Tēnā koutou katoa, (Greetings to you all)
I had another super proud tumuaki (principal) moment on Wednesday morning, when we had two very important people from Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga (The Ministry of Education) visit our school; Melanie Taite, our Kaiwhakahaere (Director of Education) and Regan Orr, our Kaitohutohu Matua (Leadership Advisor) graced us with their presence. Melanie is new to the role and has come up from Ōtautahi (Christchurch) so we were the first kura that she visited in the Manawatū. So we knew we had to turn it on for her and started the morning with the most amazing Haka Pōwhiri to welcome them into our space. Our tamariki really stepped up and impressed them hugely, showing their passion, enthusiasm and love of performing. They then had the grand tour and mentioned so many things they loved about our spaces, our learning, our programmes, our teachers and most importantly our wonderful learners.
In other great news, Cleo Eilidh (say Ay-Lee) Evans arrived yesterday morning. Beautiful name right? Hannah and baby are both doing well. Older siblings Wyatt and Belle are pretty smitten with their new little sister. We look forward to having them come out for a visit when they are settled into that ‘new baby’ life.
As I mentioned to you last week, our Year 6 students are given responsibilities over the course of the year to grow them as rangatira (leaders) within our kura. This morning I had Henry, Luca, Sophie and Kazuri (pictured above) join me to help Meryl weed the microforest as they have grown out of control – just look at the huge fadge they filled and we still have so much more to still! They also led the teina (juniors) from Mataī and Pōhutukawa who came and helped us with this mammoth task. If you have anyone in your whānau that would love to lend us a hand with weed control down there, please reach out as they are taking over our beautiful native trees down there. Meryl has also harvested a range of huawhenua (vegetables) straight from our māra (garden) and these are in the pātaka kai (pantry) if you would like to help yourself this afternoon.
If you didn’t already know, this week was Sea Week and Meagan used that as her theme for learning this week as she released the teachers from Rimu, Pōhutukawa and Rātā. They measured out on the court the size of some sea creatures to give us some perspective of how large they can grow. As you can see above, five students from Pōhutukawa make up the length of a great white shark… Anana! (Wow)
Kōrero Mai:
Don’t forget to book a session with your child’s kaiako (teacher) next week on either Monday 10th, Tuesday 11th and Wednesday 12th March in the afternoon for a 15 minute slot. This is to check in with you all about how your tamariki has started the year and to collaboratively set some goals moving forward. You can book this through the Hero app on the home screen by clicking on the School Bookings tab. If you can’t make the time on offer, please email the teacher to arrange an alternative time.
Triathlon:
- On Wednesday we had Rory, Kyerin, Maya, Blake and Ben represent Turitea at the Interschool Triathlon at Skoglund Park. There are some cool pictures of them above and they did exceptionally well on a tough circuit, competing against rangatahi (young people) from over 25 different Palmerston North kura. Rory won the Year 5 Boys event and Kyerin came 5th. What an outstanding achievement. Ka rawe koutou! (Awesome everyone)
- Monday marked the completion of the ‘I Tri’d the Tri’ series that is run by the Manawatū Triathlon Club. The feedback from parents I’ve spoken to about it has been really positive with regards to the event organisation and their child’s participation. Let’s hope we have more kids involved next year.
- The Weetbix Tryathlon is on Tuesday 18th March and you can still register your child here if they are 6 or above by then. Don’t forget to join the Turitea School group. Whaea Anneliese will be attending on the day, so look out for the Turitea gazebo for our kids to have as a meeting point.
From the PTA:
- We are organising our Easter Event in Week 10 on Friday 4th April from 4pm – 7.30pm. In true Turitea fashion, we will have an ‘Easter Theme’ dress up day on Wednesday 2nd April, where your child can dress in anything that fits that! We also ask you to please bring in a can, a packet and a bottle to contribute to the grocery raffle hamper. There will be tubs in the office to drop these off to.
- Turitea merch sales are open now with hoodies and our brand new umbrellas available to purchase here. Orders must be in by Wednesday 26th March, which also happens to be the date of our next PTA meeting at 7pm in the staffroom. All are welcome to come hang out with us.
- Doughboys have made ordering Hot Cross Buns this year heaps easier. So order away here and feel free to share this service as you book and pay through them and they will deliver them to school.
From the Community:
- Massey Kids’ Club have spaces in their after school programme, providing a safe and nurturing environment for children 5-13 years until 5:30pm. Children enjoy outdoor activities, sports and afternoon tea in a spacious setting at Massey University. Contact Lakin for more information.
- The Festival of Colours is back, expect an explosion of colour, epic beats and awesome photo ops for you and your whānau. It is on Friday 21st March from 4-7pm in Te Marae o Hine (The Square) Entry is free but paint powder can be purchased on the day. Check out our event details here.
- Nga Tawa is having an Open Day on Friday 28th March for those who might be interested in this kura for their daughter in the future. Registration and information can be found here.
Minecraft Cubeez:
We realise that these are currently all the rage at the moment with another new Countdown collectible available. We do classify them as toys though and we have a no toys at school policy, so would appreciate it if you could encourage your kids to keep these at home. An idea that was brought up was to arrange an at school swapping afternoon, which we could try and get our tuakana (seniors) to organise in the future.
Pool Users:
This sudden weather change has meant we aren’t seeing as many users of our pool after hours, which is a shame. If you do use it after school, please can you ensure you lock the gate afterwards. Ngā mihi.
Kia pai tō rā whakatā! (Have a great weekend!)
Troy
principal@turitea.school.nz