Vaiala Beach School

The Year 8 Class of 2018 say Goodbye

The Year 8 class of 2018 are leaving Vaiala Beach School. They created a video of what they are going to miss about this school. The Year 8's are ready to fly the nest and face their next adventure of High School. We wish them all the very best for their future. Check out the second video of when they were little!

Please come along - Friday 7th December

The On-Time Blitz!

The school day begins promptly at 8.30am. At this time we begin our day with important notices and launch straight into our learning. This is often a time of receiving instructions before a learning task begins and when students miss this part of the day, they miss critical learning.
We have too many students arriving after 8.30am, some arriving after 9.00am.
We understand from time to time there can be unexpected events which result in bringing your child/ren late but the teachers are noticing a continuous pattern of regular lateness and often from the same students.
We want your child to get the most learning they can. We want your child to hear those important notices. We want your child to learn that in life time matters and it is respectful and important to be on time.
So we need your help.
At 8.30am students should be inside their classes ready for a great day of learning.
We will be launching into our “On-time Blitz” and encouraging all students to be at school before 8.30am.
Thank you to all those parents who are already supporting this rule.

Term 4 2018

Dear Parents, Guardians & Caregivers,

Welcome back to school and to the final term of the school year. We hope that you all had a relaxing and enjoyable holiday. A warm ‘Welcome and Talofa lava’ to our new students who join our school this term. We welcome you and your families to our school community.

We are looking forward to a fun and productive term ahead. Please refer below for this term’s Key Dates.

Key Dates in Term 4:

Thu 11 Oct Visiting Music Group 9:30am on court

Mon 15 Oct LotuTamaiti/White Sunday (Public Holiday)

Thu 25 Oct Mufti Day (please bring a gold coin – all proceeds to the PA)

Fri 09 Nov FRIDAY NIGHT HANGOUT Year 8 Fundraiser 5pm-10pm at school

(more info to follow)

Fri 16 Nov Teacher Only Day (No School)

Wed 21Nov VBS Has Talent Show @ School, 11.00am

Thu 22 Nov Year 8 Formal Leavers Dinner

CRAZY WEEK (Week 8)

Mon 26 Nov Monday Movie or Book Character Day

Tue 27 Nov Turbo Tuesday – Can bring something with wheels

Wed 28 Nov Wacky Wednesday

Thu 29 Nov Crazy Hair Day and Mufti Day

Fri 30 Nov International Day. (Samoa College Entrance Exam Year 8’s)

Mon 03 Dec Year 8’s Action Week

Thu 06 Dec Junior School Sports Day at School (Yr 1-4)

Fri 07 Dec VBS Christmas Celebration (Picnic, carols, music)

Thu 13 Dec Distribute Reports

Fri 14 Dec Last Day of School for 2018–SCHOOL FINISHES AT 12:00pm.

St Johns College and Sacred Heart College visit VBS

A Musical Group from St Johns College and Sacred Heart College are returning to Samoa for a tour in October 2018 and will be performing at our school on Thursday 11^th of October.

Students Returning

Thank you to those who returned the letter confirming children returning in 2019. Most classes for next year have now reached capacity and we still have a high demand for places. Please advise the school as soon as possible should your plans change and your child/ren will not be returning.

School Fees

Thanks to all the parents who have already paid their school fees. A reminder that school fees are due no later than Friday 19^thof October 2018. As per the Vaiala Beach School handbook, any fees not paid by this date will incur a 10% fee. Payments must be received no later than 2:30pm on Friday. Any exception needs to be agreed to by the Principal and in writing.

May we please remind you to use the bank direct credit payment to: ANZ Account No.4031570, Vaiala Beach School option and put your child’s name as reference of payment for easy identification, or pay by cheque to the office rather than cash.

As this is the final term, please also note that any fees not received by the end of week five (Friday 9^thof November 2018) will result in your child’s withdrawal from school and places will not be held for these students the following year.

If you wish to refer to earlier notices or general information please refer to the official Vaiala Beach School site: vaialabeachschool.blogspot.com and our Facebook Page.

Soifua

End of Term 3 Assembly 2018

It was wonderful to see so many parents and family at the end of Term Assembly. We thank you for your support. We have received some feedback how it was difficult for parents to see the Preschool item and we are looking at the possibility of constructing a portable stage. We are open for any suggestions and help in this area. In the meantime thanks to one of our parents Glenda Schembri who took this video of our youngest and possibly cutest students at Vaiala - The Preschoolers! Enjoy!

Science Fair Results 2018

2018 VBS SCIENCE FAIR RESULTS

· Angelica Salele from S.P.R.E.P Yr 5 Judge

· Christine Tuioti from Samoa Conservation Society, Yr 6 Judge

· Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson from Conservation International, Yr 7 Judge

