Ka nui te mihi ki a koutou (A warm greeting to you all),
Yesterday, with support from our military parents, we were able to provide our students with a mini Anzac Service. We are extremely grateful to Hunter (Topher and Ben’s Dad) who organised this special experience to educate our tamariki about the significance of April 25th in Aotearoa New Zealand history. As you can see above, Kahikatea did some real life maths learning about how to lay the crosses at the top of our field in the correct format. We appreciate them doing this for our ākonga (students) to learn and pay our respects to remember those we lost.
You may have noticed that we have Programmed painters in at the moment. Their main focus is restoring the exterior of Kauri and getting it back to its original colour scheme from 1895. We had to do some research to find these and know it will look amazing when it is completed! They are also touching up a few areas around the place that need doing. They anticipate being done by the end of the first week back at school next term, so you will come back in to see a vibrant space!
Hopefully if you came into school this afternoon, you might have seen our new pātaka kai (pantry) at the entranceway (pictured below) with some of our school grown vegetables and produce. Thanks so much to Maitlin (Tahu and Kaia’s Dad) who built this for us.
Hui ā Kura (Assembly):
This afternoon we had our end of term Hui ā Kura (assembly) and Natalie and Emily were our Year 6 hosts and as always, they did a fantastic job of leading and entertaining us. However, it was a bittersweet assembly, as we said ‘Haere Ra’ (Farewell) to Maeli and Lilou as their whānau are moving to Whakatū (Nelson) and they will start at Clifton Terrace School next term -They will be missed by many. We celebrated those who did so well at Cluster Swimming and as usual, those demonstrating our uara (values) consistently and getting their tiwhikete (certificate) today were:
Rimu: Eddie – Mātauranga and Francesca – Manaakitanga
Rātā: Archer – Manaakitanga
Pōhutukawa: Alice – Whanaungatanga
Mataī: Sarah – Mātauranga
Tōtara: Amelia M – Manaakitanga
Kahikatea: Mackenzie – Manaakitanga
Tumuaki: Quinn K – Kaitiakitanga
eHaus Competition WINNERS:
Last week you might have heard that we won the eHaus Lend a Hand competition with nearly 50 entries in for Turitea School. Anna, the owner of the company came and met Meryl and myself to go over our plan to bring our Microforest Boardwalk project to life. She commented on how amazing the rally from you all was, as with 48 hours to go on their competition there were very few entries and they were feeling disheartened. Turitea’s late surge sealed the deal and they can’t wait to get this project started for us. Watch this space…
Kōrero Mai – Learner Conferences:
Again, thank you for your continued support of these important meet ups with your child’s kaiako. It has been great to watch the steady stream of you all coming into the school over the last two Wednesday’s. Please remember, if you didn’t manage to connect with your child’s kaiako at either of these days, please do reach out to them to find another time that works for you both. You can contact them through email here.
Firewood:
You might have seen the trailer and sign out on Tuesday promoting our Firewood fundraiser, where we are selling dry pine for $120 per cubic metre. You can arrange with us if you would like some help filling your own trailer one afternoon or we can offer a delivery option for up to 5 cubes for a small fee. Fill out the form if you would like to order some. Thanks to those who have already supported this.
From the PTA:
You might have seen in the Hero post last week or the ‘jazzed up’ PTA Facebook Page that we are running a Spring Fling Market at school on Saturday 14th September. Give them a follow on FB to keep up with their goings on. We are on the hunt for stall holders, so are you interested in having one of your own? Register your interest here.
We are doing our yearly Turitea School Hoodie order. Be cool and order yours today. Order here and pay into the Supporters Club bank account (not the schools account) by Friday 3rd May (First Friday back after the school holidays)
From Te Whānau Māori:
We are having a whānau hui in Tāne Mahuta (Hall) in the first week back on Wednesday 1st May. This is an opportunity to meet up with staff and other whānau who have an interest in and passion for the growth, enhancement and enrichment of all things Māori within our kura. We will have a shared kai from 5:30pm, with the hui commencing just after 6pm. As always, it would be nice to see lots of people attend. Bring your kids if you don’t have a sitter, they can play in Tōtara. There are no expectations or requirements (except to bring a plate and introduce yourself to the group however you are most comfortable) Hope to see you there!
Pepeha:
For our Te Reo Tuatahi (Māori Language Learning) this term, the focus has been on pepeha. A pepeha is a way of introducing yourself in Māori. It is not about your emotional connection to a place, however, it talks about your genealogical ties to a place or people. We have been doing our own learning as a staff and have found this video which explains what this looks like for those who whakapapa Māori (have Māori ancestry) as opposed to those who don’t. Next term we want to set up a Google Form that will populate a spreadsheet, where we can gather this information for those who have it, so we don’t need to keep asking you for it every year we focus on this. As I have mentioned previously, we have been given a school pepeha to learn from Rangitanē, who are the mana whenua (people of the land) here in Palmerston North. This is not claiming these landmarks, but merely educating our tamariki about them.
