Message from the Principal
We began this week with a reminder of the School Rules. Ficino School has only five with the view that it is better to provide a few universal principles which can be understood in stages and remain with the students for life.   I heard recently that New Zealand was one of the most legislated societies in the world.  We seem to have rules for everything.  This has the inherent danger of leading citizens not to consider the righteousness or otherwise of their actions but only to obey the letter of law.   If there are too many laws, our natural sense of freedom rises in opposition and we seek loopholes which inevitably leads to more legislation.   Our five school rules are:-

1.    Speak the Truth
2.    Obey lawful direction
3.    Respect All
4.    Learn to be responsible and be responsible to learn
5.    Practise what is good with resilience and courage

I hope as many of you as possible can make it to the School Picnic this Sunday.   Unfortunately I have another commitment and will not be there this year.   Enjoy!

Peter Crompton

Notices

School Picnic – this Sunday 26th February – Long Bay Site 3 – 10–2pm
Bring your lunch, drinks, sun umbrella, togs, towels, sunscreen and beach games for a great day at the beach for all the family and a fantastic opportunity to meet other parents.

Parents Meeting – Monday 27th February 6 – 7.30 pm – School Hall
Drinks and finger food will be served from 5.45pm.  Entry will be via the Fernery Door and down the hall or across the lemon lawn (there will be no entry through the School door).

Open Morning – Saturday 17th March – 9.30 – noon
We are having two Open Mornings this year, with the second one being on a Saturday.   As many students as possible will be required to attend school on this day.   Details will follow next week.

Ficino Hockey – forms due back
We have had an enthusiastic response to Ficino Hockey with a large number of registrations received.   If you have not returned your child’s registration form, please bring it to school on Monday.   Thank you.

Ficino Netball Enrolments – Classes 3 – 8
The Netball season starts on 9th May.  Netball will be offered to boys and girls from Classes 3 – 6 and girls only from Classes 7 and 8.    Enrolment forms have been given to the children today and are due back at school by Wednesday 29th February.

Athletics Day – Mt Smart – Wednesday 21st March
Athletics Day consent and Assistance sheets are due now.  Please return these to class teachers on Monday.   Thank you.

After School Garden Club – Tuesdays – 3 – 4pm
If your child is interested and able to join the Ficino Garden Club on a Tuesday afternoon from 3pm to 4pm starting on 21st February, please email Margaret Ferens to give your permission via the school office: office@ficino.school.nz

After School Chess Club – Starting on Tuesday 28 February
The after school Chess Club will begin on Tuesday 28th February at 3pm.   Children from all classes are welcome.

Samosas – Fundraising for the Library and Renaissance Trip
These samosas are the best around, so please spread the word to neighbours, friends, family and work colleagues.  The order forms have gone home with the children today and are due back at the school office by Friday 2nd March.    Collection is Friday 9th March.      More forms are available from the office.

Children’s Day – 4 March at MOTAT
To celebrate Children’s Day, MOTAT is offering all children 16 years of age and under, free entry on Sunday 4th March.  There will be truckloads of fun activities for the whole family to enjoy, including:
•         Horse and Cart rides and Blacksmith
•         Steam Train rides, Military vehicle rides
•         Face Painting and chalk drawing competition – with spot prizes to be won

Military Weekend – 17/18 March at MOTAT
Military Weekend is the closest you’ll get to being a soldier without actually joining up!    With military vehicle experiences, mock battles, military displays, steam train rides and remote controlled tanks, Military Weekend is a truly awesome experience!  Activities run from 10am – 4.00pm and are all included in your normal entry fees to MOTAT.   For further information or if you have any queries about these events, please contact MOTAT on (09) 815 5800 or email enquiries@motat.org.nz.

Ficino After School Care (FASC)
Please remember that all bookings for FASC need to be made through the school office either by email office@ficino.school.nz or by phone 6233385.    Thank you.

Assemblies on Friday
All parents are invited to attend the school assembly on Fridays – see the calendar for Good Works and Commendation assemblies as well.

Uniform Shop
The School Uniform shop will be open on Wednesdays from 2.30 until 3.15.

