Karaka School eNewsletter

Principal's Message - Karere a te Tumuaki

Kia ora koutou,

It would be wrong of me not to admit that despite the busy nature of the past few weeks, I really enjoyed sneaking down to Finlay Park and staying the night with our Year 7&8 students on camp. I really was blown away with the excitement of 'camplife' and activities, as well as the level of help from all of our students - especially in the kitchen with prepping and clean up.

A special thank you to Mrs Sutton and Mr Vermeulen (aka Mr V), for all of the preparation and organisation that went into camp behind the scenes as well as the actual event. Thank you to our awesome team of parents who also helped ensure camp was a huge success - Tryone Riley, Chris Griggs, Leyton Hookway, Kris Strang, Nigel Hitch and Sarah Sutherland. And I really do have to give a special mention to Patricia McKelvey for once again coming through as our amazing camp chef. I hope you all enjoyed a restful weekend because you deserved it!

At the beginning of the year I mentioned the upcoming Learner Led Conferences on Wednesday March 6th (two weeks from today). I also explained the process has been altered in response to parent feedback, and that we have gone back to the individual slots with parents/caregivers, teacher and (arguably most importantly), the student. Please read the section below ('Notes from the Office') to locate the link and instructions to book your slot anytime from today. If you are unable to make it to a conference on the 6th of March, please let your child's teacher know and they will be more than happy to arrange another time/day that suits.

I have another piece of exciting news to share on the cultural front. Last week our Senior Kapa Haka rōpū (Year 5-8) officially kicked off and now I can also confirm we have secured a second amazing tutor who will be taking on the Junior Kapa Haka (Year 0-4) on Monday afternoons, starting on March 11th. I am really excited to see how this evolves in the coming weeks, as are our super keen tamariki!

Finally, last night we had our first Board meeting of the year. As is a requirement for the start of each year, roles and responsibilities were decided and you can see a list of these below. Keep an eye out on our website and newsletters for Board meeting dates and updates.

Lisa Tate - Presiding Member
Tyrone Riley - Deputy Presiding Member
Hayley Govorko - Elected Trustee
Sarah Sutherland - Elected Trustee
Portia O'Kane - Elected Trustee
John Dyer - Staff Representative
Lynne Fell - Secretary

Tonight is the first PTA meeting of the year - we'd love to see as many of you come along as possible, even if it is just to learn a little more about how the PTA works to support our school. I'll be here (as will my husband now he's an official Karaka School parent!), so I'll see you in the Staffroom at 7pm.

Ngā mihi nui,

Anna Powrie

Property Update

With the pool now offically up and runinng, we can now turn our attention to the other property development of recent weeks (which was also a result of the community consultation re the 2022 Ag Day expenditure). The droppers/shelter and marine carpet that have been installed in the Junior Courtyard will make a tremendous difference to their ability to work outdoors from now on, regardless of the weather. A big thank you to Nova Shades for their flexibility and commitment over the past weeks to get the install to this point. Once the final sheets of clear perspex are in along the top, this will be another awesome job completed.

Yr 7&8 Camp - Finlay Park

Last week our Year 7&8 students spent the week at Finlay Park Adventure Camp (on the shores of Lake Karapiro). They had an AMAZING experience as I mentioned above. Check out a sneak peak of the photos below - the Intermediate team also have a special Camp Movie they will be sharing at Assembly this Friday afternoon.

My New Gallery

Notices From the Office

Learner Led Conferences 6th March

School will finish at 12.30pm. While supervision will be provided at school for those who are unable to collect their children from school early, we would appreciate those who are able to collect them. Bus children will also be able to catch the bus as per usual.

Go to schoolinterviews.co.nz

Click on Make a Booking

Enter in this code: q22tj

Roll Return Day - 1st March

If your child is absent on this day, can the office be provided with a note (either via email, Hero, written or through the Website).

This happens twice a year and is a Ministry requirement.

Updating School Records

Contact details for your children often change without the school being aware and it is important that we are able to contact someone in case of emergencies. With Hero connecting by using your email address, this is especially important.

Please notify the office if you have changed your email address, phone number, address or any other important details that we may require.

Have you remembered to pay:

Bus fees (due to be paid within the first two weeks of term as per the signed contract)
Mathletics and Education Perfect fees
Technology fees (Year 7 and 8)
Camp fees (Year 7 and 8)

These are all outside providers which the School has already paid. We would appreciate payment of these as soon as possible please.

Updates from the Wider Community

Taekwon-Do Tuesday nights 6-7pm Karaka School Hall

Beginners class 8 years and above

Learn: Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self Control, Indomitable Spirit

Instructor: Tom Good 5th Dan - 0224295027

Issue 4: Week 4, Term 1 2024