Kia ora koutou,

Welcome to Term 4! We have another exciting term ahead, with events like Athletics Day, our Kapa Haka Roopuu marae visit, Greats and Grands Day, Maahuri Camp, Kaakano 2's school sleepover, as well as our end-of-year celebrations, including the Year 7 and 8 Rainbows End trip, Student-Led Conferences, P.T.A. Disco, Christmas Picnic, and Prize Giving. With the warmer weather, we'll also be able to enjoy more opportunities to work outside. Sunhats and sunscreen are especially important in Term 4.

On Tuesday, we held our Ag Day. It's great to see a steady number of entries each year, helping to keep this important aspect of our rural community alive. The children worked hard raising their calves, lambs, and goats and did their best to encourage their animals to cooperate on the day. Well done to all our students who entered, and good luck to those advancing to Group Day at Gordonton. A special thanks to Alicia, Dani, and Christine for organising this event—it was a successful day and a wonderful experience for our students.

For those new to our school, Greats and Grands Day will be held on Thursday the 14th of November. It is a chance for special people in the children's lives, like grandparents or close family friends, to spend time with the children in their classrooms, see some of the learning they’ve been doing, and finish off the morning with a family picnic. The children will be working on an invite for their special guests, but in the meantime, please let your Greats and Grands know that this event is coming up. 

As you may have seen in our calendar, we have a Teacher Only Day scheduled for next Friday, 25th October. This day, allocated by the Ministry, will focus on the new English and Mathematics Curriculum Documents that will be implemented next year. Our leadership team has reviewed the draft documents, and we eagerly await the final versions. The new Curriculum is structured differently—rather than Curriculum Levels, it uses 'Phases of Learning'. Each phase outlines what tamariki should "Understand, Know, and Do". Phase 1 is for Years 0-3, Phase 2 is for Years 4-6, and Phase 3 is for Years 7-8, with specific learning outcomes for each year group from 6 months at school through to Year 8. The expectations for each year level are more detailed and in some areas, are pitched about a year higher than in the current Curriculum.

Next year, these changes will impact how we report learning to parents, affecting our written reports and Learning Journals. While we await further information on assessment and reporting, we'll keep you updated as more details come in. During the Teacher Only Day next week, our staff will be on-site, working together to explore and understand the new Curriculum Documents. We’ll discuss what aspects of planning, teaching, learning, and assessment will need to be adapted, and what will remain the same. The new core Curriculum documents are a significant change for the education sector, and the short timeline for implementation is challenging. We know that effective change takes time, and we’ll be mindful of this as we work through the process, keeping you informed along the way.

We hope you have been enjoying the longer evenings and the sunshine we have had this week. Enjoy the rest of your week and we look forward to seeing our families at the events over the term.

Ngaa mihi,

Nyree Olliver

A warm welcome to our new students: Thea MacLennan, Samantha Dent, Xzavier Wallbank-Jack-Midgley, Grace Johnson and Sebastian Muller.

Hell Pizza will once again be available for childrens' lunches on Thursday 24th October, with a portion of the sale going to the PTA.   Order via Kindo. 

PLEASE NOTE:  There is an early close-off for orders on Tuesday 22nd at midday. No late orders will be accepted. 

Hi everyone and welcome to term 4, especially those new to the school

It will be a bit of a mixed bag for the PTA this term, with Athletics Day, School Disco and School Picnic where we will have an involvement regarding food stalls.

Plus, this year we are going to have a Christmas Catalogue where we have associations with some businesses who are willing to give us a kickback. Some companies will send goods directly to you and therefore you may incur a courier fee, and others firms prefer a one-drop order that we as a PTA will split up and deliver. It is a bit of a work in progress at this stage and will be sent out via email as alcohol will be included in the list of offerings. It will be able to be forwarded on to friends and family electronically. Please let us or Christine know if you would prefer not to receive this for personal reasons. Hopefully we will help you get organised for Christmas 2024!

Our next meeting is Tuesday 29^th 7.30pm in the school’s staffroom.

Kind regards,

Merynn Connors

PTA Chairperson

M: 027 6296820  E:pta@puketaha.school.co.nz

Excellent quality Kukri adult-sized Puketaha Hoodies for sale.

Selling at cost, $70 as a fundraiser for the school.

Available to view at the school office.  Payment to the PTA account 12-3171-0204642-00

School will be closed On Friday 25th October for a Teacher only day.

Journey Kids - our out of school care provider is open for bookings at Endeavour school on that day go to theri website www.journeykids.co.nz and select Endeavour and special day and they will be able to make their bookings.

The Puketaha Hall Committee invite all Puketaha Residents to a meeting, on Tuesday 29th October.