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Children grow into the intellectual life that surrounds them. (Vygotsky, 1978).

  (2 February) NEW

First of all welcome to all our new students and their families ... More

School barbecue Friday 9 December 5:00 -7:00 on the school field.  (8 December)

This will be the last newsletter of 2011 ... More

BOOKS SCATCHIES FAIR SCRATCHIES BOOKS   (1 December)

With the election over it may once again be possible ... More

FAIR SCRATCHIES BOOKS   (24 November)

There are a number of interconnected events happening at school at the moment  .  ... More

Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, 'Certainly I can!' Then get busy and find out how to do it.           . (17 November)

It  seems strange to be saying this but we are now about half way through Term 4.  .  ... More

Learning in and through the arts can develop complex and subtle aspects of the mind. (10 November)

As I write Art Week is drawing to a close.  ... More

If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is "thank you”, that would suffice. (3 November)

I would like to start by thanking people ... More

Let us watch well our beginnings, and results will manage themselves. (27 October)

Kia ora.  As I start writing this newsletter ... More

I've been a long tme leaving but I'm going to be a long time gone (36 October)

Kia ora.  Ka pu te ruha ka hao te rangatahi ....More

Football is like life - it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authorityy(30 September)

Kia ora.  Tempus fugit and it is fleeing a little faster ....More

Absence of occupation is not rest. A mind quite vacant is a mind distressed. William Cowper (22 September)

Kia ora.  With Bill away, leaving me in charge of producing a newsletter ....More

You can go to the end of time, the last World Cup in the history of mankind, and the All-Blacks will be favourites for it.(15 September)

Kia ora...The World Cup seems to have taken off and taken over....More

The whole point of rugby is that it is, first and foremost, a state of mind, a spirit. (8 September)

Kia ora...It has been a long time coming....More

You can take a chance with any man who pays his bills on time.(1 September)

Kia ora...The first day of spring....More

The uncreative mind can spot wrong answers, but it takes a very creative mind to spot wrong questions.(25 August)

Kia ora...It is hard to believe that just a week ago ....More

Few things are as democratic as a snowstorm.(18 August)

Kia ora...Wellington’s definite weather ....More

The foundation of every state is the education of its youth (11 August)

Kia ora...there are times....More

The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time (4 August)

Kia ora...The final countdown....More

If the end is in sight you're heading in the wrong direction (14 July)

Kia ora...The end of the term is in clear sight....More

Every end is a new beginning (7 July)

Kia ora...Phonics versus Whole Language..More

Let us love winter for it is the spring of genius (30 June)

Kia ora...The term is drawing to a close..More

it's enormously cheering to get a good review by someonewho seems to understand your work. (23 June)

Kia ora...Last week i mentioned...More

Luck never gives, it only lends (16 June)

Kia ora...We are extremely lucky here...More

All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better (9 June)

Kia ora...A long weekend followed by a short week...More

Science may set limits to knowledge, but should not set limits to imagination. (2 June)

Kia ora...Where did May go?...More

Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of success. (26 May 2011) NEW

Kia ora... Having a visit from ERO is always a very intense event ... More

Letting the cat out of the bag is a lot easier than putting it back in (19 May 2011)

Kia ora... First of all thank you to those parents who ... More

Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without (12 May 2011)

Kia ora... Recycling is on our minds this week ... More

Runners just do it - they run for the finish line even if someone else has reached it first (5 May 2011)

Kia ora... Here we all are again... More

A vacation used to be a luxury but in today's world it has become a necessity(14 April 2011)

Kia ora....As I mentioned in last week's newsletter... More

I csnnot say whether things will get better if we change, what i can say is that they must change if they are to get better (7 April 2011)

Kia ora....A number of us are away at the National Principals' Conference... More

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body (31 March 2011)

Kia ora.... Autumn, when it is like this ... More

Time is making fools of us again (24 March 2011)

Kia ora.... the end of the month is approaching fast.... More

There are two kinds of people in the world. The Irish and those who wish they were.(17 March 2011)

Kia ora.... The number of natural disasters... More

Goals are the fuels in the furnace of achievement(10 March 2011)

Kia ora. Thank you to everyone who... More

(3 March 2011)

