Tēnā koutou katoa,
Thanks again for your support yesterday around collecting your child early so we could get started on our learning conferences. I always try to avoid inconveniencing you as I know it is tricky to arrange this sort of thing around your work commitments. We had an 80% turn out to these which was great to see, as we place a lot of emphasis around connecting with you personally to discuss your child and their progress. If you were unable to meet up with your child’s kaiako, please do get in touch with them. All our staff contact details can be found on our website.
Speech Finals:
Today we held our Senior Speech Finals. Our six Year 5/6 speakers chosen were Hannah, Callum, Ruby, Te Aranga, Nina and Harper. Our speech champion for 2023 was Callum with the runner up being Ruby and the reserve being Te Aranga. Callum and Ruby will present again next week at our Cluster Speech Competition, which we are hosting and they will compete against the champions from Tokomaru, Linton Camp, Ōpiki and Aokautere Schools. Thanks to David and Mark, who came and judged the event today continuing a tradition. Our six year 4 poetry reciters chosen were Felicity, Elisa, Marley, Kazuri, Riley and Finn. They chose Felicity to be the winner, with Elisa second and Finn third.
Assembly:
Today was the first of our fortnightly assemblies for the rest of the year. Callum and Mason from Tōtara were our amazing hosts and they set the bar pretty high for the coming weeks. We have been reading your feedback from the whānau voice survey from last term and this came through as something that has been missed from the community. We as a staff have reflected on the purpose of assemblies at Turitea School and want to ensure that this time of coming together links strongly to our school uara (values) and is a productive use of learning time. Whilst, we will try to find the right balance between timings, what to share and providing our students with opportunities to present to an audience, we may not get it perfect every time, but we will strive to get there. To showcase the importance of our school values each teacher will give out one values certificate to someone who is demonstrating our values consistently throughout the school. This week they went to:
Rimu: Eli and Bronywn
Rātā: Esmay
Pōhutukawa: Evander
Mataī: Riley
Tōtara: Indi
Kahikatea: Cooper
School Production:
Hopefully the date of Wednesday 13th September is on your calendar already for our Turitea School Production (Yet to be named) at the Regent on Broadway. Hopefully your children have come home talking to you about how it might look this year. Dani Macdonald (our sports coordinator and ex-Turitea Student) has a real flair and passion for the performing arts and has taken the lead in writing and directing this for us. It is going to be amazing!
Board of Trustees Meeting:
On Tuesday, we had our first board meeting of the new term. One of our board members’ favourite parts of the meeting is where they read the class reports that Anneliese, our staff trustee prepares for them. I’d love to share these with you as it gives you some insight into what occurs across the whole school, not just your child’s class which you see through Seesaw. This latest one has strong ties to Matariki, which was beautiful. Check it out here.
Epic Concert:
This afternoon, we were treated to a musical performance from Alastair, Lee and Jake from the Epic Music Academy. It was awesome to see them showcase their talent and get our kids involved. If your child comes home talking about it and wants to learn to play an instrument, there is a sign up form that they will bring home next week.
From the Community:
- The City Library is running a Beanstack Reading Challenge for those keen readers aged 4-19. See the flyer for more information. This is to celebrate the NZ Book Award finalists.
- Got any shed space free at your place that is going unused? Check out Heybarn which is a local initiative designed to be ‘Tinder, but for Sheds’ and they want to support our school. More info here.
- IBike4Kids once again running their cycling event for kids on Sunday 10th September at the Esplanade. Please click on the link for more information or find them on Facebook.
- Bayleys are running a Colouring Competition promoting the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Entries Close 2nd August. Print from the link above or collect from the office and email Jess to enter.
- Raewyn from Parentline Manawatū has provided information about a range of parenting programmes on offer that may be of interest to some of you – Incredible Years, Triple P and Teen Triple P.
Year 6 Parent Information on Intermediate Schools 2024:
I know this doesn’t concern all of you, but wanted to make sure those who need it have all the information about opportunities for your student for their potential next school.
- Palmerston North Intermediate Normal (PNINS) has their open day on Tuesday 1st August. Day tours are at 9.30am, 11.30am & 2pm. Their schedule of dates is here.
- St Peter’s College open evening is Thursday 10th August from 6-8pm in the school gym. Their prospectus is housed in our office if you are interested in looking at it.
- Monrad Tirohanga Intermediate has their open evening on Thursday 18th August from 6-8pm. Their prospectus is found online here
Ngā manaakitanga (Best wishes)