A warm welcome to Ashton Mould, Emily Tesselaar and Indiana Blunt

Kia ora koutou,

This week, we've been celebrating Maaori Language Week, with each learning environment making an effort to use more Te Reo throughout the week. This is part of our commitment to strengthen the usage of the Maaori language and support the broader goal of revitalising it in New Zealand. 

As part of the Maaori Language Movement event, today at noon, we will set aside 30 minutes for Te Reo activities such as korero (speaking), waiata (singing), or paanui (reading). This specific time was chosen because it commemorates the moment in 1972 when the Maaori Language Petition was presented to Parliament, advocating for the inclusion of Te Reo Maaori in schools.

Thank you to all our families who participated in our Community Consultation Survey. As promised, we drew two names for the prizes. Congratulations to Hannah Shell,  who won the $100 grocery voucher, and Gill Redgate, who won the double pass to The Cat in the Hat show. 

Here is a snapshot of the overall community results. This information, alongside the teacher survey results and government goals and legislation, will help inform our School's Strategic Priorities for 2024- 2026. 

Results

Overall rankings from most important to least important-  family aspirations for children and their experiences at school.

1. Your child develops their social and emotional skills.

2. Your child experiences a high-quality education based on best practice.

3. Your child develops skills for learning, such as being able to set goals, make plans, self-reflect and organise their time and resources.

4. Your child experiences a broad and rich learning programme, which, where possible, takes your child’s passions and interests into account.

5. Your child develops confidence and leadership skills.

6. Your child is involved in their learning- where they are given opportunities to know what they are learning, why they are learning it, receive feedback on how they are going and plan their next steps.

7. There is a range of different opportunities for your child to engage in- eg- Sport.

Rankings for possible school focus areas. 

1. Focus on high expectations for students, differentiated learning and high-quality teaching and learning practice across core Curriculum Areas (Reading, Writing and Mathematics). 

2. A focus on ensuring students experience a balanced Curriculum, integrating a range of Curriculum areas into Rich Topics.

3. A focus on teaching practices that focus on foundational skills that support learners towards gradual independence and support students to have a sense of ownership of their learning.

4. Focus on social, physical and emotional well-being.

5. A focus on our cultural capabilities, so when you walk into Puketaha School, it is evident this is a New Zealand School. Eg- Learning about Te Reo, Tikanga/ Customs and Traditions, Waiata/ Song, Kapa Haka.

6. A focus on community engagement in the school, including community events, parental involvement in learning and communication about progress and achievement.

Some of the common themes that came up from asking what Puketaha does well and that people would like to see continue if resourcing allows, were…

• Continue with the sense of community Puketaha has, the caring school culture, and whaanaungatanga (the connection between people).
• Continue with the Maaori culture learning such as Tikanga, Te Reo and Kapahaka.
• Continue with the extra opportunities our learners have, such as sporting events, camps and enrichment opportunities in Years 7 and 8 (Languages, Science, Shine Girls, Production, Big Buddy, Epro8, etc.)
• Continue with the Social/ Emotional learning, such as the Zone of Regulation.
• Continue with our effective strategies to cater for the needs of our learners.
• Continue with play-based learning opportunities for our Roopuu Kaakano learners. 

Thank you to all who contributed!

We had an amazing Wig Wednesday yesterday, so thank you, everyone, for supporting this event. Puketaha School raised $335 for the Child Cancer Foundation. 

We hope you have had a good week and have an enjoyable weekend.

Ngaa mihi,

Nyree Olliver

On Friday November 17th there will be a Teacher Only Day.  This day has been set by the Ministry of Education for teachers to do Professional Learning around the new curriculum.

PTA News

First off, thank you to those who have supported the Gumdrops Desserts Fundraiser, and a big thanks to Daniella, Megan, Gudrun, Gillian & Petrena who helped sort all the orders.   The supplier was stoked with the quantity of desserts sold coming from a school of our size.

This weekend is our Monster Garage and Car-Boot Sale. Thank you to those who have donated goods. Please if you could have any further goods in by Friday morning, as we will be sorting and pricing  during the day. We open up for a preview sale at 2.30pm-4pm to School Families only.   It is a great opportunity to have a look through and get first pick with or without your children! There have been some fantastic things donated to please support this initiative.   There will be some real bargains, especially toys and books as there are a lot of them!   Please share our poster on social media this is an easy way to spread the word quickly.  There have been quite a few car-boot registrations as well to add a different flavour to Saturday morning, including a face painter which will add a bit of interest to the young attendees.  There will be a barbeque for a hot bacon and egg roll or the sausage sizzle classic available also.  Something for everyone, so please come along.

Just a reminder, we are not doing Calendar Art this year, so those who use these as Christmas Presents each year may have to organise calendars etc on a personal level.  They were a lot of effort for the school staff and office staff and the hassle began to outweigh the benefit.

As this is the last newsletter for the term, I hope everyone has a lovely break starting in just over a week, and see you in term 4!!

Kind regards,

Merynn Connors

PTA Chairperson

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

Congratulations to all the participants of the Waikato Full Primary Competition and the East Waikato Country Schools speech competitions.

Term 1: 1 February to 12 April
Term 2: 29 April to 5 July
Term 3: 22 July to 27 September
Term 4: 14 October to 17 December

Note: 
2 April - Easter Tuesday School Holiday

No Parking at Memorial Hall this weekend

As there is another event on at the hall this weekend when the Garage Sale is on cars from Puketaha School will not be able to use this carpark.

Journey Kids Holiday Programme

Journey Kids Holiday Programme

PUKETAHA ROAD & GORDONTON ROAD UPDATE

As you will know, there continues to be a delay in construction at the roundabout as we work through unexpected issues with pavement quality which has taken must longer than we ever anticipated. We understand that these delays can be frustrating for road users, however it is important we achieve a high quality of pavement so that we can deliver a robust roundabout that will last many years.

We now have a plan to resolve the pavement quality issue and are preparing to resume construction within the next two weeks. Provided there are no further delays, this work should be complete by end of October

Please remember that NZ Road Code rules apply and “give way to all vehicles that will cross your path from your right as you enter the roundabout”.

We appreciate for your patience and cooperation as we work to complete this important project.  

Saturday Morning Music Classes

Enrolments are now open for Term Four 2023 at the Waikato

For further information or to enrol in music classes, please visit our website https://wcsm.ac.nz/ or phone 07 838 4611.