Kia ora. Welcome to the four new children from Christchurch More

He who sees the calamity of others finds his own calamity light.(24 February 2011)

Kia ora. I can't begin to imagine ... More

Keep your face always towards the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you. (17 February 2011)

Kia ora. This what February is meant to be like ... More

Thorndon School - developing independent and creative thinkers and learners .(10 February 2011) NEW

Kia ora. We have all caught our breath now... More

Thorndon School - developing independent and creative thinkers and learners .(3 February 2011) Kia ora. It seems no time at all... More
Have a happy Christmas and a wonderful summer .(9 December 2010) Kia ora. I can't see how we can get a newsletter out next week... More

Keep your face always towards the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.(2 December 2010)

Kia ora. Sometimes we do things to ourselves... More

Ka tuhoa te ra, ka wairara, ka hinga .(25 November 2010)Kia ora. Last night... More
We compete, not so much against an opponent, but against ourselves.(18 November 2010) Kia ora. This newsletter is almost all business... More
The achievements of an organisation are the results of the combined effort of each individual. ( 11 November 2010) Kia ora. I am wrestling with school organisation... More
Children have to be educated, but they also have to be left to educate themselves ( 4 November 2010) Kia ora. My sabbatical gave me three months away... More
Once a new technology rolls over you, if you're not part of the streamroller, you're part of the road .(28 October 2010) Kia ora. Anyone who stayed in Wellington... More

Housework is a breeze. Cooking is a pleasant diversion. Putting up a retaining wall is a lark. But teaching is like climbing a mountain. (21 October 2010 )

Kia ora.  I can't believe how fast this term has started... More

The secret to a rich life is to have more beginnings than endings     (14 October 2010 )

Kia ora.  Back in the big chair and slowly coming to grips..  . More

‘If little else, the brain is an educational toy.’    (23 September 2010 )

Kia ora.  I have very much enjoyed my change of role over the last term.  . More

‘Changing …. curriculum is like moving a graveyard--you never know how many friends the dead have until you try to move them!’     (16 September) 2010 )

Kia ora.  The small segment of the media that covers education has been very much focused on National Standards . ... More

‘An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't.’     (9 September) 2010 )

Kia ora.   After the outsized newsletters we have had over the last few weeks I’ve decided to keep this one fairly brief. ... More

‘‘Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.’    (2 September) 2010 )

Kia ora.   Well Spring has sprung and as I type the sun is shining in through the window ... More

‘Diversity is the one true thing we all have in common. Celebrate it every day.’ (26 August) 2010 )
Kia ora.   We have just enrolled a new student .
.. More
Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence.’ (19 August) 2010 )
Kia ora.   Over the last week we have seen the splendid culmination .
..More
“It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated.”  (12 August) 2010 )
Kia ora.   Interestingly over the last week we have been .
..More
Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.  (5 August) 2010 )
Kia ora.   Poor Bill. While we are enjoying the vagaries of winter,   .
..More
Whaia te iti kahuranga ki te tuahu koe me he maunga teitei. Aim for the highest cloud so that if you miss it, you will hit a lofty mountain.  (29 July) 2010 )
We are now settling into the term and making a few adjustments.   .
..More
“I like these cold, gray winter days.  Days like these let you savour a bad mood.”  (22 July) 2010 )
We have made a quiet and settled start .
..More
A good holiday is one spent among people whose notions of time are vaguer than yours (1 July) 2010 )
The end of Term 2, the start of a new month .
..More
Diversity is the one thing we all have in common. Celebrate it every day (24 June) 2010 )
The rush towards the end of term .
..More
Italians can't win the game against you, but you can lose the game against the Italians(17June) 2010 )
I was a week ahead of myself .
..More
We do not learn for school but for life. (10 June) 2010 )
Not quite the penultimate week .
..More
Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet(03 June) 2010 )
Who else is SAD .
..More
No problem can be solved by the same consciousness that created it. We need to see the world anew(27 May) 2010 )
Well, we didn't do as well as I had hoped .
..More
A budget tells us what we can't afford, but doesn't keep us from buying it(20 May) 2010 )
My favourite day of the year.
..More
Out of intense complexities intense simplicities emerge (13 May) 2010 )
A welcome change in the weather.
..More
Is that weird, taking my Louis Vuitton bag camping? (6 May) 2010 )
What a wonderful spell of autumn weather.
..More
It is necessary; therefore it is possible (29April) 2010 )
It is possible to have your cake.
..More
Reason can answer questions, but imagination has to ask them. (22April) 2010 )
Welcome to Term 2..
..More
The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn , and relearn(1 April) 2010 )
Here we are...
..More
Wherever you are, be there (25 March) 2010 )
This has been a funny term
..More
Innovation never happens as planned (18 March) 2010 )
You will see a reference in the calendar
..More
To live a creative life we must lose our fear of being wrong (11 March) 2010 )
This term is shorter than usual
..More
Man's mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions (4 March) 2010 )
I promised myself
..More
The excitement of learning separates youth from old age.  As long as you are learning you aren’t old!(25 February 2010 )
It continues to be a fast and furious term
..More
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose (18 February 2010 )
Deja vu all over again .
..More

