As the dads came, we started with a Kahoot which were in teams of families. Next, it was time for lunch which was chicken burgers provided by the Yr 11-13s. Shortly after, a dads vs kids’ game of T-ball took place and the kids won. Brunch for dad’s day was a huge success and everyone enjoyed the day. Total amount made was $227.

Blenheim also raised $147.44 for the Starship Fundraiser.

Mr Donjeany is known for his professional style but he is going a little bit too far when he starts matching the OSG merchandise!

On Thursday the 19^th May we farewelled Mrs Elmarie Bezuidenhout, after many long years of teaching Maths at Nelson Campus.

Farewell message from Rilla, to Mrs Susie Johnson, who is leaving the Blenheim Campus.

Mrs Johnson is the first to greet you when you walk into school. You always know when Mrs Johnson is away, her smiling face that greets you in the morning is just not there. That ray of sunshine is leaving us. She continues to greet us every morning even though the majority just say hello back or they go on and on about how they are or how their weekend was, never thinking to ask her how her weekend was. She listens to all our tales of woes and doesn’t shy from asking the appendix specialist if the pain she is in is her appendix.

A woman of many talents which we can back up, just ask Mrs Winitana. Her job is what the usual admin does… as well as anything else that needed doing. She was doing everything, from the newsletter, reminding me to say please and thank etc.  I sometimes forget.  I don’t know what I’m going to do without her for that.

To Mrs Johnson, I wish you well at your new job and I hope that you will visit us every now and again. Also, I forgot to mention that when I start my food truck there will be something, and I mean anything, named after you. A ray of sunshine. We are all going to miss you. Our ray of sunshine. 

Rilla Beatson

What a fun week we have had in the Junior School! We have been lucky enough to have had our week filled with all sorts of exciting activities such as buddy reading, making bookmarks, reading to our dads, creating a new book character, and watching videos of the Regional Principals from across the globe reading stories to us. A highlight was Monday when we had a wonderful day having Brunch for Dads. It was lovely to see all the kids pleased and excited to have dad's and grandpa's join them in their classes to share and read their favourite picture books.

In 2021 OSG rolled out the OneSchool Global Typing Club platform for Primary students. As all students use computers daily, the skill of being able to correctly touch-type at least 50 words per minute was seen as a realistic goal for all students by the time they finish the primary years ensuring all secondary students had the skills to be as fast and as accurate as possible. Please watch the global launch of OSG Typing Club for parents. 

2021.07 Typing Club Parent Video v1.1 (panopto.com)

Kudos or a big thank you to Mr Paul Hayman and Mr Rick Hayman for their efforts in organizing and completing the new Westport Canteen. The students are very grateful for all the hard work Rick, Paul and other community members have put into the refurbished canteen. It is a pleasure to work in with the dishwasher, double oven and induction top. The menfolk did an awesome job and extra effort so it was up and running for Term 2! Very quick job, lots of volunteer hours.

A few photos of when we visited "Underworld Adventures" near Charleston as well as the Talley's fish processing factory in Westport.

On Wednesday 11^th May the Year 7-10 West Coast students went to Charleston Under World Adventures to see how the business is run. We learnt that the caves in the mountains when they take people on tours, were discovered in the 1800 by the gold miners. They mined over four million ounces and got over 16 billion dollars.  

Aiden (the tour guide) took us down into where the people get their wetsuits and gear on. They clean people's wetsuits by jumping on them in a bath full of water. We also learnt that they used to have around 30,000 people come per year, but because of covid their numbers have gone done to only 3000 people a year. In Charleston, it used to be the size of Nelson and now it has decreased to only 60 people.  By Tudor Powell  

After visiting the Underworld Adventures, the West Coast Year 7-10s tripped off to Talley’s fish factory in Westport to find out how they run their business. When they arrived, the students had to get kitted up in their gumboots, Neon orange coats and funny white hats before they entered the factory. Once they were ready, a nice guide called Tania took them around the factory. But before she did, they had to thoroughly wash their hands. 

The factory was full of conveyor belts taking fillets of fish from person to person. Some people were de-boning fish, some were cutting off scraps, some were mincing some of the fish, some were checking the temperature of the fish and others were packing. Tania showed the kids the float bladder of a ling and told them that it makes all our makeup and moisturizers. She also took them into the freezer where they keep all the fish they catch. The freezer was about -18 degrees. She showed the students the HUGE trumpet fish and a couple of the kids got to hold the barracuda. There was also octopus, stingrays, butterfly fish, elephant fish, ling, blue cod, flounder, and Pearle. 

Lastly, she showed them the packing room and where all the scraps go. Nothing in the factory goes to waste. All the scraps get made into fertilizer or pet food. Talley’s even provide all the fish for McDonalds! Overall, it was a great excursion and all the students enjoyed it thoroughly!  by Ida Petrie