Kia ora e te whānau

Amazing... Christmas is just around the corner and the end of 2023 is coming up quickly. Our ākonga and staff have been extra busy. Many of the experiences our student's are lucky to participate in can’t be done without your ongoing support with transportation and parent help. We are very grateful.

YAY! The swimming pool is open. The water is beautiful and clear and the temperature is sitting at a lovely 24 degrees. We look forward to it being well utilised over the summer break. Thank you to the parents who have volunteered to undertake pool testing and cleaning to ensure we are able to open the pool out of school hours.

Last week I attended the Children’s University Graduation Ceremony at the Town Hall. We had 37 students complete the allocated hours to graduate from the Children's University Programme. I was honoured to call our Year 5 and 6 students to the stage to receive their award. Our Year 7 and 8 student's will receive their award at the Celebration of Learning on Monday due to being away on camp. Thank you to Ms Berry-Mason for organising this opportunity for our students.

The Year 7 and 8 team had a fantastic time at Stewart Island. The children came back buzzing with lots of favourite parts. Thank you to the WMI teaching team and the wonderful parents that came along to help.

Heads up … Elmer the elephant has currently been spotted at Selwyn Aquatic Centre. Keep an eye out for his elephant mates around town. Elmer’s Ōtautahi Elephant trail is live from 25 November to 18 February. You can download the Elmer’s Ōtautahi Elephant Trail app to discover the sculptures, collect rewards and track your trail steps with the pedometer.

Congratulations to Jake S and Peter H for achieving second place in the Grow Waitaha Digi Awards with their entry “Oceanland”. It was a fantastic entry.

Congratulations to all the students who represented the school at the Canterbury Athletics Sports this week. Results coming through are amazing! Finn is a Canterbury age champion, coming first in the 100m sprint. Finn also came third in Year 8 high jump. Tessa came second in Year 6 long jump and second in 80m. Sam came second in Year 5 high jump. Ingrid came third in Year 5 high jump. Well done everyone.

Our Year 0 - 4 student's have an amazing time at their run, jump, throw showcase. They all tried very hard at the various events. It was great to see all the children giving everything a go!

I am looking forward to seeing many of you at the End of Year Prizegiving assemblies, being held on Tuesday 12 December.

• Junior (Years 0 - 4) Assembly 11.00 am

• Senior (Years 5 - 8) Assembly 1.00 pm

Have a great final two weeks.

Ngā mihi nui

Tracey