End of Term 4 Week 7 Pānui

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou, (Warmest wishes to you all)

Getting this out to you nice and early today because I was supposed to be out at our Cluster Ki o Rahi event, so I had already written the pānui, but unfortunately it has been cancelled due to this weather. You’d think being nearly in December would mean the weather might play ball for you, alas not today…

And just like that, we only have 10 school days remaining in the year. I feel like we had just started Term 4 and somehow next week it is December! On Wednesday, we had visits for a few of our new whānau members who start with us next year in Rimu – How exciting! I have been showing around a lot of potential parents over the last few weeks which is always a fun part of my job. Our guests are always met with smiles and warm friendly welcomes from the children and staff, which solidifies what a special place Turitea is.

This week, I have been fortunate to have a lot of ākonga (students) come and share their successes with me. I had Ada who is pictured above holding a copy of Versions Tuarima, which is the City Libraries fifth edition of the popular anthology of local writers. How cool that her submission was included this year with her story about ‘a library with no books.’ I had the tamariki from Pōhutukawa invite me to their class to show me their kemu (games) that they made with Faye. As you can see below, Lihmé is showing me her game that tests your maths knowledge by connecting the question to the correct answer with wires to light up the lightbulb if you are right. I also had Olivia (below) share the medals she won at a recent Tae Kwon Do competition over the weekend. She came second in the power punch and third in sparring. Ka rawe koutou! (Awesome everyone).

School Pool:

Our Pool Parents endeavour to have the pool open this Monday, but please wait for the official ‘all clear message’ from us via Hero. Thanks to those of you who have hired a pool key, there are still plenty available, but please get in before the end of the school year. If you still want one, we’d prefer you pay online and send Julie a screenshot of this, as opposed to bringing in cash. They have flash new labels this year, but please keep them out of direct sunlight or they will melt and warp and we don’t want that.

Pack the Bus:

Ngā mihi (Thank you) to those who have sent in items for Pack the Bus. Please send in any non-perishable food items, new gifts and toys for kids of all ages (unwrapped) into school before 1.30pm on Wednesday 4th December when the bus will arrive to pack full of our goodies for those in need over the Christmas period. 

Weetbix Tryathlon:

On Wednesday, Shauna from the Weetbix Team came to hype up our tamariki for next years Weetbix Tryathlon. It is on Tuesday 18th March 2025 and you can register your child here if they are 6 or above by then. Don’t forget to join the Turitea School group when you register.

Item Requests:

We have a few projects we want to undertake in 2025 and we were wondering if you could help us if you have some of these things lying around your house. We need childrens suitcases, pipes, tubes, guttering, broom handles, big plant pots, wooden planks or fence pails. Send them in or get in touch with either Trish or Karen for more clarity on these types of items.

Library Books:

Please can you return all Turitea School library books or readers to school before next Friday 6th December so we can do our annual stock take.

Important Event Dates:

These can be found below, in the Events tab on the Hero App or our website. Hero is the only place to look for information regarding these events as they go out.

Next Week:
-Mataī/Pōhutukawa Wildbase Trip: Monday 2nd December
-Kahikatea/Tōtara Awa Bike Trail Trip: Tuesday 3rd December
-Rātā/Rimu Memorial Park Trip: Thursday 5th December
-Last Epic Music session for 2024: Thursday 5th December
-Last Hui Ā Kura for 2024: Friday 6th December @ 2.20pm.

Final Week:
-Year 5/6 Wildbase Fundraiser: Monday 9th December @ 11am
-Year 6 End Of Year Excursion: Tuesday 10th December
-School Reports/2025 Class Placement Live on Hero: Wednesday 11th December
-Year 6 Graduation: Wednesday 11th December @ 5.30pm
-End of Year PTA Whole School Pool Party: Thursday 12th December @ 12.30pm
-End of Year Prizegiving/Final Assembly: Friday 13th December @ 12pm
-School finishes for 2024: Friday 13th December @ 1pm.

From the Community:

  • The City Library’s summer hours can be found here and register here for the PNCC Libraries Summer Reading Programme.
  • One of our parents, Danny owns Palm Accommodation and wanted to offer it to our community if you know someone who needs fully furnished, short or long term accommodation in Hokowhitu. He will donate one week’s letting fee to the school for every referral connected to us, shot Danny!

Holiday Programmes:

As always there are a lot of cool things on offer in Palmy for those of you who have to work through the summer break. Here are a list of some of them with links to their website or flyers with information.

Kia pai tō rā whakatā (Have a great weekend)
Troy
principal@turitea.school.nz