We celebrate Cook Island Language week and support "Taku rama, taau toi: ora te Reo" - "My Torch, Your Adze: The Language Lives"

Did you know that 3% of all Grey Lynn Students are of Cook Island descent? We celebrate the culture that they bring to our place. We asked some of our students with proud Cook Island heritage what they valued about their culture;

“We celebrate dancing and sometimes we make food. My favourite is fresh coconut and watermelon” Luluseana

“We connect with our culture, language and food. Doughnuts that we get from the market are my favourite” Anthony

Ngakau: The heart of our place; our library space.

We would like to update you as to what is happening currently with our library. Our library is to be called Ngakau. Ngåkau has been named in reference to being the seat of affection, heart, mind and soul of our Kura. It is our desire that it be the embodiment of collaboration in action to become something that meets the needs of our school community for the purposes of reading for pleasure and information. Ngåkau is located centrally on the Surrey level which is also physically the heart of the new building Kawharu. To become the heart, mind and soul of our Kura, it needs to welcome, inspire, challenge and nurture our learners.

Currently, there is a newly formed team of teachers who are meeting with National Library services to school facilitator in late August to learn about the changing landscapes of the library. After this meeting we will set a date for all interested members of our community to come and meet, offering their voice along with students and staff for the planning of the immediate and longer-term for Ngakau. The date will be advertised in the school newsletter.

We thank you for your interest and willingness to work as a team and shape Ngakau towards a new future, keeping the best of our past. By the end of this term, we will have some aspects of 'library' functioning within the classroom and Ngakau space with opportunities for members of the community to contribute their passion, expertise and time.

Kia ora Jody Hayes for her contribution to write and share this information with you and her leadership of our staff to make action happen in our Ngakau space.

Grey Lynn School Bingo & Auction 2019

The night was fantastic! The organisation and event were well executed and the enjoyment by all who attended; evident. What an incredibly enjoyable and successful night it was for our Grey Lynn families and friends in attendance. As a fundraising event, it was extremely successful raising over 30K for the new school playground. It is with thanks to the Fundraising Group with Leadership from Angie Worsley that we were able to achieve this result. Many thanks from our students, staff and our community to all those who made this the success that it is in 2019!

Parent Net

I would like to acknowledge and thank the whanau class representatives who co-ordinate connection and activities for the teacher; their students and families. Thanks also to our school co-ordinator; Tanya Reynolds for leading our Parent Net group.

Shortly we will be meeting all Parent Net co-ordinators to find out what has been working well for them in their current role and what we may need to do differently in the future to ensure that the role continues to thrive. Look forward to great ideas and action from this important parent group in our school!

A landscape and environment master plan for Grey Lynn School.

Are you interested in contributing ideas for our school environment and landscape master plan for the next 5 years? We are gathering ideas and capturing possibilities to imagine our future here at Grey Lynn. With our new buildings coming to completion we are thinking about big things. These may include the continuation of our legacy plantings, art and sculpture, edible gardens and fruit trees for our children. If you are interested please email the office and we will give you more details.

“Spring is nature’s way of saying let’s party” Robin Williams

Nga mihi
Alicia Whata
Grey Lynn School Principal