End of Term 4 Pānui

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Ka nui te mihi mahana kia koutou, (Very warm greetings to you all)

This will be the final pānui I write to you all for 2025, coming at you nice and early, as I know it’s going to be an incredibly busy day! Today marks the end of my fourth year as your tumuaki (principal) here at Turitea and I still wake up excited to come to school every single day. Steve Jobs once said “The only way to do great work is to love what you do” and I feel lucky to have that here. Our kura has a wonderful feeling about it, filled with a fantastic team, amazing children and supportive whānau. I’ve been incredibly touched by the many who have written me heartfelt cards and given thoughtful gifts over the past few days. Mihi atu ki a koutou. (Thank you all so much)

Last night we officially farewelled our Year 6 leavers (as seen above and below) as they go off to the next chapter in their book of education. Whakamihi nui ki a koutou (Congratulations) to Amelia C, Amelia M, Ariki, Ben, Blake, Chris, Eli, Elisa, Felicity, Finn, Grace, Harry, Henry, Hugo, Ivor, Jack, Kazuri, Leo, Luca, Riley, Ruby, Sophie, Toby, Topher and Xavier. For some of these ākonga (learners), they are the last of a long whānau line of older siblings, ending their connection with Turitea over quite a few years. Haere rā (Farewell) to the Hazlitt, Robinson, Carr, Cox, Underwood, Reid and Rutherford-Newth whānau. Ngā mihi koutou (Thank you) for everything you have contributed to our school culture. We hope you leave with positive memories and know that our door is always open for a return visit.

Saying goodbye is never easy and today we farewell two of our own: Karen, you have been part of the furniture here for the last 8 years and have left a huge impact on us all. Your dedication and commitment to our ākonga (learners) have shaped many over the years. “Mate atu he toa, ara mai he toa.” which means as one leader falls, another rises. Please don’t take that literally though, but know we will continue the mahi (work) you have done here at Turitea for years to come. And to Kristin, although you have only been with us a short while, you have slotted into our team seamlessly and we have loved watching your growth as a teacher. “Mā te huruhuru, ka rere te manu” which means with feathers, the bird will now fly. Te Kura o Roslyn are very lucky to have you join their ‘flock’ next year.

Circumstances change for some of our whānau too, so we regretfully are losing Archie, Grace, Benni, Thatcher, Billy A, Esme, Luca, Maia and Nayra from Turitea School as they embark on their new adventures. You will all be missed by us all here and we wish you all the very best for the future.

EOY Reports/Class Placement:

Yesterday you should have received a notification in Hero to view your child’s End of Year report. I hope you have had a chance to sit down with them and read these together and celebrate their success. If your child started in Rimu after Term 2 this year, they will have brought home a paper report instead of the Hero report. Class Placement for 2026 was also finalised yesterday, so you will be able to see which class your child is in next year. To do this, click on the 3 lines in the Hero App up in the top left hand corner, then click the down arrow next to your child’s name and then ‘My 2026 Class.’ They will be meeting their next year’s teacher and classmates before morning tea later today so they can leave school knowing what next year will look like for them.

Puna Kōrero 2026:

‘A puna is a spring of water and kōrero means both voices and stories. So Puna Kōrero is a metaphor for the many voices of parents and whānau who provide clarity about what can most help their tamariki to be successful in education.’ We have set the date of this to be Wednesday 28th January which is the day before school starts back next year. School will be open from 12 – 6pm to come along at any time during then, drop off your school stationery, make sure you are connected to Hero and Seesaw and connect with your child’s kaiako. We want to run it in a similar fashion to our Whānau Showcase evening that we ran at the start of Term 3. We will have the BBQ pumping, the pool will be open, sports equipment will be out in the hope that you all come along and build some whanaungatanga and connect with other families. Hope to see you all there.

Curriculum Clarity Evening 2026:

Please put Wednesday 18th February from 5.30pm on your wātaka (calendar) as we will be hosting an information evening to keep you all ‘in the loop’ with the changes to our New Zealand Curriculum we’ve been through this year. We will also be launching our ‘Have Your Say’ survey to gain your insights into forming the strategic direction for Turitea School for 2026-2029. This is an exciting process to go through and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on how we can make our school the best it can be – ‘By the people, For the people.’

Stationery for 2026:

We are continuing the services of OfficeMax for our back to school stationery. You will now know your child’s class for 2026, so you will be able to purchase their stationery directly from them as a complete pack and have it sent to your house. Each class has a slightly different pack that you order through their MySchool page, click start and then enter your child’s details, choose your child’s class for next year and the rest is pretty self explanatory.

Team Turitea for 2026:

Here is the list of the ‘top shelf’ people who make our kura the amazing place that it is. I’ve also included their email address if you need to get in touch with any of them.

Final Words:

  • Trish thank you all for your generosity last week. She can confirm that her freezer is now full and she will be eating ‘like a queen’ for weeks. Ngā mihi koutou. (Thank you everyone)
  • Today is the last day to get pool keys for the summer period. We have 5 keys left. Please come and see Julie in the office if you would like one and come and pick it up.
  • Hoping you all have a safe and happy festive season. Remember that school closes this afternoon at 1pm, but we hope to see you at our End of Year Prizegiving at 12pm in the Quad (or Tāne Mahuta if it is wet like the weather report suggests). Please park on the field and take care getting in and out of your cars.
  • Our official first day back at school in 2026 is on Thursday 29th January with our usual mihi whakatau to welcome our new whānau members to our Turitea hāpori (community).

Ngā mihi o te Kirihimete me te Tau Hou (Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year)
Troy
principal@turitea.school.nz
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