Dear Parents, Carers and Friends of Whītau School. Kia ora koutou katoa! Talofa lava! Mālō e lelei! Greetings everyone.

Opening of the Whītau Faleo'o

We made school history last Friday morning with the opening of the School Faleo'o, a Pasifika dream come true. It was a very proud occasion for Fue Seinafo, our Education Manager in the Ministry of Education and a former parent, to experience. Together we celebrated our school's ongoing participation in Pasifika educational initiatives since 2003 when I travelled to Samoa and experienced living in the village of Eva on Savai'i for a week with other educators from Christchurch.

A special thanks to the School Board for funding this project as a culmination of Miss Collins and my recent learning journey in Tutai le Moana, Wayfinders of the Ocean - a professional learning journey for Principals to strengthen leadership capabilities to improve outcomes for Pasifika learners. It was awesome to welcome Miss Collins back to Whītau School for this special occasion.

Please enjoy this fabulous video of the opening ceremony made by creative Mrs Karen An.

School Board Elections - Voting has opened!

Nominations closed last Wednesday for the NZ School Board elections and now it is time for all parents to vote. I am delighted that we have such a great interest in parents wanting to be elected to become a parent representative on the Whītau School Board. We have an awesome representation from our diverse cultural community who are interested in making a difference at the governance level for all students at Whītau School.

For the 18 month term election, we have received 4 nominations:

Corey Lee, Cameron Love, Irai Weepu and Robert Woodward.

For the 3 year term election, we have received 10 nominations:

Ahmad Al-Ahmad, Jessie Ayers, Urusla Bell-Baxter, Horiana Falwasser, Willem Koekemoer, Kimberley Lewis, Andrea McGill, Julian Moka, Maaka Tau and Brian Tupai.

All parents and caregivers will have received their own individual emails with voting instructions on how you can vote in both elections, as well as the candidate statements and photos that have been provided by most candidates. Both parents/carers can vote in both elections.

Voting closes at 4pm on Wednesday, 10 September.

NZEI Paid Union Meetings - Monday 25 August.

School will open later at 11am as all staff who are members of NZEI - New Zealand Educational Institute - are to attend the Paid Union meeting in school hours. 28 staff members will be travelling by bus to the Town Hall for this event. School will open at 11am, with teachers unlocking their classrooms when they have returned to school around 10.45am. On behalf of the staff, our sincere thanks for your support, as we appreciate how frustrating having to attend Paid Union Meetings in school hours is for working families.

Ngā mihi nui

Sandra Dentice

Principal | Tumuaki

sandra@whitau.school.nz