From our Tumuaki / Principal

Kia ora e te whānau,

I am starting this week's editorial on a very sad note. Last week one of our kaiako from a few years ago, Vanessa Shilston, very sadly passed away after a long battle with breast cancer.

Vanessa was a very kind and gentle person, and such a lovely teacher. She left a wonderful footprint of art and bicultural celebration at our school, having worked with all students across the school at the time to create the pepeha artwork in our reception area (pictured above). Vanessa also created the tui artwork in the stairwell going up to the commons - the picture is attached to this article. Working with groups of students over a number of months, Vanessa created the artworks that became the window manifestations across all of the sliding doors in Pōhutukawa Hub. They will remain as a central feature of the new building.

We are extremely fortunate to have known and worked with Vanessa, and our thoughts and prayers are with her husband, Zac, and her whānau at this sad time.

In the very timely way of the world, as we farewell Vanessa, we welcome baby Clara into the world. Emma and Nik are the extremely proud parents of beautiful Clara (lovely photo included in this article), and mum and bubs are both doing well. We look forward to meeting Clara in the future, and I'm sure Emma will have her laminating resources for the hub in no time.

As Emma and Nik embark on the wonderful adventure of raising Clara, this is a perfect time to revisit the talk given several weeks ago by Dr. Emma Woodward, where she presented about ways to support ngā tamariki (our children) to flourish in a complex world. I shared some tips and information from her talk in last week's editorial, and this week I will share her list of ‘benevolent childhood experiences' (things that support tamariki to flourish):

• At least one safe caregiver

• At least one good friend

• Beliefs that give comfort

• Enjoying school

• At least one teacher who cared

• Good neighbours / community support

• An adult who provides support or advice

• Opportunities for fun / joy

• Positive self image

• Predictable home routines

For those of you who attended her talk, or those who would like to know a little more, here is the link to the presentation. Our kāhui cluster of schools is aware that more families wanted to attend Dr. Woodward's session than we had space for, and we are looking at booking her again to allow more families to benefit from her knowledge and wisdom.

Finally, thanks to all of you who supported our Onesie / oodie fundraiser on Friday, raising funds to keep the FREE in Wellington Free Ambulance. To date, our fundraising total is sitting at $2,125. Ka rawe, that is absolutely awesome! Thank you for supporting this fabulous cause. If you would like to add to this, you can donate here.

Heoi anō tāku mō nāianei, that is all for now. Have a lovely weekend, and we will see you all next week.

Ngā mihi nui

Urs Cunningham