Manawa maiea te putanga mai o Matariki. Puanga whakamānawa! On Thursday, the 23rd of June, we had our first-ever whole school Hautapu ceremony, where over 400 of our hapori (community) attended. Our tamariki recited karakia, sang waiata, sent our thoughts to our loved ones who have passed, discussed aspirations for the year ahead and then fed the whetū. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our hapori for coming together to celebrate this auspicious occasion and also to our kaiako, kaimahi, tamariki and the Matariki Organising Committee led by Whaea Kelsi.

At the core of our values are ‘whanaungatanga’ and ‘tūrangawaewae’. We believe strongly that the foundation of our identity comes from who we come from. We acknowledge that every child brings with them, first and foremost, their own ‘identity’ to be treasured and nurtured for their own well-being. We see ‘whanaungatanga’ as a sense of family connection - a basis for working together which provides people with a sense of belonging. We want our students to be proud of their school and feel a real sense of belonging.

Our amazing and talented tamariki who are involved in Ms Marshals' cake decorating group have been working tirelessly to prepare their creations for the Cake Decorating Competition on the 22nd - 24th of July at the Dowse Art Museum in Lower Hutt. Tū ana te kauwae! We are so proud of you all!

As part of our inquiry focus, our tamariki created different taonga/products to gift to others at the 'Te Iwa o Matariki Festival'. We saw some very creative taonga/products, including hāngi, painted rocks, kai with whakatauākī, fruit smoothies, rongoā Māori and much more. All of our tamariki received nine whetū (stars) to gift to others in exchange for the taonga/products around the kura. Look at some of the fantastic stalls and creations from our tamariki.

Our kapa 'Te Kura Waenga o Tirohanga' will take the Pae Tamariki stage at 11:30 am on Tuesday 5th July at The Regent Theatre on Broadway. Gold coin entry at the door. Nau mai haere mai e te whānau! Come and celebrate our tamariki-mokopuna.

Our Evolocity team has been working hard on the kart design and with the help of Josh Lambert, one of our wonderful parents, our kart is getting closer to completion. We will definitely be ready for our first inspection by the event scrutineers next month. The picture is of our stall at the Puanga Matariki Festival which was held at Ahimate Park last Friday. Thanks to all the team members and families who supported us. A special thanks to our stall sponsors as well. Our sponsors for the stall were: Poi Porotītī, Rongoā and Rēwena, Stevie Bakes Cakes, Korowai Korowai, Keri Bell Earrings, Whiua ki te Ao Hei Taringa, Ko Au kākahu, ICEPRO, Mahana Arm Knitted Scarves, Perfectly Aligned Scented Candles, Anchor Barbers, Duffy Books, Ashleigh's Cakes. On Monday we have our coding team heading to Wairarapa College for a workshop on writing C++ code that will hopefully help with maximising speed and performance of the kart once it is ready to drive. Below are the most updated images of the kart at present. The motor is mounted and the drive shaft is operational. Kia eke panuku, kia eke Tirohanga!

A special acknowledgement to our values band winners.

El Rancho Holiday Camp in Waikanae for a whole school camp week in week 4 of term 4. Camp week November 7-11

Wiki 9, Wāhanga 2 (Week 9, Term 2)

Liver Disease Awareness Month