Tēnā koutou katoa,
Yesterday’s annual Turitea tradition, the PTA Pool Party/Water Fight, was a huge amount of fun, as seen below. Before I could join in on the action though, I had the rather large, yet enjoyable task of reading every single End of Year report for our ākonga (students). I appreciated the window they gave me into the learning journey each child has been on in class and how they are progressing toward achieving their academic goals. The student voice sections were certainly a highlight and made me laugh out loud one minute, then feel deeply touched the next! Please make time to sit with your child next week and read these together and make it a bit special, as they are a great read! I’m incredibly proud of our fantastic teaching team for the time and dedication they put into writing these reports; it’s a testament to how well they know our tamariki.
All this week, we have had Andrew administering the Aotearoa Woodgate-Johnson testing. A selection of students were chosen to take part in this partnership with Massey University. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to get through everybody in the time he was given by them. The reason he wasn’t able to get through everybody was because our kids took longer to do the testing than expected, because they knew too much! Amazing feedback for us though, as it’s awesome to hear our kids did so well academically.
Mihi atu (Thank you) to Ruby, Grace, Amelia, Felicity and Mikayla for selling juicies this past week. We appreciate your support in buying these lunchtime treats, they have been a hit with this beautiful weather we have had. We will continue this in the new year as a Year 5/6 Camp fundraiser to Highland Home in March 2026.
EOY Reports/Class Placement:
On Monday next week, you will receive a notification in Hero to view your child’s End of Year report. I have included a slideshow here to explain this. This can also be viewed in Hero by clicking the About This Page section on the 2025 report. If your child started in Rimu after Term 2 this year, they will bring home a paper report (so check their book bag) instead of the Hero report. Class Placement for 2026 will also be finalised then too, so you will be able to see which class your child is in next year. To do this, click on the 3 lines in Hero up in the top left hand corner, then click the down arrow next to your child’s name and then My 2026 Class. They will be meeting their next year’s teacher and classmates before morning tea next Tuesday morning, so they can leave school knowing what next year will look like for them.
Puna Kōrero:
‘A puna is a spring of water and kōrero means both voices and stories. So Puna Kōrero is a metaphor for the many voices of parents and whānau who provide clarity about what can most help their tamariki to be successful in education.’ We have set the date of this to be Wednesday 28th January 2026 which is the day before school starts back next year. School will be open from 12 – 6pm to come along at any time during then, drop off your school stationery and connect with your child’s kaiako. We want to run it in a similar fashion to our Whānau Showcase evening that we ran at the start of Term 3. We will have the BBQ pumping, the pool will be open, sports equipment will be out in the hope that you all come along and build some whanaungatanga and connect with other whānau. Hope to see you all there.
Curriculum Clarity Evening:
Please put Wednesday 18th February 2026 from 5.30pm on your wātaka (calendar) as we will be hosting an information evening to keep you all ‘in the loop’ with the changes to our New Zealand Curriculum we’ve been through this year. We will also be launching our ‘Have Your Say’ survey to gain your insights into forming the strategic direction for Turitea School for 2026-2029. This is an exciting process to go through and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on how we can make our school the best it can be – ‘By the people, For the people.’
Ngā Whakanui Ākonga (Student Celebrations):
Ngā Whakanui Ākonga – The Celebrations of our Students is to recognise our tamariki who succeed in things outside of kura that are worth celebrating.
- Ka pai tō mahi (Great work) Kyerin and Finn, who are both part of the Manawatū U11 Hockey team who traveled to Wellington last weekend and played the curtain raiser of the Central Falcons/Northern Tridents match and won all three games against the Wellington U11 team, conceding no points!
- Kei Reira (Awesome) to Daniel who competed in the Wellington Junior Rapid Competition for Chess last weekend. He is only 5 years old and won 3 out of 6 matches against kids a lot older than him.
