Kia ora whānau

It has been all go this last two weeks. Judging the Wearable Arts to determine the finalists for Sunday, raffle ticket money coming in, white elephant goodies being delivered and all whilst trying very hard to forget the huge amounts of chocolate for the chocolate wheel that is stored close by! What a tremendous amount of work the Fete committee have undertaken to ensure this is a successful event.  I was reminded that the Fete was initially organised to bring the community together. It certainly meets this objective. I look forward to seeing many of you there on Sunday.

Exciting times ahead with the renovation of our Tī Kōuka block starting very soon. The Ministry of Education has approved some extra funding to ensure that the block is modernised. We can look forward to new windows, doors, another breakout space, new carpet, kitchen facilities and new walls. There is a need for some organisational changes. Tī Kōuka ākonga will move into the Kaurapa for Terms 2 and 3. We are getting pretty good at demonstrating our DRIVER values when having to adapt to necessary changes.

We wish Clarissa Hurihanganui all the very best for the impending birth of Hurihanganui junior. Clarissa will go on maternity leave for the remainder of the year. Congratulations to Annabelle Cloudesley for her appointment to the position and we have already had the pleasure of Annabelle in our school as part of the transition process.

John Blondell, our caretaker, has decided to retire. John has been a member of our staff for 11 years and is a jack of all trades. We have appreciated his service to the school and wish him all the best in his retirement. We are currently moving through the appointment process with the intention of the new caretaker starting in time for Term 2.

We are very keen to hear your thoughts on our school management system - HERO. If you have a spare few minutes it would be great if you could complete our online survey. Please see the WMS Communication bubble for more information.

The completed intersection and lights have already made a great impact on traffic flow and the safety of our ākonga. Just a reminder that it is important that our children wear the allocated safety vests coming to and from school so that they can be visible. It is really hard to see our navy uniform in some weather conditions and in certain light. A big shout out to Wilshire Construction for very kindly donating more safety vests to support the safety of our ākonga.

Congratulations to the ākonga who competed at the Canterbury Triathlon and Selwyn Zone Swimming Sports. We achieved some amazing results including Elsie S who came second in the Year 5 girls Canterbury Triathlon event. Well done everybody. Thank you once again for our amazing parent helpers. We can’t compete in these events without your help. All the best to the 23 swimmers who are heading to the Canterbury Swimming Championships next Thursday. Our biggest team yet!

Ngā mihi nui

Tracey