It is certainly a disrupted time at school with covid impacting many staff and learner absences. I am currently at home sick with covid myself and have experienced many of the symptoms ranging from debilitating headaches to a terribly dry and raspy throat! Strangely enough my appetite has not been affected!

I would really like to acknowledge my amazing team who are juggling additional teaching responsibilities by combining whānau groups and completing many extra duties. Our super teaching assistants do a wonderful job of touching base with lots of learners who miss their teachers and are really quick to help out where needed with reading to a group, taking a maths group and completing extra duties too. Our lovely office staff have as many as 200 absences each day to track and follow up on which takes much longer than usual, and have the challenge of contacting whānau and sending home unwell learners which we are required to do.  And then we have our awesome caretakers looking after all of us and our various requests! Many staff have returned from covid illness, and as we are finding out, fatigue levels are very high for staff in what can be a slow and long recovery. 

This is also a particularly tough time for our learners who whilst they find it reassuring to be placed with teachers they know, they also often really miss their regular whānau teacher. They also have class-mates constantly not at school due to illness and they really miss their friends. So things are definitely complex for everyone! Thank you for your understanding, and to the parents and whānau who have sent special messages of manaakitanga to the staff! All cakes gratefully received in the staffroom:)

This year Mrs Nicki McKenzie and her enviro group are working on a special project related to our value of tiakitanga. Their goal is to improve the well-being of our school pets, Pepper and Duncan. They have many plans related to this including daily excursions out into our tree area and provision of new food troughs each, particularly as Duncan likes to eat Pepper's rations! Nicki surveyed all of our learners to see what our pets mean to them and here are some lovely written quotes:

I think it is important because, even though they are pigs, they have feelings. Maybe not ones we feel, but they still have feelings. Maybe one of those feelings is loneliness?? Who knows. But, if they do (which I believe they do,) it is important to visit them. I guess, sometimes, it might not seem to be the most pressing thing on our mind, but at least I make an effort. Just saying

it helps people to calm down when angry

Yes it is because we can touch and feed them i think all learners absolutely love peppa and Duncan and think it's a pleasure for them to be at our school and it's always wonderful to see them

yes because most schools would never have the chance to get a school pig and most people would love to have a school pet

yes. because it helps us to not waste any fruits as well as it reminds us that this school used to be a farm

yes because they're there if your lonely

Please contact Nicki if you would like to help in anyway.

It has been great to have all of our learners participating in hockey over the past couple of weeks. They have enjoyed the physical learning and new skills. Thanks to Miss Bec Lambert for organising.

Today Miss Kendra Ward organised for all of our keen and able senior runners to go to Brookside Park to determine who might represent our school in the up and coming zone cross-country run. It is lovely to know that we are getting closer to holding zone sporting events for our competitive sports enthusiasts.

Finally, to all of our families who are isolating and looking after loved ones take care, and if you have some thinking time please consider how you may like to contribute to our school in the future by being involved in GROW or leading a fund-raising project, or helping with our safe travel management plan.

Ngā mihi

Sylvia