Dear Parents / Caregivers, tēnā koutou, kia ora koutou katoa.

It's mid-term and Winter is definitely starting to make itself felt. It has been fantastic to be able to have parents back on site this term, and with Covid numbers remaining low we were able to celebrate a fantastic Cross-Country two weeks ago with a great crowd of supporters - parents, grandparents and younger siblings. A huge well done to Hayden Shaw and his team for putting on such a great event, and to all our tamariki for the awesome effort shown.

It's been a busy couple of weeks since our last Newsletter with the senior classes getting underway with their new Wellbeing programme: Whātua te Waiora (Weaving Wellbeing), trips to and visits from the South Canterbury Museum, and last Thursday the National Young Leaders Day conference in Christchurch for many of our Year 7&8 students. Inside the classroom this term's Science focus is providing a rich topic for discussion and learning, alongside the great work happening with Literacy and Numeracy.

Thank you for your support with Friday's Kāhui Ako: Community of Learning Teacher Only Day. It was an excellent day of learning for our kaiako as they joined with teachers from 20 other kura to participate in a range of workshops, and have the opportunity to collaborate and share practice while also being challenged on how we are working to strengthen our community from guest speaker - Gary Endacott, as well as the Ministry of Education curriculum refresh team. Lots of inspiration as well as plenty of takeaway ideas that can now be implemented back into the classroom.

Looking ahead, we will open bookings this week for our Week 9 Student Conferences. Watch out for further details about this via Class Dojo / email. We are also excited to announce the appointment of Hannah Wotton who will be taking over Opihi 1 classroom teaching responsibilities in Term 3 & 4 when Miss Gaskin heads away on maternity leave. Congratulations Hannah and welcome to our team! 

Tomorrow is the mid-term inter-House challenge. Pearse (Red) House is hosting this event and we are looking forward to some awesome fun together. Don't forget to send your child's House top/t-shirt along with them to school. 

Stay warm and embrace the change of season! Kia tino pai to ra.

Mark Creba

Tumuaki/Principal