End of Term 3 Week 4 Pānui

In NewsPosted

Tēnā koutou katoa, (Hello everyone)

Apologies for ‘blowing up your phones’ this week for communicating our Whānau Maths Week challenges that we had every day. It was so great to see kids rushing into school in the morning with their family’s answers to the previous day’s challenge to put in our prize box. Our purpose was to engage our tamariki with an estimation activity they completed as a class and then have a problem to solve at home to get kids talking about maths with you all. We hope you have enjoyed engaging in this with your child and haven’t seen it as extra ‘homework.’ As you can see below, we have had a lot of rekareka (fun) with this as a whole school, showcasing the importance of our uara (value) of whanaungatanga. Today’s challenge was if all the students lined up, ‘Which line will be longer? Boys or Girls?’ It was a contentious one as both took lines took this very seriously…

At our Staff Hui which we have every Wednesday afternoon, each of our kaiako takes turns hosting this. One of their responsibilities is to lead our thinking with a quote and Anneliese chose the following for us this week: ‘The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other. Without collaboration our growth is limited to our own perspectives’ by Robert J. Meehan. Quite a fitting quote, because on Wednesday, Trish and Anneliese visited Parkland School looking at how they run their literacy program. Then we had 10 kaiako (teachers) from Hiwinui School and Riverdale School visiting us over three days to see the great things our teachers do. We are so lucky in the Manawatū rohe (region) to have so many kaiako who are trying to improve outcomes for our learners, always trying to raise the bar on student achievement. 

Unfortunately we had to make the call to cancel our Hui Ā Kura (Assembly) this afternoon due to our carpet not being dry enough after cleaning it yesterday. Sorry for the inconvenience but we will have it next Friday instead.

DanceNZMade:

Our 26 strong team shone on stage at the Regent on Monday for the DanceNZMade competition. You can see them getting ready for their big moment. I was really impressed with how they gave it their all and had fun while doing it! Huge thanks to Dani, who chose the song, ordered the costumes, choreographed the dance and organised all the practises. We are lucky to have someone with this talent in our community sharing her passion with our tamariki. Thanks also to Whaea Anneliese for helping with the organisation on the day and all the parents who came down to support the crew.

Mangaweka Forest Day:

Next Friday, Cameron, Meryl and myself are taking 7 fantastic learners from Year 5/6 to visit Mangaweka School and learn alongside them and 7 students from Manchester Street School in Feilding. Every Friday at Mangaweka School, they have ‘Ngahere Friyay’ where the whole school walks down to the Mangaweka Camping Ground, which is nestled on the bank of the Rangitikei River. Then the forest and river becomes their classroom for the day. We are going to see how this runs in the hope of setting up something similar here. (Nice link to the quote above huh?)

Term Dates for 2025:

Our our last Board of Trustees Hui, we finalised our dates for 2025 and they are:

Term 1: Thursday 30th January – Friday 11th April
Term 2: Monday 28th April – Friday 27th June
Term 3: Monday 14th July – Friday 19th September
Term 4: Monday 6th October – Tuesday 16th December 

In Term 1, there will be no school on Thursday 6th February for Waitangi Day and Friday 7th February for a Staff Only Day.
In Term 2, there will be no school on Friday 30th May for a Staff Only Day, Monday 2nd June for King’s Bday and Friday 20th June for Matariki.
In Term 4, there will be no school on Monday 27th October for Labour Day.

Out of Zone Enrolment:

Thank you to those of you who have indicated if you have a child at home that you want to attend Turitea School in the future and have entered them on our Pre Enrolment Form. If you thought, ‘Have I already done this or not?’ then you can always chat to myself or Julie for clarity. Having this mapped out early gives us an idea of how many spaces we will have for those who would like to attend our kura next year, but do not live inside our school zone. My current projections indicate we will have approximately 10 spaces for those born in 2020, who will turn 5 next year. So if your child has a friend at their kindergarten or ECE and their parents are unsure of where they will start them at school, you can always let them know we have a few spaces and to register their interest above, before I advertise this wider.

Blood Donor Week:

This week has been Blood Donor Week and they always need more people supporting them. I never gave blood, or even thought about giving blood until I started here at Turitea and met Colleen, a former parent, who works at NZ Blood Services. Through her gentle persuasion tactics, it got me in there doing it for the first time and now it has become a thing I do every three months. We all have to do our bit and you can see if you are eligible here or read more about it here.

Daffodil Day:

We are proud to be supporting the Cancer Society this upcoming Daffodil Day on Friday 30th August (End of Week 6). Unfortunately 1 in 3 New Zealanders will receive a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime. The Cancer Society ensures that none of them have to go through this alone. We strongly encourage all our students to dress up in as much yellow (or as bright a colour as possible) on this day. If you want to provide hope and support to cancer patients and their whānau, you can donate through the school page we have set up here.

From the PTA:

The Spring Fling is on Saturday 14th September (End of Week 8) and we still need helpers. If you’re interested, please let one of the team know by email, or message their Facebook page. If you have any book donations for the pre-loved book sale, please contact them to organise a collection or bring them in to the office. Meryl also needs seedlings pots for her Garden Club venture, so if you have any floating about your place, can you send them in please.

From the Community:

  • ACROSS Te Kotahitanga o Te Wairua are offering FREE 2-hour Positive Parenting Courses to learn practical, positive strategies you can choose from to add to your parenting tool kit. offers free 2-hr Triple P Positive Parenting courses on a variety of different topics here.
  • Marist Football Club are excited to offer Milo Fantails, their programme designed to attract new female players aged 7–12 years old. It starts next week on 20th August and runs every Tuesday until the end of the term from 4-5pm at the CET Arena Turf and costs $30. Register here.
  • Badminton Shuttle Time classes are running every Thursday afternoon at Ross Intermediate School gym starting next week on 22nd August. Information here and email Josh to register.
  • Calling our Young Storytellers. The new hit movie Bookworm, which opened in cinemas last week wants kiwi kids to unleash their linguistic talents through this competition here where you write your own ending to the movie (so don’t go and watch it yet, if you plan on entering).
  • If you have or plan on having a lamb for Lamb, Calf and Pet Day next term, the Massey Farm Services Vet Clinic are offering a docking and castration service with their first vaccination, local anaesthetic and anti-inflammatory for only $25. This makes sure you comply with the 2021 Animal Welfare Regulation change. You can call the clinic on 350 5328 to book or Massey technicians can come to your place for a callout fee.

Intermediate Transition:

For parents of our Year 6 students, there are still a few open days next week, but all the links you need for enrolling your child at their next school in 2025 is here: 

Kia pai tō rā whakatā! (Have a great weekend)
Troy 
principal@turitea.school.nz