Kia Ora Koutou Katoa, Talofa Lava, Malo e Lelei, Ni Hao, Anyoung Haseyo, Konichi Wa, Gruetzi, Guten Tag, Bonjour, Ola, Hello.

Developing a love of learning is something we strive for at Tauriko School and this was clearly evident recently in the smiles of our students, staff and parents as we celebrated literacy learning through our book week celebrations. With a myriad of activities on offer that week with buddy reading, teachers reading in different classes, grandparents day, our fabulous book parade, milo and marshmallows evening, our book fair,  and visits by the SPCA - to name but a few - students had wonderful opportunities to celebrate their learning in different ways. A huge thank you to Jo Te Whaiti and her team for all their hard work and hours of preparation in making a wonderful week like this a reality. Thank you also to the PTA, parents,  and local librarians for their support on different days.

Seoyul Lee and Seoyul Kim represented our International students with pride at a Mayoral morning tea last week. Mayor Greg Brownless welcomed them, on behalf of all our International students, to Tauranga. He talked to the students about the wonderful opportunities he knew the students would have while they are living and learning in Tauranga and thanked them for the many opportunities they bring for our own students to learn about other cultures and languages while they are with us. He stressed the importance of global friendships and understanding.

Here at Tauriko School we are proud of the many opportunities our International students have while they are with us and grateful for the way in which they provide opportunities for us all to learn about different parts of the world in a very real way. Our International students bring different perspectives to learning which enrich learning of us all.

Reporting review evenings:

This year we are reviewing our reporting to parents. Our reports have been in place now for eight years. It is time to consider how fit for purpose these are in relation to the knowledge, skills and understandings that students need currently and into the future. National Standards have also now gone and we want to explain what this means in our school and ask parents for their input into what they want our reports to them to be like.

There will be two meetings to work through this process during this Term. Both will be held in the PAC at 6pm.

• Thursday 23 August -review our current reports, provide information about requirements for schools, consider current and future learning needs, critique our current reports in relation to this and consult on what parents want to know about their students learning.
  
• Thursday 13 September - bring back improved reporting options for feedback 
  

We would really appreciate a good turn out at these meetings as your input into discussion will help us to build our school reports to parents for the coming years. I hear comments from parents at different times about school reports and I know that what you have to share is valuable for us in reviewing school reports. This is your opportunity to have a real input into refining our reporting to parents. I encourage you to come along and be involved in this process.

Before School Care

The school has a growing number of students who are being dropped off in the morning prior to 8am when all teachers are in classes and able to supervise students. Teachers are unable to supervise students before this as they are preparing for learning and often in different places around the school organising resources and having meetings with colleagues to prepare for the day. This is a very real Health and Safety risk for the school and I know parents want to know their children are safe when they are dropped off. We cannot guarantee this before 8am.

So, I have approached School's Out, our after school care provider, to see if they are able to provide care for students before school.  School’s Out Tauriko is exploring the option of providing a Before Care service from the Tauriko Hall. To determine if there is enough demand to make this viable, they have put together a brief survey for you to complete which will assist them in making a decision. If deemed viable, they can begin operating a Before Care service from the beginning of Term 4. Please CLICK HERE to begin the survey.

I encourage all parents who need to drop their children at school before 8am to fill the survey in as we need to solve this issue and this is a great option for you, knowing your children will be safe and cared for before they arrive at school at 8am.