If we believe something does not exist unless we measure it, then we put aside: love, feeling, intuition, art and philosophy. (11 February 2010 )
The term has started with .
..More

(4 February 2010 )
Welcome to the new school year .
..More
A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other (17 December 2009 )
It's here at last.
..More
Water is life's mater and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water . (10 December 2009 )
This has been a very pleasant week.
..More
Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone. (3 December 2009 )
Only 3 more sleeps to the fair.
..More
Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so. ( 26 November 2009 )
I will start with some really good news.
..More
If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people ( 19 November 2009 )
We looked at the date yesterday and realised.
..More
A painting is never finished - it simply stops in interesting places. ( 12 November 2009 )
Both Art Week and the Art Auction are over and done with.
..More
Creativity is hard work (5 November 2009 )
Up front today we have.
..More
Creativity is hard work (5 November 2009 )
Up front today we have.
..More
To be able to be caught up in the world of thought - that is educated (22 October 2009 )
Up front today we have.
..More
A child educated only at school is an uneducted child (15 October 2009 )
The fourth term already and we started.
..More
Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"(24 September 2009 )
This is the last newsletter of what has been a very busy term .
..More
I love sleep. My life has a tendency to fall apart when I'm awake.(17 September 2009 )
Tonight about 70 Year 3/4 children will sleep over in the hall .
..More
Chess is the only game greater than its players (10September 2009 )
We have two weeks of the term left.
..More
It's good that people see it. It's even better when they love it. And it's wonderful if they buy it (3 September 2009 )
A newsletter full of successes .
..More
(27 August 2009 )
I have had a little in the newsletter about .
..More
He who sings frightens away his ills (20 August 2009 )
I made myself a promise.
..More
The Lord loveth a cheerful giver. He also accepth from a grouch! (13 August 2009 )
Two weeks between newsletters
...More
No two gardens are the same.  No two days are the same in one garden.(30 July 2009)
We are well into the swing of things now
...More
Poetry takes you apart and puts you back together...differently (23 July 2009)
Welcome back
...More
Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire. (25 June 2009)
Some relief last weekend
...More
We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing (18 June 2009)
Those of us with a keen interest in the game
...More
Play is our brain's favourite way of learning. (11 June 2009)
Looking at our calendar for the term
...More
Children have to be educated, but they also need to be left to educate themselves(4 June 2009)
We have been delighted
...More
Without consultation, plans are frustrated, but with many counsellors they succeed(28 May 2009)
Isn't it nice to see the sun
...More
The nicest thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from. (21 May 2009)
The big news in the primary education world
...More
One kind word can warm three winter months (14 May 2009)
As everyone will know
...More
No winter lasts forever, no spring misses its turn (7 May 2009)
Winter is on us
...More
Illness doesn’t bother me for long because I am too inhospitable a host (29 April 2009)
It has been a mixed start
...More
Autumn is a second spring (2 April 2009)
Thank you to those of you
...More
Never does nature say one thing and wisdom another (26 March 2009)
it seems incredible
...More
Winning isn't everything but the will to win is everything (19 March 2009)
Bullying and violence
...More
The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more (12 March 2009)
Another busy week
...More
Many continentals think life is a game; the English think cricket is a game (5 March 2009)
I have either been tied up in meetings or
...More
I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework (26 February 2009)
I got a good deal of pleasure
...More
If you have a place where you can go and have a picnic with your family, it doesn't matter if it's a recession or not. ( 19 February 2009 )
I have been delighted
...More
Summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in theEnglish language . ( 12 February 2009 )
Welcome to the new school year
...More
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. ( 5 February 2009 )
Welcome to the new school year
...More
Year's end is neither an end nor a beginninig, but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instil in us. ( 18 December 2008)
The last newsletter of the year
...More
A lovely thing about Christmas is that it's compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together. ( 11 December 2008)
We are almost at the end
...More
Nothing makes a person more productive than the last minute . ( 4 December 2008)
Here it is. Only two days away .
...More
Tension is the great integrity. ( 27 November 2008)
Anyone who has been into the office .
...More
Art for art's sake, with no purpose perverts art, But art achieves a purpose that is not its own. (20 November 2008)
With a new government in place .
...More
Every new Beginning comes from some other beginning's end . (13November 2008)
Art week is always hectic .
...More
What Washington needs is adult supervision . 6 November 2008)
This is a fairly .
...More
Work is something a body is obliged to do. Play is something a body is not obliged to do . 30 October 2008) NEW
Short weeks after long weekends .
...More

