Tēnā koutou katoa, welcome to Term 3 and what I am sure will be another exciting term here at College Street Normal School. This term we are learning through the the Science Curriculum and are looking forward to sharing our science learning with you later in the term. As always, there will be a number of opportunities for our learners to continue to develop our school values and competencies, including agency, creativity and thinking to name just a few.

Pōwhiri

A pōwhiri is always a special occasion and our event on Tuesday was no exception. I want to take this opportunity to extend a warm welcome to our newest learners and team members to our kura, I am sure you will love learning at CSNS as much as the rest of us do. We felt very privileged to have Pa Wiremu Te Awe Awe and Whaea Trieste Te Awe Awe as well as their daughter Whaea Nuwyne Te Awe Awe Mohi join us for our pōwhiri. We really value our relationship with Rangitāne and look forward to continuing to work closely together in the future. 

Art Unveiling

We were also fortunate to have Pa Wiremu Te Awe Awe unveil two artworks for us on Tuesday morning. These two pieces of art have been completed by Whaea Jess Collins. Whaea Jess is an accomplished artist, having produced pieces of work all around Aotearoa. Before Whaea Jess started creating she met with Pa Warren Warbrick and he spoke about two narratives which he thought were appropriate for our kura. We feel very fortunate to be able to have Pa Warren guide and support us throughout this process. 

The first piece of art is located in the library and depicts the baskets of knowledge. Pa Warren loves books and in particular historical books and so he thought it was very appropriate that the baskets of knowledge be depicted in the school library!

The second piece of art, which can be found on the quad, depicts how Te Āpiti or the Manawatū Gorge was formed and is the legend of Okatia. If you look closely you will be able to see the silhouettes of the Tararua and Ruahine ranges in the artwork with Okatia piercing his way through to create the Te Āpiti the Manawatū Gorge. The story of Okatia is a very significant one for Rangtiāne and we feel very privileged to be able to depict this narrative in our kura.

As we continue to work closely with Rangitāne it is our hope that these pieces of art will underpin our local curriculum and help our learners, who represent a number of countries around the globe, better understand the significance of the whenua, Awa and the history of the Manawatū.

Puanga Matariki

Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate Puanga Matariki on Tuesday evening, it was fantastic to have so many of our community support this event. It was a really special time of coming together, sharing waiata, stories and kai. I want to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to Whaea Jacqui Sturgess for organising and coordinating the evening. Whaea Jacqui did an outstanding job and should be very proud of the way this school celebration continues to go from strength to strength each year. 

Behind every great leader is a great team - I also want to thank our awesome team of teachers who helped prepare for the evening. From the artwork that was prepared in classrooms to the activities and stalls for the evening, thank you to each and every one of you for the time and effort you put into making the night such a success.