Nau mai hoki mai ki te wāhanga tuarua, (Welcome back to Term 2)
We have certainly hit the ground running to start the new term. We opened with our usual Mihi Whakatau on Monday to welcome our new students and I am always beyond proud of our tamariki for just how normal this process has become for us at Turitea. Nau mai Haere mai (Welcome) to Penelope and your whānau as you have joined our hāpori (community) as the newest member in Rimu with Anna. Michaela from Netball Manawatū started the first of her six sessions of Boys Netball with our Year 2/3 students on Tuesday, helping develop their large ball skills. Next week our tuakana (seniors) embark on the Wonder Project, which is Engineering New Zealand’s free programme for schools. Dr. Amal Punchihewa from Massey University is sharing his expertise with them. Whaea Tūrehu has got us in preparation mode for Pae Tamariki, teaching our tamariki their performance bracket ready to take the big stage at the Regent in Week 6. Trish has started Chess Club back up in the mornings in Mataī with lots of keen players stretching their brains. Also this morning, our tuakana from Kauri helped us move all of our library books back into Kahikatea. It’s been all on!
As you may have noticed there has been a lot of action over the holidays with many property developments being completed which you can see above. The flooring job in Tāne Mahuta has been welcomed by all. We now have much more comfortable carpet, as well as getting rid of that awful smell in there, which has bothered me since I started here in 2022.
The rear car park has been chip sealed too and although this space is designed for our staff to use, it will free up a few more spaces along our roadside for your convenience. The seal is fresh, so it will need about a month to set. So if you do see a space there, please use it, but don’t move your tires on the seal while your vehicle is stationary, move your car backwards, then turn. But next week we are having a new septic tank system installed out the back there, so that space will be out of action for a few days anyway.
However, my favourite project which we completed was our external values signage in the front garden. Although our manaakitanga sign is missing due to a printer sizing error, we are getting this rectified and it will be installed very soon. I am very proud of our school uara (values) and I absolutely love that this is the first thing you see as you arrive at our kura. This is another project that I have longed to get completed, showcasing our beautiful manu tukutuku (kites) for everyone to see.
This week, we received twelve applications from our Year 6 rangatahi (students) to attend the upcoming World Vision Junior Youth Conference in Lower Hutt in Week 3. There are only six spots available, so we have the tough job of choosing those who will represent our kura at this exciting opportunity to connect with other school leaders and hear from inspirational leadership speakers.
Hui Ā Kura:
Our first Hui Ā Kura of the term was held in our refreshed Tāne Mahuta this afternoon led by Sophie and Kazuri from Tōtara. They both led very professionally and did a fabulous job keeping things moving, entertaining us all along the way. 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: Heidi – Whanaungatanga
- Rātā: Ben H – Mātauranga
- Pōhutukawa: Charlie P – Mātauranga
- Mataī: Zali – Mātauranga
- Tōtara: Maya – Mātauranga
- Kauri: Mikhail – Mātauranga
- Tumuaki: Deane – Manaakitanga
Mihi Atu ki a Koutou (Special Thanks):
I wanted to give a shout out to the following people for their amazing mahi recently:
- Lucain (Katara’s Dad) who built us a new and more reliable computer and sound system in Tāne Mahuta. Here’s hoping we don’t have as many ‘technical difficulties’ as we used to.
- Ollie (Finn and Lachie’s Dad) who built the casings and installed our beautiful signage out the front for us. Thanks for making this dream of mine a reality Ollie!
- Meryl/Peter (Stanley and Ben’s parents) who topped up both our sandpits with a couple of tonnes of sand so that our kids can dig to their heart’s content. It has been noticed already!
- Peter from HWC Touch who chose us as one of the lucky schools to have 30 new touch uniforms donated. Garth from Struddy’s is going to design these for us and we can’t wait to see them! Thanks to One Foundation, NZCT, Lion Foundation and Grassroots Trust Central for funding this.
Garden To Table:
This exciting new programme gets underway next week led by our kaitiaki legend, Meryl. She is being supported by one of our kaiawhina (teaching assistants) Kirstin to help deliver this to our tamariki. Tōtara/Kauri are our pilot class through the next five weeks, with hopefully the rest of the classes following on after them. We appreciate those of you who have responded to the short survey that was sent in the holidays, Meryl will make contact with you if you have said you can help. This survey is below if you haven’t already responded.
From the PTA:
Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) and regular term hui will be held on Tuesday 14th May (Week 3) at the earlier time of 6pm. Everyone is welcome, we’d love anyone to come along to hear updates and get involved if you wish. Our PTA Pool Party is locked in for Saturday 17th May from 6–8pm at the Lido Aquatic Centre. All Turitea whānau members are welcome to come along, parent supervision is required though. Sausage sizzle and snacks available for purchase. The slides will be open for children aged 8 and over. If you can lend a hand on the night, we’d love to hear from you. Great to see so many people rocking their new Turitea Hoodies, thanks for your orders.
From the Community:
- The Palmy Brick Show, returning at the end of this month, features a Brick Building Competition. The school can win prizes for the most entries, so any Lego enthusiasts out there, get involved!
- Parentline Manawatū have their services for Term 2 available here for those that are interested.
Getting in to you all nice and early that we have a Staff Only Day on Friday 30th May which is in Week 5 and is the Friday before the King’s Birthday Long Weekend. Our focus for this day will be continuing to focus on our refreshed curriculum.
Hei te Mane (See you Monday)
Troy
principal@turitea.school.nz