Issue 18: Week 8, Term 2 2025
Principal's Message - Karere a te Tumuaki
Mānawatia a Matariki!
As we begin to look ahead to the Māori New Year, I want to acknowledge the beautiful way our Middle Team kicked off our Matariki celebrations on Tuesday – by preparing and serving delicious soup for the entire school! I was lucky enough to be invited to help with the preparations (those who know me will know that I’m not the most confident in the kitchen… so yes, I was a little nervous!), but I honestly loved every second. The three types of soup were amazing, and the sense of whanaungatanga – connection and togetherness – was absolutely palpable. A huge well done to all the students and teachers involved. We're looking forward to sharing more Matariki celebrations with you at our Assembly on Thursday.
Last week our Year 7&8 Sports Camp squad had an unforgettable time down at Totara Springs in Matamata. I was fortunate to join them for a few days and was blown away by their self-management, sportsmanship, and incredible sporting talent. Winning 6 out of the 7 semi-finals we qualified for was a huge achievement and made it very hard to drag myself back to school on Thursday afternoon!
A massive thank you to the dedicated team of teachers and parents who organised and supported the event - especially to Mrs Sutton, Mrs Collie, Mrs Sutherland, Leyton Hookway, Renee Parlane and Andy Napier. Thank you also to all the parents and family members who came down to cheer the team on. A special mention to Leyton Hookway, who attended as a parent helper on what was their last Sports Camp after 13 years – what an awesome legacy to leave at Karaka School. Ngā mihi nui!
School Donations – A Friendly Reminder:
We’re now reaching the halfway point of the school year, and at this stage, only 52% of our school families have paid their school donations. We completely understand that this can be a challenge for some whānau, and there is no obligation to pay. However, for those who are able, this support is hugely appreciated and directly impacts your child’s learning experience. We receive far less government funding due to our equity index number (think back to what would have previously been known as a 'high decile school'), so we rely on this money for a lot of our classroom resourcing needs. To give just one example – we received $857 from the Ministry to help resource Structured Literacy across the school, but it cost us over $15,000 to set up just our Junior Team classrooms! Donations also help fund projects like the STEM units happening in our Year 5&6 team, including the popular solar-powered car kits that many of you have likely heard about at home. So please keep an eye out for updated statements from Kindo this week, and thank you for any support you’re able to provide.
Finally, we have a group of staff members heading to the Karaka Memorial Hall to give blood after school as part of their current donation drive. If you have the chance over the next week or so, make the time to pop in. It's one of the community service acts we don't always appreciate fully until it's needed by someone we love.
Ngā mihi nui,
Anna Powrie
Welcome to Karaka School
- Lucy C
- Winter M
Celebrating Learning and Achievement
What is Matariki?
Matariki is the Māori New Year, celebrated when a group of stars called Matariki appears in the sky in winter.
It’s a special time for remembering people who have passed on, spending time with whānau, and thinking about the coming year.
People celebrate with food, music, stories, and fun activities. It’s about coming together, setting goals and starting fresh.
It is normally celebrated in late June or early July. This year, it is being celebrated on Friday, June 20.
There are also stories about the cluster of stars being sisters; their names are Matariki, Tupuārangi, Waipuna-ā-Rangi, Waitī, Tupuānuku, Ururangi, Waitā, Pōhutukawa, and Hiwa-i-te-Rangi.
How are you going to celebrate Matariki this year?
Elizabeth and Jaxxson (Cultural Leaders)
Mānawatia a Matariki - Celebrating Matariki!
We had a wonderful week welcoming the start of the Māori New Year. All the classes took part in lots of different activities and talked about all the wonderful ways we can celebrate Matariki together. Look at the special Matariki stars Kotare made -
Sports Camp
Last week, we took 31 enthusiastic students to Matamata for the week, where they participated in over 40 different sports, from rock climbing to touch to softball. The students were kept extremely busy over the week and were a credit to Karaka School. We were proud of their sportsmanship and the way they presented themselves as part of Karaka School.
Placings: We made 7 semi-finals and 6 finals, which was a credit to their hard work and effort they'd put in throughout the term.
1st Volleyball Boys
1st Softball
1st Hole in One Golf
2nd Basketball Boys
2nd Totara TAG Girls
2nd Petanque
2nd Tennis
2nd Mini Golf
Thanks to our sponsors:
- Pope Packaging
- Brougham Buses
- Route 22 General Store
- Aquastyle Pools
- Kat Paull Editing
- Franklin Law
- Melissa Elliott (for designing our sports camp hoodie)
Also thanks to: Sarah, Renee and Leyton who spent the week with the students. Your help throughout the week was invaluable.
Notes from the Office
Ministry Roll Return Day - Thursday 26th June
If your child is absent on this day, can the office be provided with a note (either via Hero, email, written or through the website). This happens twice a year and is a Ministry requirement.
PhotoLife
Your PhotoLife orders have now been delivered to School. We will be handing these out tomorrow for your child to bring home.
School Board Elections
All state and state-integrated schools are required to hold board elections every three years, and the next round will take place this year, in 2025.
The School Board is an important part of our school as they set the strategic direction for our school, consult with our school community about our school, ensure the schools funding is spent wisely and ensure that we are giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi within our school.
Our board is made up of five parent representatives, the [Principal or Tumuaki], and a staff representative elected by staff.
The current board has appointed Election Pilot as our Returning Officer, and the election will be conducted online. They have been assisting schools with elections for over 20 years and have been the only election provider accredited by the Ministry of Education to provide online election services since online elections started in 2022.
Nomination and voting forms will be sent to all eligible voters by email directly from Election Pilot. If we don’t have an email address for you, nomination and voting papers will be sent by post so no one will miss out.
School Board Elections must be held in accordance with the provisions in the Education and Training Act 2020 and the Education (Board Elections) Regulations 2022. Your name and contact details have been provided to Schooled Election Pilot to enable the provision of election services for our school as required by legislation.
They will use your contact details for the provision of election services for Karaka School only and your details will be deleted 60 days after the election date as required by legislation. If you have any questions about the election process, please contact the Returning Officer directly on 0800 VOTENZ (0800 868 369) or election@electionpilot.nz.
We will continue to keep you updated through the various stages of the election process. Our election date is 17th September 2025.
PTA News
Any questions/fundraising ideas or if you require uniform items urgently, you can email the PTA on karaka.pta@gmail.com
The Karaka School PTA account is 12 3031 0851231 00
Updates from the Wider Community
