Johanna and Erica from Mindful Mover did another great parent & child mindfulness session, this time with older kids. Check out the photos below to see how much fun and enjoyment these guys had and if you want more information on doing mindfulness at home with your kids, visit our Mindfulness Page. 

In conjunction with the local Christchurch branch of the NZ Red Cross we were able to host two free 7 hour training sessions in the Rawhiti School Hall on the subject of Psychological First Aid (PFA) training. 

According to Red Cross Secretary General Tony Paine says, “At its core, PFA is about providing a safe, supportive response to someone who has just been through a sudden disaster and in need of support. PFA helps people feel safe, connected to others, calm and hopeful, able to access physical, emotional, cultural and social support, and feel able to help themselves.”

Our participants from the school community now have the knowledge to provide practical and emotional short-term support for individuals, reduce distress and foster the ability to adapt following a disaster or emergency situation, such as an earthquake or traumatic event. What an amazing opportunity for us. Thank you Red Cross New Zealand. 

Rawhiti School and the PTA were given the opportunity to sell food at the Kathmandu Coast to Coast finish line at New Brighton beach. After a mammoth task organising the menu, volunteers, cooking up a storm and getting together all the necessary equipment we got there. And what an event it was. A brilliant day was had by all and we were able to start raising money for new playground equipment for the junior students at the school. 

Our busy little PTA 'fairies' made up 30 prize packages to give away as raffle prizes.
​All the prizes came from food items donated to the school for last week's Mufti Day and extra items were purchased with coins that were donated. 

The PTA recently learnt there were only a handful of sandpit toys left at school to share between the junior and senior sandpit areas and lots & lots of children who wished to play in the sandpits. This was a dilemma we could solve! Here's how we did it...

Research
Trish and Steph hung out and chatted to the children in the large sandpit to see how they played and what toys they might like. Shovels to dig with and some buckets with sandcastle shapes were the most common requests. One thing we did notice was how nicely everyone was playing together in the sandpit, how much collaboration & sharing was going on and how much imagination they had to use due to the lack of equipment. We thought this was actually a good thing!

Quality & Choice
We checked the quality of the tools they already had and found they were good quality, heavy duty plastic. After looking in the school supplies catalogue and visiting the Playcentre Shop in Sydenham we found that the Playcentre Shop stocked the exact same good quality items as in the schools catalogue, except they were half the price. They also had a really good range of sandcastle making moulds which we thought were even better than buckets, and would encourage a lot more creativity & options. We thought a good selection of basic items plus some more interesting items would be useful to continue to inspire the children to use their wonderful imaginations.

Numbers
We thought it would be a good idea to limit the number of new items purchased, so the children could continue working collaboratively. We also felt less items might encourage children to show a greater appreciation, and be more inclined to look after them.

Storage
We needed to consider where the new items would be stored. Rongomatane have a large wheelie bin. The children are in charge of packing it up at the end of the day, and the teachers store the bin in the classroom foyer at night and at the weekends. Trish investigated wheelie bin options and actually discovered an abandoned wheelie bin at the old Freeville site. It was in excellent condition apart from missing a lid, so she located a replacement lid from a local supplier in Chch, and planned to “pimp” the bin with orange paint to make it look cool.

Looking After the Toys
The children from Tane Mahuta and Tawhirimatea use the senior sandpit the most, so we have asked the teachers from those classrooms to see if they can arrange for monitors to pack away the new toys at the end of each day and store them in their foyer in the new bin.

Dilemma Solved!
So now the Rawhiti School children have a great range of sandpit toys to keep them busy at breaktimes. And that means happy kids. Like we said, it's the little things that matter!

Sick of the cold? Want a change of scenery from road cones?
Dream of taking your family to Hanmer Hot Springs for a nice relaxing break? We have a treat in store for 3 lucky Rawhiti Whanau ...
1st PRIZE
Hanmer Holiday Home Voucher (Worth $200) Hanmer Hot Springs Mini Group Pool Pass (Worth $50) BP QE2 Fuel/Gift Cards (Worth $40) BP QE2 Hot drink and Muffin vouchers (x5) for the car ride there (Worth $25) BP QE2 Car Wash (Triple Pack) to wash the car when you get home (Worth $45)
2nd Prize
1 Day Hanmer Hot Springs Mini Group Pool Pass (Worth $50) BP QE2 Car Wash (Triple Pack) to wash the car when you get home (Worth $45)
3rd Prize
1 Day Hanmer Hot Springs Mini Group Pool Pass (Worth $50) BP QE2 Car Wash (Triple Pack) to wash the car when you get home (Worth $45)
Tickets $2 each, Limited to 500 tickets ONLY (better odds than Lotto!)

Get in quick! Tickets on Sale before & after school outside the School Office until sold out. Look for the balloons! Raffle drawn the last week of term.