Tawatawa News

28  March 2025

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

Cross Country 11 April 

Children have been running around getting their steps in, getting ready for this which is happening on the last day of term, starting and finishing on the field.  Fingers crossed for good weather!

10am start for juniors Year 1 - 4

11.30 for seniors Year 5 - 8

Silent Auction - goes live on 9 May

Check out the website for our 2025 fundraising auction - https://auctria.events/ridgway2025.
We encourage each family to think of at least one thing they can offer (your time or an item). To have it added to the website, please fill out the form here: https://bit.ly/ridgway_auction_offer. 

The auction will run for two weeks and end at 9pm on 23 May. There’s no upper limit on the number of things you can offer, so get your thinking caps on and start adding them! Keep an eye on the website for new offers, and don’t forget to register to bid. You can also download the Auctria app. 

Basketball - sadly there is now a cost 

We have been very lucky over the last couple of years to have basketball paid for the Up Foundation. Unfortunately there is no longer any funding, so if your child is playing basketball this year there will be a cost of approximately $70 per child, per term. 😓

Athletics Day - no postponement date

Sadly, we were unable to book another day this term.  We are no longer able to lock in postponement days.  We are waiting to hear back from them when they have availability at the start of Term 4.  The park isn’t available during Term 2 and 3 as it is set up for winter sports. If we can’t get a date, we will come up with an amazing Plan B. 

Opportunity to be part of the next Phoenix game - 12 April, Sky Stadium 

As part of our visit from the Phoenix, 23 students will have the opportunity to walk out onto the field at Sky Stadium, accompanying both teams for the opening ceremony. Half of the students will walk out with Wellington Phoenix players, and the other half with the visiting Melbourne Victory team. The students will be allocated to players randomly on the day. While they cannot choose which team they walk out with, it’s helpful to manage expectations in advance! 

For this, the selected students must be over 6 years old and no taller than 1.7m to ensure they can comfortably hold the player’s hand while walking out. Please note that this part of the ceremony is broadcast on TV. Additionally, the noise, lights, and overall atmosphere may be overwhelming for some children, so that is worth considering. Each child selected will receive free entry to the game, along with one free adult ticket for a parent.

Also, we have the coin toss opportunity! This opportunity is available to one person and will be broadcast on TV. They can have a parent or teacher accompany them for support. The selected individual will receive free entry to the game, along with an accompanying ticket.  

Please fill out this form if you’d like your child to go in the draw to be part of this.  We will give priority to those who play futsal / football.  You also have to be available to get your child to and from the game on the 12th and stay with them to enjoy the game. 

Le Relais du Monde (The world relay)

This week, the French Ambassador visited Ruru to film Le Relais du Monde, a global event organised by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. With 140 French embassies participating worldwide, this initiative celebrates cultural diversity and the linguistic unity of Francophones. We were thrilled to be part of this project and be first in the relay. We can't wait to see the final video which we will share. 

Upcoming Events

• 4 April - Multicultural Day

• 8 April - Grand Exhibition with Stephen Mushin

• 11 April - Cross Country, end of term hui at 9.15, last day of Term 1

• 12 April - Phoenix game

• 29 April - Blessing of the pou 

• 9 May - Silent Auction goes live

  

Sarah Patterson
Principal/Tumuaki
Te Kura o Tawatawa - Ridgway School