Nā te Tumuaki

I do hope you all enjoyed the long weekend - what fabulous weather we were treated to!

Maire holding the koha (gift) - manuhiri gathering at the waharoa by Jo Earl

Jo Earl

— Feb 9, 2023

Mihi Whakatau - Maire Bowler

Rebecca and I were privileged to attend the Mihi Whakatau for Maire at Te Māhuri Manuka Hornby Primary School on Tuesday morning.

Maire, flanked by her whanau and her colleagues, was welcomed to the kura along with the tamariki who were new to the kura as well. It was attended by the whole kura and some of the community and you could feel the excitement as they welcomed their new principal.

While we felt a little sad that we are now moving forward here at St Francis without her, we felt very heartened to see her welcomed there in such a moving way.

Thursday 2nd March - Early Finish - Action Required

Please take the time to read the article in the newsletter about an early finish on this day. It as also been emailed to you with a quick survey question which we need you to answer for us.

Thank you for your support!

Front Entrance

The front entrance is looking amazing. There are a few more seats to install but will soon have the fences taken down and be able to use this space. There is still more work to be done - you may remember that a couple of years ago now our tamariki did some work on Turangawaewae - the place where we stand. It is our vision that people will be able to see as they walk in that we are a Catholic school and a school in Aotearoa. To this end we are meeting with a team of people next week to begin to design the cultural and special character overlay for the front entrance and also for the rest of the school. It is our hope that we will have a plan for the whole school that encompasses signage, cultural and special character artworks, and more. When we have a plan we will share it with you as soon as we can.

Camp Tumu

Our Year 5/6 team are off on camp to the Woodend Christian camp on Monday. We know the tamariki will have an amazing time and we look forward to hearing all about it on their return. A few prayers for some fine weather would not go astray!