana Peterson with the information for her to pass on.

Here is an example of one response: We also have a well at home that has water that is fine to drink (it goes down a long long way and my brother in law is the charge ground water scientist for Canterbury) so if you wanted to bring in drinkable water in containers they could easily be filled up at our place.”

Another parent of the school has a request which SC pupils could assist with:  “If an senior pupils would like to volunteer and help out at the Addington Welfare Centre entertaining young children on their days off we would be most grateful. They can email me (paws@rolly.net.nz) or text me their numbers to 0275552110

Thanks, Paula Weir”

I continue to be heartened by the blessing of being part of the Middleton Grange community and the degree of support the school has received.  Our staff who live in Kaiapoi have been fortunate not to have suffered much damage at all.  We have three of our staff whose homes have had reasonable structural damage but each is being looked after by their wider family.

God Bless

Richard Vanderpyl

Principal

MGS Principal Update Tuesday 7th September 5pm

Dear Parents and Care-givers,

This email will be read with delight by your children and hopefully not too much despair from you as parents!

The Ministry of Education has closed all schools in Christchurch for pupils until Monday 13^th September.  School will start at the normal time on Monday and buses will resume normal service.

The school has been fully checked today by structural engineers and apart from the Old House has been given the all clear.  I am hopeful that the Old House will cleared before pupils return.  If not it will be cordoned off.

One of our school parents is a micro biologist and has taken water samples from the school to test them at her workplace for us.  I will have these results tomorrow.

All staff will be at school over the next three days and I can assure you as parents that we will make effective use of this time.  Senior College staff will need to revise teaching programmes having lost a week and yet need to complete all of the teaching programme before Seniors leave.

Senior College EXAMS will now start on Wednesday 15^th September.  The SAME exam timetable will run. 

Could I impress upon Senior College parents that they must insist that their children prepare study notes for their courses, get their work in order for the NCEA exams.  This is an excellent opportunity to get well prepared and the opportunity should not be lost.  There are a number of study websites that pupils have been informed of and I can recommend the NZQA website (then go to the NCEA tab) for past exam papers that pupils can practice.    With this amount of study time available I am expecting great results!  It may be that some senior college teachers will email their classes with study material.

For parents of Middle School and Primary School children, it would be good for them to spend some time reading books and not too much time in front of TV/DVD’s etc. 

Where it is safe to do so, you might encourage some of the older pupils to assist with clean-up, bake something for a neighbour or drop off the baking at one of the Welfare centres.

I will send another update on Friday to confirm Monday’s arrangements but in the meantime, may the Lord continue to bless you and uphold you and your family over this time.

While we cover approximately 90% of our school families by email, could I ask you to forward this email to any Middleton Grange School families you have on your contact list?

To those families who have received this email not directly from the school but via a friend, we would love your email address so that we can communicate directly with you.  Please email office@middleton.school.nz with your email address.

Keep an eye on the school website for updates.

God Bless

Richard Vanderpyl

Principal

School Closure til Monday 13th September

Schools and early childhood services should be closed to students and children until Monday 13 September, and open to staff before that, subject to a structural clearance.

The Ministry position is that more time is needed to check schools and early childhood services buildings. This is due to the extent of initial damage and to aftershock damage occurring to buildings already checked.

Schools and early childhood services who have clearance will also need time to prepare for students returning. There are significant issues relating to water quality, especially for younger students.

Ministry advice is that Boards need to be confident that their school is structurally sound, that any damage to buildings or grounds has been assessed and isolated, equipment checked, and that plans are in place to deal with provision of water and pastoral care of students.

Update Monday 6th September 8pm

Dear Parents and Care-givers,

I hope that this update finds you in good spirits and that you and your family have been able to deal with the on-going issues relating to the earthquake.  I am aware of a number of Middleton Grange families, including staff, who have suffered considerable loss. 

Thank you to the Middleton families who have emailed the school with offers of help.  Over the next few days we will identify where as a school we can provide assistance if necessary.

This afternoon structural engineers have been assessing the school buildings for soundness.  They have completed half the school and will complete the assessment tomorrow morning.  We have asked them to focus first on the buildings pupils will be  in before looking at other buildings such as the Old House.  So far they have indicated that the buildings are sound with only superficial damage.  We have also identified areas in the school that need extra earthquake proofing for the future.

The Senior Leadership Team met today to prepare for the return of pupils and put in place all the necessary procedures to ensure their safety.  We will have a full staff briefing prior to pupils arriving at school.  I have also been in close contact with the Board of Trustees Chair, Andy van Ameyde to ensure he is kept up to date with what is happening at school.  Staff are coming in to school today and tomorrow to check their rooms, report damage and ready the room for the return of pupils.

We will be dependant on the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health as to when the school will reopen.  For us at Middleton Grange School, we will only open if I have the all clear from the structural engineers and have been given an assurance that the drinking water is safe.

The Senior Leadership Team will review tomorrow the timing of the Senior College exams, particularly if the school does not reopen on Wednesday – please keep your Senior College pupils studying.  It was great to see over 100 pupils  in this afternoon to collect study material!  I will send out an email tomorrow once we have made the decision.

Keep a eye on the school website for further information.

Parents – if your child (especially the younger ones) has been emotionally affected by the earthquake and is still very nervous about after-shocks etc, PLEASE inform their teacher by a note on their first day back.  It is important that staff are aware of who in particular needs close watching.  If your house is uninhabitable and there are issues with getting the uniform together, again a note will be needed to inform their teacher or Head of School.

Please continue to talk to your children about what has happened and give them confidence in returning to school where they will be well looked after.  This is also an opportunity to pray with them for on-going safety (personally and community) and that we can trust in the God of creation.

God Bless

Richard Vanderpyl

Principal

IMPORTANT NOTICE

All schools are closed Monday 6th and Tuesday 7th September. At this stage we expect to be open on Wednesday 8th September. Check the website for updated information.

Senior College Exams WILL start on Wednesday 8th September - use these two days to study.

Middle School Celebration of Learning (7th September) is postponed.

There was minimal damage to school and this is being repaired over the next two days. We are grateful to the Lord for the safety of people during this time. Please uphold in prayer families who have suffered in the earthquake and for those who are working to restore services to normal.

God Bless

Richard Vanderpyl
Principal.

FIESTA 2010

This year the Middleton Grange School annual Fiesta will be held at school on Friday 29th October from 5pm - 8pm.
To make this event a success we need lots of help with volunteers needed to man stalls, setting up the stalls, picking up all sorts of things such as baking ingredients and things for the White Elephant stall etc.

If you can offer your services at all during the week leading up to Fiesta, on the day or you want to know how to be invloved please contact Robyn Bosma the Fiesta co-ordinator.

To contact the Fiesta Co-ordinator Mrs Robyn Bosma:

2010 Stationery Orders:

Year 7

Year 8

Year 9

Year 10

Year 11

Year 12

Year 13