Ngā mihi nui kia koutou katoa, warm greetings to you all.

It is hard to believe that we are at the end of Week 7 of the term already. As we head towards the end of term, it is timely to give an update on progress on the new building.

The construction crew are doing a fabulous job of going full tilt to get the building finished as soon as possible, despite the inevitable issues that crop up. The current key tasks being done in the new build are:

- Completion of joinery work

- Finishing all internal doors

- Getting the IT infrastructure up and running, and connected with our current system

- Completing external landscaping at the front of the building (facing onto the central courtyard) and the facade on the front of the building

We are still on track with the previous timeframe we were working to:

* By the end of July / start of August the building will be completed internally and we will be able to move up to 100 ākonga into the building, spread across two floors. This means the whole of Pōhutukawa Hub can move out of the hall and the library, and into the new hub. It will look different for them to begin with, as they will need to spread out across both floors. This is due to occupancy limits with several external doors at the back of the hub still out of action, but it gives the team a chance to get used to all the different learning spaces.

* During Term 3 there will still be external work happening at the back of the building. The fencing will be taken down around the front and side of the building, but some areas at the back of the hub will not be accessible.

* The building should be fully finished externally towards the end of Term 3.

* Here are some of the latest photos of the building.

This means we will complete a graduated move into the new block. Once the building is completed internally, we will have our building blessed and take formal ownership of the space. Pōhutukawa Hub will use the new learning space, but we will not be able to have other hubs or larger groups in the space, due to the occupancy limit. Once all external landscaping and groundwork have been completed later in Term 3, we will have our full opening and will be able to welcome larger groups of people into the space.

We will be ably supported in this endeavour by the Matariki wishes of several of our ākonga. On their trip to Te Papa this week ākonga could add their Matariki wish to the wishing wall, and several of our tamariki wished for the new hub to be finished. We second that!

It is our plan to move Harakeke Hub into the new building alongside Pōhutukawa Hub in the near future, but we are still considering as a team the best time to do this. In order to minimise disruption it may be that we leave Harakeke Hub in their current spaces for the rest of this year, leaving us time to get used to the new spaces and how we can use them, before filling the new building with both teams at the start of next year. Our plan at this point is to see how Pōhutukawa Hub move into the space and how much adjustment is needed. The design of the new building is quite different from our current learning spaces, and it will mean adjusting our practices and processes so that we use the new spaces to their full potential. Please see the separate article in this digest about the preparation Pōhutukawa have been doing to be ready for the new spaces. 

Along with the excitement of the new building, we also have the added delight of finally having our school hall back as a place for PE and movement, hurrah! We will be running a module of eight gymnastics sessions for all students next term, once Pōhutukawa Hub moves out of the hall. These sessions will be run by EasyMoves, which is overseen by Todd Morton from EasySwim.

All in all, next term promises to be a busy and exciting one. Once we have confirmed dates around the new building we will be sending out invitations to both of our building events - our new building blessing early in the term and our formal opening of the whole space later in the term or early in Term 4.

Hei tērā wiki, see you next week.

Ngā manaakitanga, 

Urs Cunningham