A community can use all the skills of its people. (23 October 2008) NEW
This newsletter has a fairly heavy weighting towards the fair.
...More

Coming together is a beginning, staying together is a process, and working together is success . (16 October 2008) NEW
Welcome to the new term
...More
A perpetual holiday is a good working defnition of hell . (18 September 2008)
The big news of the day is that Thorndon School has won the Knoche Cup
...More
It's not enough to know how to ride - one must also know how to fall. (18 September 2008)
This newsletter becomes a bit of a brag
...More
There are always three speeches for every one you actually gave. The one you practised, the one you gave, and the one you wished you had given. (11 September 2008)
The end, almost, of another week
...More
You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a littl as if you have lost a friend (4 September 2008)
We have asked over the past few weeks
...More
Dancing is the poetry of the foot (28 August 2008)
We have asked over the past few weeks
...More
A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song (21 August 2008)
We are approaching the end of a very busy time
...More
The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well (14 August 2008)
There seems to have been a lot going on
...More
A book holds a house of gold (7 August 2008)
I have been away this week
...More
There is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather (31 July 2008)
Wellington seems to have been the best place to be
...More
I know numbers are beautiful. If they aren't beautiful nothing is (24 July 2008)
The start of another term and a brisk reminder that
...More
No good opera plot can be sensible, for people do not sing when they are feeling sensible (26 June 2008)
This will be my last newsletter for the term
...More
We read to know we are not alone (19 June 2008)
There are only two weeks left
...More
The cinema is not a slice of life, it is a piece of cake (12 June 2008)
As a school we have a wonderful location
...More
Environments are not just containers, but are processes that change the content totally (5 June 2008)
Today is World Environment Day
...More
One kind word can warm three winter months (29 May 2008)
Winter has bitten fairly hard this week
...More
Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them (22 May 2008)
This being budget day
...More
To make your children capable of honesty is the beginning of education (15 May 2008)
Trying to get the school cross country run
...More
There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction (8 May 2008)
During the holidays
...More
A good holiday is one spent among people whose notions of time are vaguer than yours (17 April 2008)
It is hard to believe
...More
Although it is small, it is of greenstone (10 April 2008)
We are in the second to last week
...More
To know and not to do is still not to know (3 April 2008)
The end of term is approaching
...More
Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability (27 March 2008)
The endless summer rolls on
...More
I never put off till tomorrow what I can do the day after(20 March 2008)
Congratulations to everyone who took part
...More
Experiences made by others are flowers that nobody picks (13 March 2008)
The senior school has returned safely
...More
Without consultation... (28 February 2008)
The other night
...More
The term has started at a breathless pace . (21 February 2008)
The term has started at a breathless pace
...More
Every new beginning .. (14 February 2008)
Welcome to the new school year ...More
A lovely thing about Christmas is... (20 December 2007)
Well, last week's was the penultimate ...More
While we teach, we learn (13 December 2007)
This is either the ultimate or the penultimate...More
Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one(6 December 2007)
The fair is behind us...More
(29 November 2007)
THE FAIR .....More
(22 November 2007)
We are in the final rundown to the fair
.....More
The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it way from you.... (15 November 2007)
We are entering the silly season
.....More
Study without reflection is a waste of time.... (8 November 2007)
The newsletter did not make it out yesterday
.....More
But they are useless. They can only give you answers.. (1 November)
The newslette did not make it out yesterday
.....More

