Throughout the year, students at Fairhall School participate in a variety of programmes on our events calendar each year. Some of these activities are part of the curriculum and some are additional but all are very much part of the culture of our school.
SPORT
Fairhall School supports the promotion of a wide range of sports for students to actively take part in. Each year in Terms 1 and 3 our school’s Sports Co-ordinator arranges visits from most sporting codes to expose students to a variety of sports. We currently have school teams representing Fairhall School in Netball, Hockey, Volleyball, Basketball and Tennis.
More on sport.
CAMPS
At Fairhall School we value the importance of being active outdoors and run an effective programme of camping and tramping for students from Year 4 through to Year 8. Our camping programme progresses from a 3 day campsite experience for our Year 4 students through to a week long tramping experience for our Year 8 students.
More on camps.
PMP
Year 1 and 2 students take part in the perceptual motor programme (PMP) which develops coordination, eye tracking skills, spatial awareness, balance and helps develop brain connections to enhance learning. The programme takes place in the Community Hall during Terms 2 and 3 and requires the support from our parent community in order to run effectively. Requests for support will be advertised each year and parents are asked to give up a small amount of time for two days per week.
ENVIRONMENT
At Fairhall School we are active in the nationwide Enviroschools programme where we aim to ‘foster a generation of people who instinctively think and act sustainably’. Our school has a student driven Enviroschools Council made up of a group of Year 6 to 8 students and teachers who are passionate about making a difference in the world we live in.
More about Environmental Education.
CULTURAL
We value the importance of celebrating the cultural identities of all families and ethnicities within our school environment. We have engaged with our local marae at Omaka and have established a programme for involving our Year 1 to 3 students.
As a signatory to the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students we support students from other cultures with providing tuition and experiences within our school environment. We have links with our local girls’ college with an annual visit from students from Jissen Gakuen School in Japan.
It is our desire to continue to strengthen our implementation of Te Reo and Tikanga Maori across the school. Teachers and students engage in Te Reo dialogue on a daily basis and our kapa haka group is developing throughout the school.
CHOIR
Each year we offer participation in our school choir for Year 5 to 8 students. These students will prepare for the annual music festival alongside other schools from the Marlborough region.
DAFFODILL
We believe in the importance of giving and each year we do make a contribution to the Cancer Society in support of Daffodil Day. Students and staff dress up in Daffodil colours for the day and a Gold coin donation is collected for the Marlborough Cancer Society.
GOLDEN GRAPES
At Fairhall School we emphasise the positive and to do this each student represents one of four House/colour teams: Omaka (Red); Okaramio (Yellow); Rarangi (Green); and Waihopai (Blue).
For showing Fairhall PRIDE students are given Yellow Ribbons which they wear for the day at school being noticed by all. At the end of the day they place their ribbon in their House container at the school office and the team with the most Yellow Ribbons at the end of the week receives a Golden Grape. The team with the most Golden Grapes at the end of the term receives a special treat.
RURAL SCHOOLS CLUSTER
Show Day
Fairhall takes part in the Marlborough rural schools cluster, which involves organising and participating in events with other rural schools in the region, such as cross country running, swimming sports and athletics. The school also maintains close links with the Marlborough Boys and Girls Agricultural Association.
Planning for Show Day starts around the beginning of Term 3 with schedules and entry forms to go out to families. All students are required to take part and will receive a Show Day booklet with their entry requirements. Students compete with their lambs, calves, goats, rabbits and project chickens. Some Indoor creations as well as livestock entries from our show day also go to group day and are then taken to the Marlborough A & P show.
Students are still asked for diaries to be kept for project chickens and rabbits, however students no longer do projects on lambs, calves or goats. The indoor creations are always changing and have over the years included pressed leaf collections, kites, photography, pet rocks, decorated bottles, soap carving, propagation projects, paper mach’e animals etc.
Group Day
Your child may come home from our school show day with an invitation to compete at the Marlborough Boys and Girls Agricultural Group Day Event. In broad terms the event is an interschool competition between participating primary schools and is a stepping stone between a school show day and the local A+P show.
Since the end of the 80’s the agricultural club has been run by a group of volunteers, with support from the rural sector, to keep the Marlborough Boys and Girls Agricultural Group Day an annual event on our school calendar.
The movement began around 1916 but the focus has always been to encourage compassion, empathy, patience, respect and responsibility. These qualities are just as important whether you were born in the 20th or 21st century.
Schools compete for the Group Day Shield which Fairhall has won a number of times over the years. Winning the shield is a combination of entry numbers and placings on the day. As a school we encourage students to participate at events such as Group Day.
FUNDRAISING
Fairhall School relies heavily on its community and the wider community to engage with activities that will provide extra funding for the school outside the operational funding received by the government. Fund-raising is used to support a range of activities and projects for the school. It helps to reduce major costs for our camping experiences, particularly the 3 yearly trip to the Tongariro Crossing; the purchasing of equipment such as computers, sound systems and books for the library; and projects such as artworks and displays.
Fund-raising is generally run by our parent committee, Friends of Fairhall, who co-ordinate with the school the type of events to take place each year. The Duathlon Committee – FFI, organise the Kids Duathlon and this event is solely for support the school’s school camp (EOTC) programmes.
What Events are we running in 2019?
This year we have a team of parents working on one major fund-raiser and the organising committee for Fairhall Fundraising Incorporated (FFI) will require community assistance with the running of the Marlborough Kids Duathalon | Annual
Plus:
Sausage Sizzles (once month)
Food Stalls at school events
School Disco (to raise funds for yr 7 & 8 camps)
More about the Friends of Fairhall.
END OF YEAR GRADUATION
At the end of each year we hold a formal prize giving assembly to recognise the achievements of our Year 8 students before they leave Fairhall School for their secondary education.
Held at the ASB Theatre Marlborough, it is an evening celebration at which all students are expected to attend. Parents and students hear from the senior students, the principal, the Board and also the Friends of Fairhall as we highlight the years efforts.