Cricket – Smash Yard Festival:
On Wednesday, we took three teams of Year 4-6 students to Ongley Park (as you can see above) to the first ever Smash Yard Cricket Festival run by MCA. The weather was mint and the kaupapa (purpose) of the day was around manaakitanga (respect) and kauawhi (inclusivity) making sure that all students had a go at batting and bowling. Let’s hope that we have some more kids giving kirikiti (cricket) a go. Huge thanks to Janelle and Fraser for coaching and umpiring and the other parents who supported us with transport, support and supervision.
Cluster Swimming:
As mentioned last week, we took our team of 12 students (pictured below) to Cluster Swimming yesterday. Massive thank you to Cameron for taking over the running of this event from Linton Camp School this year, as the day went smoothly under his leadership. Our tamariki achieved some amazing results and we came second overall to Aokautere by 1 point in the school championships:
Mackenzie came 1st in Y4 Girls 25m Backstroke, 2nd in 25m Freestyle and 2nd in 25m Breaststroke.
Leo S came 2nd in Y4 Boys 25m Backstroke
Rory came 2nd in Y4 Boys 25m Breaststroke and 2nd in 50m Freestyle
Finn came 2nd in Y5 Boys 25m Backstroke
Blake came 3rd in Y5 Boys 25m Breaststroke
Natalie came 1st in Y6 Girls 25m Backstroke and 3rd in Freestyle
Elias came 1st in the Y6 Boys 25m Freestyle and 1st in the 25m Backstroke
Antonio came 1st in Y6 Boys 3x25m Individual Medley (Back, Breast, Free) and 1st in 50m Freestyle
Amelia C came 1st in Y5 Girls 25m Breaststroke, 1st in the 3x25m Individual Medley (Back, Breast, Free) and 3rd in 50m Freestyle
Ada came 1st in Y6 Girls 25m Breaststroke, 1st in 3x25m Individual Medley (Back, Breast, Free) and 1st in 50m Freestyle
Our Year 6 Team of Elias, Natalie, Ada, Antonio came 1st in 4x25m Freestyle relay.
What’s on in Palmy:
- Looking for ways to entertain the kids in Palmy these school holidays? The PNCC have got a lineup of awesome activities that are sure to keep the tamariki buzzing with excitement:
- Come visit Tuna Terewai, the coolest eel in town who lives at Kanuka Drive near the Hokowhitu Lagoon. But he needs your help to keep growing. So grab a rock, give it a splash of paint, and join the trail to see how long Terewai can grow!
- Lace up for some icy fun! Chilled Events’ Ice Rink is at Te Marae o Hine (The Square) open daily from 10am-10pm until Sunday 28th April.
- Check out what’s on at the Palmerston North City Library or Te Manawa Museum of Art, Science & Heritage over the school holidays with sock puppets, a dino dig and more.
- The Pop Up Play series returns, with more information here. All sessions are from 11am-1pm and offer a free option for all ages. Head on down to the opening of the new basketball court on Railway Land (next to The Skatepark) on Friday 19th April to shoot some hoops and get a free sausage.
- Silky Otter – are offering Adult tickets at Kids’ prices for selected feature films, making it a fantastic opportunity for families to enjoy quality time at the movies without breaking the bank. Check out the three movies on offer here.
- Every Bite – is a food minimisation programme designed to support whānau to prevent food wastage. This is supported by the Environmental Network Manawatū. More information can be found here
- Tots to Teens Magazine – The April/May issue can be found here with some great practical parenting tips.
- Ngā Manu – Kids are free when you stay at Ngā Manu on their new Overnight Wildlife Experience Package.
Holiday Programmes:
- Central Football have their Holiday Programmes on offer. The first is for Girls only and is on Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th April at Palmerston North Boys High from 9am – 3pm for 6- 12 year olds and costs $65. They also have a three day programme for anyone from Monday 22nd – Wednesday 24th April with the same venue, time and age range for $95. Register here
- Netball Manawatū have a Holiday Programme on offer. The sessions will have lots of NetballSmart activities, developing skills, umpiring and gameplay. This programme is for anyone aged 5- 14 years. Registration details and information can be found here.
- True Hoops have their Basketball Camps running at the CET Arena. Register for the 2-Day Camp here on Monday 15th & Tuesday 16th April from 9am-3pm. $60 per day or $100 for both days. Register for the Littles Camp here on Wednesday 17th April from 9am-1pm for $45.
- Bounce Academy also have their Basketball Camps on Tuesday 23rd and Wednesday 24th April at the Massey University Teaching Gymnasium from 9-3pm each day. More information here.
- New Stage Productions are running a Singing/Dancing Holiday programme called Young Stars at the St. Peters Church Hall in Pahiatua on April 22-24th from 9am-3pm. Contact Shane or more information can be found here.
Ramadan Kareem to all members of our Islamic community who have just finished observing the holy month of Ramadan on Tuesday – Eid Mubarak
If you hired a pool key over the summer, could you please return it to the office as soon as you can.
See you all back on Monday 29th April for Term 2. We will be having a Mihi Whakatau (Informal Welcome) to welcome our newest members to the Turitea whānau at 9am. All are welcome to join if you are interested in supporting or learning.
Hei konā mai, noho ora mai (Bye for now, stay well)
Troy