Category: News

There was a nice sea of pink throughout the school today as our kids joined the Pink Shirt movement to show that we are upstanders, not bystanders when it comes to bullying. As a school, it is hard to commit to all the different days and weeks raising awareness for charitable trusts, even though they are all massively important, so thanks to those who got involved. Nau mai, haere mai to Mason, who has moved to us from Bainesse School to join Cameron and the crew in Tōtara. Grace is our newest 5 year old in Rimu with Meagan and...

Kia ora e te whānau, Thank you for your support with our power outage situation yesterday - what a shemozzle! The age old saying ‘You’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t’ massively came into play here when making the tough call to close the school. This is why I gave all the information to our MoE team to make the call for us. It was good learning for us however (and hopefully for you also) as to what to do in the event of an emergency situation here at school. Because we had no power/internet, we had to...

Arohamai (sorry) I forgot to let you know that last week we sent just over $3,000 to Twyford School, just out of Hastings as our contribution to their flood relief from the devastating Cyclone Gabrielle. I know the principal Sam is very appreciative of your generosity with our swimathon and coin trail. Extra special welcome this week to Maya who joined the team in Mataī with Trish. It is so cool that she has finally joined her little brother Dylan at our school. Nau mai (welcome) Maya! 

Well the vibe around the place after the holidays is really positive, so we’ve started off the new term in great shape! This week we welcomed lots of new whānau to the school. We did this with a Mihi Whakatau (informal welcome) to set the tone for what Turitea School is all about for our new families. A huge thanks to Shane Hutson from Te Whānau Māori who did the whaikorero (speech) on behalf of our new whānau. It was also nice to officially welcome Hannah who joined our teaching staff this week working alongside Meagan in Rimu.

Kia ora e te whānau, And just like that, we have nearly finished Term 1! This week we welcomed Patrick to Rimu, who finally joins his big sister Quinn at school. Unfortunately this afternoon we farewell Angus and Penny as they are returning home to Dunedin. We know they will be sorely missed by their friends here and the PTA appreciated all the mahi you’ve helped with Sonia. Safe travels to you and Shanon!  Learner Conferences: We have locked these in for Thursday 27th April from 3.15 - 5.45pm and Thursday 4th May from 2.15 - 7.30pm. School will finish...

Kia ora e te whānau, Happy last Friday of the term everyone. Isn’t that a crazy thought? Lots on at the moment… Strike in Schools: Not that kind of Strike! They are a percussion group that came and performed for us on Wednesday. Check out the pics above or video here. Hopefully it inspired our kids to get into a bit of drumming or maybe sign up for Epic lessons with Oscar next term.  Te Whānau Māori:  Whakawhetai to the whānau who came and shared a kai and a korero last night at our first Te Whānau Māori hui of the...

Kia ora e te whānau, Thank you again to all of you who braved the rainy weather and came and helped make our annual Monster Garage Sale a huge success. After not being able to have it last year, it was a reminder for me of what rural schools are all about, which is where the school is the ‘beating heart’ of the community. Massive shout out to the PTA Members and others who gave up their time to run a stall, sell raffle tickets, turn a snag on the barbie or donate goods for the white elephant stall. We...

Kia ora e te whānau, I have to thank you all for your support of yesterday’s Teacher Strike. I know this must have caused some of you an inconvenience, but we appreciated the people who responded with or shared their words of encouragement, it meant a lot. One thing I want to reiterate is that yesterday wasn’t about getting more pay for teachers, as often the media can portray a strike in that light. It is about getting the support and conditions that schools are needing to cater for the growing diverse needs in every classroom. Our Turitea teachers work...

Kia ora e te whānau, We had a fab start to our Friday morning today with our Monster Dress Up day parade. This is always a fun event with so much creativity when it comes to costume design. The infamous dance party that we have afterwards is always a bit of fun too. Thanks for your support with celebrating a day of rekareka! (fun) TEACHER STRIKE: You may have heard on the news that next Thursday 16th March, Turitea School will be closed for instruction due to the teachers across New Zealand striking. We know this will be an inconvenience...

Kia ora e te whānau, For those who came last Friday to the Whānau BBQ, we hope you enjoyed yourself. Massive thanks to all the members of the PTA whose organisation skills made the evening run smoothly and was really special. It was great to see so many different people connecting together showing that we are more than just a school, we are a community! A true showcase of Whanaungatanga which is about forming positive relationships. Twyford School Support: Thanks for your support of our Black and White Day on Wednesday. Our coin trail generated over $300 which we will...