The end of year adventures continue - let's hope the sun comes back next week...and I'm having a bit of a name change.

I'm writing this a whole day early - its Thursday! I've just put the air con on and got a cold glass of water. And here's the pic I've just received of our Year 6s on Quail Island.

But looking at the forecast it looks like tomorrow we are back to cold and wet. By now some of you will have seen that I'm not exactly dressed for a down pour. After years of being a black cat from any black cat charactered picture book, this years Book Character dress up day is the day I chose to be Princess Jasmine from Aladdin. I have already packed my change of clothes to bring to school for Friday evenings Filipino Fest. I am looking forward to spending time with our Filipino families, getting to know them more by seeing some performances and enjoying a meal together. 

By the time you read this I will have had the pleasure of being out with Lyn for the evening attending the Laura Fergusson Brain Trust Elmer the Elephant launch. I'm sure I will feel incredibly proud of our efforts not only in creating a Elmer to go on display at Tūranga but also that we as a kura contributed to the fundraising. And last week I found out we won a Samsung Tablet for our efforts

I am hoping the sun comes back for next week's end of year adventures with the Ngahere Athletics Day on Monday and the Waonui/Hāpua Athletics on Tuesday. Then on Thursday Waonui are off to the movies and our Year 6 Leavers head off to Arthurs Pass for their overnight camp, returning Friday. Its certainly a great time to be a kid! A big thank you to our incredible kaiako and kaimahi who make these days possible.

I wanted to let you all know that I am in the process of going back to my maiden name. I have been divorced for over 10 years and after my focus on my health and wellbeing - including my weight loss and double knee replacements as well as the passing of my dad I am (some might say - finally!) ready. I know who I am and I am Donna Bilas. My Dad was a 2nd generation Croatian with his father arriving on a ship to be a Kauri gum digger in Northland. My Uncle Brian and his son Luke are the only others with Bilas as their surname in NZ. So it feels special to be taking it back as mine too.  By putting this in the newsletter like this I may not need to embarrassingly correct anyone who mistakingly might wish me congratulations on getting married in the holidays. LOL

It is my intention to start the school year only using this name but in the meantime I am updating all the legal things personally and professionally so you may see a mixture of Buchanan and Bilas. All emails will get to me regardless. Thank you for your continued support, understanding and encouragement.

That's it from me - I hope to see some of you at the Town Hall on Saturday to watch Te Tipuranga perform at Tūhono.

Ngā mihi nui

Donna