All art is concerned with coming into being...(26 October 2007)

The newsletter did not msake it out yesterday... More

One head is good; two heads are better (18 October 2007)
Pipped at the post......More
One head is good; two heads are better (18 October 2007)
Pipped at the post......More
A person needs training and discipline to build character (11 October 2007)
Back to school......More
Honest work brings its own reward (20 September 2007)
The last week......More
Industry begets prosperity; idleness begets poverty(13 September 2007)
The penultimate week......More
Even an ant, if it runs long enough, can wear out a rock (7 September2007)
Almost the last day of winter.......More
No task in this world is impossible so long as there are willing hearts (30 August 2007)
Almost the last day of winter.......More
Not in the branch but in the roots sits the strength of a tree (23 August 2007)
We have Book Week starting.......More
There is more than one way to achieve an objective (16 August 2007)
Maths Week is in full swing....More
My language, my awakening (9 August 2007)
On Tuesday evening....More
Once is never (2 August 2007)
A fairly short newsletter....More
Even if you know the way ask one more time (26 July 2007)
First of all a huge thank you....More
A good beginning is half the battle (19 July 2007)
Welcome back to the new term....More
A friend's eye is a good mirror (28 June 2007)
Along with a lot of parents..More
Keep your eyes on the sun and you willl not see the shadows (21 June 2007)
Stage Challenge is here at last...More
Life without endeavour is like entering a jewel-mine and coming out with empty hands . (14 June 2007)
There are still a couple of weeks...More
If a person has ambition, things will be accomplished . (07 June 2007)
There is an article in the latest Listener...More
A little adze can do as much work as a man . (31 May 2007)
We are halfway through this term already...More
Even if you know the way, ask one more time . (17 May 2007)
Thank you all for your co-operation...More
If you plant, you harvest . (17 May 2007)
This will, of necessity, be quite a brief newsletter...More
Jade that is not chiseled cannot become a gem . (10 May 2007)
Don't forget that next week...More
Say nice words to hear nice words . (3 May 2007)
The term has become very busy already...More
What one learns in childhood one carries into adulthood . (26 April 2007)
Welcome to the new term....More
A child's life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark. (5 April 2007)
The junior school held and evening....More
No proverb this week . (29 March 2007)
On Tuesday evening the new board....More
When old dogs bark, it's time to watch out. (22 March 2007)
I have made the meter even larger....More
My basket and your basket. (15 March 2007)
Is this the end of the golden weather?....More
The tui sings, the kaka chatters, the pigeon coos. (8 March 2007)
I am starting off with a correction again....More
Let someone else acknowledge your virtues. (1 March 2007)
I need to begin with a correction....More
What you've got, you've got. (22 February 2007)
Thank you for the response to last week's newsletter....More
A little adze can do as much work as a man. (15 February 2007)
we are well back into the swing of things now....More
A sun sets, a day is born. (8 February 2007)
Welcome to the 2007 school year. Seven weeks since the end of last year and it seems to have flown. ....More
Love towards us, love going out from us. (21 December 2006)
The last newsletter of the year, and only a few days till Christmas. I cannot remember having finished ....More
Though little it is still a Manuka tree. (14 December 2006)
The silly season is definitely upon us, Christmas is fast approaching and we look with some dismay at all that is still to be done.....More
Not in the branch but in the roots sits the strength of a tree. (7 December 2006)
Another fair done and dusted, and it was in many ways the best yet. In terms of the amount ....More
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