Message from the Principal
Our assembly theme for this week has been contentment. We heard an ancient fable about a group of frogs who are perfectly happy and contented with their lives, but decide one day they want something extra – they think they need a king simply because others have kings and they don’t.  A log is thrown into their pond from on high which at first they are impressed with due to its size.   But soon they discover its lack of effectiveness and let out their cries for a new king once more.    To teach them a lesson the gods send a stork who orders them about and calls them to a great meeting, where he quickly eats a few before the rest scatter as fast as they can.  One frog can be heard saying, “Oh, if only we had been satisfied with the good life we had”.

Thank you for your patience with the building works, which are now moving apace.   The roof should be going on this weekend – weather permitting of course.  The other good news is that the readjusted programme has substantial completion of most of the work in time for the School Fair on 25th March.

Peter Crompton

Notices

Ficino School Hockey – Registrations Close 27th February
Registrations are now open for children who wish to take part in the Ficino Hockey Programme for the 2012 winter season.  Anand Patel will be the coordinator for the school hockey and will be personally involved in coaching a team.   Anand will be available after the normal school assembly on Friday 24th February to outline the programme and answer any questions you might have.    Registration forms have been sent home with the children today and need to be returned to the school office as soon as possible next week.   Registrations close on Monday 27th February.

School Picnic – Sunday 26th February – Long Bay – 10 – 2pm
A notice with further details has been sent home with the children this week.

Parents Meeting – Monday 27th February 6 – 7.30 pm – School Hall
A Notice regarding the Parents Meeting on Monday 27th February at 6 pm in the School Hall, has been sent home with the children this week.   .  The main purpose of this evening is to provide an opportunity for you to hear what is in stall for the year ahead from the class teacher.   There will also be an opportunity for Year 5 and 6 parents to hear about the Intermediate years at Ficino and to ask questions of past pupils and recent graduates about transference to secondary school.   Drinks and finger food will be served from 5.45pm.  The evening will begin with an address by the Principal.  Please return attendance slips to class teachers on Monday 20th February.

Open Morning – Saturday 17th March – 9.30 – noon
Please note we are having two Open Mornings this year, with the second one being on a Saturday.   As many students as possible will be required to attend school on this day.   Details to follow.

Athletics Day – Wednesday 21st March
Athletics Day notices have been sent home this week.    Please return your consent forms and Assistance forms if you are able to help, to class teachers by Wednesday 22nd February.

Ficino Ski Programme
Last Saturday 18 children swapped shorts and t-shirts for thermals and beanies for the inaugural Ficino Icicles programme at Snow Planet. After the initial meet and greet with the instructors it was out to brave the -5 chilly bin. The skiers were split into four groups of various levels. For some the magic carpet was a whole new form of moving.
The 3 snowboarders worked towards control on the slopes before having a go at sliding over the picnic table! The morning was a success, everyone had fun and positive comments were received.        Andrea Alston (Ski Club Coordinator)

After School Garden Club – 3 – 4pm – Starting next week
If your child is interested and able to join the Ficino Garden Club on a Tuesday afternoon from 3pm to 4pm starting on 21st February, please email Margaret Ferens to express your permission at margaretferens@yahoo.co.nz

After School Chess Club – Now starting on 28th February due to MERC Camp
The after school Chess Club will begin on Tuesday 28th February at 3pm, due to most of the children being away at the MERC camp next week.      Children from all classes are welcome.

French Lessons for Children at Ficino School – Tuesdays 3.15 – 4.15pm
Make the most of your child’s natural abilities to learn a new language.   This is a professionally designed course with lots of fun activities, drama, music and games.   Contact maroussia@lcfclubs.co.nz to register.

Ficino After School Care (FASC)
Please remember that all bookings for FASC need to be made through the school office either by email office@ficino.school.nz or by phone 6233385.    Thank you.

Assemblies on Friday
All parents are invited to attend the school assembly on Fridays – see the calendar for Good Works and Commendation assemblies as well.

Uniform Shop
The School Uniform shop will be open on Wednesdays from 2.30 until 3.15.

