A warm welcome to our new student Maddison Tinworth. 

Good afternoon Parents, Grandparents and Children,

What a delight yesterday was! It was a good reminder that sometimes you are not fully aware of how much you have missed something until you get it back. Yesterday having children here and filling our school with joy and energy was an example of just that. 

What we have continued to learn over the past 6 weeks in a time of such uncertainty, is that agility, flexibility and adaptability are the new skills we must adopt.  We must appreciate that uncertainty and change demands a lot of energy and as parents you have all done a remarkable job with supporting your children through these times. On behalf of our team I would like to thank you for the good work you have done.

Over the past few weeks you can be forgiven for placing your attention to the things that you and your family may have missed out on, this is natural and normal. Once that disappointment fades, I would like to encourage you to reposition and turn your attention to the many great things that sit in front of us and can look forward to. Christmas and a Summer Break are only around the corner, but in addition to these occasions, remember to enjoy the smaller and sometimes finer pleasures that can often happen unplanned. As we build towards the end of the year and the events that surround it, I encourage you all to look for the many moments that make you smile, laugh and bring you purpose. They are there, you just need to be present with them.

Warm Regards

Geoff

Tuesday 14 December -  School Disco

Entry by gold coin

Kaakano:      5.30 - 7.00PM
Maahuri:       6.30 - 8.00PM
Puaawai:       7.30 - 9.00PM
Year 8 only:  9.00 - 9.30PM

Drinks, Sausage Sizzle and treats for sale.

Wednesday 15 December -  Prizegiving, Reports home

Thursday 16 December -  Last Day of the Year.  School finishes at 12pm

Term 1 - Tuesday 8th February to Thursday 14th April

Term 2 - Monday 2nd May to Friday 8th July

Term 3 - Monday 25th July to Friday 30th September

Term 4 - Monday 17th October to Friday 16th December

The school pool is available for school community use during the summer months (December – March).  Keys are available for school families on a first come first served basis.  Only 20 keys will be issued.

If you would like to purchase a key please contact the school office and complete a "Pool Use Contract"  Use of the pool is $100.00, payable by internet banking.

School has been given a donation of fresh whole rump steak weighing approx 5kg from Greenlea Meats.

This will be sold by Silent Auction as a fundraiser for the school.  Auction closes on Friday at 12pm.   Winner to pick up on Friday at 3pm

Offers over $70 to office@puketaha.school.nz

Next year our school bus operator is changing. Our new school bus operator is Go Bus. We are working closely with Go Bus and the Ministry of Education to ensure that the transition to our new school bus operator goes well.

To make sure that the start of the school year goes as smoothly as possible, please familiarise yourself with the information below.

As always, please stay with your children while they are waiting for their school transport in the morning.

School bus routes, timetables and bus stop information

https://school-transport.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/48b86d9df76846aba5a01d6349362dac

Type in Puketaha School and then go along to ‘search route number’ and choose the option that appears in the drop down. 

Eligibility for school transport assistance

We often get questions about whether students qualify for school transport assistance i.e., a place on a school bus. 

The Ministry of Education has three criteria that students must meet in order to qualify for school transport assistance. They are:

1. The student must attend their closest state or state-integrated school
2. The student must live more than a certain distance from the school:

• Years 1-8: at least 3.2 km

The Ministry of Education has a handy video on their website that explains the eligibility criteria for school transport assistance.

Responsibility of caregivers

To ensure a safe environment for bus loading and unloading, caregivers should:

• not park in bus bays
• adhere to the speed limit (20 km/h while passing a stationary school bus on either side of the road)
• try to eliminate the need for children to cross the road
• ensure that children get to and from the bus stop safely
• teach children to not run across the road

Please note: if you currently have a private arrangement with your bus operator, you will need to contact your bus operator to confirm that your arrangement will continue in 2022. 

School transport queries

If you have any queries about our school transport, please contact Nyree Olliver our Bus Controller.

Sports Uniforms

All Sports Uniforms to come back to school as soon as possible please. 

Kids Art Works

The first order of Calendars & cards etc have been sent home with the children.  If you have not received yours get in touch with Christine at the School Office.  Late orders are yet to be recieved.

Vaccination status register for children age 12 and over
All registered schools that have students over the age of 12 need to maintain a register of students’ COVID-19 vaccination status. This is a direction issued by the Secretary for Education under the Education Training Act 2020. It is not mandatory for students to be vaccinated.
Please send your child's vaccination documents to office@puketaha.school.nz