E mihi nui ki a koutou,

E koekoe te tui, e ketekete te kākā, e kūkū te kererū; the tui chatters, the kākā gabbles, the kererū coos.

This whakatauki (proverb) reminds us to appreciate the many voices in the forest and also makes me think of a similar saying I remember my mum using - there are many instruments in a symphony. With this in mind, I’d like to share and celebrate another of the beautiful window manifestations from our new Pōhutukawa building. The photo above, and the ones attached to this article, show parts of the amazingly intricate artwork in the design, but you really need to see the whole piece in full and look very closely to appreciate all the tiny detail.

The window art, named ‘Kotahitanga’ was created by artist and teacher Vanessa Shilston, along with a group of Amesbury students. Here is the full story of the artwork. The essence of the design pays tribute to the diversity of people in Aotearoa New Zealand and in our Amesbury community - the many people from here and all over the world who call this place home. Every time I look at this design I see new features or aspects of it. My favourite part is the initial swirl of design coming from the image of the world - the many different people and cultures coming together in a beautiful and united swoop; I think this is a wonderful representation of our community. If you haven’t already popped by to visit the new space, come in and have a look, and see the fabulous window manifestations created by Vanessa and our tamariki.

Covid update

It feels like such a long time since I have needed to give a Covid update. As many of you will no doubt be aware by now, On Monday Prime Minister Hipkins announced that all remaining Covid-19 restrictions have now been stopped. This means it is no longer to isolate at home for seven days if you test positive for Covid.

However, it is still recommended that if you test positive for Covid or you are showing symptoms, stay home for five days, even if your symptoms are mild. This also applies to other illnesses such as flu - stay at home if you are unwell. If your children are unwell with flu, Covid or other similar illnesses, please let us know when you contact school to let us know they will be away. This helps us to monitor illnesses that are circulating in our community, and we can keep the community updated if we see a significant increase in the number of cases.

Resources from Netsafe parent session

On Tuesday last week Lazarus from Netsafe ran a session for kaiako (teachers) and a later session for whānau around ways to support our tamariki to be safe online. They were both great sessions and we really appreciated Lazarus’s warm and friendly approach to a serious and sometimes scary subject.

Here is the PDF of Lazarus’s presentation, and here is the YouTube recording of the same content. There were some really useful tips and advice for ways to keep children safe online, and the session is well worth a watch. We are very grateful to Laazarus and Netsafe for providing their expertise and experience to us.

And finally, a quick plug for our year 2 focus meeting on Thursday this week (24th Aug) from 5-6pm. We will meet in the new hub building. This will be a chance for parents and caregivers of year 2 ākonga to chat with me and each other about various aspects of school life for your child, what you see as success for your child/ren at school, and ways we can continue to support your child at school.

Kia pai te rā whakatā. Have a fabulous weekend. Hopefully many of you will be gearing up to enjoy the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. It has been a fantastic tournament and I know many families, staff and ākonga have been to watch matches at the stadium and enjoyed the amazing atmosphere. I am quite conflicted with Spain and England gearing up to go head to head. Please don’t tell Rupert, but I am quietly rooting for Spain to win.

However you choose to spend your time, enjoy your weekend with whānau and friends. Hei tērā wiki, see you next week.

Ngā mihi, 

Urs Cunningham