Message from the Principal

Welcome back to the new school year. We have been blessed with clear skies and warm weather for our first week; which some might have hoped for more of during the holiday period.  We were very fortunate to have around thirty volunteers from the School of Philosophy, who on Waitangi Day, the day before school opened, helped transform parts of the school from a building site back into a school ready to receive the children on Tuesday morning.

In the week prior to school starting, the teachers spent three days together on a residential course, rejuvenating their own love of study and fine material.  We immersed ourselves in studies on the Renaissance, Plato, Sacred Geometry and Shakespeare as well as having some more practical sessions on Learning Styles and the essential precepts of a Ficino School education.   The enrichment from this will help inspire and inform classroom activities for the year ahead.   Our assemblies this week have focussed on the fundamental order and pattern that can be seen all around us in the natural world.   This underlying natural geometry was understood by ancient civilizations, and revived in part by the work of Marsilio Ficino during the Italian Renaissance.  Through his academy, many of the leading artists of the time used these principles and proportions to construct their paintings, sculptures and buildings.

May you find time to connect with the beauty and harmony of the natural world which is so evidently abundant and accessible in this country.

Peter Crompton

Notices

New Parents & Class 1 Lunch – Thursday 16th February – 12.30pm
A finger food lunch for all New Parents and Parents of children in Class 1 will be held on Thursday 16th February in the school villa from 12.30pm.   This will be a wonderful opportunity to socialise with the Principal and other parents.  A notice has been sent home with the children today.   Please would you return the reply slip on Monday if you are able to come.

School Picnic – Sunday 26th February – Long Bay – 10 – 2pm
A notice with further details will be sent home with the children next week.  Meantime, please mark this date on your calendar.

Parents Meeting – Monday 27th February 6 – 7.30 pm – School Hall
The Parents Meeting takes place on Monday 27th February at 6 pm in the School Hall.   Drinks and finger food will be served from 5.45pm.  The main purpose of this evening is to provide an opportunity for you to hear what is in stall for the year ahead from the class teacher.   There will also be an opportunity for Year 5 and 6 parents to hear about the Intermediate years at Ficino and to ask questions of past pupils and recent graduates about transference to secondary school.   The evening will begin with a welcome by the Principal.

Open Morning – Saturday 17th March
Please note we are having two Open Mornings this year, with the second one being on a Saturday.   As many students as possible will be required to attend school on this day.   Details to follow.

Music Lessons
This year we are able to offer individual music lessons in the following instruments:-
Piano, Violin, Cello, Viol da Gamba, Clarinet, flute and guitar.  We would also like to offer the Trumpet but we need more students for Mr Logger to be able to come to school.
All students from the 2011 waiting list have been placed with teachers for 2012.  There is only one lesson slot still available for the violin, but teachers of all the other instruments still have available lesson space.
Mrs Toni Reihana will be taking the Year 4 Recorder lessons and the Recorder Ensemble this year and she is offering Flute lessons for students from Year 5 upwards.  She will demonstrate the flute and speak to the students at the beginning of their Singing Lesson on Monday.
The Recorder Ensemble will be held at Monday lunchtime.   The string Ensemble will continue to be held at Thursday lunchtime.
Our Recorder stock has become rather depleted.  I would be most grateful if families of earlier recorder students might be able to find a stray school recorder or two in their homes and return them to the office.  No questions asked!!
Any interested families for any instrument should collect an application form from the Office.
Margaret Brickland

After School Chess Club
The after school Chess Club will start on Tuesday 21st February at 3pm.   Children from all classes are welcome.

French Lessons for Children at Ficino School – Tuesdays 3.15 – 4.15pm
Make the most of your child’s natural abilities to learn a new language.   This is a professionally designed course with lots of fun activities, drama, music and games.   Contact marousssia@lcfclubs.co.nz to register.

Ficino After School Care (FASC)
Please remember that all bookings for FASC need to be made through the school office either by email office@ficino.school.nz or by phone 6233385.    Thank you.

Assemblies on Friday
All parents are invited to attend the school assembly on Fridays – see the calendar for Good Works and Commendation assemblies as well.

Uniform Shop
The School Uniform shop will be open on Wednesdays from 2.30 until 3.15.

Term 1 Events, 2012