Newsletter

Kia ora Whānau,

Our school has been going through a number of changes including a change of name, learning spaces being renamed, a rebranding of our school logo etc. 

Each week we are going to share a small piece of information with you around some of these changes and how they have come about. We are going to share information about our Cultural Narrative and culturally significant areas around our school community. Teachers have been working with their classes around these concepts and sharing information with them. Our aim is for all of our students and our school community to know about our school and our local area giving a greater sense of belonging. Some of the concepts we are going to share with you are:

- Why are we now named Queenspark Te Hua Mānuka?

- Who /what are Mana Whenua?

- What is a whakatauki and what does our whakatauki 'Hikina te Mānuka' mean?

- Why are our school buildings called 'Ngahere, Kūkūwai and Tāhuna' and how do these names relate to our cultural narrative?

- What is a 'Mihi Whakatau' and why do we hold these?

- What does our new school logo mean?

- What are 'karakia' and why do we use these?

Our first piece of information we are sharing is around our new name 'Queenspark Te Hua Mānuka' and what this name means. 

We hope you find these documents informative.

Weetbix Tryathlon 2024:

On Sunday, February 25th we had over 25 students compete in the Sanitarium Weetbix Tryathlon. This is a fantastic event held each year at Jellie Park. We were lucky enough to win 15 free entries into the 2025 Tryathlon. Keep an eye out later in the year to win a free entry. Well done to all the students that ‘stepped up’ and took part this year.  

Year 2/3 News:

Todd from year 2 wanted to start a writing club as he wanted to get more time to write than just what was allocated in class. He went around other year 2/3 classes to let them know what he was doing as well as letting two special year 4 students join. 

This photo was his first official writing club day held in the Library meeting space. Everyone really enjoyed it!

Paper Plus in New Brighton gave us a great discount on 1B5 books to use for the students' writing, and this means that any student who couldn't bring their own book to write in from home, has their own specially dedicated book. What an amazing book shop!  And a great initiative by Todd 🙌

Year 7/8 Challenge Week:

Shining Lights:

Our Shining Lights Programme has started off strong with enthusiasm and commitment from the children and teachers. It's been fabulous to see children taking responsibility and turn up on time, sign themselves on the role and be ready for the lesson. This allows the teachers to maximise the learning time within these lessons. Thank you to those who have emailed absentees. 

Our first leap is next Thursday the 21st March at 3.15pm in the school hall. This is a celebration of the music and the amazing efforts by the children here at QPS. You are very welcome to join us!  

House Assembly & Picnic:

We held our first House Assembly followed by a fun picnic on 29th February.

It was great to see all the children having lunch in their house teams. This is a nice opportunity for everyone to get to know each other within their houses.

Attendance at Queenspark Te Hua Mānuka:

Pine Cones for sale!

Pine Cones for Sale! Bargain Prices! Only $2:00 a bag and guaranteed each bag weighs at least 3Kgs!

The Year 4/5 students in Kūkūwai Mabin (Rm 19) are raising money to buy a few goldfish for the classroom. All the Kūkūwai students have employed their labour to collect pine cones from our local Queenspark Reserve. The students have bagged them and guaranteed that there are at least 3 kg of pine cones in each bag. This is part of our authentic maths programme.

Be prepared for the winter... Get your bargain bag of pine cones for just $2.00 a bag from the front of the school.

Thank you

The students of Kūkūwai Mabin (Incorporated)

Swimming Sports 2024:

On 23rd February 59 of our Yr 5-8 students travelled to Taiora QEII for our annual school swimming sports. 

It was a fantastic event with plenty of parents supporting from the sideline. It was great to see so many of our children stepping up and having a go on the day. 19 of our students qualified for the Eastern Zone competition which was held on Friday, March 15th at Jellie Park. 

This involves competition against all other schools on the eastern side of Christchurch. 13 of these competitors qualified to travel to the Canterbury Swimming Champs which will be held at The Selwyn Aquatic Centre on March 27th. 

This is a fantastic achievement and they will now compete against all other primary school children across Canterbury and the West Coast. Well done to our Queenspark Te Hua Mānuka tamariki who have qualified and we wish them all the best for next week's competition. 

A special thank you to the parents who have helped out at the events and assisted with transport. It is very much appreciated.

NZEI Teachers Union Meeting - Tuesday 19th March - School closes at 12.30pm

On Tuesday 19th March we are asking that you collect your child at 12.30pm. Our staff will be involved in an important NZEI Te Riu Roa teacher union meeting. 

These meetings are nationwide to discuss issues around our Primary Teacher Collective Agreement negotiations. Thank you for your anticipated support here to enable our staff to attend.

Have a lovely weekend

Ross Willocks

Principal

Queenspark Te Hua Mānuka