Issue 21: Week 1, Term 3 2024

Principal's Message - Karere a te Tumuaki

Kia ora and welcome back for Term 3 - hard to believe we're half way through the year. I hope you all had a chance to spend some time with family and friends over the holidays. I definitely found a bit of time to recharge the batteries in between two football tournaments (one in Papamoa and one in Hamilton) and a Dance competition in Tauranga - the things we do as parents right!

I have to say that I have enjoyed coming back to school this week as there has been a vibe of excitement and anticipation for the term ahead. Yesterday, my day started with a lovely surprise as Annabel H, her little sister Tulip and their Dad brought their two baby goats into Tui and Ruru for a special visit - moments like this make me feel so grateful that we have such a special country character here at Karaka School. Then to top the day off, I went across the road after lunch to the Guy family's farm with the Year 7&8's - what an awesome way to kick off our learning theme for the term about farming in Aotearoa. Thank you to Chris Guy for educating us not just about their own farm, but about how technology advancements have had such an impact on farming today. And of course  visiting the calf shed was the icing on the cake!

Over the holidays we had two property projects carried out - one of those you might have already noticed, while the other you may well have not. First off, and the most obvious to the naked eye, was Phase 1 of the 'Top Flat Project'. The grass area under the Kōkako canopy (aka the muddy bog of the school) has now had a sort of turf/artificial grass laid and it looks awesome. With some two way bench seating and some big planter pots to come, Phase 1 of this project will be completed soon. Thank you to Mr Dyer for all his hard work leading this property venture. Phase 2 of this project will be to look at turfing the remaining half of the Top Flat in order to ensure we can use it all year round without being so weather dependent.

The second project was a full chemical washdown and gutter clearing of the entire school and Junior shade canopy. Next time you walk past a classroom, you may notice the mould and mildew is all gone - along with the billions of spider webs that had formed all around the place! The project will be fully completed when the 'Pateke Fish Wall' has also been painted over this coming weekend. All in all, the school feels fresh and clean which is really important in my books.

I also have some exciting news to share with you all from Mrs Fielder and Mrs Fong - both their babies were born over the holidays (and only 2 days apart!). Welcome to Felicity Fong (Pic #1) who was born on July 15th, and to Ayla Rose Fielder (Pic #2) who was born two days later on July 17th. We would like to congratulate both of their families on the arrival of their little girls and we certainly can't wait for them to bring them in for a visit and a snuggle. 

Lastly, we have our Term 3 Pōwhiri on Monday morning at 10:30am and I urge for anyone who is available to come along and be part of this. It is such a special way to welcome our new students and their families to our school, and it is made all the more special by having members of our exisiting school community there as well. I hope to see you there.

Have a great week ahead.

Ngā mihi nui,

Anna Powrie

Agricultural Day

Celebrating Learning and Achievement

Principal and Class Awards from Assembly 5th July 

Notes from the Office

• Bus fees - payment of Term 3 bus fees due by Friday 2nd August. Thanks.

• Enrolments for 2025 - for forward planning, if your child lives in zone and is starting next year, or if you fall into the Priority 2-5 categories (please refer to our Website), please can you complete the online enrolment application (also found on our Website). Also if you have any information that may impact on the organisation of our school next year e.g. moving, please let us know within the next couple of weeks so that we can ensure we are well organised for our learners come the new year.

PTA News

1. **SAVE THE DATE** Friday 9th August. An exciting new family event!  Keep an eye out on Hero & in the newsletter for more details!  
2.  HOUSE SHIRTS - Our uniform shop has received a new delivery of house shirts.  Please order via Kindo and these will be delivered to your child’s class.
3.  QUIZ NIGHT - the final amount raised at our quiz night was $7500!  Thank you to all of those that attended and helped!  It was a great event!  
4.  OXFORD PIES & SAMOSAS - our annual Oxford pies and Samosa’s fundraiser was another great success.  We raised $1340 for our school.  Thanks to everyone who purchased goods and those involved in the organisation.

Updates from the Wider Community

"Farmlands Pukekohe are here to support your Ag day requirements with lots of great savings instore. Come on in and speak to one of the friendly staff members, which will help assist you with all your needs. The team will be distributing packs soon, which will include the discount voucher to use in-store as well as some goodies for the kids. Parents, please keep an eye out for these. If purchasing product instore over school holidays, please mention which school you are from so we can honour these deals. Don't forget to put your colouring in skills to work on the image supplied and return back to store by 30th September to go in the draw to win the mystery prize pack we have up for grabs. We look forward to seeing you soon"