Kia ora e te whānau,
This will be the last pānui I write to you for 2022… We made it! What an amazing year we have had with so much to celebrate. Thank you all for your positivity and support as I made it through my first year at Turitea and first being a principal too. A great way to finish too as this afternoon we had our Xmas Pool Party and what a fun way to end the year! Huge thanks to the amazing PTA who put it all on, our kids got blasted by Santa on a Firetruck and many of them teamed up on me with their water guns, so that was pretty cool.
Staff Farewells:
This week marks the final week for Kate Baillie. We can’t thank Kate enough for her contribution to our kura in the time she has been here. From taking the lead on embedding Structured Literacy in our school, Helping coordinate our Lamb, Calf and Pet Day to getting the team ready for the Regional Jump Jam competition, she’s done it all! Your bubbly and vibrant personality will be missed Kate.
It also is the last week for Chris Ricketts. Chris has been our Kauri teacher every Thursday to release Trish. We have all loved having him be part of our team, whether it’s someone to talk Formula 1 with after race day with Shane and I, taking the kids to their sporting events or making the kids laugh at his yarns. He will be missed as he joins his family in the UK from February 2023.
Whānāu Farewells:
Our amazing cohort of Year 6’s fly off to intermediate school next year. Farewell to Abigail, Ava, Bachir, Cory, Dana, Elisha, Finn, Izzy, Jethro, Katelyn, Khobe, Kiara LG, Kiara M, Leah, Maggie, Myah, Rania, Rosalie, Samantha, Sienna, Solomon and Theo. For some of these kids, they are the last of their whānau line to come here ending a long connection with our Turitea. All the best to you and your whānau for the next stage of your journey. ‘Mā te huruhuru ka rere te manu – Adorn the bird with feathers so it may soar’
Saying goodbye is never easy, but circumstances change for some whānau as they move locations and school. We regretfully are losing Mylo, Toa, Harper, Hinetera, Aria, Mikhail and Milana. You will all be missed as you have your last day with us tomorrow too.
End of Year Reports:
By now, you should have received a notification to view your child’s end of year report on Hero for 2022. I have included here a slideshow to explain how this all works and our thoughts around this. You can also find this on the About This Page section in Hero on the 2022 report page. This also gives you information about reading the graphs and how to print etc. You can also click on the 3 lines up the top left hand corner, then click the down arrow next to your child’s name and then My 2023 Class to see their placement for next year. They will be meeting their next year’s teacher and class tomorrow at 10.30am, so they can leave school knowing what next year will look like.
School Stationery for 2023:
As I mentioned last week, next year we are enlisting the services of OfficeMax for our back to school stationery. You will be able to purchase your child’s stationery directly from them as a pack. Each class has a slightly different pack so once you know your child’s class, you can order these through the MySchool page which we will send to you once it is all set up. Just so you know, we are outsourcing this to them, so will not be selling it through the school. Here is a letter from them explaining what they do and their offers.
Korero Mai/Learning Conferences 2023:
This is booked for Monday 30th January, so please save the date. Instructions on how to book through Hero will be sent out in the new year.
Team Turitea for 2023:
- Karen Walker in Kahakitea (Year 4-6) karen.walker@turitea.school.nz
- Cameron Schaw in Tōtara (Year 4-6) cameron.schaw@turitea.school.nz
- Trish Molloy in Mātai (Year 3/4) trish.molloy@turitea.school.nz
- Shane Brown in Pōhutukawa (Year 2/3) shane.brown@turitea.school.nz
- Anneliese Nikorima in Rātā (Year 1/2) anneliese.nikorima@turitea.school.nz
- Meagan Gooding in Rimu (Year 1) meagan.gooding@turitea.school.nz
- Faye Taylor (Release Teacher) faye.taylor@turitea.school.nz
- Aimi Morris (Teaching Assistant) aimi.morris@turitea.school.nz
- Kirstin Wilson (Teaching Assistant) kirstin.wilson@turitea.school.nz
- Julie Macdonald (Office Admin) office@turitea.school.nz
- Troy Duckworth (Tumuaki/Principal) principal@turitea.school.nz
Pool Keys:
We have four pool keys left to hire out, so get in quickly tomorrow before they all go! As I mentioned in my pānui yesterday, Ben is looking for somebody to help him with the pool chlorine testing. If you are keen to learn and help out with this, flick him a message on 021 510 034.
Sports Uniforms:
If you have a Turitea School Sports uniform at home, please can you send it into the office tomorrow. Especially if we are farewelling you tomorrow.
Hoping you all have a safe and happy festive season. Bring on 2023! Remember that school closes tomorrow at 12.30pm.
Ngā Manaakitanga,
Troy