What a beautiful, joy-filled day this was for everyone: for our kindergarten and school tamariki and their whānau, their friends and family who arrived from further afield, visitors from our local community and for the many former Te Rā students who dropped in yesterday - it was wonderful to see them all!

Whether we have known each other for almost two decades or just a few months, coming together as one community was simply amazing. (Those beans must be magic!)

None of this would be possible without the amazing mahi tahi that our community is knowns for. Teachers, support staff, whānau, and also a number of our students: thank you all for doing your part to bring about the 2023 Harvest Festival.

Massive thanks go to: Cat Hendra, Tonia Goodwin-Fox, Tash Robertson, Lana Clarke, Ruth Mitchener, Sarah Wheeler, Paul Denford, Heather Autry and Melissa Steinmetz - who for months have been involved in the planning and preparations, and all parent liaisons of kindergarten and school: e mihi ana ki a koutou! 

There is not enough space in this newsletter to name the many, many others who also worked incredibly hard to make the fair happen! We are all massively grateful for the generosity of everyone: those who filled rosters to sell (beans and other things), cook food and supervise children, those who knitted and woodworked, those who gifted goods, those who performend (including our students), and those who helped set up and clean up ... the list is practically endless and includes many of our students also!

The Harvest Fair is our most significant community fundraising event, but we all know that it is actually a LOT more than that! So, thanks to everyone who spent their beans, or dollars. All raffles have been drawn and all winners have been notified - congratulations to the lucky ones!