Kia ora e te whānau,

Ko koe ki tēnā, ko ahau ki tēnei kīwai o te kete; You at that handle and I at this handle of the basket.

The whakatauki (Māori proverb) above is one that has been very much in my mind over the past week, as I’ve watched kaimahi (staff), ākonga and whānau all working together in preparation for our cultural festival and community gathering on Friday. Seeing parents and whānau getting involved with helping ākonga prepare for cultural performances, marvelling at the amazing and beautiful traditional clothing being sent in for the festival, watching ākonga, kaimahi and whānau turning up to chop vegetables and prepare food for the hangi, seeing parents helping Kirat to set up and run the bookfair; all of this has made me think about the power and value of everyone making their own contribution in their own way, and these contributions all layering to create something very special.

So, tēnā koe. Thank you to everyone for the contribution you make in any ongoing way, whether it be turning up to peel potatoes for the hangi, encouraging a child to enter the poetry competition or talent show, giving up some time to help run a bake sale or put pizza into bags for lunch orders, or any number of other things that people in our school community do to be part of this place. The basket we are carrying together is precious - ngā tamariki, our children. Doing this together means we can all give our strengths, passions and contributions to help support and grow ngā tamariki so they are confident and empowered in making their own contributions to the world.

Special thanks needs to go to several people in particular for their huge mahi around the cultural festival: HUGE thanks to Gina for organising the whole thing and ensuring that groups of people came together to make it all happen. Fabulous oversight and organisation, Gina. Special thanks also to Kirat for organising and overseeing the book fair. As usual, it is running smoothly and bringing a lot of joy. Tēnā koutou to Amaria and our whānau group for organising and running the hangi, which is fundraising for our school pou. And to Gail, for being there behind it all to help people know how many bottles of sauce you need for a school sausage sizzle, booking all the different aspects for the building opening and social event, and for making your amazing Amesbury-themed cupcakes. Tēnā koutou katoa.

And finally, speaking of valuable contributions, a huge get well soon to Kirsty, who works alongside Brian after school each day vacuuming all of our learning spaces and keeping things spic and span. Kirsty has unfortunately broken a bone in her shoulder while on a trip away. We wish you all the best for a speedy recovery, Kirsty.

Have a fabulous weekend. Here’s hoping the sunshine keeps up. Hei tērā wiki, see you next week

Ngā mihi nui

Urs Cunningham