Kia ora e te whānau! 

It’s hard to believe that we have reached the halfway point in the term already. The cooler mornings are certainly a reminder of this! 

We have celebrated some amazing school events these last few weeks. Our Senior Swimming and Athletics days along with our Primary Splashtacular event went well. My thanks to all involved in the preparation and running of these events. Well done to those students who gained placings and who will represent Amuri Area School at subsequent championship events.  

It was also fantastic to see our students art work on display at the Amuri Show, as well as a number of individual entries in various sections. Well done to all those who won placings in their respective classes / events.  

John and Irina Wares Scholarship Fund 

Last week I was contacted by the Top of the South Community Trust who informed me that John and Irina Wares have made a further donation of $500,000 to their fund. This brings the total to $1.5 million dollars which will generate scholarships for students moving from school into higher education. These scholarships can be applied for later in the year. The generosity of the Wares is incredible, and we thank them again for the way their lasting legacy will support students from Amuri Area School in the future. 

A reminder that Monday 17th is a Teacher Only Day and school is closed for instruction. It was bought to my attention that the calendar in the School App had the teacher only day listed as Friday 14th March. I apologise for this especially if it has caused some confusion. I have corrected this in the App. 

Our amazing PTA have been busy preparing for the Amuri Ranges Run / Walk. We would love to see our kids enter and the PTA has donated two Rebel Sport Vouchers which will be randomly drawn from the Amuri students that enter. There is one voucher each to be won for Years 1-8 and one for Years 9-13. 

You may have recently received a letter from the school outlining if your child’s attendance had dropped below 90%. This is a requirement as part of the Ministry’s stepped responses to attendance. We are conscious that some students have unique circumstances attached to their attendance. Please be aware that we must balance our understanding of these circumstances with the requirements that we have with the MoE. If you would like to have a discussion about a letter that you receive, please do not hesitate to make contact with us here at school. You can also access information about school attendance initiatives from the MoE website: https://www.education.govt.nz/parents-and-caregivers/schools-year-0-13/your-rights-and-responsibilities/attendance
Thanks for your ongoing support of our amazing school.

Kia kitea toikaka 

Matt Barlow 
Principal