Bula, Hola, Kia ora, Talofa, Mālō e lelei, Namaste, Kumusta, Greetings

Dear whanau/families

Term 4 is well underway with athletics practices happening daily and preparation for camps taking place. It was lovely to see everyones smiling faces when we returned back to school on Monday and to hear the tales of adventures the children (and some teachers) had over the holiday break. 

This will be another busy term and we will have groups/classes off site at different times to attend a variety of extra curricular activities whilst ensuring we are giving our tamariki their daily literacy and maths lessons. Before too long it will be time for our end of year prize giving then it will be Christmas. It is easy to become overwhelmed with so much happening so I ask that we each extend a little more patience than usual as we navigate through the many changes and information that will be coming in and going out from school.

I'd like to thank Jo Doyle for coming in to hold the fort while Maryn is away in the USA visiting her family. Jo has finished now and is off to Hawaii next week. To help me cope with this extra job, we have Jo Petrovics in the office from 8.30 - 9.30 am Monday and Tuesday next week. I am not always available to answer the phone during the as I have meetings, zoom calls and webinars  therefore I ask that any bus/home changes are made by 9.30 am on both these days please as I may miss getting this information. Maryn will be back with us on Wednesday and we very much look forward to having her here.

A number of parents have already approached me to ask what the make up of the classrooms will be in 2024. I cannot give a clear answer yet as I do not know what our numbers will be, especially in the senior end of the school. If you know that your child will not be coming back to Mayfield School next year, please either email me or ring the office to let us know. The sooner we know what our numbers are, the sooner we can start making plans for our classrooms and for staffing. Our numbers greatly affect how we can plan our classrooms - the more children who leave, the less teachers we are allocated and the more likely our classrooms will be spread across levels and years. Your help in communicating your plans with us now will be very helpful - thank you.

Tomorrow our school will be used as a polling booth for the general elections. Katherine McDonnell will be working here with the elections people. If you haven't already voted, please come along to Mayfield School to have your say in how our country is run. 

I don't make a habit of discussing politics in my newsletter articles but must say, for the first time ever, I am struggling to decide on who I will vote for. For me, education has always been my deciding factor and again, it will be at the forefront of my decision but this time there is so much more I will need to carefully consider before giving the big ticks to any one particular politician and party. I just hope that whoever gets in doesn't ruin education. Like all educators I am sick and tired of the education policy being used for "clickbait" in the lead-up to elections. Teachers are already doing things political parties are claiming they will introduce - such as focusing on reading, writing, and maths, or banning cellphones - and they are also helping children to regulate their emotions, they're working to feed, clothe, and support children with complex learning and/or behavioural needs. We hear there are some political parties wanting league tables. This is when they publish each schools academic results, effectively shaming schools which face challenging circumstances (high migrant populations and children with learning and behavioural needs), while celebrating those with the relatively easy task of educating already high-attaining, middle-class children. They're always willing to share how they will improve education, then once elected they are reluctant to fund schools to do what they know will actually work!! I hope and pray for the very best outcome for education! 

Meanwhile, in the lead up to the elections we get a daily dose of politicians throwing shade at one another and generally setting poor examples of how adults should act, speak and behave. Maybe they all need to go back to school to get educated on what values should look and feel like in the real world? Despite all of this, watching the news each night puts things into perspective. Whilst electing the right government for our beautiful country is very important, it pales in comparison to what some people in other countries are going through at this time. 

When you kiss your children goodnight, know they are blessed to grow up in a country where we worry about whether or not the government will publish academic results, or that too much te reo is being used in schools, or not enough, or that food and fuel prices continue to rise. Give a thought to those in Sudan, Ukraine, Russia and Israel, who don't have their children any longer, or don't know where they are, and to those children who may never see their parents again - and know that we have so much to be grateful for.

Nga mihi nui

Aroha Stewart
Tumuaki/Principal