Kia ora koutou,

What a fun day we had on Tuesday with our School Cross Country. There was a lot of excitement and nervous energy at the starting line, with some children visualising themselves placing in the top three, others wanting to beat their personal best, and for some, it was their first ever time running the cross country. The determination on some of their faces was just awesome to see, children were digging in deep. The smiles were also heart warming and we always feel proud of our students when they get in and run alongside each other, showing encouragement and support, particularly our senior students demonstrating tuakana / teina relationships. 

At the end of the event, many children felt pleased with themselves because of the effort they put in, and a few felt disappointed they didn't get a place. It’s hard to not compare yourself with others in situations like that. We as parents and teachers work to set our children up for success by making sure success is measured by meeting personal goals, rather than success being measured by “being the best”. 

“Compare yourself, only to your previous self” Gostle

I know we had to have conversations at home with the small people who live in our house, supporting them to celebrate their personal achievements, for example, running further than the year before, not stopping as often and managing a sprint down the final chute with a smile. Trying to refocus attention on the personal growth and development rather than feeling like a failure because they didn't win. I imagine we will have conversations like this more than once, and maybe each time the message will sink in a little more and they can resist the temptation to just give up. 

Looking over the photos of the day, the tamariki really ran their hearts out and there was a great atmosphere here with so many parents and family being able to attend. The P.T.A ran another successful Sausage Sizzle and the baking that was donated was delicious! Thank you all for supporting our Cross Country.

Last week we held our Parent Evening to consult with our community around the Relationships and Sexuality Curriculum. We are working on collating the feedback forms and we will share our next steps with our community once we are done. Thank you to all those who managed to make it! We had a really great turn out and the evening was full of thoughtful and honest conversations as well constructive ideas. 

As you are aware, school is closed for a Teacher Only Day on Friday. Our teaching staff will be joining 600 other teachers from our COL to connect with Ngati Wairere and learn more about the Aotearoa New Zealand History Curriculum. 

We hope you all have a great long weekend!

Ngaa mihi,

Nyree Olliver