Kia ora whānau

The past two weeks have flown by and we know the holidays are fast approaching.

As a school we marked the passing of Queen Elizabeth II with the raising of the New Zealand Flag to half mast on the day she died. We have had the flag in this position, along with all the other schools across New Zealand for this time of mourning. There has been lots of talk about the Monarchy and about the Queen and her service - Moe mai rā e te Kui

Tītahi Bay School will be closed all day next Monday, as will YMCA, to mark her passing. This additional one-off public holiday will not impact any of the other schools dates previously indicated.

What an awesome week we had celebrating Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori. Our tamariki and staff spent the week lifting and celebrating te reo Māori. It was awesome to hear so much te reo Māori being spoken around the kura, something that we want to continue hearing all the time! Our Year 3 tamariki had their Noho in our school hall last week and what an awesome experience this is, not only do our tamariki get to stay over at school but they also stand and share their peheha - We were very proud of all of our tamariki.

To everyone who have supported this kaupapa we thank you!  We encourage your whānau to kōrero Māori whenever you can, whether a little or a lot, to strengthen the reo.

The weather held for the year 3 Trip into town yesterday which was awesome and although the rain has come today it hasn’t stopped some of our seniors from competing in the local schools Rippa Tournament on Onepoto Park.  It was great to have some of our Ex Students come and support this event by being Ref’s for us, Tane, Ashton, Anton, Axel and Adyn - Thank you boys, we loved seeing you and appreciated your time - Once a Kura Kid Always a Kura Kid!

Check out some of the awesome photos from these events further down in this newsletter.

Wellington Cricket is in school this week working with our junior students up to Year 4, let’s hope the weather improves for the classes at the end of the week.

We had a wonderful time in Week 7 running EPRO8 (Engineering Problem solving and Innovating) with all of the year 6 classes. The top 7 teams from the class challenges took part in an Internal Event in our school on the Friday. The top 3 teams from this event, who built some amazing scarecrows and cement trucks out of aluminum rods and connectors, have made it through the interschool challenge at Brandon Intermediate on the 16th November.

1st place - The Minions - Jesse Munro, Jack Jenkins, Cade Manava and Carter Smith

2nd place - Young Engineers - Bonnie Malcolm, Finn Barnes, Juno Albertson and Ruby Liddle

3rd place - Team 24 - Priya Williamson, Frances Sheridan, Emily Smith and Pepper Sherman

Great work kids!

Next Wednesday 28th September the Home and School are running a school Disco - All the information is on the flyer and order forms for Glo gear is coming home in your child’s bag today so keep an eye out.

Can you please ensure that all Hockey and Netball uniforms are returned asap to the school office.

We are looking forward to the longer evenings with Daylight Saving this weekend, so don’t forget to put your clocks forward and enjoy the long weekend.

Ngā mihi

Jamie Merrick and Miranda McMahon on behalf of Matt Tilley

Tumuaki / Principal