Tēnā koutou katoa,
This week we welcomed two new students to our kura. Charlotte is a Year 5 and joins the team in Tōtara with Cameron. She’s come to us all the way from Germany, so Willkommen in der Familie. Eddie is the first in his whānau to come to Turitea School and joins Meagan and Hannah in Rimu. Nau mai, Haere mai e te whānau.
Wildbase Visit:
This week marks Conservation Week across Aotearoa. Horizons Regional Council and the Wildbase Discovery Centre teamed up with the Department of Conservation and Menzshed to create an event for four schools to take part in today. Our lovely Meryl had made a connection with Sarah from Horizons, who invited us to be part of this day. She also came to our school earlier this week to front load our kids with knowledge about four activities around pest trapping/tracking, native birds, plant propagation and geckos/lizards which they did today. They are holding a community event at the Wildbase Centre tomorrow in the Esplanade from 10am-2pm doing the same activities, if you weren’t one of the 13 who took part today and would like to be involved.
Mathex:
Yesterday we took four teams to the Manawatū Mathex competition at the Awapuni Function Centre. I was very proud of the resilience and determination that our teams showed when facing some really tricky questions. Our two Year 6 teams were made up of Hannah, Nate, Callum and Nina and Hoani, Richie, Ruby and Lily. Our two Year 5 teams had Elias, Ada, Antonio and Cassius and Tahu, Henry, Olivia and Ryleigh. Although they didn’t make the podium, they won some cool spot prizes and had a fun time. Thanks again to Janelle, Janina and Shane who helped with transport and supervision.
Turitea Events:
Schools are busy places and we get that parents have busy lives. At Turitea, we try to ensure you have all the information and make it accessible whenever you need it. The Hero app is your best place to keep in the loop, as this is where you find the Weekly Pānui, which comes out every Friday afternoon. Hero can also be accessed online if you want to view it on your computer. We keep our calendar up to date and you can access it through the Events tab on your Hero landing page or on our website here.
Attendance Summary:
Earlier in the week, I met with our senior education advisor, Erin from the Ministry of Education (MoE) and she shared with me information about nationwide norms around attendance. We are lucky at Turitea, that we don’t have the same attendance woes that some other schools have. The MoE has set a NZ wide goal by 2024 of having over 70% of students attending school over 90% of the time. We are currently sitting just beneath that goal and have an average attendance rate of 89% of kids at school each day. One graphic from this meeting that stuck out for me that I’d like to share with you is this.
You can see why the research is called ‘Every Day Matters’ because it actually does!
COVID Restrictions Uplifted:
You will have seen that the Government has announced the removal of the mandatory COVID isolation rule and they consider that the risk from COVID-19 is lower compared to other stages of the pandemic. As with any other illness, it is recommended that students stay at home if they are feeling unwell and should follow Ministry of Health guidelines in order to stop the spread of illnesses and keep others safe.
Sports News:
Last weekend our Winter Hockey wrapped up and this week was the last week for Basketball. Thanks to all the coaches who help lead our teams, we can’t do it without you! On Wednesday, we had some of our Year 3/4 boys join Michaela from Netball Manawatū and loved it. Ada came and shared her silverware for coming 4th overall in the 7-12 year old group in the New Zealand Highland Dancing Championships. It was her first championship as a premier dancer, which is the highest level. Ka rawe Ada!
School Production:
Another reminder that our school production Past, Present, Future is all set for Wednesday 13th September at 6pm at the Regent on Broadway. Today my office has been inundated with entries for the ‘design the cover’ competition which closes today. I’m not sure if it was the lure of getting McDonalds with me or having your artwork featured widely that brought them in, you be the judge. Tickets went on sale for the production last week through Ticketek or you can buy them at the Regent ticket office.
From the PTA:
The school disco is set for next Friday 25th August from 6.00 – 7.30pm in Tāne Mahuta. Free entry to current Turitea students. Our Friday kaiako of music and ex-Turitea student Oscar will be our DJ. The PTA will be selling Drinks, Chips and Chocolate. With the day being the same day as Daffodil Day, we have decided the theme will be Yellow – Bright and Beautiful. This theme will be present at school on Friday too.
Lamb, Calf and Pet Day:
Last week a separate Hero post went out about entries for Lamb, Calf and Pet Day. You can register your animal here. Please can we have these in by next Friday 25th August.
From the Community:
-The General Election will be held on Saturday 14th October. We will be having a polling booth here at school, so hopefully you choose to come and vote here. As a kura, we’ve been asked to ‘spread the word’ about enrolling and voting, so check out the vote.nz website or find more information here.
–When Christmas Comes To Town would love to get 300 kids for their choir performance in late December. Auditions are on 16th September with more information here.
-Manawatū Gang Show are putting on their 60th Anniversary Show at the Regent. More information here.
Dates for 2024:
At our last BoT meeting, we set the dates for 2024 and the first day of school will be Tuesday 30th January. However, we will hold Korero Mai/Learning Conferences the day before on Monday 29th January. This will be a chance to meet the teacher and see their new classroom etc. Bookings will be made through Hero on the last day of the year.
Term 1: Tuesday 30th January – Friday 12th April
Term 2: Monday 29th April – Friday 5th July
Term 3: Monday 22nd July – Friday 27th September
Term 4: Monday 14th October – Friday 13th December.
There will be no school on the following days next year:
Staff Only Day – Monday 5th February.
Waitangi Day – Tuesday 6th February.
Easter – Friday 29th March – Tuesday 2nd April.
King’s Birthday – Monday 3rd June.
Staff Only Day – Tuesday 4th June.
Matariki – Friday 28th June.
Labour Day – Monday 28th October.
I am off to South Taranaki on Monday/Tuesday next week to look at three schools; St. Josephs in Stratford, Matapu in Hawera and Normanby. I also have my last ‘Beginning Principal’ course too which celebrates my ‘near’ completion of the programme. I look forward to seeing these other schools doing cool things and will look to bring that back to make our school even better.
All the best to Griffin’s mum Anne-Maree, who is stepping into the boxing ring tomorrow night for the Tamariki Toa Charity Fight Night – Kei Reira! (Go hard)
Ngā manaakitanga (Best wishes)