Kia ora koutou e nga matua, e nga whānau, Talofa lava, Malo e lelei, Konichiwa!

Welcome back to the beginning of the school year and I am sure you agree that schools are so much nicer with children in them!

I feel very privileged to be selected as the new Tumuaki / Principal of West Melton School ~ Te Kura o Papatahora and have loved my first two weeks. I have appreciated the lovely comments and best wishes, as I have connected with whānau in my wanderings and on road patrol. If you see me, please come up and introduce yourself. There was a great turn out for the Powerful Connections meeting and picnic. What a great start to the year.

Welcome to our new families…. 

We have a busy year ahead! The fete is just around the corner and we have a busy team behind the scenes doing great mahi. Our 150th WM School Jubilee team are well on the way to provide exciting events for our celebration at Labour Weekend and our teachers and learners are hard at work setting the scene for the rest of the year. Make sure you keep an eye on the school calendar (on our new Hero app and school website) for events.

From this week we are going to send out the school newsletter every fortnight on a Thursday. This can be found through our new Hero app, the Hero website (once you have signed in), a posting on facebook and our school website. On alternate Thursdays, learning communities will send out an update of highlights for the fortnight and what is happening for the following two weeks on the Hero community feed. The updates will be found through our new Hero app and on the Hero website. If you know of anyone who is not receiving any communication, please refer them to the office.

We are excited about our new student management system - Hero. It will enable teachers, students, and whānau to view and share content anytime, anywhere on any device. The software is secure and we are endeavouring to bring together all school-related information in one place. As we build our platform and we will share the details.  

This year we are going to have a big focus on Road Safety. We have been working with the Selwyn Council to improve road safety and reduce congestion. Next week a pamphlet will be sent with the oldest and/or only child with information for parking. Can I please highlight the importance of pedestrians using the kea crossing. Please do not cross at the entry to Gainsborough, the Kindy driveway or down by the Petrol Station. Our road patrol leaders are doing a fantastic job of helping people across the road. Could I also ask that you do not enter the school through the staff car park. Keep an eye out for new initiatives this year to help with road safety and congestion.

I look forward to catching up with more families in the coming weeks.

Mā te wā                                                                                        Tracey Riley                                                                                      Tumuaki