Principal's Update - 9 Mei | May
Ko te whaea te takere o te waka - Mothers are the hull of the waka.
Kia ora e te whānau
I hope you had a lovely break and enjoyed the autumn colours that currently surround us. It was awesome to see so many of you at the Prebbleton Anzac Day commemoration service, acknowledging the solemness of the occasion and paying respect to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Didn't James and Izzie do a fabulous job of reading the poem? We are lucky to have such capable student leaders representing Prebbleton School; as well as reading 'In Flanders Field', they laid a wreath with a member of the RSA, and acted as flag bearers. Tino pai, kōrua!
Another opportunity for our student leaders to shine was the recent mihi whakatau for the new Lincoln High School principal, Adrian Fastier. John and I attended with James and Talita and it was great to see how confident they were speaking to various adults during the morning tea after the formal ceremony. Ka mau te wehi!
April was Autism Awareness Month. Classes participated in a national 'quiet hour' during the last week of the term, turning down the lights, turning down the noise, and turning up for the autistic community of Aotearoa. It was great to see our teaching spaces acknowledging our support for the needs of people with autism. Kai pai tōu mahi, tamariki!
This week we have been celebrating New Zealand Sign Language in a variety of ways (see details in Amy's newsletter article) and I have been impressed with tamariki who have taken up my challenge to introduce themselves using NZSL.
Sunday is Mother's Day. The idea of honouring mothers dates back to the Ancient Romans and Greeks, and over time, has become part of many religions and cultures. Countries all over the world may celebrate Mother's Day on different dates but the reason is the same - it is an opportunity to show love and respect for our mums. To all of you who fulfil this role for our tamariki - tēnā rawa atu koe | thank you very much! As the whakatauki above states, you are the hull of the waka.
Many thanks to our fabulous PTA who celebrate mothers with the Mother's Day Stall tomorrow and a Movie Night next week; both of these have become eagerly anticipated events on our school calendar. Other events to look out for are the upcoming Pink Shirt Day, various sporting activities including the Cross Country, and our Creatives in Schools project (see Jo's newsletter article for details).
Hei konā mai
Alli Williams
Tumuaki Whakakapi | Acting Principal