Kia ora! This week is Peace Week and it has been lovely to see the various activities happening around the school. This photo is of some of the peace posters created by Room 11 students. One of my favourite peace sayings from the week was, “Peace begins with a smile”. Such a lovely sentiment and one that I believe could change the world.

It was great to see so many of the children at the PTA-run movie night last Friday. This is a non-profit event where the focus is on the children being together and having fun. A huge thank you to the many parents who helped out on the night and to PTA members Roz Cowen and Kelly Meikle for their organisation.

Many of you will have heard that Primary School Principals are in negotiations with the Minister of Education about their collective employment agreement. One of the main issues facing many Principals, is that with the teachers’ new collective agreement, some teachers will be earning more than the Principals in their schools without the huge responsibility and skillset needed to lead a school. This is unfair and unjust, and a key reason for the action. I have written a letter that outlines the role and if you would like to read this, you will find it here.

It was great to see so many of you at the parent-teacher-student meetings yesterday. The teachers put a lot of time into preparing for these so they can give you the most up to date information about your child’s learning and progress. I do hope you found them useful. In Week 9 of this term, we will hold our usual Student-Led Conferences. These are where your child shares their learning in the different areas with you – they lead the conversations. These are a really powerful way for your child to have agency and talk about what is important to them.

Student voice is an area of focus for us as we continually try to find ways our students can live our school motto – Empowered to learn and achieve. Students asked me for a water fountain near the lovely new building as there wasn’t one. Over the holidays this has been installed. They also asked for sports equipment they can use at break times, so we have bought a new shed just for this purpose. It has been nicknamed The Dollhouse, and students are able to borrow balls, hoops etc to use during morning tea and lunchtimes. These, and other enhancements (such as the new outside lighting) have been made possible thanks to the fundraising the PTA has undertaken (so thank you to you, the parent community) and to the Board for their planning and budgeting.

Next week is NZ Maths Week and the classes will have a focus on Maths and Maths related activities. This is always a highlight of the school year, with lots of interactive mathematical challenges and things to do. And then there are the Maths jokes …..

Do you know what seems ODD to me? Those numbers that are not divisible by two! 

Have a great weekend everyone.

Ngā mihi nui

Sue Cattell

Principal