Thanks to Clive and Andy for mowing a new Ki o Rahi Taonga Tākaro or Māori Traditional Game pitch on our field. This is an incredibly popular game in our senior school which Mr Kyle Seckold leads.

It is hard to believe that we are halfway through the term already. It was very exciting to wave off the first of the five camps for 2024. A huge amount of preparation and planning goes into these and I would like to acknowledge the mahi from our Team Leaders Mrs Caitlyn Tinnelly and Miss Claudia Copeland and our DP Mrs Murray for supporting them. Big thanks to our teachers and parent helpers as well. When you see the photos you see why the children always talk so fondly about the experiences they have at camp.

This week we held a Literacy evening for Y1 and 2 parents and whānau. We hope that the whānau who attended this session found it helpful. Miss Melissa Grant is sending out some supporting materials via HERO from this to the Te Kete Kākano and Te Ara Tupu whānau today.

Review from the Meet the Teacher Conferences

Thank you to the 93 parents/whānau who completed this. Both questions pertaining to whether the conferences contributed to building strong partnerships between home and school; and whether whānau enjoyed the opportunity to attend these received 4.6-4.7 scores on the rating scale out of 5 which was very positive. We did have eight suggestions to hold the conferences later in the term when the children had completed more learning. This would take away the element of the conferences being 'meet the teacher/goal setting conferences' but we will take this into consideration when planning for 2025. 52% of respondents would like the school to present an information evening learning about HERO and assessment. We will do this in Term 2 before learners graphs are updated in HERO and written school reports are sent home.

Just a wee update from me is that next term I will be on sabbatical. I will be engaging in some research around whānau engagement which may lead to further doctoral studies so I will be looking for some keen whānau to interview. I will also be travelling with my husband and will visit some schools overseas and share my experiences when I return. Mrs Amanda Clarkson will be the Acting Principal in my absence for Term 2.

Finally, thank you for your positive and gracious comments regarding my recent appearance on 'What Now' with the new pranking principal slot. I don't think Amanda Clarkson and Megan Murray realised quite what they were signing me up to .... and I definitely owe them for the experience!  

Ngā mihi

Sylvia