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 katoa

Our thoughts and prayers as a school are with the people of Auckland who were recently affected by floods, and now also the people of Gisborne and Hawkes Bay who have been devastated by the floods related to Cyclone Gabrielle. We can only imagine the stress that they are under. We will complete a fundraiser for them in the coming weeks.

School Closes at 12.45 pm Next Thursday 2nd March for NZEI Paid Union Meetings

We all want the best for our kids.

Our teachers love what they do, but not enough funding for schools means that they don’t have the time they would like to support all kids to thrive.

We can fix this though. NZEI Te Riu Roa primary teacher and principal members are making the case to Government for the best investment in tamariki. Smaller class sizes, more time for individual students and more specialist learning support staffing would make a huge difference.

Keeping and retaining teachers is top of mind right now, and this term, our teachers will also be meeting to consider a pay offer – and assessing if it’s enough to make sure that teaching is valued and is an attractive profession.

That is why myself and teachers at our school will be attending paid union meetings next Thursday 2nd March and school will close at 12.45 pm.

When we support our children to learn and succeed, we are supporting whānau and communities to thrive. We look forward to another great year in 2023 – and together with your support building the case for better investment in our tamariki.

Have a fantastic week and please encourage your learners to be respectful, responsible, real learners.

Ngā mihi nui

Paul Irving