Newsletter - Week 6, Term 3 2025

Amanda
Aug 25
3 min read

Principal’s Update

Kia ora Waitetuna Whaanau, at the end of last week our new school board was officially confirmed for the next three years. The following people make up our school board—

Kenneth Boggs, Tim Buchanan, Bernie Marshall, Sally Ridley, Lotovale Iakopo

Thanks to these people who will provide the governance and assist with overseeing school planning. I would also like to extend our sincere gratitude to our dedicated PTA and to all the parents, staff, and community members who contributed their time and energy to ensure the success of our inter-school cross country event. It was a day filled with enthusiasm, whanaungatanga, and achievement. We are delighted to share that, together, we raised over $3,000 – an outstanding result and a testament to the strength of our school community. And another shout out to the following businesses for their help and support at the Cross Country—Raglan Four Square, Orca, James Lambie—Property Brokers, Josh at Holy Crepe and Greenlea Meats for all of their sponsorship support. I have had many compliments on how well the day went.

This week has also been a celebration of excellence in oral language as our students presented their speeches. The standard of writing, delivery, and confidence shown was excellent and we commend every student who took part. Warm congratulations to our class and school finalists, and especially to our Year 5–8 winners, who will go on to represent our kura at the upcoming inter-school competitions. We are incredibly proud of your efforts and wish you every success. Well done to their teachers for the teaching to get these students to such a quality level of writing and presentation.

Paid union meeting—as a school we were fortunate that we can provide cover for each other to attend meetings in different locations and remain open. Negotiations continue but we are frustrated when one of the Minister’s circulates false information about teachers pay rates. No teacher or Principal of a Primary School earns $147,000 or even close. We continue to reinforce the importance of listening to teachers in terms of conditions, ie support for the students particularly those with a range of learning needs. We appreciate your support as these continue.

Ngaa mihi Amanda and staff.

All The Happenings

Inter School Speech Competition—Te Uku School—Wed 27th August for Year 5 and 6 students only—5.30pm
Assembly—29th August American Hotdogs—29th August
WFPSA (Year 7 and 8 students)—Regional Speeches—Te Uku School —3rd Sept at 6pm and then if placed attend Final—Tues 9th Sept at at 6.30pm at Ohaupo School
Keeping Ourselves Safe—Constable Tom in—10th Sept
WFPSA—Cross Country—11th Sept (PP—12th Sept)
Board Meeting—Monday 15th September—5.30pm
Last day of Term 3—19th September

What a fantastic two days Robyn and I had at the Literacy Symposium in Auckland! Our team was privileged to dive deep into the latest research and best practices in literacy education, gaining valuable insights that we are incredibly excited to bring back to our school.

The symposium was a vibrant hub of educators, researchers, and practitioners from across the world, all united by a shared passion for helping every child succeed. The key themes that resonated most with us revolved around the power of structured literacy and the crucial role it plays in building strong reading and writing skills.

It was a powerful reminder that when we teach explicitly and systematically, we are giving our students the tools they need to unlock the code of language and become confident, capable readers. Hon Erica Stanford even came to speak to us.

Our two days were a fantastic investment in our professional growth, and we have returned with a renewed sense of purpose and a host of new strategies to implement in our classrooms. We are confident that the knowledge we have gained will help us continue to grow the seeds of success for all our learners. Thank you to Ali and Travis for covering so Robyn and I could attend.