Stationery for 2026:
We are continuing the services of OfficeMax for our back to school stationery. Next week, you will know your child’s class for 2026, so you will be able to purchase their stationery directly from them as a complete pack and have it sent to your house. Each class has a slightly different pack that you order through their MySchool page, click start and then enter your child’s details, choose your child’s class for next year and the rest is pretty self explanatory.
Turitea Sports Uniforms:
If you are the parent/caregiver of a Year 6 student or know that you are leaving Turitea School at the end of the year, can you please return your child’s sports uniform to the office next week. If you are staying here, there is no need to return it, unless your child has gone through a growth spurt and needs a bigger size.
Sports Coaches:
Our sports for 2025 wrapped up this week, as you can see above. Huge whakawhetai (thank you) to all our incredible coaches and managers. Out-of-School sport relies heavily on parents/whānau stepping up to help lead a team. I know how tricky it can be to juggle this around your work and home life, but please know your effort is truly appreciated. If you have assisted in any way over the year with any sports team, thank you so much! A friendly reminder: if you have one of our gear bags, please can you send it back to the office too.
Fancy Nails:
Today, my office was transformed by Jeannah (Katara’s Mum) into a nail salon for the teachers as a little treat to thank them for all they do. You can see Whaea Anneliese enjoying this above. If you want to get your nails looking beautiful for the festive season, hit her up.
School Pool:
It is a great feeling when the pool is open, as we know summer is here. If you’d like a pool key to use over the break, get in before next Tuesday (last day of the year). We’d prefer you pay $50 online and send Julie a screenshot of this, as opposed to bringing in cash. Thanks to the Pool Parents for keeping this safe for us.
From the PTA:
We would like to take a moment to farewell two very special members of our PTA whānau.
- Karen has been our teacher rep on the PTA for many years. Thank you for your ongoing support over the years by attending meetings, helping at events, and assisting us in deciding on exciting fundraising for our tamariki. We will miss you and wish you a well-deserved break!
- Janelle and Hayden, Thank you for your many years of commitment to the school community and PTA throughout your time at Turitea. We truly appreciate all the ideas and heart you have given to this community.
- Lastly, a big thank you to all whānau members for your support this year. To those who are finishing their journey with Turitea School this year, thank you for being a wonderful part of our community. Have a happy and safe holiday, see you next year!
We have the last few days of our final fundraiser of the year, in collaboration with Awapuni Nurseries. Order your summer seedlings through them and use the code turitea25 at check out by this Monday 15th December for 20% of your total order and we make that money back, too easy!
Rugby League:
Lazir (Ariki’s Dad) came and took Rugby League drills with interested tamariki on Tuesday lunchtime (in the 28 degree heat). It was great to see heaps of kids turned up, especially all the girls. Here’s the link for the player registration. U6 tamariki start with rippa tags until they are confident to progress to tackle.
From the Community:
- New World Aokautere – Have colouring competitions here if your child wanted to get involved
- Smartphone Free – Want to delay smart phones for kids? – You are not alone! More information here
- Ngā Manu Nature Reserve – Plan your summer fun and hang out with wildlife. Info here
- Summer Reading Programme – Registrations have opened for this annual programme by the PNCC library. More information here
- Junior Rippa Rugby Tournament – Manawatū rugby clubs are launching an initiative to boost tamariki participation with a tournament in March 2026. Games are every Wednesday at Monrad Park starting at 4pm – 7.30pm for Year 3/4 and Year 5/6 students. See poster for more details.
Final Week of School Dates:
- EOY Reports and Class Placement for 2026 live on Hero on Monday 15th December
- Year 6 Graduation on Monday 15th December at 5.30pm
- End of Year Prizegiving on Tuesday 16th December at 12pm (Park on field)
- School ends on Tuesday 16th December at 1pm.
Holiday Programmes:
With the school holidays just around the corner, check out what is on offer below if you need care for your tamariki over the break:
- Kelly Sports – information here
- Massey Kids Club – information here
- Epic! Music Academy – information here
- Alliance Française – information here
Two days to go whānau… Hei te Mane (See you Monday)
Troy
principal@turitea.school.nz
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