Hero photograph
 
Photo by Matt McCallum

Week 5, Term 2, 2022

Matt and Lewis —

E ngā mate o te wā, haere atu rā ki Matariki. Tini whetū ki te rangi, ko mātou ngā waihotanga o rātou mā ki te whenua, tēnā rā tātou katoa.

It has been a jam-packed term with more important kaupapa still to come. Our leadership team has been undertaking effective teacher practice observations, which have seen us observing our kaiako and tamariki teaching and learning in classrooms. In this month's newsletter, you will see some quality teaching and learning examples that we observed in our akomanga (Classrooms). 

He Mihi Nui Taioreore
A special welcome back to Matua Toangina Nikora-Davis, who is completing his teaching practicum in Tirohanga with Whaea Nellie. We celebrate Teaomana Tahuriorangi (Papa Tee) completing his practicum in Pukeahurangi with Whaea Kelsi. Both Matua Toa and Papa Tee are students at Te Whare Wānanga o Raukawa.  

Hui ā-Whānau
We are excited to be hosting hui ā-whānau this term, and we invite all of our parents and caregivers to come along.

Tahuna-ā-Rua Hui ā-Whānau
Wednesday 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm in Tirohanga

Te Kawau Hui ā-Whānau (Year 7) and Mangaone Hui ā-Whānau (Year 8) Date TBC.

Teachers Only Day
As previously advised, we have Teachers Only Day on Friday 3rd June. Our kaiako will be involved in Pāngarau and DMIC (Mathematics) professional learning development. Kura will be closed for instruction. 

At-Home Learning Day (Monday 13th of June)
Monday 13th of June will be an at-home learning day for all students. This will allow 10 of our staff members to attend a professional development day. All students will remain at home on this day to learn through their Google Classrooms or their set tasks. Parents that are unable to supervise their students can attend school. We have some kaiako who will remain on-site for tamariki who cannot be supervised at home. 

Social Media
We are seeing an increase in incidents involving our tamariki on Social Media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. If whānau are choosing to let their tamariki use these platforms, we will be contacting whānau if any issues arise involving social media. We remind our whānau that we do not allow our tamariki to access Social Media at kura. 

Dr Rangi Mataamua
Staff attended a conference led by Dr Rangi Mataamua on Wednesday, 18th May. The key components of Dr Rangi Mataamua's presentation were

  • The origins of Matariki and links to international stories.

  • How stars of Matariki connect to the environment

  • Maramataka and moon phases and how that affects energy levels

  • Hautapu/Traditional way to celebrate Matariki

  • Whakawhanaungatanga - Bringing your community together to celebrate.

All staff that attended thoroughly enjoyed the kōrero.