Ngā mihi mahana kia koutou, (Warm greetings to you all)
Thanks to those of you who came and used our kura as a polling booth last weekend. We went from nearly 80 people using it in the 2020 election to over 200 people this time. Whenever the government changes, all too often changes will happen in schools as a result. I am unsure what this will completely look like for us going forward, but all passionate Tumuaki across our country will continue to fight for our kura and our tamariki to make sure that any changes we have to undertake, are for the better. We are the professionals with vast knowledge of how to teach children effectively. We have explored and researched the brain science. We have made informed and evidence-based decisions about how we teach. We know the importance of having culturally inclusive practice alive and well in our kura. We know how to create the best for the tamariki in front of us and rest assured, that is what we vow to do at Turitea School no matter what! This week we also welcomed Francesca, who has finally joined Turitea School after coming up here for so many pickups and dropoffs of her proud twin brothers Michael and Oliver. So awesome that you are officially part of us Kika-Lu… Nau mai, Haere mai!
This afternoon, we had our first assembly of the new term and this marked a new class in charge of running them. Kahikatea have their turn now after Tōtara set the bar rather high. Harlow, Olivia and Te Aranga were the first to step up and take charge and inject their flavour on things and did an outstanding job. Our values certificate recipients for this week were:
Rimu: Patrick – Mātauranga and Braxton – Mātauranga
Rātā: Parker – Whanaungatanga
Pōhutukawa: Baxter – Mātauranga
Mataī: Marley – Mātauranga
Tōtara: Ryleigh – Mātauranga
Kahikatea: Ezekiel – Manaakitanga
Tumuaki: Matthew – Manaakitanga
Parent Meetings:
We had a great turnout of parents to our Structured Literacy Whānau Evening, which we gathered from your positive feedback was really informative and welcomed. As promised, here is the slide that was shared to give you an idea of what was discussed. If you missed this and really want further insight, our kaiako are only too happy to give you the condensed version, just flick them an email. A reminder that we also have two more coming up which we invite you to attend.
- Wednesday 1st November from 5.30 – 6.30pm: Health and Physical Education Evening. You might be interested in how this topic and in particular the Relationships and Sexuality Education component is taught in all schools across Aotearoa. Come along to learn what this looks like in your child’s class this term. 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.
New Gate/Car Park:
You may have noticed we had a new black pedestrian gate installed yesterday. It is much lighter than the last one which was dangerous once the wind picked up. We are in the process of getting some signage made for it, but please remember it needs to be closed between 9am and 3pm, so if you could avoid hooking it back during those times, we’d appreciate it. Also, Tyler came and smoothed out our new carpark out the back of the turf for our staff to park on. Today, Meryl and some of her keen gardeners trialled a plan to see if we can maximise the space we have to fit in the most carparks, freeing up more for you all. How’s that for real life maths in action?
Giant Pumpkin Growing Competition:
Meryl has come up with a great plan to mix our school uara (value) of kaitiakitanga and a bit of friendly competition to have the first ever Giant Pumpkin Growing Competition at Turitea School. This was proudly supported by our favourite parent/friendly real estate agent Nathan Mooney. Your child should come home with a little bag today with the seed and the competition details. Let it grow, Let it grow…
Board Class Reports:
You might recall a previous pānui where I shared our Class Reports from a Board of Trustees hui that Anneliese compiles to share with them a window into what goes on in each classroom. These are too well done to just have the eyes of the five members of our BoT see them, so feel free to have a look at these here
Lamb, Calf and Pet Day:
We look forward to seeing you all next Friday evening for our annual Lamb, Calf and Pet Day. We will send a separate post on Hero with all the finer details next week, but lock it in. When I was home in Auckland during the holidays, my Dad found some more photos from the early 90’s and one of these is from my Calf Club day as a young boy which I’ll have to share for your viewing (or laughing) pleasure next week. This day is the heart of a Rural School’s traditions, so make sure you come along to experience this from 4.30pm.
Bugs at Turitea School:
We have a bunch of kids keen on hunting for bugs and insects around our quaint rural setting out here. Check out our find this week below, we were wondering if it might be a baby Powelliphanta? If you have any knowledge of critters and can help us identify them or know someone who can, please let us know. Our kids would love it!
From the Community:
-Yeah! Girls Cricket – Unfortunately it was too wet on Wednesday for their last full group session, but if your daughter is interested in continuing with this programme during lunchtimes for the next few weeks, sign them up using this link and they will receive their free Yeah! Girls merch pack. First session will be next Wednesday.
-Christmas Concert – The company that Shane went to work for, New Stage Productions are bringing ‘When Christmas Comes to Town’ to the Regent on Saturday 23rd December. They have already begun, but are after more kids. They rehearse here at school in Tāne Mahuta from 6.45-8.45pm and all that is needed is a love of singing. It is a closed rehearsal where you drop your kids off, sign them in and then come back later and collect them.
–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. Championship Please complete registration through the link, this will close at 6pm on Thursday 9th November.
–Athletics Club. The Palmerston North Athletic and Harrier Club (PNAHC) is welcoming new members now. Contact George McConachy on 027 231 8016 or email them at pnahc.info@gmail.com to give it a go.
–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.
Massive congratulations to Matilda (pictured above) who competed in the Inclusive Tae Kwon Do Championships in Hawke’s Bay last weekend. She came away with two gold and one bronze medal for patterns, jumping high kicks and powerbreaking.
You may have heard earlier in the week that our students found a bunch of baby rabbits on our playground one morning, much to everyone’s surprise. It was nice to see Lincoln, Franklyn, Emily and Tahu do the right thing and try to help out these petrified babies amongst all the excitement. Our kids are always embracing kaitiakitanga!
Just a reminder to have Staff Only Day on your calendar. School will be CLOSED for instruction on Friday 17th November as our entire staff will be getting trained in UBRS (Understanding Behaviour and Responding Safely).
Kia pai tō wiki mūtunga, (Have a great long weekend) See you all back on Tuesday and we look forward to having Julie back from the UK too.
Troy
principal@turitea.school.nz
PS. Heather’s music lessons will be on Tuesday next week and Oscar was sick today so Epic Lessons will be made up at a later date.