"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could … Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Kia ora koutou

It's hard to believe the end of term is upon us. I would like to thank the parent community who have been very supportive and worked closely with us to support our Tamariki. The DARE projects culminated with two Market Days from Pikorua and Koropepe which were massive successes. These types of learning experiences allow our children to use their skills and knowledge in a variety of ways.

My apologies for the lack of clear information about school interviews this week. In hindsight having Megan leave mid term and Jill and Trish leaving for overseas holidays has left us short staffed in the office. Last week was incredibly busy and trying to organise the office was challenging. I have Kathryn covering in the office for half days so please understand she has not been trained up in many of the administrative duties but she is doing a great job keeping the office open for business. Trish will return in week 1 of term three and Jill in week 2.

We constantly remind our children that mistakes are how we learn and to have a growth mindset. Although some mistakes were made with the communication to parents/caregivers in relation to the school interviews, it is also a learning experience for all involved and we will learn from it. We have tried to make communication streamlined and more effective using the app, Facebook and Website but we know there are always things we can improve upon. Once again apologies if childcare and organising your family was made difficult by a lack of clear information about school interviews and thank you for your understanding.

The Board of Trustees has decided to open our enrolment policy to include 10 out of zone enrolments. The Board of Trustees has included an update below. This will occur from Term 4.

I would like to thank our amazing teaching and support staff who continue to put our children at the forefront of all they do. I think we are very fortunate to have such a wonderful teaching team. Thank you to our Board of Trustees for their continued support. Our students continue to shine and make progress and it's wonderful to interact with them each day.

I wish you all a wonderful holiday break. Be safe, have fun and I look forward to seeing everyone in term three.

Ngā mihi

John

Board of Trustees update

It’s hard to believe we’re half way through the school year!

As you’ll have read in John Kane’s message the Board has agreed to open the school’s enrolment zone for an additional 10 places. This was a decision not taken lightly by the Board.

The roll has been slowly declining over recent years due largely to the changing demographic of the community. This could again change as new subdivisions come on stream and more houses become available but the long-term implications of a declining roll are reduced funding which in turn, could mean reduced staff levels.

We believe a limited opening of the role for the foreseeable future will help ensure the ongoing viability and success of the school but won’t jeopardise the unique ‘small country school’ culture and characteristic that we know is so important.

We’d like to welcome Angela Kleehammer to the Board of Trustees. Ange was elected onto the Board following the resignation of Gabes Watts, whose daughters had left the school. Ange has a diverse background, brings extensive Human Resources experience to the Board and her involvement is greatly appreciated. Meanwhile, we’d also like to thank Gabes for all her hard work over the past three years.

A lack of sunshine and high numbers of students with coughs and colds has made it a tough winter term and we hope you all have an opportunity over the school holidays to get a break with your children.

The full Board is:

Guy Martin (Chair) guy.board@taitapu.school.nz

Daryl Aitken daryl.board@taitapu.school.nz

Tom Fraser tom.board@taitapu.school.nz

Dave Kearns dave.kearns@taitapu.school.nz

Angela Kleehammer angela.board@taitapu.school.nz

Sari Farrant (Staff representative) sari.farrant@taitapu.school.nz

John Kane (Principal) principal@taitapu.school.nz