Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou (Warmest greetings to you all),
Getting this out to you all a day earlier than usual. Mānawatia a Matariki ki āpōpō (Happy Matariki for tomorrow) Our tamariki are working hard to complete their Matariki themed artwork in class at the moment. Our goal is to decorate Tāne Mahuta (the Hall) with all of this beautiful mahi toi (art) in the hope that your child brings you through this space to show off their creation next week during our Kōrero Mai (Learner Conferences) which are on Wednesday 3rd July/Thursday 4th July. (This also happens to be the last week of term if you weren’t aware.) You should have received a notification through Hero to book these in. If you haven’t seen it, you can find it on your Hero homepage under School Bookings.
Reporting to Whānau:
As I mentioned last week, our Mid Year Reports are going through their final checks and these will be live on Hero for you to view on Monday next week (or they will be in your child’s bag in the afternoon if they are in Rimu). These are a huge job for our kaiako as they have put a lot of effort into communicating how your tamariki are doing at school. We hope you appreciate these and please take the time to sit with your child and read them together. You could make it a bit special by cuddling up on their bed or that nice spot in your house and sharing their learning and celebrating it. I get the pleasure of reading every single one and reading their student voice is my favourite part. I often chuckle reading some of these, but it’s nice to actually know what your child loves about kura.
Interschool Ki-O-Rahi:
What a day our Ki-O-Rahi team had yesterday at the Interschool event. Thanks to Cameron and the parents who came and supported our Year 5/6 team. Out of the 30 teams that took part, we came sixth place, despite being undefeated in our pool matches (it came down to goal differential). Not bad for a small school huh?
Mihi atu to Jaydn from Whakapai Hauora who has been teaching this to our kids for the last six weeks. He commented on how well they all played as a ‘team’ and not individuals. Whakamīharo! (Outstanding) You might notice in the picture above the cool Turitea sign that they are holding. Huge thanks to John (Billy’s Dad) who salvaged this and cut it out from our wrecked sign, what a cool idea. Our kids were proud carrying that around showing school spirit!
Ngā Taonga Tākaro/Traditional Māori Games:
Next Friday from 1pm we are engaging in a Traditional Māori Games afternoon where our tamariki will be split into Tuakana/Teina (Senior/Junior) groups and work their way around a rotation learning different games and doing activities. We made the decision to not have a Hui ā Kura (Assembly) on this day to give us the time to do this. If you are interested in learning more about Ngā Taonga Tākaro, please come and join in. It will be a nice way to celebrate the end of the term together.
Table Tennis:
Our table tennis teams have dominated in the local tournament which wrapped up earlier in the week. The team of Henry, Xavier and Blake were winners in division one and the team of Kazuri, Topher and Olivia were runners-up in division two. On top of that, Henry was awarded 1st place individually and Kazuri 2nd place individually. What a season they had. Kikino te pai koutou (That’s amazing everyone)
DanceNZmade:
Dani had the first taster session for those in Year 3-6 for DanceNZmade, so hopefully your child might have come home and told you about it and you have joined them up. If not, you can sign them up here by clicking on Entries then Dancer Development Registration then Palmerston North Regional 2 then Registered Dancer and fill in their details. We have to say that next Friday will be the final day to register your child for this so they can lock down line formations and costumes. The Interschool event is on Tuesday 12th August.
From the PTA:
We have spaces for up to three more teams at our upcoming quiz night which is coming up on Saturday 6th July at the Manawatū Hockey Pavilion at 7pm. Register your team here if you haven’t got round to it. Looking forward to seeing you all at this event.
Activity Fee for Term 2:
We still have about 20 payments of these outstanding for this term. If you could check whether this could be you. Do this through the Hero app by clicking on the Finances tab.
Celebrating Puanga:
Need something to do tomorrow, head down to the Puanga Festival from 3pm – 7pm at Central Energy Trust Arena’s Pit Lane. This is whānau friendly with plenty of kai, stalls, kapa haka, free activities and the incredible Anika Moa will also be performing. More information can be found here.
Holiday Programmes:
Making sure you have a ‘plethora’ of options if you need these services over the holidays.
- Epic Music Academy – Head to Epic for registration and more information.
- Manawatū Cricket Association (MCA) – Click here for registration and more information.
- Bounce Academy – Check out their basketball holiday programme here.
- True Hoops – Register for their basketball programme here.
- Wild Things – Have a look at this newly offered nature based programme.
- Netball Manawatū – Check out what they have on offer.
- Kelly Sports – Has something fun every single day.
I am part of a Principal Learning Group (PLG) with five other tumuaki in the Manawatū rohe (region). This Sunday we are heading down to Raumati for two nights for an ‘unconference’ that we have designed ourselves. We are working with a coaching expert and a leadership advisor to grow us all professionally. So I won’t see you all at the gate next week, but someone from our team will fill my shoes. Trish and Karen will keep the place running smoothly in my absence.
Hei te Rāapa (See you Wednesday)
Troy
principal@turitea.school.nz