I hope everyone has had a fun and relaxing end of Term break. It is hard to believe a new term has arrived! It was wonderful to see everyone again! 

The Kaiako, staff, and I are preparing an especially exciting Term 2 here at Tai Tapu School. 

Our incredible Kaiako have been in school throughout the break to prepare classrooms for the new Term. 

Tai Tapu School is such a special place to learn and grow. We are proud of our beautiful school and have high expectations for every learner.  Together with our dedicated staff, we strive to connect with learners to help them feel valued, accepted, and safe. Our Tai Tapu School motto of “Making a difference to self, others and the environment' will continue to guide all we do. Our school values will continue to be the glue that connects us all and help build positive relationships. Kaiako are working to ensure our learning programmes enable 'active student engagement and foster a lifetime love for learning'.

Partnering with whānau is crucial to promote a healthy transition to school, both socially and emotionally. We recognize that students may feel anxious with the start of a new term, and we will continue to emphasise social-emotional learning while focusing on building learning hub communities. We encourage whānau to stay connected and informed by following our website and announcements sent through the Schools App.

ANZAC Remembrance - Tuesday, 25 April - Thank you to the whānau who could attend the ANZAC Remembrance starting at Tai Tapu School. It was an exceptional event, made even more special by the large number of our community present. The weather was a perfect example of an autumn morning with sun and crisp cool air. The remembrance concluded with morning tea back at school.  Our wonderful PTA provided food and refreshments. Your hard work made the event very special and allowed a wide range of our communities to connect.

Our 4 Rangatira/head students showed maturity and care throughout the event. Ka pai, Mason, Ella, Ethan and Amber. Thank you to  Grant Miller, Selwyn District Council, for organising the event and including our school. Check out the school's Facebook page for photos.

Here are a few important things to be aware of:

• First and foremost, because I know everyone will ask- the new pool is almost complete and ready to use. As you can see, we have some minor work to complete on the pool shed and landscaping around the outside of the pool. However, the pool is heating and ready to use for a grand opening when the time is right.  I will keep you posted on the upcoming event. Doesn't it look great!
• Property and Grounds Maintenance Contractor - we are engaging a new property and grounds maintenance contractor to take care of our school grounds, gardens, trees and playgrounds. We are hoping this process is concluded quickly.  In the interim, we may need to ask whānau to come to school for a Working Bee to keep the grounds tidy until our new contractor can start. I will give you a shout-out when needed.
• Mid-year Learning Conferences - During week 10, Term 2, you will be invited to attend your tamariki  Learning Conferences to share tamariki learning successes and progress. More information will be shared with you in the Junior and Senior Newsletters.
• The Education Review Office (ERO) will visit our school on Monday, 1 May. This is part of EROs planned rotation. Our last visit was at the beginning of 2020. We will welcome their representative, Shane Morrow, with a Mihi Whakatau at 9:30 am. Please feel free to drop in and participate in the event. This process will be an excellent opportunity to showcase all the fantastic work that has gone into Tai Tapu School over the past three and half years and the plans we have moving into the future.

Mana Aki / MHERC Whānau workshops

• Anxiety in Children and Teens - Thursday, 18 May, 7 pm to 8:30 pm, location - Lemonwood Grove School, Rolleston.

  https://mherc.arlo.co/w/events/669-anxiety-in-children-and-teens/2320
  School Avoidance -Tuesday, 30 May, 7 pm to 8:30 pm, location - Lemonwood Grove School, Rolleston.https://mherc.arlo.co/w/events/668-school-avoidance/2321

I  hope everyone has squeezed into the holiday break as much fun as possible.  We will work hard to ensure learners have a broad and diverse range of learning opportunities. 

Please take as many opportunities to connect with teachers, staff and me as possible. We value our time with you.

Our next full Newsletter will be on Friday, 5 May.

Nga mihi nui

Bernadette May

Tumuaki

Principal

Tai Tapu School