We want to express our gratitude to all of our whānau who attended the Parent-Teacher Pupil conferences on Tuesday, 1st of March and Wednesday, 2nd of March via phone or online. Our kaiako worked hard to prepare for these conferences, and we have had some really positive feedback from whānau.

We are all seeing the impact of COVID on our hapori (community), and most of us now have a friend or whānau member who is in isolation or has been diagnosed with COVID. We currently have 29 confirmed cases, including 13 staff members and over a quarter of the school absent due to COVID circumstances.

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.

He Taonga te Mihi - A Special Acknowledgement. Congratulations to our values band winners for being recognised for displaying and upholding our school values. Ko koutou a runga! You are all awesome!

We are a PB4L kura, and this is about creating a positive environment where students feel safe and nurtured. Our kura environment allows learning to thrive and flourish, with students being rewarded for displaying our school values.

One of our strategic goals here at Monrad Te Kura Waenga o Tirohanga is to integrate Te Reo Māori me ngā Tikanga Māori into the curriculum and in meaningful contexts.

Our 4 Māori Medium Classrooms in Tahuna-ā-Rua are where our tamariki learn in the context of Te Ao Māori, Te Reo Māori and Tikanga Māori.

"I've really enjoyed my Auahatanga, which is clay making. It's been a great experience to be able to sculpt something just from our imaginations and to be able to use the clay somewhere outside of the tech rooms. The teachers are Whaea Kat and Whaea Maddi, and they've been really fun and helpful. So far, I've made a cactus and a snowman out of air-dry clay. It's a bit messy but very entertaining".

Our whole school will be at camp in November this year. Year 7's will travel on Monday 7th of November and have two nights returning on Wednesday 9th. Year 8's from Wednesday returning on Friday 11th. Accommodation, buses, food and all activities will cost approx $200 for each student. If you would like to set up an automatic payment please contact Susan in the office or wait for our camp payment alert to come out with more details. We will also look at doing some fundraising events during the year to reduce costs.

Georgia from Cricket Manawatu is taking coaching sessions with our supersport boys and girls teams. Supersport Cricket will be held at Ongley Park on Wednesday, 23rd March.

Te Pae Poitarawhiti o Ikaroa ki te Raki selections have been taking place over the last 3 weeks. Feedback from the organisers is that the calibre of trialists this year was of a very high standard.

Isiah has joined us from Canterbury and previously Australia. He is currently training with Manawatu Rugby and working with us as a pupil assist. Welcome, Isaiah.

A special thank you to Pioneer New World for donating nearly $3000 to Monrad. We have purchased new e-scooters for our students to use as our PB4L reward. Thank you to everyone who has shopped at Pioneer New World and added their tokens to our tally.

Our App is our primary way of communicating important information and messages to our whānau. Please refer to the information below or contact the school office if you require any support.

The Holidays are just around the corner. Bookings are now open for our Y Kids programme, with a 10% Early Bird discount for every child registered before 27th March. (Note this discount does not apply to Holiday Camp) Y-Kids Holiday Programmes offer a variety of fun activities ranging from trips, craft as well as sports and games. We hope to see you there!