Tawatawa News

1 November 2024

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

Whānau Hui group

Our Whānau Hui group was established in 2014 and they have guided the school on tikanga for pōwhiri and encouraged the increased use of te reo Māori around the school, in class and in an extension class. It also ran Matariki celebrations for our wider school community and encouraged regular kapa haka practices. The Whānau Hui group raised funds to pay for kapa haka uniforms. A lot has been achieved over the past 10 years by our teachers, tamariki and whānau. These efforts are now embedded in our school and its strategy.

The group is for all whānau who wish to learn and support Te Ao Māori within our school.

This survey asks our community for its whakaaro (thoughts) on how we might refresh the purpose of this group to continue to support our staff, tamariki and whānau going forward. 

We would love to hear from you. The survey will run from 1 November to 17 November.  A Whānau Hui meeting on Thursday 21 November will discuss the survey feedback and begin the refresh.

Chess Tournament

Our annual chess tournament is on Tuesday 12th November hosted by our expert chess tutor Mark van der Hoorn. All students are welcome to sign up through this form. It is $5 per student to enter. Please sign up by Friday 8 November.

Salvation Army - helping them at Christmas time

We went back to the Salvation Army this morning, this time making a giant vat of vegetable soup.  One of the people at the drop-in centre said ‘wow, that’s what love smells like!’ when the girls wheeled the soup in, ready to serve.  

When talking to Jenna Limmer, she said that funding has been cut in half for their Christmas food packages. They usually put together 200 special Christmas packages for their families, but this year they can only hand out the basics.  

We were wondering if we could ask families to collect a little treat or two when they do their shopping, so the Salvation Army can add these to their food parcels, making the parcels special for Christmas time.  They are looking for things like jelly, biscuits, chocolate or any Christmas treat food.  The families would love to get more than just baked beans in their Christmas food parcel. We will have a box in the office to drop things in and we’d love to help improve Christmas for those needing a little extra help

Help us make the council put in a school sign!!

We need a school sign installed on Mornington Road as there currently isn’t one, and cars hoon around the corner oblivious to the fact there is a school on the corner. The council has known about this for a couple of years and we are still getting no traction in getting a sign despite meetings and emails!  We were hoping if we can encourage parents to fill in a ‘Fix-It’ form on the council website, we might actually get a sign put up. If you’re concerned about the speed people are driving around the school, we would love you to help us be the squeaky wheel and get some action here! 

Upcoming Events

• 3 November - Spooky Disco at VBC 

• 12 November - Chess Tournament

• 13 November - Crazy Hair Day!!

• 15 November - Mid Term Hui at 2.15pm

• 15 November - WHS visit for Year 8s enrolled

• 16 November - Brooklyn Twilight Festival

• 21 November - Whānau Hui Group Meeting at 6:30pm

• 28 November - Year 5 Road Patrol Training

• 5 December - Production 

• 12 December - Ridway’s Got Talent

• 13 December - Pam’s Retirement Celebration at 2.30pm

• 16 December - Water Fight! 

• 17 December - Year 8 Leavers’ Celebration

• 18 December - Juniors Final Assembly (9.15am) and Seniors Final Assembly (2.15pm)

• 19 December - Last Day of School - Finishing at 1pm