Tēnā koutou e te Whānau

Thank you to everyone who supported our non-uniform day today to help raise funds for schools affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. With your help we have raised $1,554. This was topped up by a generous donation from our PTA of $380 giving us a total of $1,934! This money will go into a pool of funds raised by Canterbury primary schools and be made available to North Islands schools in need. 

Closer to home, we had a great turnout of parents and children at last week's Learning Conferences. This was a fantastic opportunity for parents, teachers and children to discuss how the school year has started and set goals for the year ahead. The relationship between home and school plays a huge role in the success of our tamariki. We look forward to this continuing to grow over the course of 2023.

Speaking of important home and school partnerships, the Parent Teacher Association (PTA)  met for the first time this year last Tuesday night. They have a lot of exciting events planned this year, including school discos and a Musical Bingo night. These events help raise funds and are fabulous for bringing our community together.  

Each year, the staff presents a Targeted Resource list to our PTA for consideration. The Targeted Resource list comprises various items that sit outside our school's annual operational funding. 

As part of the Targeted Resources list, the PTA contributes $2,000 per year towards the Hauora Fund,. This fund has been set up to help families experiencing financial hardships with expenses towards school-based activities and events, e.g., school trips, sports events and camps. If you would like to access some of this funding, please get in touch with Rebecca Lock via the office. 

Another way the PTA Targeted Resources List supports whānau is by contributing money towards school camps. This year the PTA are generously contributing $50 per child towards the Year 7&8 Camp to Tekapo and Aoraki Mount Cook. 

The full PTA Targeted Resourcing List for 2023 is as follows:

• Hauora Fund $2,000
• Years 7&8 Camp $6,250 ($50 per child)
• Values pou $2,500
• Ōrongomai Lego top up $2,000
• PMP Resources $1,000
• Mobile soccer goals $1,200
• Sports & Performing Arts uniforms $4,000
• Kapa Haka uniforms $1,000

       Total $19,950

I'm sure you'll join me in thanking the PTA for their amazing work supporting our school community. We are always happy to welcome new members. The next meeting is the AGM on Tuesday 14 March (7 pm in the staffroom), followed by a regular monthly meeting. If you would like to get in touch, please email co-chairs Michelle Grant and Anna Cron at pta@halswell.school.nz I look forward to seeing you at the AGM. 

Finally, congratulations to the 50+ Te Kura o te Tauawa Halswell School students who participated in the Weetbix TRYathlon at Jellie Park on the weekend. It was great to see so many of our kids out on the course physically challenging themselves. A special thank you goes to Michael Ruffell for organising the entries this year and giving up his Sunday morning to support the athletes. 

Ngā mihi nui

Stuart Cameron

Principal