Tawatawa News

Friday 14 June

He mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa
Bonjour à toutes nos familles

Matariki Celebration Wednesday 26th June 5.30 - 7pm

On Wednesday 26 June, our school will be celebrating Matariki - Maori New Year. We will be having an evening of celebration for our whole community, which will include waiata (singing), pūrakau (stories), kai (food) and maybe a little kani kani (dance).

During school hours, all of the tamariki (children) will be involved in preparing vegetables. Our tamariki in Kōtare will have a senior buddy to help them prepare their vegetable i.e. the senior will peel the vegetable and the Kōtare child will take the peelings to our garden area. All other tamariki will peel their own vegetable which will be cooked together in the school kai cooker. Peelers need to be clearly named so we can get them back to their homes.

Please send your child to school with one vegetable suitable to go in our hāngī, for example a potato, carrot, kūmara, parsnip, onion or a piece of pumpkin. 

We will also have a sausage sizzle on the night. All you need to bring is a plate and cutlery, or feel free to use nature’s forks (hands) instead. 

Pre-loved clothing sale - what a success! 

Thank you so much to all the parents (and grandparents) who helped organise, sort clothes, set up, sell and then tidy up afterwards. Also thank you to those who donated good quality clothes and delicious baking to be sold.  We raised close to $3,800! If you would like your container/tray/tea towel back, please come to the office to identify and retrieve. There are also still two clothing racks to be collected. Also, thanks to the Board for the supreme sausage sizzle! 

VBC after school today

If you’d like to come and chat to Sarah, Harriette or Julie after school today we will be at VBC Upstairs after school. 

Talented student alert

One of our very talented Year 8 students, Annika, is a musician in a chamber group that was part of a nationwide contest for Year 7-13. This year they won The Best Newcomer Award in the Wellington region and last years ‘Adjudicator’s Award’. You can have a watch and listen here and read the press release here. Congratulations Annika! 

Our Year 7 and 8s

One of the (many) benefits of staying at a full primary is our ability to tailor the programme to suit the group of children, most of whom we have known since they were 5.  This year, we have art groups going out into the community to complete art projects, we are taking part in the school Shakespeare theatre production, we will enter teams in Tournament of Minds, we are heading to a music showcase and we also go on fortnightly trips into the city, to the library and further afield. This is on top of the business as usual programme such as weekly technology trips, four day adventure camp at Camp Makahika and being kaitiaki of a section of Tawatawa Reserve. Having these seniors with us for their whole school journey is a part of what makes our school so special. Keep a lookout for our pop up cafe! 

Parking in the bus stop - stop it, we don’t like it! 

Please don’t park in the bus stop during school hours, any time before 3. We have very grumpy bus drivers who sit on their horns and won’t let our children out when they come back from technology or swimming. This makes our seniors late to leave school at the end of the day. 

Reversing out of Coleridge Street 😱

There was a near miss this week with a child on a scooter going past Coleridge Street at the same time as a parent was backing out. If you are parking there, do be aware there are children all over the place. Maybe wait till the coast is clear after about 3.10 to reverse out of there. 

Upcoming Events

• School Photos - 24th and 25th June

• Tūī Trip - Capital E and Wellington Musuem - 25th June

• Matariki celebration - Wednesday 26th June 5.30 - 7pm

• Matariki Public Holiday - Friday 28th June

• Seniors Trip - Wharewaka o Pōneke - 4th July 

• End of term hui - 5th July at 2.15pm

• Last day of term Friday 5th July 

• Learning Conferences 29 and 30 July

• Teacher Only Day 23 August

• Pedal Ready - Year 5 - 8s on Fridays

• Swimming Y6 to Y8 on Fridays at Karori Pool 

• Kiwi Hoops - basketball lessons for the whole school during Term 2