Kia ora koutou,

Last week, our Roopuu Puaawai students wowed us with their productions. This event involved all our Roopuu Puaawai students and was an awesome showcase of their talents. The Year 6 students performed "A Journey Through Time," while the Year 7 and 8 students presented "A Journey to the 4th Dimension." What makes these productions special is that students are engaged right from the beginning, contributing to plot design, scene selection, and character development, and the Year 7 and 8 students are also responsible for drafting the scripts. The result is a production centred around the children, with their unique humour shining through. On stage, the students impressed us all by confidently delivering their lines, fully embodying their characters and making us laugh. It was evident that they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Thank you again to our teachers for the extra time and energy put into these productions and for creating rich learning opportunities for our students.

Another celebration, we are happy to announce the accomplishment of one of our Year 8 students. Jade Hurst's writing was selected for the Toi Toi Young Writer's competition, and her short story, titled "The Brave Leap," has been published in the Toi Toi School Journal. We commend Jade for her writing talents and are proud to see her work acknowledged and published.

Many of you might already be aware that Quinn Thorby, another member of our Roopuu Puaawai, has been chosen as one of the four Young Defenders of New Zealand. Quinn will proudly represent New Zealand as the Kiwi Kid Mascot for the All Blacks at the Rugby World Cup in Paris. Be sure to catch Quinn's appearance on Seven Sharp this coming Friday.

Lastly, we congratulate Karen Matthews, one of our Roopuu Puaawai teachers, for being selected to play for the Waikato Womans Hockey A team. Karen serves as an excellent role model for our students by showcasing her passion for sports.

On another note, the Board of Trustees are starting the process of planning our 2024- 2026 Strategic Direction. A Strategic Direction is a three-year plan designed to enact the School’s Vision. The Strategic Goals inform annual implementation plans, targets and actions. 

The Strategic Plan must also…

• Fulfill board objectives mandated by legislation.
• Align with National Education and Learning Priorities.
• Work towards giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles and make sure New Zealand’s bicultural foundations are evident.
• Adhere to New Zealand Curriculum requirements. 
• Gather and consider community and staff voice.
• Be responsive to learners' needs.

We are actively seeking input from our school community, and a survey was recently emailed to gather your insights on potential strategic goals and focal points for the coming years. Your contributions are highly valued, and as a token of appreciation, survey participants have a chance to win a $100 New World Voucher or a double pass to The Cat in the Hat show at Clarence Street Theatre. Here is the link for the survey, and more than one adult per family is welcome to fill it out. 

https://forms.office.com/r/zjmN4QJHcq

Thanks for your support. 

Take care,

Nyree Olliver

 Last day for applications for out of school zone enrolments for 2024 is Monday 18th September.

The Puketaha School Board of Trustees invites applications from parents who wish to enrol their children at Puketaha School for the 2024 year.  Enrolment to the school is governed by an enrolment scheme.  Parents of students who live within the home zone should also indicate their enrolment by this date to assist the school to plan appropriately for next year.  Students who live in the home zone are entitled to enrol at the school.  Ballot applications are required for siblings of children who attend the school.

The Puketaha School Board of Trustees advises that they will be operating one ballot for Out of Home Zone enrolments for all of 2024. 

The Board has determined that there will be separate ballots held for different year levels:

18 spaces for Year 1 Term 1, 25 spaces for Year 0 Terms 2,3, & 4, 1 space for Year 2, 1 space for Year 3, 5 spaces for Year 5, 4 spaces for Year 6, 10 spaces for Year 7 & 8

There are no spaces in Year 4

The exact number of places will depend on the number of applications from students who live within the zone.

The Board is prepared to receive applications, in addition to those they already hold to reach the school by Monday 18^th September 2023. If a ballot for out of zone places is required, it will be held on Wednesday 20^th September 2023.

Applications are available from the School Office or the Puketaha School website and to be returned to Puketaha School R D 1, Hamilton or office@puketaha.school.nz

Allocations from out of home zone students will be processed in priority order as set out by the Ministry of Education.

Results will be notified as soon as possible after the ballot.

PTA News

Gumdrop Desserts

Today we have sent home with each “oldest and only” student the Gumdrop Desserts’ menu and order form which is our PTA’s latest fundraiser. These desserts are delicious and we are delighted to jump on this fundraising bandwagon and support this local company as they support us! The desserts will arrive fresh, and over half of them can be frozen to be enjoyed at a later date. Please share this order form amongst friends, families and workmates, you can pay the PTA account directly but must have a common surname or student reference to make matching up the order with payments easy.   Final date for orders is September 4^th.   We will have them sorted ready for pickup on Wednesday Sept 13^th.   

Orders to be emailed to pta@puketaha.school.nz or dropped in to the School Office.

Monster Garage Sale

Just a reminder we will be accepting donations for this event from the week beginning on September 11th in the PAC, the actual sale wlill be on the morning of Saturday 16th.

There will be a pre-sale to school families only on Friday 15^th from 2.30pm-4pm.  Does anyone know of some organisation/people/charity who will be happy to come and collect all of the leftovers? We have a home for all the leftover books but it would be nice to support an organisation at the end of this event as the Charity who we have used for the last couple of garage sales will not be available this year.  Finally can you please make contact if you will be able to help on sorting day (Friday) and on sale day (Saturday.)

Next meeting: Week 7-  Tuesday 29 August 7.30pm School Staffroom ALL WELCOME.

Thanks and regards,

Merynn Connors (PTA Chairperson)

E: pta@puketaha.school.nz  M: 027 629 6820