Tēnā koutou katoa,
Yesterday was another sad day for our Turitea whānau as we lost Letti and Kaiya from our kura as their move down to Wellington today as shown above. It is quite the commute, so we can understand why they have had to leave our school. Thanks for being part of our community too James and Elise, you will be missed. Mā te wā (see you again) Earlier in the week I went on a bit of a ‘roadie’ with six of my fellow Manawatū tumuaki to look at some kura in rural Taranaki. We were all inspired by what we saw at St. Josephs in Stratford, Matapu in Hawera and Normanby schools and came back fizzing with ideas for how we could improve what we already do in our own kura. It was also really neat to make a connection with Grace P’s whanaunga (extended family) as they attend Matapu School.
Shane:
Shane will be leaving Turitea School at the end of the term. An exciting opportunity has arisen for him in managing New Stage Productions which focuses on theatre in schools and running concerts (like Kids for Kids) throughout New Zealand. Opportunities like this don’t come along every day and if you know Shane, this is his huge passion and we always back someone who wants to follow their passion! Faye Taylor will be taking over as the kaiako in Pōhutukawa Monday – Thursday and Emma Lees will teach every Friday. Both are well known to all our tamariki, so we hope the transition will be as seamless as possible. We will hold Shane’s poroaki (farewell) at our final assembly of the term on Friday 22nd September.
Today’s Assembly:
We had our third fortnightly assembly and Lily and Ruby from Tōtara were our hosts and there was a ‘sea of yellow’ (as shown above) in our audience today as we were all entertained with a play about the Wildbase Discovery Centre. This was an action that our kids wanted to do based on their trip there last Friday to raise awareness and educate others. These are on every second Friday and they start about 2.20pm. We also had our fortnightly round up of tumeke tamariki who have been using our school uara (values). Here are our recipients:
Rimu: Azriel – Mātauranga & Mila R – Manaakitanga
Rātā: Oliver – Mātauranga
Pōhutukawa: Pippa – Mātauranga
Mataī: Harry – Mātauranga
Tōtara: Ivor – Mātauranga
Kahikatea: Neve – Mātauranga
Tumuaki: Maeli – Manaakitanga (but she was absent today, so we will give it to her next time.)
School Production:
Anneliese reminded us all at our Staff Hui on Wednesday night that Past, Present, Future is 3 weeks away and we all were a bit gobsmacked how it has crept up on us so fast! It is on Wednesday 13th September at 6pm at the Regent on Broadway. Tickets are sold through Ticketek or you can buy them at the Regent ticket office. We will be practising during the day at the Regent getting everything locked in. So we will all catch the bus to and from the venue leaving at 9am sharp. Our Junior Wing of Rātā and Rimu will leave at 12pm to come back to school and the rest of the school will leave at 2pm. As always, we’d love some parent helpers, so if you could indicate on the form if you can assist on the day, that would be greatly appreciated.
Competition Winner:
My desk was very bright and colourful last week as I had nearly 40 entries for the ‘Design the Cover’ competition for our production and the winner was Kerian from Tōtara and you will see his spectacular design below. It was a really tough choice and I could have picked so many. Thank you to all that entered. Kerian and I will be having our McDonalds date on Monday at lunchtime and we might bring Cameron back a Happy Meal since the winner came from his class.
From the PTA:
The school disco is set for tonight from 6.00 – 7.30pm in Tāne Mahuta. Free entry to current and prospective Turitea students. Our very own Turitea alum DJ Oscar will be dropping the sick beats. The PTA will be selling Drinks, Chips and Chocolate. The theme will be Yellow – Bright and Beautiful to continue our support for Daffodil Day. If you have a Year 4 or above student, you can drop them off and pick them up afterwards if you remind them about having high expectations.
DanceNZMade:
Shane has been working with Lucy, a Year 12 Student from PNGHS to help train up our team of 30 Year 4-6 students. Their big day is on Monday 4th September at the Regent, where they spend the day working with dance instructors and then come back in the evening for their performance. It will be spectacular!
Lamb, Calf and Pet Day:
Today is the last day to register your animal for LCP Day which is on Friday 27th October. You can do this by filling out the form here. We already have 42 entries, so that will make for an eventful evening.
From the Community:
-AkoTech are running Code Camps in the Term 4 Holidays for children aged 7-12 years to develop 21st century skills in a fun and action packed environment. Students create and train their own AI avatars, make games, code drones & go to work for a simulated tech gaming studio to build games. Check it out here.
-Could your child do with a boost at school? NumberWorks’nWords offer after-school English and Maths tuition will help bring out the best in them.
-Linton Camp School is having an open night about their Year 7/8 programme for those interested in hearing what they can offer for those who are looking at Intermediate options for 2024. It is on Wednesday 30th August from 5:30 – 6:30pm in the Staffroom.
Kia pai tō rā whakatā (Have a great weekend)