Dear Parents, Students and Caregiver,

This morning I write to you with a real buzz in the air. We are only hours away from our School Cross Country and you can hear the whispers of strategy, determination, courage and effort permeate throughout our School. It is wonderful to feel the excitement that year on year Cross Country brings for many. Cross Country provides a fantastic context to show the many attributes of our 6C's, our learning dispositions and it reminds us that these dispositions are not designed to sit inside the work of a classroom but far more importantly apply to the context of life and all that life entails, and for today, it is Cross Country. As each group of children await at the starting line to hear the clappers go for the start of their race my final words are always 'just give it your best' and while the message is simple in it's semantics, it is the reminder and action of those words that make all the difference no matter what we are doing. 

I know that I can write with confidence that many of you will be here to support our children with their goals today, whatever they may be. I would like to thank you on their behalf for your support. As a school we are very lucky to have an amazing supportive community such as ours.

On another note, last week we interviewed for our new entrant roll growth position to start Term 3. We are delighted to inform you that we have appointed Kim MacPherson to the position. Kim brings with her a wealth of experience and knowledge to this position. Kim has over 12 Years experience in the classroom. She also been a recipient of a Science Fellowship with the Royal Society of New Zealand and has spent 2 years working at School Kit, a company that partner's schools to design units with a cross curricular focus using current, real life contexts. In addition Kim is also parent of our school community so already has a level of understanding around our culture and school ethos. Over the next few weeks you will see Kim in our spaces teaching and I welcome you to introduce yourself to her. 

Recently, we have been informed of an update to our School App. The Apple App store have been creating some significant changes to the ownership of Apps. As a result all phones that have our App downloaded will be given a notification (possibly as early as tomorrow) to do an update. Once you start the update you will be guided through the steps for the upgrade. It should take no longer than a few minutes. We understand this can be a little frustrating, but have been assured it should be a seamless process for you. 

Finally, thank you once again for your support of our teachers yesterday as we endeavour to seek a better education sector for all and one that ensures children are put at the heart of it. 

A message for our Puketaha School community members who have the school app.

On Friday 31st May you will get a notification asking you to update your app.  This is a requirement of our app provider.  Once the app is updated the school logo will no longer be displayed but will be SchoolAppsNZ, the app will still function the same as the current school app.  For more information about this process follow the link below.

Voting papers have been sent out to all eligible voters, these can be delivered to the School Office by noon on Friday 7th June. If posted they must be postmarked before the election date.

With our Term 1 and 2 fundraisers finished I thought I would take this opportunity to update you all. Term 1 was our Drive-in Movie night which was a great success (thanks to our major sponsor Any Audio Visual) raising $1700. Term 2 was our Sileni Wine Fundraiser. This was very well supported giving us another profit of $1700! Fun Fridays continue most weeks and to date we have raised $2200. 

Our primary focus this year  is to support the upgrade of the swimming pool, however we also donate towards Sports Camp, Aims Games, class camps and individual classroom initiatives. All profit gets donated back to the school to enhance your child's learning environment and we really do appreciate your support. We welcome new members to the PTA,  so if you would like to have a say in our initiatives or how the money is spent please feel free to join us. We would also welcome new people to help with Fun Fridays so if you have a spare hour or two occasionally on a Friday please get in contact with us. pta@puketaha.school.nz or Diane 021636651

The following are the confirmed Term Dates for Puketaha School for 2020

ADULT JACKETS

Now in stock Kukri Soft Shell Jackets for Adults.  Annapurna full Zip with hood. Puketaha School logo.  $120 each. 

Available on Kindo or call in to the School Office.

BLAST FLEECE

Childrens sizes blast fleeces also for sale on Kindo $71.

SPORTS SHORTS

Black Sports shorts with logo. Zip pocket.  All sizes currently available. $26.50

The Morrinsville Pakeke Lions & Tahuna Lions have given the school a generous donation from funds derived from the collection and sale of casualty calves.  These calves have been donated by farmers in the area.  Our thanks to the Lions for all their hard work and support of our community and to the farming families who support them.

The school is currently running a promotion to collect Anchor bottle caps - if you have any at home it would be great if we could add them to our collection.  The promotion finihses on Wednesday June 5th.

St Pauls Collegiate School Production of Grease.

 

Experience the friendships, romances and adventures of a group of high school kids in the 1950s. Featuring all the unforgettable songs, St Paul's is bringing Grease to the stage in Hamilton this June/July.