Tēnā koutou katoa. Tēnei te mihi atu ki a koutou

Welcome back to the new term. I trust you had a safe and relaxing holiday break. In particular, I would like to welcome all of the new students and whānau who started this week. This includes a number of short-term international students who will be with us for the next two-four weeks. There will be a mihi whakatau to formally welcome all of our new students at 9.10am on Friday 2 August in the Stadium.  All welcome.

This term our school-wide focus will be on the Health and Physical Education area of the curriculum with the major focus being  "healthy body, healthy mind, healthy me". During the term, the children will be learning about a range of topics to do with looking after their own wellbeing and the wellbeing of others. I would encourage you to discuss what has been talked about in class with your children at home over the next few weeks, as this can make for rich family conversations. 

Earlier this week you will have received information about next week's Learning Conferences. These are taking place on Wednesday 31 July (3.30-8pm) and Thursday 1 August (12.30-6pm).  If you haven't already booked your conference, please follow the instruction in the email sent on Monday.

The format of the conference will be the same as it has been for the last two years. Please read the article on Learning Conferences in this newsletter for more information.

You may have noticed that our new retractable bleacher system has now been installed in the Stadium. This is a fantastic resource for our school. I would like to thank the PTA for their support in helping funding the bleachers. Part of the expenses will be funded from the profits at this year's PTA Quiz Night which is taking place on Saturday 31 August (7.00-10.00pm). In this newsletter, you will also find information about how to you can support this fundraising initiative by providing an item for the gift baskets, selling raffles tickets and /or entering a team in the quiz itself. 

More information will be sent out by the PTA over the next couple fo weeks. Thank you for your support. 

Finally, I would like to congratulate T12 teacher Renee Norman who was married at the end of the last term and has returned as Mrs Dunsey.

Have a great weekend