Nau mai hoki mai ki te wāhanga tuawha (Welcome back to Term 4)
I don’t want to jinx it whānau, but how much better has the pick up/drop off been with no road works on Old West Road? Somehow we are into our final term of the year and if the previous three terms were anything to go by, this one will also fly by too and I’ll be writing you all my final pānui in no time! As usual, we began the term with a mihi whakatau (informal welcome) for the new whānau members who have joined our kura since last term. Monday marked the first day for Pippa in Rimu, who is Eddie’s little sister and has been a familiar face at our school for a long while, but now is an ‘official’ member! Nau mai haere mai. (Welcome to you)
This afternoon, we had a visit from over 20 tumuaki (principals) from across the rohe (region). It was beautiful to share our story at Turitea with others in the hope they can take something from what we are doing and lead positive change back in their own kura. We then went on to visit West End and Newbury School’s to see the cool things they are doing before heading out for our end of year function together.
Faye found out about the Manawatū Literacy Association Poetry Competition and the ākonga (learners) she works with in Kauri entered their best poems they had written with her. Whakanui mihi ki a koe (Congratulations) to Blake whose poem below placed third in the Year 4-6 division. An amazing achievement!
I wonder if
Miniature waves forming a whirl pool.
Water drops cannon balling into puddles.
They drip down.
Topple down.
Fall down.
Racing down windows.
Shimmering in the shadows.
Bullets raining down.
I wonder if it will ever stop?
By Blake
Felicity competed in a Grade 6-7 piano competition against many older students in the holidays. She earned the Most Promising trophy, as you can see above, a fantastic result that put her in fourth place! It’s a huge accomplishment considering she was the only Grade 6 student in the entire competition.
Strike Action:
Just a reminder that a large number of education professionals will be taking strike action on Thursday 23rd October. I know this is an inconvenience and we regret that we cannot open the school for our tamariki on this day. No educator wants to lose a day of teaching, nor a day’s pay, so they are doing this because our government is ignoring the calls for investment in education for our tamariki. We appreciate your tautoko (support).
School Community Police Officer:
On Wednesday, we were lucky to have our School Community Officer Nikita Joyce come and make herself known to us all, as she spent 30 minutes in each class building whanaungatanga (relationships) with our tamariki. She thoroughly enjoyed her time and our kids loved asking her questions about her role in the police. She even let some of them try on her police attire. More information about her can be viewed here.
VIP Parking:
You may have noticed the sign above which we have added to the parking alongside the turf fencing granting the recipient access to this park at pick up/drop off. This was won in our silent auction by Graham Robinson at our Wild West Quiz Night last term. Our PTA will run a similar auction for Term 1 next year, so keep your eye on Hero if you would like to gain access to this park in 2026.
Looking Ahead to 2026:
You may have noticed our signs around the place have been updated as you can see above. Huge mihi (thanks) to Adam from AGR Industries who did this for us. If you have a younger child at home that you’d like to attend Turitea, please can you fill out our online enrolment here. If you have friends or neighbours that are looking for a kura in 2026, tell them they have until Thursday 23rd October to secure their spot.
Lamb, Calf and Pet Evening:
Next Friday 17th October from 4-7pm is our Lamb, Calf and Pet Evening. A rural school tradition that we are still holding dearly, despite only a small percentage of our school whānau demographic living on rural blocks. See yesterday’s Hero post from Julie for more details. We hope to see you all there. For our touch players, we have requested a bye for your next week’s game in the hope you can join us.
School Photos:
Sarah from Clicks Photography is taking all our photos next Tuesday 14th October, (which a catch up the next day if people are absent) Information about ordering from her will be sent out to you all then.
Kelly Sports Afterschool Programme:
Their programme is back after school on a Tuesday for this term, starting next week. More information about the cost and registration can be found here.
Term Dates for 2026:
Term 1: Thursday 29th January* – Friday 3rd April. *Puna Kōrero (Learning Conferences) will be held the day before the first day on Wednesday 28th January.
Term 2: Monday 20th April – Friday 3rd July.
Term 3: Monday 20th July – Friday 25th September.
Term 4: Monday 12th October – Friday 11th December.
There will be no school on the following days; Waitangi Day – Friday 6th February, Staff Only Day – Monday 9th February, ANZAC Day – Monday 27th April (observed), Staff Only Day – Friday 29th May, King’s Birthday – Monday 1st June and Labour Day – Monday 26th October.
A reminder that all of our dates for this year and next year can all be found on the School Term & Hours section of our website.
From the Community:
- Parentline Manawatū have their services for Term 4 available here for those that are interested.
We will postpone our Hui Ā Kura next week because of Lamb, Calf and Pet Evening so we will have it in Week 3 and then again in Week 4 before continuing fortnightly until the end of the year.
You may have noticed we still have scaffolding up around Tōtara and Pōhutukawa because there is unfinished painting that didn’t get completed due to the poor weather over the holidays. We aim to have this completed and down ASAP so we can admire the lovely classrooms.
Kia pai tō mutunga wiki (Enjoy your weekend)
Troy
principal@turitea.school.nz