Welcome back to all our students and staff for Term Two. We have had four new people join us in Te Pukenga this term. Two are staff members and two new students.

Our new staff members are Steph Mentor who is a teacher and has joined our team part time. Steph has come from Wellington where she was a teacher at Special School. Steph has enjoyed a great summer by travelling around New Zealand and doing some of the great New Zealand walks. We also welcome Amber Nivan who is a full-time teacher aide. Amber has recently been working as a lifeguard at Burnham Military Camp and previous to that she was living in Invercargill and working as a teacher aide. We welcome them both.

Our two new students Rosie Matheson and Rachel McDermott also join us from Wellington. These young women have moved to Christchurch to take up residency with our neighbours Hohepa. We welcome them and their families.

At the end of term one we had a visit from Star Jam. Star Jam is a not-for-profit organisation that assists people with disabilities to reach their potential through music, dance and performing. Our students had the opportunity to use equipment such as the ribbons and try out some musical games. The students thought it was great fun.

Our photos this term show Laura Nissen and Sarah Toomey (physiotherapist) during a physio session and Niamh Lowry and Stacy Watson (teacher aide) walking on communication skills about the weather and Junior Fomai gets to try out the ribbons from Star Jam.

Jane Hardy

Te Pukenga Manager