Issue 11: Week 1, Term 2 2024

Principal's Message - Karere a te Tumuaki

Kia ora Karaka friends and whānau.

It has been a really nice start to Term 2 this week. The sun is shining, the children are happy to be back and are already re-engaged in their learning, and we have lots of exciting events coming up to look forward to. Those of you that live close to school will have noticed a lot of machinery at school over the holidays - you can read a bit more about this in my 'Property Update' below.

I want to officially welcome Mrs Hitchcock who has joined our wonderful team of Teacher Aides this term. Mrs Hitchcock will mostly be working in Tui and Ruru spaces, as well as a little bit of time supporting learners in the senior school.

On Monday next week, we have two Student Teachers starting their school placements with us. Mr McBain is a 3rd year student (final year of study) and will be spending the next 5 weeks in Pukeko with Mrs Christensen. Mr Lamont is in his first year of study and will be in Pepeketua with Mrs Redshaw for the next 3 weeks. We know they will be in good hands in terms of their ongoing journey to becoming fully qualified teachers.

Congratulations to Miss Cheyne who officially graduated with her Bachelor of Education (Primary Teaching) over the holidays. While we know that Miss Cheyne is bound to have a long and rewarding career in education, we feel really lucky that Miss Cheyne has chosen to start her teaching career here with us at Karaka School. 

Miss Cheyne has already proven herself to be a great asset, making wonderful connections with the staff, her students and their whānau. For those of you who attended our Senior Swimming Sports, you would have also noticed her speed underwater - you may not know this, but Miss Cheyne is also a qualified swimming instructor!

Another staff highlight from the holiday period - Mrs Sutton ticked something off her bucket list and made it all the way to Base Camp at Mt Everest! Not only did she push herself both mentally and physically in order to achieve such an awesome feat, she also spent some time in a school over in Nepal. You can see her in the photo below handing out some 'teacher packs' that the staff here helped her to put together. Thank goodness she found enough space in her luggage - she was 0.01 kg under her weight limit!

The photo of one of the classrooms she visited is also shown below. It's images like this that make it hit home as to how lucky we really are. Thanks for sharing your journey with us Mrs Sutton - it was really inspiring.

And that's it from me. Remember there is a PTA meeting tonight at 7pm and all are wlecome. And for those of you who are able to come along to our Pōwhiri on Monday at 10:30am to welcome our new students and whānau, we hope to see you there.

Ngā mihi nui,

Anna Powrie

Property Update

Our 5 Year Property Plan was finally signed off by the MoE late December and we have been able to make some progress with some of the necessary maintenance projects in recent weeks. 

Our two electrical switchboards have now been replaced in Kapowai and the Kotare cloakbay (pic #1), and the $25,000 drainage project around Mokomoko, Pateke and Pukeko classes has also been completed (new cesspit seen in pic #3). I am now fully up to speed with what a swale is and how it works, as well as the underground drainage pathways that lead to the existing stormwater outlet (things I never studied for at University funnily enough!). Completing this project in time for winter means we shouldn't get any further flooding around those classrooms, particularly underneath and around Mokomoko which was quite bad in the wet weather last year.

The middle picture below is due to a separate and unforseen issue to fix some pipes underground that had broken. These were letting in groundwater runoff and causing our Wastewater levels to surge (hence the council getting involved). While cutting into the concrete and digging up our lovely gardens wasn't ideal, it was necessary to repair the broken pipes (which were ceramic and over 100 years old). Thanks to Plumbcraft and their extensive camera work, the pipes are all fixed and our wasterwater is now back to normal readings. More importantly, we will no longer be in breach of our Wastewater consent with the council. The jagged and uneven concrete patch you can see in the photo (at the back of Ruru) will be tidied up and ground smooth on 11th May.

Celebrating Learning and Achievement

We have been reviewing our Karaka School homework / home learning guidelines recently. This will be on our Website in the coming days and can be located via the 'School Info' tab then 'Learning at Home'. It contains home learning expectations in each mini-school, along with information about support and extension opportunities during and after school. There are also links to virtual and physical resources that compliment the NZ Curriculum. Get in touch with any questions johnd@karaka.school.nz

Notices From the Office

Ag Day - Saturday 14th September

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 Tuesday 7th 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.

Ineligible Bus Students

All bus fees for ineligible students must be paid within 14 days of each term (as per the bus contract signed for bus use). Term 2 bus fees are due by 10th May.

If you have not paid Term 1 bus fees, can you please do so immediately.

PTA News

• PTA Meeting - TONIGHT 1st May 7.00pm in the Staffroom
• Oxford Pies/Samosas - These will be delivered to School on Tuesday 7th May. Please collect from 2.30pm in the Hall.
• Quiz Night 8th June 2024 - Watch this space for more details...
• Sushi - continues as normal for Fridays

Updates from the Wider Community