From our Tumuaki / Principal

Tēnā koutou,

And so we have reached the end of our first term. It has been a busy and exciting time, with lots of different things happening. It has been great watching our teams taking advantage of the (mostly) good weather by being outside as much as possible. We have had our Kiwi Hoops basketball programme running for Harakeke and Pōhutukawa; huge thanks to Eilis for organising that, and to our fab basketball coach Noah for his fun and energetic expertise. We have had lots of other activites happening outside as well - ball skills with Koru Hub, cross country training, fitness games and much use of fitness trail, lots of bikes and scooters at school and lots more use of the bike track, which is great to see. Long may this last! Please remember that ākonga can bring their wheels to school all through the year - this does not just need to be part of the Movin’ March initiative.

I would like to take this time to acknowledge and thank a team of people who have had very little recognition from us so far, and often go unnoticed - our amazing construction crew working on our new building. Joe Bannerton is the site manager, and he and his crew have had a tough time on this project. They have hit had many issues and obstacles, from Covid and supply issues to weather and burst pipes. Through all of this the crew have tirelessly tried to find workarounds and ways to keep everything going.

On Monday this week a group of students helped to organise morning tea for the crew, to say thanks to them. Well done to Jossie, Ignacio, Heidi, Kyla, Noah, and Marcus F for willingly giving their time to sort the food and drinks for the construction crew. Another wonderful group of students created some banners (inspired by the teachers’ protest signs) for the crew to show our appreciation. The messages were heartfelt and uniquely Amesbury! Big thanks to Seruwaia, Adi, Jacob C, Caitlin, Sofia, Zara, and Claire for giving up quite a bit of their own time to create colourful and eye catching signs. We hung the signs over the top of the fence surrounding the new build, to show our appreciation for all of their hard work and commitment to our beautiful new hub. We know it has not been easy, and we are so appreciative of hard mahi and dedication being put into it. We are also hugely excited about the fabulous building they will be handing over to us when it is completed. 

As always, a huge thanks to everyone for a positive and energetic start to the school year. Thanks to our parents and whānau for all of your support and connection, to our hard working staff for working together so well to meet the learning and wellbeing needs of our tamariki, and most of all to our fabulous ākonga for keeping us laughing, learning and occasionally scratching our heads! Their enthusiasm, motivation and curiosity keep us going.

Kia pai ngā hararei, enjoy the holiday break. Have a wonderful time with whānau and friends, and hopefully rest and relax after a busy term. Stay safe and well, and we will see you on Wednesday 26th April - please note the slightly later start to Term 2.

Ngā mihi nui

Urs Cunningham