As we draw to the end of Week 7, it has been fantastic to see our students continuing to thrive and involve themselves in all sorts of activities and opportunities. A real highlight was having the Kids Charity Great NZ Road Trip visit. Students in Years 1-6 had lots of fun interacting with the visitors and their funky vehicles. We are so grateful for the $3000 donation that the charity donated to the school for sensory equipment. 

I received a wonderful email from a member of the public during the week. She wanted to email to say that some of our students had made her day through a random, fun and positive interaction she had had with them. As a school community we can feel proud of the manner in which our students interact with each other and with those outside of our community. While we are not perfect, the overwhelming sense of respect and positivity is clearly on display. In addition, many of our relief teachers comment on how positive it is to come in and relieve classes here at Amuri Area School. This is certainly worth celebrating! 

On Monday of this week, our staff were involved in our kahui Ako Hui Day. A large group were at Tuahiwi Marae for the day, with others completing a workshop at Rangiora New Life School. On the 25th July our Year 1-8 teachers will be involved in the second Curriculum Day for the year exploring the new Mathematics curriculum. There is a possibility that we will also close the school for Year 9-13 students; however, this decision has not been finalised yet. We will communicate this with plenty of notice once a decision is made.  

We are looking forward to the Amuri Ranges Run on the 30th March. I was able to go over the course recently and it certainly looks spectacular. We hope to see you there and remember that there is an obstacle course option for the kids! I want to thank the amazing volunteers from our PTA who raise amazing funds for us which comes directly back to benefit the kids. 

There is a one-page visual of our strategic aspirations in this newsletter. This document provides an overview of all that we are trying to achieve. In addition to this, we have three specific annual targets for 2025. These are: 

1. We aim to implement the refreshed NZ Curriculum for Mathematics (Years 1-8) and English (Years 1-8). 

2. We aim to have 60% of Year 10 students pass the literacy and numeracy CAA’s and 95% of students gain literacy and numeracy by the end of Year 11. 

3. We aim to increase the number of Year 7 and 8 students who are at or above the expected level in Mathematics. 

These targets provide a specific focus for us to report to the Ministry of Education. We are, of course, also focused on the progress of all students in all areas.  

Wishing you all the best for the weeks ahead 

Kia kitea toikaka 

Matt Barlow 

Principal