Kia ora koutou Papanui Primary whānau

I hope everyone is doing well.

Today we had our Book Character dress up day at school which was a heap of fun and was a great celebration of our favourite books and characters. I know as a parent it is always a bit of a scramble to get a costume together so we really appreciate your support with making this an exciting day for our kids. Hopefully you were able to get along to the book fair this week as well. There were some very excited tamariki checking out a whole range of cool books and fun extras. Thanks to our Librarian Lisa Stevens who organised and ran this event.

We loved seeing so many of our Grandparents and whānau at school yesterday for our annual grandparents day. It is a really special occasion and one that our kids will remember throughout their lives. Hopefully you all enjoyed checking out our Kura and spending time with your fantastic tamariki.

On Monday it is a staff only day and school will be closed. Our staff are attending the Tōtaranui Kahui ako cultural responsiveness day, opting into different courses and listening to various speakers. Some of us will be spending the day at Tuahiwi Marae. The theme of the day is “Kotahitanga” with the whakataukī "He waka eke noa" (We're all in this together). The aim is that we come away refreshed and focussed on the importance of our tamariki seeing their culture reflected in their learning at school.

On Wednesday this week I attended my second day of training for my Mental Health First Aid certificate which was great learning for me. My hope is that this new learning will help me as principal support our whole school community more and help with finding support when it is needed. 

Obviously being at school is really important for our kids well being and learning but not if they are sick. Tamariki should stay at home if they appear unwell or they develop one or more of these symptoms: new onset of a runny nose, sore throat, cough, fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, they are off their food and drink or show signs of feeling miserable.

This week we saw the Government scrap the seven day isolation period for those who have Covid-19. The Ministry of Health is still however recommending that if people are unwell that they still do a RAT test and stay home for five days if they are positive (depending on the severity of their symptoms). 

Just a reminder please that if your tamariki are sick, to get in touch with the office to let them know as soon as possible. The best way to do this is on the SchoolApp which has an "Absentee" option for you to contact us directly. If you can let us know each morning by 9am that would be very helpful.

I was surprised to read in an email from the Ministry of Health that healthy children can have up to 8 to 12 colds or upper respiratory tract infections each year and these are a normal part of childhood. 

Also coming home today is our biannual Health and PE consultation. Please take time to read through and share your ideas, as they help us to refine and revise our Health programmes based on the needs of our tamariki.

Finally, wishing you all a relaxing weekend and I hope you get to spend time together doing the things you love.

See you back at school on Tuesday.

Ngā mihi nui

Ben