Tēnā koutou katoa, (Hello Everyone)
This week we embraced Te Wiki o te Pangarau (Maths Week) as you can see above. Each day different teachers read a maths-based story or taught a maths game with every class after lunch. We also had daily estimation challenges across the kura. Estimation might just seem like ‘making a guess’ but teaching our tamariki to make educated guesses promotes their number sense, problem-solving skills, ability to reason and justify their thinking.
Monday was How many paper clips in the container?
Tuesday was How many steps will it take Troy to walk from the front gate to Mātaī’s classroom door? Wednesday was How many basketball shots can Troy score in one minute?
Thursday was How many cubes fit in one of Troy’s Jordans?
And today was How long will it take Cameron and Troy to scooter around the track?
Big mihi (thanks) to those who have been getting involved in our daily whānau pātai (family questions) that we post on Hero. We have been impressed with how full the box has been with entries every morning. We trust you have enjoyed doing these challenges as a whānau. We sourced some of these from Math Before Bed if you wanted to continue this tradition as a whānau.
I’m sure you’ll join me in thanking our amazing PTA for putting on an outstanding evening last Saturday for our annual Quiz Night. Thank you to those who came along, supported and donned the Wild West attire. Nearly $3,500 was raised on the night which will go towards our new playground shade sails…Yee haw! You may have noticed a bit of activity on the field yesterday as Hayden, Janelle and Tim were installing our new goalposts on the field. These were purchased by the PTA and our kids will be stoked to use these when they are finished being installed. Huge thanks to everyone for helping get this one completed!
Production ticket orders went live last week for the two shows on Friday 12th September (see the previous Hero post or click here to order. Please put your last name too). For our 6-7pm show, over a third of the tickets have already been allocated. If you opted to add the payment to your Hero account, Julie has done that for you now. Our competition to design the programme cover closed today and we got some masterclass entries and it was a tough job choosing one winner. Whakamihi nui ki a koe (Congratulations to) Elisa for creating the winning design above, your lunch at Burger King next Monday is on me! All our tamariki are expected to take part in their classes item on stage, so you just need to buy a ticket for those who want to be in the audience.
This week we welcomed Te Ahikā and Carter to Rimu with Anna and Kristin. They are both the first in their whānau to attend our kura. Nau mai haere mai ki te kura o Turitea (Welcome to Turitea School) Sadly this weekend, Mikhail and his whānau are moving to Perth, Australia, so today marked his last day with us. We wish him and Milana (who moved on from us to PNINS) all the best at their new school ‘across the ditch.’
In recent pānui (newsletter), I have shared an overview where we asked you: “What qualities, dispositions, skills, and knowledge do you think our tamariki need to thrive?” Last week I tried to streamline each aspect of these responses by asking: Among the Qualities that were listed, which ONE do you believe is the MOST crucial for our tamariki right now? Here were your responses:
–14 people chose Kindness
-14 people chose Resilience
–14 people chose Confidence
–3 people chose Curiosity
–2 people chose Empathy
-2 people chose Independence
A pretty even split on those top three choices. This is helping us gather informal voice as we update our Strategic Plan next year. I’d like to continue this theme of collecting your views quickly through the short survey feature below, so I appreciate you doing this for us. Here is this week’s pātai for you: Among the Dispositions that were listed, which ONE do you believe is the MOST crucial for our tamariki right now?”
-A love of learning
-Willingness to take risks
-Accepting of each other’s differences and learning abilities
-Strong sense of connection and belonging
-Sense of responsibility for themselves and their actions
-Something else (I’ll email Troy)
Board of Trustees (BoT) Elections:
On Wednesday you should have received an email from Election Pilot with the details about how to vote for the candidates you think would best represent our Board of Trustees. A diverse, well-rounded board needs a mix of people with different skills, experiences and backgrounds that will make up the voice of our school community. We were lucky to get seven people wanting to stand for the five positions we have available. You have until 4pm on Wednesday 10th September to vote online or bring your voting papers into the office. If you didn’t receive an email or anything in the post from them, please let us know so we can follow up.
From the Community:
- Manawatū Cricket Association (MCA) is gearing up for Smash Cricket, it is open for Year 1-4 students. Scan the code on the poster if your child might be interested.
- Manawatū Hockey are having a Working Bee next Saturday 23rd August at the Twin Turfs. They would appreciate any volunteers who can spare time (and tools) between 9am-1pm.
- Bunnings is having a free Father’s Day Family Night, packed with activities like DIY projects, interactive games and pizza and a sausage sizzle. Book online soon, as spots are limited.
- Massey Kids Club offers before and after school care for kids until 5:30pm. They provide a nurturing environment with activities, outdoor play, meals, and pick-ups and drop-offs.
Hei te Mane (See you Monday)
Troy
principal@turitea.school.nz