Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. Kia ora, Hello, Talofa, Mālō e lelei, Bula, Hola, Fakaalofa atu, As Salam Alaykom, こんにちは, Hallo, Hoy, હ લ ો, Hē leu, Mauri, न म त, Ola , Chum reap suor, Kumusta, Nihao, Xin chào.

Kia ora koutou

Matariki Celebration

What a fantastic show of support for our first ever recent school wide celebration of Matariki. There was an amazing turn out of whānau, a very special and emotional atmosphere at the mihi whakatau, very yummy shared kai to eat, and some incredible artworks on display. A huge thank you for the food you sent in on the day, and to those of you who were able to come and join in the celebrations in person. We hope this is just the beginning of many more annual celebrations of this beautiful expression of the Māori New Year.

Special thanks to all the staff for the mahi/work leading up to the celebration, and for coming together on the day to make sure everything ran smoothly.

Special thanks to our kaiako Whaea Richelle and Whaea Kayla for the planning, preparation and guidance they put into making this such a fantastic event.

Tumuaki / Principal Appreciation Week

Perhaps it is fitting that during this nationwide appreciation of Principal’s week, Paul is off enjoying some special holiday leave with his wife. I know that we as a staff greatly appreciate Paul’s leadership. He is always approachable and down to earth, and cares deeply about the most important things - people! He takes the responsibilities and worries that come with the job seriously, but carries them with ease. And we are all incredibly fortunate that the most important thing to Paul in his work is the happiness, wellbeing and learning of all tamariki / children at Te Kāpehu Riccarton School. We do hope he is having a marvellous time away!

Hero comments

Teachers have been working hard to prepare and share useful information about the progress and learning of all learners in their classrooms. When these comments are published for you to read, we hope you find the information helpful and that you are able to have great conversations with your child/ren about their learning as a result of reading these.

The comments will be shared via Hero, with some Teams / Classes being published for you to view by the end of this week, and the remainder being published by the end of the first week of next Term. 

3 Way Learning Conferences

These will be held on Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th August. School will finish at 2pm on both of these days. Please take this opportunity to come and talk with your child and their teacher, about your child’s progress and achievement so far this year. It will also be a great opportunity to ask any questions you may have about the comments shared about your child/ren in Hero.

To book a time slot, please go to www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and use the code ymk9z

​If you have no internet capability please book at the office.

School events

It has been fantastic to have had a number of Teams / Classes being able to resume educational learning beyond the school gates, with so many trips and experiences having taken place this term. We have been so proud of the enthusiasm, behaviour and learning of our tamariki on these trips.

In particular, huge thanks to our teachers and support staff for planning and running these trips, and a very special thank you to all of our parents that have gone on these trips as support. We cannot run trips away without you, so we are very grateful.

Sickness 

Thank you for your continued support by keeping your child/ren home when they are sick. There have been many cases of flu and colds this term, and there are still cases of Covid. It is so important to stop the spread of such illnesses amongst the rest of our school, and in particular, in keeping sick kids home so they don’t spread their illnesses to teachers. It is getting increasingly hard to find relievers when teachers get sick, so please make sure you follow the guidelines in place, so we can keep teachers well and teaching your children.

Keep children home when they are displaying any signs of a cold or flu. They are to stay at home until their symptoms have gone.

It is really important to test any child displaying even mild symptoms of a cold or flu for Covid. We have plenty of Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) to give away for free. You can collect these from the school office.

Covid-19

For Covid positive cases: Isolation for positive Covid cases and close contacts is seven days. Please note you must be symptom-free for 24 hours to return to school.

Here is a link about caring for your tamariki with covid.

Here is the latest covid isolation calculator.

In addition, we have been asked by the Ministry of Health to remind all families of their key messages.

They are:

Immunisation is a personal choice.

Immunising tamariki is the most important step parents can take to protect all of their whānau against Covid-19.

Although the effects of Covid-19 are generally milder for tamariki, some can get more unwell. To protect your child against getting a more serious case of Covid-19 if they catch it, immunisation helps protect them against more severe illness.

The child dose of the Pfizer vaccine has been specially formulated for tamariki and has been carefully tested to check its safety, effectiveness and quality. It is also considered to be safe for any children with allergies.

It is important to immunise tamariki, even if they have already had Covid-19.

Holidays

School closes at 3pm this Friday 8th July for the end of Term 2 school holidays.

School will be closed for 2 weeks.

School reopens for Term 3 on Monday 25th July.

Thank you to all staff for their commitment and hard work this term.

Thank you to all parents / caregivers and tamariki for all of your work and support this term too.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday.

Ngā mihi nui,

Margie Askin-Jarden

Deputy Principal 1