Tēnā koutou katoa. Tēnei te mihi atu ki a koutou

Welcome back to Term 2. I trust that you had a safe and relaxing holiday with your whanau and are looking forward to what is sure to be a very exciting term ahead. The main focus for this term will be on the performing arts. This will culminate in a school-wide production during Week 9 and 10  entitled "The Magical Museum".

Organising a school-wide production is a huge undertaking, particular for a school this size,  but is also a fantastic way of bringing the staff, students and community together. We look forward to working on this together in the coming weeks.

To add to the spectacle and with all things going well, we hope to have a new bleacher system installed in the hall in time for the production. This will be paid for through Board funds and PTA fundraising activities.  Watch this space for more details about how you can support the PTA in fundraising for this worthy cause including the opportunity to sponsor one of the chairs. 

Please be advised that as of next Monday, the gates at Larsen's Road will be closed for the remainder of Terms 2&3. This is due to the upcoming winter conditions that create slippery muddy conditions around this area. From Monday, please access the school grounds using one of the many entry points around the school. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause individuals.

As informed via email last term, NZTA will be conducting a trial to help improve the traffic flow and safety of our road crossing at the intersection of Larsens and Halswell Roads. This will mean that there will be no turning right out of Larsens Road. Work is due to begin on the new road layout early next week with the two-week trial starting shortly after that. Once the trial is underway, we will be emailing out an online survey to help gather feedback for NZTA about how the new layout is working. 

On Monday you will have received an email about the new road markings in the school car park. A reminder that the drop-off/pick-up area is to be used as a taxi rank with cars moving forward when an empty space appears in front of them. We also encourage drivers to turn left when exiting the car park and use the roundabout to continue their route. Ideally, we would like to see more cars using Glovers Road to access Halswell Road. This will significantly reduce traffic congestion around our school during peak times. Thank you for your support.

Finally, we will be holding a mihi whakatau at 9.30am on Friday 10 May to welcome all of the new students and families who have started at school over the past few months. You are warmly invited to attend this ceremony to help us welcome all the new members of the Halswell School whanau. 

Ngā mihi nui

Stuart Cameron

Principal