· Dr Frank Griffin from S.P.R.E.P, Yr 8 Judge


	Year 5	Year 6	Year 7	Year 8
1^st Place	Charles Slaven ‘How does a wind turbine work?’	Eli Kapu “Osmosis”	Sophie Mann “What foods do Samoan Ants Prefer?”	Aniva Clarke (1^st =) “What is the annual Carbon Footprint of Room 8?” Giada Rossi (1^st=) “What does smoking do to your lungs?”
2^nd Place	Dante Senio “Will the litter on the beach biodegrade?”	Christina Slaven “Saltwater to drinking water”	Olive Elia “How much electricity will an average household save from solar panals?”	Elizabeth and Isabel Rasch “Aquaponics, Can fish poo support the growth of plants and do plants need soil?”
3^rd Place	Sulvanna Sefo Tevaga “Energy Production”	Jemesa Davetanivalu “Germs at Home”	Ava Poynter “Can you make good breads with liquids other than water?”	Richard Saili “Speed of Light with a Chocolate Bar”
Highly Commended	Antoinette Jessop “Is our drinking water safe?”	Keira Pogi “Can heat travel through metal?”	Yifan Qiao “Fruit Power, can fruits generate electricity?”	Leata Fesili “Plastic Can You live Without it?”
Highly Commended	Aziz Tapelu “Capillary Actions in the plants”	Rosaline Ah Liki “Battery Power”	Isak Raccuglia “Pump it – comparing a pumped ball to a flat ball”	Harlan Mauli “How do Kidneys filter our blood?”
Highly Commended	Elei Clarke “Kombucha and Music”	Ormond Sua “Illuminating Light”	Abiel Nasau “Can tomatoes produce electricity?”	Edelphi Hunt “Washing Powder – which is more efficient?”

People’s Choice Award:

Harlan Mauli,
Giada Rossi
Christina Slaven

The Brave Storm Award donated by The Jackson Family:

Aria Jamieson Yr 8 – “Solar Powered Showers”

Samoa Conservation Award:

Aniva Clarke Yr 8 - “What is the annual Carbon Footprint of Room 8?”

The Environment Award:

Dante Senio Yr 5 - “Will the litter on the beach biodegrade?”

The Most Original Exhibit:

Jonathan Schuster Yr 7 “Solar Sausage Sizzle”

Nutrition Award:

Logan Barbara Yr 5, “Fresh is Best – best method to keep bread fresher?
Drew McLeod Yr 6, “Which of these popular drinks in Samoa have the most sugar?”
Dess Fiti Yr 7, “Which Samoan Carbohydrates has the most starch?”

Physics Award:

Joshua Hansell Yr 7 “Light Bender”

Principal Choice Awards

Kali Jamieson Yr 5 – “How do you stop material from fading?”
Louise Mann Yr 5 – “How does temperature effect crystal growth?
Georgio Keil, Yr 6 – “Does Music Affect Your Blood Pressure?”
Leoung Hansell Yr 6 – “Which toothpaste works best?
Ayden Sudhakar & Sierra-Rayne Keil Yr 7, “Can an egg bounce?”
Micah Puni Yr 7 – “How does Helium affect your voice?”
Nicholaj Hermansen – Pain Vs Gender Yr 8
Kaedyn Acton Yr 8 – Natural Insecticide with Vanilla Beans

Creative Thinking

Eve Meredith Yr 7 – “Helium Power – how many balloons needed to lift my cat?
Erich Retzlaff Yr 6 – “Is it easier to memorise words with fewer syllables?”

2018 Prize Winners

The Science fair is coming up...

Welcome to the Third Annual Science Fair at VBS.

Here at VBS we encourage our students to be inspired by the world of Science and their environment. We know that for some students participating in the Science Fair could even be the beginning of a future career. Therefore we are excited to have the 3^rd Annual Science Fair held at Vaiala Beach School in 2018. This is an exciting event that grows each year and we are looking forward to another inspiring Science Fair.

So what do you need to know?

· This year the Science Fair is over two days the 15^th and 16^th August (week 5 Term 3)

· All students from year 5 – 8 must participate.

· Students can work individually or with a partner (if you work with a partner you are entered in the year group of the oldest student)

It is important to start thinking about your project now and to begin working on it.

Your project must include the following

· A title (often in the form of a question)

· Your hypothesis (what do you think will happen)

· Your background information

· The method (your experiment written in steps)

· Results

· Your conclusion

What now? Find a topic! Think of something that interests you and you are curious about. Be original. Remember to think of a topic that will have an experiment with it. Don’t do a model of the Solar System as that will not have an experiment.

So how do you display your project? Use cardboard to make a display board. You may like to use an old cardboard box to cut up. We have paint at school to make it look bright, or you may want to buy a display board from SSAB.

Here is a timeline to help you.

Week 7 Term 2 – First Senior Syndicate Meeting

Week 8 Term 2 – Decide if you are working on your own and pick a topic. Know your hypothesis.

Week 10 Term 2 – Start gathering any useful background information (this is your research)

Holidays – Begin your experiments, record results.

Week 1- 3 Term 3 – Have written up your background information. Have display board.

Week 4 Term 3 – Type or write up all your information, what is your conclusion based on your results. Glue on the information to your display board.

Week 5 Term 3 – Your Science Fair Project is all finished and ready for judging on Wednesday 15^th August.

Search this blog for Science fair and see old entries to give you some inspiration.

Introducing Lorraine Williams, Principal.

Lorraine is the reason Vaiala Beach School is what it is today. She first arrived in Samoa back in 1981 with the idea she would be staying a year or two. Instead she is still here and Vaiala Beach School is the result of her hard work.

When Lorraine was asked if she could teach a couple’s son she had no idea one student would lead to five students then ten and then fifty. Before she knew it, the Lorraine Williams School had started and the journey was just beginning. The first location of her school was at Vaiala Beach.

What followed was a series of events that would have seen some people give up. But not Lorraine, even after two cyclones that wiped out the school and its resources, she started again and rebuilt the school in Vailima where it is today. Lorraine speaks her mind and she used this skill to convince the bank that this solo-mother was the right choice to lend to so she could build a new school.

The school slowly grew in classrooms and in students.

Thousands of students have benefitted from one women’s vision – Lorraine Williams.

Vaiala Beach School - Samoa

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