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 for you as parents, but our collective teacher union (NZEI) members have voted in favour of striking because our tamariki need a quality education and we want to give that to them. Unfortunately, the funding for our schools and kindergartens is not enough for us to give us the time we would like to support all our kids to thrive. We need to attract and retain educators by ensuring that teaching is a valued and attractive profession. Principals and teachers have considered at length offers from the government to settle our respective collective agreements. The offers did not meet our expectations, nor make sufficient steps towards the changes we need for our children to succeed. Striking is the last thing we wanted to do and the decision was not taken lightly. We felt that this was the only way the government would listen and recognise that when they support our children to learn and succeed, we are supporting whānau and communities to thrive.
New Teacher:
Next term we welcome a new teacher, Hannah Evans to Turitea School. She will be working in Rimu/ Mānuka alongside Meagan. Hannah brings a wealth of experience in teaching across a range of levels in schools in Palmerston North, Auckland, Cambridge and London. We look forward to her joining our team. This week, we also welcomed Lucy Hirst from Waikato University to Tōtara as a trainee teacher. She will be in every Tuesday for the rest of the year learning alongside Cameron and his fantastic class.
From the PTA:
Thank you to those of you who brought in a can, packet and bottle this morning for the grocery raffle. Monster Garage Sale (Saturday 18th March) is just around the corner. Next Friday 17th March you can bring in your items for the white elephant stall and also your baking for the cake stall on a plate and wrapped in gladwrap ready to sell. If you’d like to help on or before the day, please add your name to the helper board.
Swimathon:
Tau Ke (Awesome job) to our tamariki from Tōtara and Kahikatea who were involved in their Swimathon today. The vibe out there was amazing and I know you all worked hard to swim non stop, as well as collect sponsorship for Twyford School to help them restore their kura after Cyclone Gabrielle. They had over $2,300 pledged and swam combined over 144km, which is the distance from here to Waiouru.
Lucky Book Online:
We are gathering your voice on Lucky Books to see if we move as a school to only online (no cash in the office) when completing your order. Are you able to do the quick survey at the bottom of this pānui for us?
MCA Yeah Girls Cricket:
Next Tuesday the Manawatū Cricket Academy will be promoting Girls Cricket with our kotiro in Year 4-6. Sarah and Jess will be running a taster and some lunchtime sessions about their Yeah Girls programme.
Cluster Swimming:
On Thursday 23rd March we have Cluster Swimming at the Kupe Pools at Linton Military Camp for Year 4-6 students who want to compete. Notes are coming home today for those involved.
Year 5/6 Inter School Triathlon:
The Inter School Triathlon is next Wednesday 15th March from 12.30pm – 2.30pm at Skoglund Park. Information and sign up details can be found here. Last day to register is by the end of today!
Sports Registrations for Term 2:
Tough Guy/Gal Challenge: REGISTER HERE Table Tennis: REGISTER HERE Basketball: REGISTER HERE
Calendar:
You can easily view all our events for the year through the Hero app. If you click the three lines in the top left hand corner of the screen and then scroll down to Events.
Subway:
Remember you can order Subway for your child’s kai every Friday through Lunchonline, the link is in Hero. Please can you check to make sure your child’s classroom is up to date with this year’s class.
Guttering:
On the odd chance you might have some guttering or piping laying around your house, the tamariki in Rimu would love to have it in their water play area. Meagan and Anneliese would really appreciate it.
Holiday/TOD/Strike Programmes:
The YMCA! have a few offers of upcoming holiday programmes and Teacher Only Day care and Teacher Strike available. Reach out to them if you would like to use their facilities.
Kia pai tō wiki mutunga, Have a safe and happy weekend.
Troy