Scarecrow Making

We all had a fabulous morning making some outstanding "Wearable Arts" scarecrows.  Thank you to the great support we received from so many parents.  This year's batch of scarecrows are some of the best scarecrows we have had. Next time you are passing by school have a look along our front fence.

World Record Haka Attempt - Postponed

7th September  2016

The World Record Haka attempt event planned for tomorrow 8.9.16 is now postponed.

The organisers have said that following direct advice from the Meteorologist at MetService they feel that the weather forecast of growing south westerly’s, rain and a chill factor down to 4 degrees will be too cold, windy and wet for our children to be standing in for three hours. Next Thursday (the postponement date) is also looking very bad weather wise so the organisers will advise us of the new postponement date when it is confirmed.  As soon as we receive this information we will send a notice home to school families and put a notice on the school app and the Principals Blog.

Wairarapa World Record Haka Attempt

This notice was given to all students today

5th September 2016

To Whanau of Gladstone School

Thank you to the families who have indicated that they can support us with this trip, we very much appreciate your time.

Please read all of the following information about our trip for the Wairarapa World Record Haka Attempt, taking place this Thursday, 8th September 2016 at 12.00 noon, at Memorial Park in Masterton.  If you require further information please contact either your child’s class teacher, or Mrs Rutene or Mrs Hyslop asap, thanks.

Supervision

All classes will be with their class teacher. Supervising adults will be allocated to a group of students. A list of who the adults are looking after will be given to them by their child’s class teacher on the morning of the event. For any concerns on the day regarding any child please refer this directly to your child’s class teacher or Mrs Hyslop immediately. Supervising adults will travel with our group on the buses provided (unless they have advised either their child’s class teacher or Mrs Hyslop that they will be meeting us at the event).

We will be departing from Gladstone School by bus at approximately 11am.

We will be returning to Gladstone School by approximately 1.10pm.

Stewards

We have one steward per 50 participants. (Stewards can not take part but are there to ensure that the people in their group complete the haka for the full time). Each steward will wear a hi-vis jacket/waistcoat.

Wristbands

On arrival at the venue we will receive our allocated number of wristbands for all our participants. These wristbands will be collected by either

Mrs Hyslop or Mrs Rutene for our group.

If we require more wristbands than we have indicated, they will be provided to us but it will mean a wait for our whole group, so please let us know if you are attending by tomorrow morning at the latest. Teachers (and supervising adults of specific students) will put students wristbands on for them. In order to be counted for the record we need to be wearing a wristband.

Time Of Arrival

Tranzit are working very hard to allocate and organise buses. There is a designated bus zone for school buses. At this point in time the South Wairarapa and East Coast Schools will be picked up first. (Then Masterton schools). When leaving (after we have broken the world record) schools are asked to remain in the venue until their name is called over the speaker.

Parking

ONLY school buses are allowed in the main gates of Memorial Park. Cars and other vehicles will need to find car parking spaces. There will also be a BUS ONLY Zone on Russell Street, on the Church side to allow school buses to wait to cross into Memorial Park.

Food/Drink

It is a very strict Memorial Park requirement that there is NO food or drink allowed on the turf and for this reason there will not be any food or drink available for sale on the day. Our morning tea for students will be brought in one box/bag as there will be no place for bag storage. Our school will provide a small additional morning tea for our group at the venue. There will be bins available for rubbish. The organisers aim to have water available for emergencies. We will have morning tea before leaving school and will have lunch when we return to school.

Footwear

It is a very strict Memorial Park requirement that there are NO hard shoes on the turf. We suggest that students wear trainers or bare feet on the turf only. This applies for all adults too.

Turf and Timing

We are not allowed on the turf until at least 30 minutes prior to the attempt. On arrival we will be taken to where we can wait before being shown onto the turf.

Flashing Lights

To keep the beat of the haka and to avoid voices running into each other there will be two big lights flashing in the grandstand. (Please advise us if you have, or your child has epilepsy or any other light sensitive conditions so our group can be relocated). The beat of the lights is 50bpm.

Uniform

All school students must wear a uniform. This means students must wear their Gladstone School shirt (it can be worn overtop of a longer sleeved shirt, not underneath other clothing please, as it needs to be seen). Students can also wear their Gladstone School polar fleece if they have one. It is going to look fantastic from the sky (as the event is being filmed by a drone) and will make it easier to keep our students together. Please note - We do have a limited number of adult shirts and jackets with Gladstone School on them that can be loaned to supervising adults for this event. Please let Mrs Henderson know at the school office before Thursday if you would like to borrow one. Shirts for students can be purchased from the NZ Uniforms shop in Masterton, as these are now in stock.

Community Involvement

The organisers welcome anyone to be part of this world record attempt. (To to take part on the day you will need to register through Trudy at REAP, if you have not registered to be part of the Gladstone School group).

We have been advised that due to the volume of pre-registered participants, there will be no room for spectators.

Pre and Post Entertainment

There will be pre and post entertainment in the form of a waiata sing a long.