If you haven't seen me over the past couple of weeks surely you will have felt the huge ray of sunshine beaming from my office. What an amazing start to the school year at Tuahiwi School.

Welcome to our new whānau and welcome back to our whānau who have already been with us. We have lots of new faces and names to learn and after the whānau gathering last night I feel like I almost have everyone's names sorted. 

Our new kaiako have slotted in well to our Tuahiwi 'way' of doing things and we have already learnt many things for them to help us on our continual journey to be the best wee kura in town! 

Our Ara Ako hui on Monday Feb 3rd were incredibly successful with almost all of our whānau and ākonga being able to attend. We have since met with others and almost have all of our Ara Ako up on Linc Ed. Keep on eye on your emails for notifications that tell you there is something to look at on Linc Ed about your child. 

Our tamariki have come back to kura with positive mindsets and an eagerness to learn. We have a few new tricks up our sleeve that we have been working on together as a staff over the holidays and we hope that whānau will see a difference in the school culture and in attitudes to learning. 

I have definitely noticed a calmness, a stronger focus on learning and better relationships in the playground. We are working hard to ensure that this continues. 

The building renovations are coming along nicely and we are looking good for the finish date to remain the same. Currently we are talking about how we are going to shift the classrooms around when the times comes but one thing for certain is that we are going to need your help. 

As I gaze out of my office window I can see five boys working on a building project with Nush. How cool it is to be able to give our tamariki opportunities that they may not get elsewhere. 

Enjoy the rest of your week whānau and remember to come and say kia ora when you get a chance. 

Mel :)