Issue 10: Week 11, Term 1 2025

Principal's Message - Karere a te Tumuaki

Kia ora and welcome to the last newsletter edition for Term 1. No doubt the production is front and centre of people's minds at the moment, and we are super excited for our performances tomorrow. I'll share a separate post later today regarding details for parking and timings etc.

However, there are some other important things I would like to share with you all today. First and foremost, we have two special acknowledgements and farewells to do this week. Mr Vermeulen joined us at Karaka at the beginning of 2024. He has been a tremendous asset to our school and and slotted seamlessly into our Staff and the wider school community. Having spent time at Lake Karapiro and Sports Camp last year, and then in Raglan earlier this year, he has shared some special moments with the students in Mangopare and I know they will all miss him a lot. We wish him all the very best as he continues his teaching journey at Ararimu School (and I've already warned him that we'll be going all out to beat his teams when we come across them at ECCS in the future!).

The other farewell we have to make this week is to our much loved Robbie Dog. Robbie has been a special part of Karaka School for many years now. We were even lucky enough to keep him with us 3 days a week when Ms Davis left to pursue her new job as an RTLB in 2023. However, Ms Davis and Robbie will be moving to their new home in Tairua these holidays which is just a tiny bit too far for a dog to commute to school and back. We know he will be just as loved in his new school as he was here at Karaka. My office is already looking bare now that his bed has been taken home too - I will miss him very much! 

Ka kite ano, ngā mihi nui Mr V and Robbie Dog - thank you for all you have given to Karaka School.

One other piece of information I'm happy to share is that we have will have a new 'School Speed Zone' operating here by the end of June. The 30kms per hour will apply 1.5km either side of our school gate although we are yet to find out if it will be an electronic or static sign that will be installed. Knowing what a busy thoroughfare Blackbridge Road is, I welcomed this news, as the safety of our tamariki is always front and foremost in our minds.

Lastly, a special congratulations to one of our Year 8 students, Milan B, who competed at Counties as part of the ECCS Boys Football team yesterday. I got a personal message from the Ardmore parent who managed the team (which comprised of boys from various different schools) to say how impressed she was with Milan's attitude, smile (which you can see in the pic below), positivity, and sportsmanship when they drew their last game of the day - I was very proud to get this kind of feedback about one of our own students.

And that's all from me - hopefully everyone gets a good night's sleep tonight in preparation for Showtime tomorrow!

Ngā mihi,

Anna Powrie

Celebrating Learning and Achievement

Notes from the Office

Ag Day - Saturday 13th September

First Ag Day Meeting - Dad's and Mum's, are you looking for a way to get involved in your school? Come along to our first Ag Day meeting Monday 19th May 7.00pm in the staffroom. All new families welcome, along with all your wonderful ideas and skills. WE NEED YOUR HELP!! You can contact the office if you have any queries.

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