Tēnā koutou e te whānau

We have had an exciting last couple of weeks at Te Kura o Te Tauawa Halswell School, including ICAS examinations, Life Education Trust visits (Years 0-4), ePro8 finals (Years 5&6) Hagley Sports (Years 7&8), a surprise visit from former Halswell student and current White Fern Vic Esson and a fantastic full school assembly led by Ōtāwhito. I want to acknowledge our staff for their extra efforts to make these extracurricular opportunities possible. 

Speaking of extra efforts, a huge thank you goes to our wonderful PTA for organising the very successful Beats by Bingo event on Saturday, 5 August. This event raised approximately $13,000, which will help fund new sports uniforms, PMP gear, sports equipment and learning resources. Great effort! 

On a different note, we were delighted to hear the Government's announcement that all Covid-19 restrictions have been removed as of midnight on Monday. This is excellent news and signals the official end of New Zealand's response to the pandemic.

The main implication for our school is that the seven-day isolation period no longer applies. Although this is a significant milestone, there are still a lot of nasty colds and cases of flu floating around at this time of the year, so we still request that you keep your child(ren) at home if they are sick. This will help to keep everyone safe and healthy.

On Friday, the Student Council is holding a non-uniform day to help support school children in Vanuatu. The money collected will go towards purchasing stationery and sports equipment that will be hand delivered by a group of our Years 7&8 students when they travel to Vanuatu on 9 September (Week 9, Term 3). 

One of the goals of our Student Council is 'kids raising money for kids'. We know that the equipment donated to the schools in Vanuatu will be greatly appreciated and will make a real difference in their lives.

Thank you for your supporting the children in these schools.

Ngā mihi nui

Stuart Cameron

Principal