Tēnā koutou katoa,
Nau mai, hoki mai (welcome back) to our final term of the year. Just like we do on the first day of every term, we had a fantastic mihi whakatau (welcome) on Monday for our new whānau who have joined the school in the last term. A special mihi to Thatcher who joined Meagan and Hannah in Rimu for his first day of school. His proud big brother Parker made him feel very welcome. On Thursday, we had something occur that I’ve never had in any school I’ve ever taught in over my many years of teaching – we had 5 students all have their birthday on the same day! Hari Huritau ki a (Happy Birthday to) Lea, Dylan, Michael, Oliver and Callum who all were born on 12th October!
Te Pōti a Ngā Tamariki:
On Tuesday, some of our classes got a taste of voting in the general election which is on this Saturday 14th October. We signed up to take part in this programme for our kids to learn about what each NZ party stands for, so they can have their say. Cameron, who has had experience in the role, was appointed our School Returning Officer, giving our tamariki an authentic experience. So how might our parliament look if our 60 kids who voted were able to choose the government?
If you haven’t already voted in the election, our school is a polling booth this Saturday from 9am – 7pm. Our former BoT Chairperson Chrissy Severinsen will be the returning officer, so come down and vote and have a catch up with her.
School Photos:
Brendan Lodge, our photographer is coming to take class and individual photos next Tuesday 17th October. I am imagining our tamariki will come ready to look the part in their ‘number ones.’ If your child is sick on the day, contact me and we will try to give you a precise time of when their photo is taken, in case you are able to bring them in just for the photo because we don’t want people to miss out.
Parent Meetings:
As I mentioned to you last term, we are having three after school parent meetings that we would love your engagement in. The first one should appeal to all whānau and it is next week.
- Wednesday 18th October at 5.30 – 6.30pm: Structured Literacy Information Evening. This is designed to answer any questions you might have about why we teach reading and writing the way we do, now that is different to how you all learnt. It will also give you an insight into what this looks like in your child’s class.
We then have two more coming up which we invite you to attend.
- Wednesday 1st November from 5.30 – 6.30pm: Relationships and Sexuality Education Evening. You might be interested in how this topic is taught in all schools across Aotearoa. Come along to learn what this looks like in your child’s class. More information can be found here if you are interested.
- Wednesday 22nd November from 5.30 – 6.30pm: Year 5/6 Camp Information Evening. If your child is currently in Year 4 or 5, they will be attending our senior camp at Highland Home in Pohangina from the 5th – 8th March 2024. This evening is designed to talk you through the plan, timetable and facilities etc. It will also inform you on the process if you would like to be a parent helper on camp.
School Calendar:
Term 4 is a busy time of year for all kura across the motu (country) and we want to make sure you know when things are on as we have a lot going on. On Hero, you can click on the three lines in the top left hand corner and go down to Events. This also can be found on our School Website under the Events Calendar. Really important dates coming up are our Lamb, Calf and Pet Day on Friday 27th October from 4.30pm and our Staff only Day on Friday 17th November where school will be closed for instruction as our entire staff will be getting trained in UBRS (Understanding Behaviour and Responding Safely).
MCA Girls Cricket:
On Wednesday, Sarah and Jess from Manawatū Cricket came and took our Year 4-6 students for their Yeah Girls Cricket programme that they are running as you can see above. This will be six consecutive Wednesday lunchtimes between next week and the end of November for your kotiro (girls) to get involved in. I used to teach Sarah at Hokowhitu School back in the day so I must have had a ‘small part’ to play in how awesome she is at what she does now.
Black Out:
Today we showed our support for the All Blacks by dressing in BLACK to get behind the lads ahead of their quarter final clash on Sunday morning against a tough Irish team looking to continue their unprecedented win streak against us. Ryleigh and Ruby’s whanaunga (cousin) is well known stalwart Sam Whitelock, so we arranged to send him a video of us performing the Haka to hopefully give our lads that extra boost of support they need. Up the AB’s!!
True Hoops:
This term, we have Coach Miles back in to get our kids learning all the fundamental skills of Basketball. This starts Friday 27th October and runs for 6 weeks. This costs $10 per child for the programme and we use your activity fee money to pay for this, so thank you to those who have paid for this term already. Remember you can check this in the Finances tab in Hero. (Click on the three lines and go down to Finances)
Orienteering:
Today two teams of Year 5/6 students competed in the Manawatū Schools Relay Champs for Orienteering at the Esplanade. Our Boys team of Nate, Antonio and Callum came 1st place and our Girls team of Olivia S, Emily and Sophia came 2nd place. What a result! Many thanks to the parents who took the time out of their day to transport, supervise and cheer on our tamariki.
From the PTA:
On Wednesday 25th October, the PTA are having their next meeting at school from 7pm in the staffroom. All are welcome to attend. This term their fundraiser Calendar Art, which information will come out later in the term and prepare for the infamous End of Year Pool Party here at school in the final week of school.
From the Community:
–Kelly Sports are back this term with their after school programme starting next Tuesday. Information about the programme can be found here. This weekly programme greatly improves your child’s motor skills and coordination within a fun environment. They aim to develop and enhance ball skills, catching, kicking, and throwing while improving strength, flexibility, hand/eye coordination and spatial awareness.
–Championship Day is on Saturday 11th November at Te Kawau Grounds in Rongotea. See the poster for more information if your child is interested in competing after our school Lamb and Calf Day.
–The Christmas Barn – This has opened now. This is run by Craig, who is our school graphic designer and he’d love to see some Turitea kids come and check it out. More information here.
–Speladd Art Auction – This is on Saturday 28th October at the Manawatū Leisure Centre from 1pm. Have a look at the poster here if you are interested in supporting this.
All the best to our Turitea Touch Teams who start their season this evening at Monrad Park.
Ngā manaakitanga,