Ka nui te mihi mahana ki a koutou, (Warmest greetings to you all)
And just like that, the last day of term is already here! Despite the miserable weather last Friday night, it was great to see so many of you at our Easter Event. Thank you to the PTA for the organisation and to you all for your attendance, there were plenty of smiles from many happy tamariki. Quite the contrast in weather this Friday with the sun lately making for a glorious day!
We were able to make the most of it by holding an Anzac Service just before lunch today with the support of Hunter (Dad of Topher and Ben). We have a few military parents, so it’s always nice to have them come in to share what they do for their job. So they came in style bringing a few variations of the MHOV (Medium Heavy Operations Vehicle) as you can see above. Thanks to Sarita and Raniera (Parents of Ihaia and Keita), Ken (Dad of Mackenzie), Hannah (Mum of Leo) Casey (Dad of Griffin) and Scotty from the NZDF.
As you can see below, we had a visit from our lovely Hannah with her beautiful baby Cleo this week. It was so nice to have her back in our space and get lots of baby love! The kids in Rātā who all came from her class last year also enjoyed seeing and meeting her pēpi also. A nice little last week of term ‘pick me up’ for sure!
Monday marked the first day of school for Heidi, younger sister of Marnie in Pōhutukawa. She joined Anna and the other 11 ākonga (learners) in Rimu. We know you have been ready to start school for ages, so nau mai, haere mai (welcome to you).
This week marked the last games for a few of our codes including Senior Netball and Badminton as you can above. Awesome to see our tamariki enjoying hākinakina (being active) and showing a love for sport.
Year 6 Mural Project:
This morning we unveiled our newly completed Year 6 Mural and it looks tino miharo! (beyond amazing!) It is called ‘Ngā Tukutuku O Turitea – The Kites of Turitea.’ Our uara (values) are depicted in the shape of a kite, so Carolyn used this as inspiration for her concept. Each of the ten kites were split into three sections; ngā kararehe (animals), whakapapa (ancestry) and tukutuku (patterning). They worked from a palette of using different shades of blue, since it is our school colour. The thinking behind what went into each of these spaces were very carefully chosen:
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- The animals chosen each represent our school values by showing acts of these in their ‘way of being’ in the wild.
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- The landmarks were grouped together by regions that reflect all of the current nationalities that make up our hapori (school community).
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- The tukutuku (traditional Māori weaving patterns) tells a story through its shape, space and design that encompasses the artwork as a whole.
All the pūrakau (story) behind this is being compiled and will be able to be accessed on our website and we will put a QR code up there, which will link you to this. Although the mural team was made up of ten main artists, all of our Year 6’s took part in this project and contributed to the design process and the ten pieces represent them all as a rōpu (group).
Hui Ā Kura:
Our final Hui Ā Kura of the term was held outside in the quad today, led by Hugo and Blake from Kauri. They both proudly recited their pepeha to start and set the tone for an amazing assembly. We also started a new fortnightly award to be given out by Meryl just for our uara of Kaitiakitanga. This idea came from one of our tamariki who thought that she should recognise those tamariki who go over and above during garden club. As usual, we recognised those who model our school’s uara consistently, through our fortnightly tiwhikete (certificates) that we give out. Those people were:
- Rimu: Beckett – Mātauranga
- Rātā: Caleb F – Mātauranga
- Pōhutukawa: Kaia – Whanaungatanga
- Mataī: Meren – Whanaungatanga
- Tōtara: Jack – Manaakitanga
- Kauri: Baxter – Manaakitanga
- Tumuaki: Ruby – Whanaungatanga
- Kaitiaki: Riley from Tōtara
Giant Paukena (Pumpkin) Competition:
Also at Hui Ā Kura, we announced the winners of our Giant Paukena Competition. Thanks to Nathan Mooney for sponsoring the prizes. Whakamihi ki a koutou: (Congratulations to)
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- Biggest and Heaviest Pumpkin – Munroe with Nui Karaka
- Best Coloured Pumpkin – Esme with Bob
- Best Named Pumpkin – Patrick with Jack Squashington
- Most Creative Pumpkin – Alice with Eggie
- Most Attractive Pumpkin – Riley and Skyla with Poppy
- Most Unique Textured Pumpkin – Quinn K with Wrinkly Bob.
Mooney Magic:
Whakawhetai ki a koe (Massive thanks) to Nathan Mooney from Property Brokers who listed and sold Anna’s house and he donated $1,000 to the school as a referral reward for us. You might have noticed he had some help from his son Van on his latest listing at 23 Eyre Road, which has also come from a Turitea referral, so we appreciate you trusting Nathan with the sale of your home. If you are thinking about selling or are interested in what your house is worth, get in touch with him as he’d love to work his ‘Mooney Magic’ for you!
Trees for Survival:
This year we have joined the Trees for Survival programme and being part of this means they donate us a shadehouse which we are going to put down near the microforest. Very kindly, Robyn from Pratt Quarries in Aokautere has donated a truckload of metal and John (Heidi and Marnie’s Dad) is going to use this to prep the foundation for the install of this. We are so lucky to have many generous people in our community!
Property Updates:
Today the work started on Tāne Mahuta and Kahikatea, where they are removing the carpet, grinding back the concrete, laying a new moisture proofing membrane and then installing new carpet tiles. This will hopefully get rid of that dank smell in there once and for all. This should be completed over the holidays ready for next term. Also over the holidays, Dallas from DN Driveways is chip sealing our car parking on either side of the turf, which will tidy up that space massively. Our roofing and gutter work should start too with scaffolding and safety fences being installed in certain areas around the school. Isles Construction are managing this 8 week project for us and will be completed by the end of next term.
From the Community:
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- NZ Blood always needs more donors. Have you considered giving blood before? Check out the poster for more information.
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- Kelly Sports are running their usual Tuesday afternoon clinics next term with more information and registration details here.
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- Marist Football are running First Kicks next term, a $45 fun 10-week program aimed at 4–6 year olds and is a great opportunity to introduce sport to young children. See the poster for more details.
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- Tokomaru Cubs led by former Turitea parent Erin, invites adventurous 8-11 year olds to join their weekly meetups for lots of outdoor fun on Wednesdays at 5:30pm at Tokomaru Scouts Hall.
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- West End Scouts meet Wednesday at the Scout Hall on Fergusson St. Keas (5-8 yrs) run from 4.15-5.30pm and Cubs (8-11 yrs) run from 6.30-8pm. If your child is keen, see here for more info.
Holiday Programmes:
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- Kelly Sports Holiday Programme – See their information here.
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- Junior Jets Basketball Camp – More information here.
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- Bounce Basketball Academy – See the poster here.
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- Epic Music – Check out our website for more information.
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- Badminton Manawatū – See the flyer here.
Colouring Competitions:
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- City Honda has an Easter competition which your kids might enjoy. Link here.
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- School of Rock has some tickets up for grabs to their show in their competition. Link here.
Ngā mihi o Te Aranga (Happy Easter) and if you are travelling, noho oro mai (be safe and well). We have a mihi whakatau to welcome our new whānau members at 9am on Monday 28th April, which is our first day back next term. You are more than welcome to join us on this kaupapa (topic) if you would like to.
Hei te wāhanga tuarua (See you in Term 2)
Troy
principal@turitea.school.nz