Kia ora e te whānau, parents and caregivers

Tēnā tātou i raro i te maru o Ngāi Tahu. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. Assalamu alaykum. Hola. Talofa lava. Kon’nichiwa. Kamusta. Nĭ hău. Namastee. Magandang hapon. Ni sa bula vinaka. Kia orana. Fakatalofa atu. Malo e leilei. Hujambo. Annyeong haseyo, Xin chᾴo.

Thank you for the heartwarming and positive response to the Tumuaki/Principal appointment.  It is wonderful to have your support.  We are grateful to the Board for the extra time and work they have given to ensure this process is robust and represents the voice of the ākonga, kaimahi Staff and whānau.

Term 4 has got off to a very busy, but excellent start. The ākonga have settled well into their learning and are happy to be back at school. 

Over the last 3 weeks there has been:

• Prefect Trip to Wellington

• Senior Campus Sports Assembly

• ShakeOut, NZ’s National Earthquake Drill 

• Year 7 & 8 Surf to Turf

• Senior Athletics 

• Choir performing as part of the Christchurch Music Festival at the Town Hall

• Year 1 & 2 Firewise Sessions
  

Tomorrow we have our Year 3 & 4 Jump Jam team performing at the Jump Jam Nationals. We know how hard they have worked to prepare for this and wish them the very best of luck! Thank-you to Molly-Rose Chetwin-Kelly for her hard work preparing the team for the competition.  Up and coming over the next couple of weeks will be the North Zone Athletics Competition, House Colour afternoons on the Senior and Junior Campus, NZ Mens Netball team- visit to Junior Campus, Year 3 & 4 Willowbank Trip, Year 7 & 8 High Ropes Course and the Year 7 Leadership Day.

On Thursday 14th November school will be closed so we can hold our Teacher Only Day. This day will be spent exploring the new English and Mathematics and Statistics curriculums that have been released by the MOE. School will also be closed Friday 15th November for Show Day. 

In preparation for the move to our new student management system Hero we need to ensure that we have current and up to date details for every child.  This week you should have received an email with a Google Form for you to complete. It is vital that you complete this form with up to date details so that these can be put on the new student management system and for you to be able to download and use the Hero app.  This app will be used for sending newsletters, communication from the class teacher, booking Ako conferences as well as contact details in case of an emergency.  Many of you will have completed an enrolment form when your child first started school or you may have moved house recently, therefore the information we have on file may be outdated.  Thank you for taking the time to complete this form as soon as possible.

Last week the Junior School Council met with the Christchurch City Council and Community Board to give feedback on some proposed developments in Inglewood Park.  They are planning on developing a family friendly play area that incorporates the stream.  The benefits to the local community and to us as a kura sound positive.  Our Student Council gave thoughtful and considered feedback and viewpoints that will be taken into consideration for further planning.  

Our wonderful PTA (Parent Teacher Association) is running the Halloween Disco tonight (Friday 1st November) in the Pūtahi Belfast Senior Campus Hall. Just a reminder that the Disco is for Pūtahi Belfast School pupils only and all children MUST be collected from inside the hall, no child will be released without an adult present. Juniors - Years 1-4 - 6.00 to 7.00 p.m and Seniors - Years 5-8 - 7.15 to 8.15 p.m.

Please remember to check out our “Upcoming Events” on the front page of our school website to keep up to date. 

As always, we thank you for your ongoing support and are looking forward to a fantastic final Term for 2024! 

Ngā mihi

Jo Johnstone and Sarah Cooper

jo.johnstone@belfast.school.nz /sarah.cooper@belfast.school.nz

Tumuaki Whakakapi | Acting Principal