‘E ako ana, ā, e tipu tahi ana tātou’ - Learning and growing together.

Kia ora Koutou

I hope that everyone enjoyed the long weekend, with Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day yesterday, marking the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and celebrating her life.

Farewell to Garth Powell

Sadly, we farewell Garth Powell this week as he takes up his new role as Special Education Advisor withTe Mahau, Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga - The Ministry of Education, starting next term.

As I stated in a previous newsletter, it is a fantastic opportunity for Garth and a step towards his goal of becoming an Educational Psychologist, following his passion, working with children who have challenging learning and behavioural needs.

Garth will leave a huge gap at East Taieri. He started here as a beginning teacher 16 years ago and has contributed so much to East Taieri, becoming Dean of the Middle School, taking on several leadership roles, driving new initiatives and leading highly successful staff PLD. Garth is a fantastic teacher with so many skills and talents. He is an excellent role model for our tamariki and is highly respected by our school community. Garth has been an amazing member of the Leadership Team and is just such a wonderful person. As Garth's principal, I feel very privileged to have worked alongside him for the past 16 years.

While this is a fabulous opportunity for Garth, he will be sadly missed by the whole East Taieri community.

We held a special farewell assembly for Garth last week acknowledging his invaluable contributions to East Taieri School and wishing him well as he embarks on his new career pathway.

BOT Meeting

We have the first meeting of our new Board of Trustees tonight at 5.30pm in the staffroom.

Dunedin Primary Schools Triathlon

Good luck to all competitors in the Dunedin Primary Schools Triathlon at Port Chalmers tomorrow.

Children and staff are ready for a break after such a busy term, as I am sure parents and caregivers are. Wishing everyone a safe and relaxing holiday.

Ngā mihi nui

Jennifer