News

Well the vibe around the place after the holidays is really positive, so we’ve started off the new term in great shape! This week we welcomed lots of new whānau to the school. We did this with a Mihi Whakatau (informal welcome) to set the tone for what Turitea School is all about for our new families. A huge thanks to Shane Hutson from Te Whānau Māori who did the whaikorero (speech) on behalf of our new whānau. It was also nice to officially welcome Hannah who joined our teaching staff this week working alongside Meagan in Rimu.

Kia ora e te whānau, And just like that, we have nearly finished Term 1! This week we welcomed Patrick to Rimu, who finally joins his big sister Quinn at school. Unfortunately this afternoon we farewell Angus and Penny as they are returning home to Dunedin. We know they will be sorely missed by their friends here and the PTA appreciated all the mahi you’ve helped with Sonia. Safe travels to you and Shanon!  Learner Conferences: We have locked these in for Thursday 27th April from 3.15 - 5.45pm and Thursday 4th May from 2.15 - 7.30pm. School will finish...

Kia ora e te whānau, Happy last Friday of the term everyone. Isn’t that a crazy thought? Lots on at the moment… Strike in Schools: Not that kind of Strike! They are a percussion group that came and performed for us on Wednesday. Check out the pics above or video here. Hopefully it inspired our kids to get into a bit of drumming or maybe sign up for Epic lessons with Oscar next term.  Te Whānau Māori:  Whakawhetai to the whānau who came and shared a kai and a korero last night at our first Te Whānau Māori hui of the...

Kia ora e te whānau, Thank you again to all of you who braved the rainy weather and came and helped make our annual Monster Garage Sale a huge success. After not being able to have it last year, it was a reminder for me of what rural schools are all about, which is where the school is the ‘beating heart’ of the community. Massive shout out to the PTA Members and others who gave up their time to run a stall, sell raffle tickets, turn a snag on the barbie or donate goods for the white elephant stall. We...

Kia ora e te whānau, I have to thank you all for your support of yesterday’s Teacher Strike. I know this must have caused some of you an inconvenience, but we appreciated the people who responded with or shared their words of encouragement, it meant a lot. One thing I want to reiterate is that yesterday wasn’t about getting more pay for teachers, as often the media can portray a strike in that light. It is about getting the support and conditions that schools are needing to cater for the growing diverse needs in every classroom. Our Turitea teachers work...

Kia ora e te whānau, We had a fab start to our Friday morning today with our Monster Dress Up day parade. This is always a fun event with so much creativity when it comes to costume design. The infamous dance party that we have afterwards is always a bit of fun too. Thanks for your support with celebrating a day of rekareka! (fun) TEACHER STRIKE: You may have heard on the news that next Thursday 16th March, Turitea School will be closed for instruction due to the teachers across New Zealand striking. We know this will be an inconvenience...

Kia ora e te whānau, For those who came last Friday to the Whānau BBQ, we hope you enjoyed yourself. Massive thanks to all the members of the PTA whose organisation skills made the evening run smoothly and was really special. It was great to see so many different people connecting together showing that we are more than just a school, we are a community! A true showcase of Whanaungatanga which is about forming positive relationships. Twyford School Support: Thanks for your support of our Black and White Day on Wednesday. Our coin trail generated over $300 which we will...

Whaea Tūrehu has been working hard with our tamariki every Wednesday during Kapa Haka on learning new waiata (songs) and kupu (words). This morning at hui, they sang so beautifully without her, man I was proud to hear that. I’ll have to take a video for you all next time. We had some amazing leaders step up too which was great to see with Ada, Nate, Iti and Maikara showcasing their leadership - Ka mau te wehi! (great job). Our goal in Kapa Haka is to take the whole school to perform in Pae Tamariki in Term 3 at the...

Hoping you all managed to not be affected by Cyclone Gabrielle this week. Our river was certainly pretty full! Unfortunately the same can’t be said for some of those in the Hawke’s Bay, East Coast, Auckland and Northland regions who have been hit badly. Some truly devastating scenes from there. I know in our senior classes, some authentic learning occurred around cyclones and earthquakes in light of these recent events. I am hoping that some social action will come from our tamariki in what we might be able to do to help.

Why is it that when we have a short week at school, we try to fit more than a whole week's worth of things into it? Needless to say, we are back in the swing of things at school. A special welcome to Esme and her whānau who are new to Turitea and started in Rimu with Meagan this week. This week on Tuesday, we had Natalie and Maureen from OfficeMax run our weekly Staff Hui. They put us through our paces and made us be learners too, getting us involved in a range of Art, STEM and Digital Learning...