Tēnā Koutou Whānau,
Here’s hoping this weekend’s weather is a bit kinder than the last two. We were lucky at school that we didn’t lose any trees or otherwise, but I heard from a lot of the kids that the same can’t be said for some of you! Another great week here had by all and there is a beautiful hum of learning happening around the place. I love checking in on what’s happening around the place via Seesaw to keep me in the loop. Hope you all are too!
8am Drop Off:
A few members of the community have let me know that Turitea traditionally was a school where students were able to be dropped off at 8am due to parental work commitments. This time was then shifted to 8.30am as a Covid regulation. I have come from a city school where 8.30am drop off is the norm, so I didn’t see it as an issue. However, we have discussed this as a staff and wish to make the 8am drop off available to those who need it.
Teachers are hard working and busy people and it is my job to look after their well-being here. A lot of us are parents too and we face similar issues, so some staff are unable to get here before 8am, so they value the time in their class without students to get those morning jobs and setup done to ensure a great day for all.
So in order to put this back in place I feel there needs to be some guidelines in place that we ask you to adhere to;
- Please use this service only if you need it. If the current 8.30-8.55am drop off works for you, you can ignore this message.
- School will be open via the blue gate from 8am and children are to walk up the driveway around to the quad area under the shade between the pool and the main block and sit on the benches. If it is raining, they can sit on the Matai deck.
- Students will not be actively supervised. Shane and Trish are nearby, but they are getting their programme ready for the day. We expect the students to just sit there and wait until the 8.30am bell when they can enter their classroom or play on the playground.
- Students will not be able to play with sports equipment or use the playground until 8.30am. It just has to be a sit and wait with a book or chat with your sibling or friends.
- Please explain these rules to your child/ren so they understand what is expected of them.
We hope you can appreciate and understand the need for these guidelines. So all we are asking is that if you wish to utilize this service, please follow them. Can I also invite you to fill out this form to give us an idea of how many students we might expect.
Board Elections:
A very early heads up that 2022 is Board election year with this coming up in September. If you have an interest in standing, feel free to touch base with myself or a current trustee; Brad Cassidy (Maikara’s Dad), Liam McBride (Rosalie and Ada’s Dad), Beth Tootell (Callum’s Mum), Glen Kerr (Myah’s Dad), Liz Bellis (Rania’s Mum) or Anna Stephenson – (Millar from last years Mum). You are also welcome to attend any Board meetings to get a feel for it – dates and times are on the events calendar on our school website.
Sports:
Netball for our Year 1/2 players is down to start Monday. The draw is live now on the Netball Manawatū Website. The Year 3/4’s play their first game Wednesday next week. Thanks to Kathy and Alice who are coaching the kids. I have to own up and say sorry to the whānau of Hockey players, I missed the registration cut-off date for our teams. However, I have bribed Will from Manawatū Hockey with bags of lollies to squeeze our teams in. He has managed to get a game for the Year 3/4 team on the draw, but he couldn’t do the same for the Year 1/2 and 5/6 teams, so they will have a bye. This was a relief as the Year 5/6 team don’t have enough players to field a team, so if there are any hockey players, please register here.
Play Equipment:
We have a plea from our junior classrooms. The Monster Garage Sale was a great event to help teachers to trick out their play spaces. With this event unable to run, if you had set aside any toys that were earmarked for it, we would love them! Things like Matchbox Cars, Marble Runs, Dolls, Dress Up Clothes, Wooden Blocks or Action figures would be amazing!
PTA:
Juicies have been a hit, thanks to the team and all your support around this. Information about the Monster Raffle Sale will be coming home soon. Please circle Saturday 26th March on your calendar for the Beautification Day. More information to follow. Thanks to the Hercoe Family for their generosity of their egg selling, which gave the school $250.
Kia pai tō wiki mutunga (Have a great weekend everyone)
