Kia ora whānau,

What an interesting week of weather - we seem to have had it all! Thankfully, the three Year 5 and 6 camps managed to get through without a hitch so now we only have two to go. Camps are the highlight of the school year. You may recall that they had to be shifted due to Covid so if it feels like we have squeezed them in - we have! We just do not want the children to miss out:)

Special mention needs to be made of the 30 parents who have taken time out from work and home to play an active role in ensuring the success of the camps. You don't go on camps to have any time out or a mini holiday - it is go, go, go! We are so grateful to have your support. Many schools have had to change what they do because parents are not always in a position to help at camp. Thank goodness that is not the situation here and we are grateful.  So a big shout out to our parent helpers - we couldn’t do it without you. ❤ I am also mindful that staff are taking time away from their families as well so a sincere thank you to them :)

The Year 5 Road Patrollers for Maryhill Avenue were trained yesterday and will start up active service next week. Please be kind to them as they learn the ropes :) It is a celebration of manawanui (persistence) that we have the kea crossing. The school community has been actively campaigning for this for many years so as they say, there are rewards for the squeaky wheel.

A big shout out to the PTA, specifically Kim Williams (Marcus' amazing Mum) for being the chief organiser for the Sausage sizzle outside Bunnings on Labour Weekend. It was a perfect sausage day and the sales were through the roof so it was a good payday for the school. Thank you so much to the parents and staff who helped out - it was lots of fun. Just a reminder that the PTA funds raised this year are going to subsidising camps and swimming, as well as contributing to the new matting for the playgrounds.

Tonight our Year 5 and 6 Choir is performing at the Christchurch Music Festival at the Town Hall.  This is such an exciting event to be involved with and such a joyful occasion for everyone. This year we have 2 students who were selected for the special choir, Eve F and Melina P, and they have been involved in the performances with all schools this week. Our special thanks to Mrs Lynda Peterson for working with these children, and to all the staff and parents who have supported these children along the way!   🎼

We are sensitive to the fact that this term is an expensive term. Due to Covid we had to shift the camps and the photos to term 4 and this has added to an already expensive term with swimming, calendars and final trips etc. We are here to help. Please come and see me if this puts pressure on your family. There are always solutions  😀

Building Update - We will be moving into the new Kūkupa block starting on Monday afternoon. It is an operation involving military precision and as we all know shifting furniture is not on the list of pleasant things to do, so if you happen to have the afternoon free, from 1.30 onwards, and could lend a hand to lug stuff from one end of the school to the other, we would be so thankful.

The Kūkupa classes will be moving to the new block. Kāmata 4 and 5 will be moving to the prefabs. This will mean that the builders can begin work on the final renovation - our Kāmata block. We hope to have this block completed by the end of March and then we can finally be happily housed where we are supposed to be and have access to our hall again 😍. We can’t wait! It has been quite the journey but I am sure it will be well worth it to be in warm, dry, leak free, beautifully renovated rooms. As they say short term pain…..

To top off Cup Week the Mata Whanaunga playground is also being worked on, starting at the same time as the shift……what a week! The forecast looks great so let’s goooooo.

Fabulous way to end a week is to hold our Mihi Whakatau where we welcome all our new whānau and tamariki to Hoon Hay Te Kura Kōaka. It is always special and gives us pleasure to see and hear how much our whānau value this occasion.

Have a fabulous weekend everyone. Enjoy the sunshine.

Lee