Primary School News....

Kia ora parents and whanau

Today your children will be finding out what class they will be in for 2025.

We have two or three classes at each hub and we put much time and effort into assigning classes. Your child’s room numbers have nothing to do with academic progression, they are merely a way of identifying one class from the other.  There will be three classes in Te Kooti; these will be a new entrant room, one combined class of Year 1 and 2 and a Year 2 class. This is different to what was last reported in the newsletter. This new arrangement will allow us to better accommodate the numbers that we have coming into the school next year. 

We will have two classes in Tekoa – Year 3/4, two classes in Terako - Year 5/6 and three in Tapaue-o-Uenuku – Year 7/8.  We aim for our students to complete two full years plus in Te Kooti and this depends on when your child’s birthday falls. Students born in April through to March are generally one year group, as per guidelines from the Ministry of Education. Therefore, children born after April are classified as Year 0 and won't be classified Year 1 until the following January.  If you’re confused, please email me to ask!

This is my final newsletter as Deputy Principal of Amuri Primary School, where I have had the privilege of working for 15 years. My journey here began in 2009, working one day a week to provide beginning teacher release for Kate Hoban, who was teaching the new entrant class at the time. Back then, the primary side consisted of four classes, while Year 7 and 8 had two.

In 2013, I stepped into the role of Assistant Principal, succeeding Lee Cleeve. At that point, I was one of four primary teachers, with two others handling Years 7 and 8. I also had one day a week dedicated to administrative tasks.

Fast forward eleven years, the school has seen remarkable growth. We now have ten full-time teachers, several part-time staff, and I no longer have my own classroom, nor am I one of those ten teachers. These days, I only spend one day a week teaching and four days on administration. The growth of our school has been exponential and along with it we've become a wonderfully multicultural community.

It has been an incredible journey. I’ve had the joy of seeing many students progress from Year 1 to Year 13, building meaningful relationships with them along the way. Watching them grow into confident, capable young people has been deeply rewarding. Area schools like ours are truly unique. I will miss the special moments of chatting with five-year-olds one moment and then connecting with teenagers the next. I’ll miss the community, who have always been very supportive, and the many great teaching colleagues I have and have had during my time here. I will miss the varied and vast lunchtime conversations in the staffroom, I’ve learned such a lot of interesting things!  I’ll miss that fabulous mountain vista showcasing the various seasons.  I’ll even miss doing road duty on winter mornings!  But most of all I’ll miss the amazing kids that are part of the fabric of this school.  Amuri Area School holds a very special place in my heart.

It’s been quite the ride, thank you to you all for being part of it!

Hei konei rā

Kylee Habgood
Deputy Principal - Primary