Mihi atu ki a koutou, (Greetings to you all)
Perhaps we need a dress up day every Friday? Our kids love it and it is really ‘bucket filling’ seeing them arrive at school looking so bright, happy and pumped as you can see above! The perfect way to come to kura if you ask me… Today’s theme around spring colours was to keep building the hype for our Spring Fling which is on next weekend. Our Facebook event tells us we could expect upwards of 500 people coming along, which would be absolutely amazing! Hope this date is locked in your calendar and you’ve told your friends, colleagues and neighbours all about it.
One of the best parts of my job is when I get kids to come and make a visit to the office to share something with me. I love hearing the excited knock at the office window and hearing them ask Julie ‘Can we please see Troy?’ Today we have had lots of visitors… First I had Freddie and Charlie bring me a bunch of wildflowers picked by the Garden Club for my birthday. I also had Olivia from Kahikatea come and share with me some of the amazing writing she did with Faye yesterday, as you can see below. Then this afternoon, we had James and Kate, who are ex-Turitea kids come back to visit their kura from their childhood. They enjoyed the walk down memory lane and found lots of things from their past (including Trish who used to teach James back in the day). It is always cool to meet former students and hear about their fond memories of Turitea.
This week we said ‘Maligayang Pagdating’ (Welcome) to Rashid who has joined Trish and the ākonga in Mataī. He comes to us from Longburn School, by way of the Philippines. We hope you and your whānau enjoy being a part of this really special community.
Te Rangimārie Marae Visits:
I am really looking forward to our excursion to Te Rangimārie Marae next week. Tamariki in Kahikatea, Mataī and Rātā are going on Wednesday 11th September. Those from Tōtara, Pōhutukawa and Rimu are going together on Thursday 12th September. Thank you if you have already notified us that you want to come along for this – Ka rawe! (Awesome). Arohamai (Apologies) if your tamariki are split across the two days and you were forced to pick a favourite child to come along with. We hope you enjoy the day and embrace the significance of this experience that we are providing our tamariki in accessing Te Ao Māori (The Māori World). It’s not too late to join us, find the short survey on the separate Hero note to let us know if you can come.
From the Fundraising Committee:
8 more days until the Spring Fling and we can’t wait! It is all set for next Saturday 14th September (if you didn’t already know). Thank you for your generous donation of all the books, as seen above, for our pre-loved book sale. We hope this attracts a lot of keen bookworms. If you want to do a last minute closet or shelf cleanout over the weekend, please do that and send the books into the office. Another reminder that if your child is in Year 4-6 or in the Choir, we need them at school to perform Kapa Haka and some waiata (songs) by 10.30am on the day please.
Giant Paukena Competition Seeds:
Your free seeds for this should have come home last week to plant ready for our exciting annual event! If you didn’t find these in your child’s bag, we do have spares so come and see us in the office. Looking forward to beating our records from earlier this year of 23 different sized pumpkins and our heaviest one grown by Harper, which was a whopping 83kg! Follow the Facebook page that Meryl set up for tips and information.
Activity Fees for Term 3:
We have 15 school days in the term remaining and we still have almost a quarter of Activity Fees still outstanding. A big chunk of this term’s fee will go towards our marae excursion next week. If you could please check on Hero where you sit with your payments, we would really appreciate that.
Holiday Programmes:
‘Tis that time again whānau to start thinking about this, if you are unable to take leave these coming holidays. I’ll compile the list of options that I have been sent already and will continue to populate this space as more come through over the next week or so.
- Wild Nature School is back running their programme. Email Kirsty for more information.
- Massey Kids Club also have their programme. Email Lakin for more information.
- Kelly Sports have their programme. Email Craig for more information.
From the Community:
- Raffle for Maia – Mel, the tumuaki at Tokomaru School let me know about Maia, a local 14 year old girl who has been diagnosed with Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. Unfortunately there are no treatment/surgery options available in NZ and Germany is the best option for life saving surgery. There is a great raffle to support Maia that you might like to support, the prize is epic!
- Next Sunday 15th September (day after the Spring Fling) there is a Green Corridor planting day at Valley Views, which is down the road at 203 Turitea Rd from 10am – 12pm. Our tuakana (seniors) were involved in this project last year and really enjoyed planting trees for the future down by the Turitea Stream. Head on down and give them a hand, great links to our uara (value) of kaitiakitanga.
- This evening, Kinky Boots opens at the Regent on Broadway and runs until Saturday 21st September. Our very own Dani is in the choir ensemble, proudly sponsored by Kate and the team at Bijonei Hair Design. She features in this alongside ex-student Manawa from our kura last year. This show comes highly recommended, so if you fancy a night out, get your tickets here.
- The Amazing Dinosaur Discovery is on at Railway Land on Pitt St this weekend and next weekend. Your child should have a flyer in their bag this afternoon or you can check it out here.
- Icebreaker Aquatics is looking for new swimmers for next term. Check out their flyer here or have a chat to Janina (Antonio and Ella’s Mum) before or after school one day.
- IPU Tertiary Institute of New Zealand is hosting their Sakura Day on Saturday 21st September from 10am – 3pm with plenty of things to see and do. It’s just up the road too on Aokautere Drive.
- The Mudder Event is on Saturday 21st September at 498 Makuhou Rd, Marton from 8am – 3pm. This event comes highly recommended from some of our Turitea Whānau. You can get tickets here.
Kia pai tō rā whakatā! (Have a great weekend)
Troy