Category: News

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou, (Warm greetings to you all) At the end of last week, Troy travelled back to Tāmaki Makaurau as, sadly, his dad, Barrie, is very unwell. Troy, please know that you and your whānau are in our thoughts. We are sending our love, strength, and support to your family during this difficult time. He waka eke noa – we are all in this canoe together. No one has to face a storm alone, and we stand alongside you with care and support as you navigate the days ahead. While Troy is away, I have had...

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou, (Warm greetings to you all) Getting in to you all a day earlier than usual with tomorrow being our Staff Only Day and school is closed for instruction. We appreciate your support in advance giving us this day together as a whole staff to engage in a day of learning around supporting the needs of our tamariki.  Last Sunday, we were incredibly proud of our Year 3-6 rōpū (group) for their outstanding performance at the Whānau Success Day at West End School. They represented us with mana (pride), turning heads and drawing such high...

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou, (Warm greetings to you all) We couldn’t have asked for better weather this week! Check out the amazing photo of the sunset that Trish took after school on Wednesday… Just gorgeous! It set the stage for an awesome day today and there’s nothing quite like a rural Cross Country when the sun is shining and the air is crisp. Ngā mihi (Thanks) to Julie, Meryl, and Tim for all of their mahi (work) behind the scenes to make this event such a success. A huge thank you also to the parents/whānau who stepped up...

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou, (Warm greetings to you all) Didn’t Hannah do a great job with the pānui last week? Between her fine linguistic skills and Anna making a video with her cute kids to replace my weekly wrap-up videos, I was starting to feel a bit redundant in my absence! It’s great to know the ship sails so smoothly (maybe too smoothly?) when I’m gone. This week is Support Staff Week, and we want to recognise our amazing Julie in the office, magnificent Meryl in the gardens, Dani does everything and the outstanding Aimi, Mitzy and Kirstin...

Kia ora e te whānau, With Troy away, I’ve been entrusted with writing this week’s pānui. What a perfect week to be asked as it means I get to share the special news of a new arrival, I’ll happily take this one Troy! I’m delighted to share that Cameron and Olivia have officially become parents after welcoming Fletcher Alastair Schaw into the world yesterday. Cameron has shared some beautiful photos with us and stated he is ‘just perfect’. A huge thanks to Trish who stepped into Pōhutukawa this week and we look forward to welcoming Carwyn on Monday for the next three...

Kia ora e te whānau, Today is the last day for Cameron, as he starts his paternity leave for the next four weeks. He and his wife Olivia are heading down to Wellington Hospital on Monday to have their baby boy. Our amazing staff put on a surprise baby shower for him on Wednesday and this afternoon, his lovely Pōhutukawa whānau gave him a beautiful gift bag that they all put together. As you can tell he is feeling the aroha (love)! Trish (the reliever, not OG Trish) will be in Pōhutukawa next week for him and Carwyn will be...

Nau mai hoki mai ki te wāhanga tuarua, (Welcome back to Term 2) On Monday, we held our traditional mihi whakatau to welcome new whānau to our kura. I'm always proud of how natural and normal this process has become for our tamariki. Nau mai Haere mai (Welcome) to Ari, who has joined Cameron in Pōhutukawa, Finn, who has joined Carly in Rātā. Finn is the younger brother of Luca who was a Year 6 with us last year, and Tyde, who has joined Anna in Rimu. Tyde is Dani’s son, Julie’s grandson and Makenna’s little brother.  Over the break,...

Ka nui te mihi mahana ki a koutou, (Warmest greetings to you all)  Getting in to you all a day early on the pānui (newsletter) with tomorrow being Good Friday. Mihi atu ki a koutou (Thanks everyone) for what has been a busy, fun and enjoyable first term back at Turitea. From the start of this year, the Ministry of Education (MoE) has updated attendance requirements across Aotearoa, New Zealand. All schools are required to implement an Attendance Management Plan (AMP) and expect them to reach the target of having at least 80% of ākonga (students) attending school more than 90% of...

Tēnā koutou katoa (Hello Everyone) It’s hard to believe, but we have just finished the penultimate week of our first term for 2026. It has been a ‘busy, but brilliant’ term so far. We have certainly jam packed lots of awesomeness into it! Ngā mihi nui (Big thanks) to those who booked a Kōrero mai session on Wednesday evening. We had over 80% of the available slots filled! These are an important part of our Reporting to Whānau cycle. At the end of next term, you will receive a written Mid Year Report, followed by another round of Kōrero Mai...

Ngā mihi maioha ki a koutou, (Warmest greetings to you all) Monday marked the first day for Emelie who joined Whaea Anneliese and the ākonga (students) in Tōtara. Her and her whānau have joined us from Dannevirke. Nau mai haere mai (Welcome to you) Emelie! We had an absolute cracker of a day on Tuesday with Ariki, Marnie, Lachie, Archer, Evie, Eddie, Lachie, Matthew, Caleb, Kaia, Joe, Rory, Oliver and Jackson taking part in the Weetbix Tryathlon. Thanks to the parents/whānau who came and supported them. Here is a quick reel that we made to celebrate the day. Yesterday, we...