Ngā mihi mahana kia koutou,
I’m getting in one day early with my Friday Pānui since tomorrow is our Staff Only Day and I thought I’d start with a staff story for you. Since Cameron started here at Turitea, he has made it part of our morning tea routine that we collectively do the Stuff Quiz. We love it because it models our school ngā uara (values) of whanaungatanga and mātauranga and since February 2022, the best we have ever done was a 14/15. But on Monday that all changed as we scored our first ever 15/15, so either the quizzes are getting easier or we are getting smarter!
Last weekend, Natalie and Rory took their lambs to the Manawatū Oroua Ag, Lamb and Calf Club. Natalie placed first in Lamb Leading and Lamb Care and Attention in the Year 5/6 division. Ka pai Nat! On Tuesday we took two teams to the Palmerston North Table Tennis Championships. Our Girls Team came 5th and the Boys Team came 6th overall. Special mention to Henry, who won 12 out of 14 games and came top individually. Ka mau te wehi Henry! Today we had 40 tamariki attend our annual Cluster Touch Tournament at Monrad Park. Some amazing performances from our juniors right through to our seniors and we brought home the Championship Shield – Mīharo! (Amazing)
Today Nina and Juliette from Kahikatea did amazing showing hautūtanga (leadership) during our assembly this afternoon. I am always entertained at what our tamariki come up with. We also had the team come and promote the 2024 Weetbix Tryathlon. Our values certificate recipients for this week were:
Rimu: George – Kaitiakitanga and Owen – Whanaungatanga
Rātā: Abby – Mātauranga
Pōhutukawa: Sanah – Mātauranga
Mataī: Jack – Manaakitanga
Tōtara: Franklyn – Manaakitanga
Kahikatea: Juliette – Manaakitanga
Tumuaki: Michael – Whanaungatanga
Past, Present, Future Video:
We are excited to finally share our production video with you! You can watch it straight from our Google Drive or download it. Please note that it is over 9gb as it is 4K quality! As cool as this is, please refrain from posting it on social media, as we have whānau who want to keep their tamariki off that. We are looking forward to doing it all again in 2025 to tell you the next pūrakau (story)
End Of Year Dates:
We have locked in a few important dates for our end to the year. These are available on our website or by clicking the three lines in the top left hand corner of Hero and choosing Events. They are here for you too:
-Year 6 EOY Excursion: Tuesday 12th December @ 9.30am.
-Year 6 Graduation: Wednesday 13th December @ 5.30pm.
-End of Year Prizegiving/Final Assembly: Friday 15th December @ 12pm.
-School finishes for 2023: Friday 15th December @ 1pm.
Calendar Art:
Last week your child should have brought home a calendar art order form, if not, we have spares at the office. You should be able to see their masterpiece on Seesaw. Calendars cost $12, Cards, Mousepads and Sketch Pads cost $15 and Diaries cost $17. Please bring your completed order forms to the office by next Wednesday 22nd November. You can deposit the money in the PTA Bank Account 03-0726-0572366-01 (Not the School Bank Account) with Calendar Art as the Reference and Childs Name/Class as the Code.
Switch to Water:
Long before I arrived as tumuaki here at Turitea, Toi Te Ora (Public Health) always encouraged schools to promote water as the preferred drink for their students and we were onboard with this movement. The NZ Dental Association is running a Switch to Water campaign in support to remind schools of the importance of our kids drinking water. Starting today with our Subway ordering, we have asked them to remove the juice and flavoured milk options from the ordering. I’m hopeful we will have your support behind this.
Interim Speed Management Plan:
Unfortunately the deliberations report hearing with final recommendations to Council on the school speed limits has been delayed again and won’t be until Monday 18th December now. I have had a read of the report and it doesn’t look like our area is very high on their priority list (completion expected in 2025/26). This is very sad as the intended cost to change this seems really low in comparison to the other schools on the list. Once we have more clarity after this meeting, I will update you all.
Finances:
Thank you to those of you who are on top of your Hero finances and have that ‘Zero Balance’. We would really appreciate it if you could check to see if you have paid your donation, your activity fee or sports fees. You can do that by clicking on those three lines in the top left hand corner of Hero and choosing Finance. We are trying hard to get this all wrapped up before the end of the year.
Scholastic Books:
Forms went home today and orders are due through the Loop App or online by next Sunday 26th November.
From the Community:
-Diwali Mela: Happy Diwali to all those in our Hindu Community! A family friendly festival of lights and unity is on this Saturday 18th November in Te Marae o Hine (The Square) and runs from 5.00 – 10.30pm.
-Family Fun Day: This Sunday 19th November there is a Family Fun Day next to the paddling pool at the Esplanade from 10am-2pm. Check out the poster here and hope to see you there.
-Red Kiwi Orienteering: The next event is this Sunday 19th November from 10.30-1pm at Panieri Park. The map/eCard rental costs $3 per student, $5 per adult and a max cost of $10 per whānau. Cash only.
-Onboard Skate: Summer Skateboarding programmes are on offer at Memorial Park. Check them out here, as well as Girls only sessions here.
-Summer Reading Programme: This exciting programme is back at the City Library. It is open soon until the end of January 2023 and is for students aged 4-10 years old. Check out their flyer for more information.
-The Y! Kids Holiday Programme: Get in early on their programmes and receive a discount. See here.
-Palmy Brick Show: We have a couple of keen Turitea parents who are part of the organising committee for this ‘bricktastic’ annual event. It is on the weekend of 25th/26th November at the Fly Palmy Arena with more information here.
Whakawhetai (Thank you) your support with there being no school tomorrow as we attend our training. We understand this inconveniences some of you, but ngā hoa (our friends) from Kelly Sport are running a programme at Central Normal School if you need supervision for your tamariki tomorrow.
Ngā tauwhirotanga, (say toe-fear-roar-tongue-ah) which means ‘Yours sincerely’ but said with more care and kindness.