Our attendance last term was amazing – so good, in fact, that we received a letter from the Ministry of Education congratulating us. Thank you for making regular attendance a priority.

We also know that sickness is hitting hard at the moment and some children will naturally have higher absence rates. That is okay. We want all our tamariki happy and healthy.

Chickenpox is currently going around, so please keep an eye out for symptoms. These can include a fever, runny nose or cough, followed by spots that develop into itchy blisters. If you suspect your child has chickenpox, please keep them home and let the school office know. Children should remain away from school for one week after the rash first appears, or until all the blisters have dried and crusted over.

The key is to get children to school whenever they are well, which creates a buffer for the days when they genuinely need to stay home. Unexplained days away here and there can quickly add up, especially if they are followed by a full week off with illness.

So: if your child is well, come and join us. If they are sick, keep them home to rest and recover.

Some reminders and details about upcoming events...

Tuesday 25th August - Last day for Touch registrations on HERO. 

Friday 28 August – Daffodil Day for Cancer Society

Children are invited to dress in yellow and bring a gold coin donation for Daffodil Day next Friday. We are also holding a pizza and iceblock lunch fundraiser on the same day, with funds going towards our production.

If you are available to help with the pizza orders, please contact Emma in the office and let her know.

Assembly -  Friday 4th September.

Sorry it has been a little while since our last assembly. We have been getting together as a kura celebrating successes and sharing notices through our weekly whanau hui led by the student leaders but with classes being busy with production performances it has been hard to twist their arms into an assembly performance as well - lucky Whaea Narnz, the student leaders and Matua Mitch/Kahikatea have come to the rescue. 

Cross Country

Our upcoming Cross Country dates are:

• Tuesday 1 September – Junior Cross Country at school
• Wednesday 9 September – Senior Cross Country at the Showgrounds
• Wednesday 23 September – Taranaki Cross Country

The Junior Cross Country is for children aged 5–7, based on their age on 1 September.

The Senior Cross Country is for children aged 8–11, based on the age they will be at the Taranaki Cross Country on 23 September.

If your child turns eight between 1 and 23 September, please check with their classroom teacher, Ash or Sheri so we can confirm whether they will compete in the Junior event at school or the Senior event at the Showgrounds.

It is time to start training! We encourage every child to take part. Senior students who would prefer a non-competitive option can join the Pace Race.

EPro8 Finals

Good luck to our teams heading to Stratford for the EPro8 Finals. We are very proud to have you representing Tawhiti and cannot wait to hear how you get on.

Tatarakihi - 10th September

We are stoked to be able to send a group of tamariki to perform at Tatarakihi. We have been unable to attend for a couple of years due to Production date clashes so we look forward to making a return there this year. Permission slips for those chosen to attend will be shared on HERO by Whaea Narnz in the next week along with a timetable once this is available. 

Pet Day and Grandparents Day – Friday 23 October

Please let grandparents know now so they can mark the date in their calendars. Mrs Broker will send out a pet registration form for calves, lambs and dogs a little closer to the time.

The PTA is also organising a mini gala and family fun afternoon for us to enjoy with grandparents and whānau. There will be food, games, stalls and plenty happening. Parents, whānau and grandparents are all warmly invited to join us, so make sure you save the date!

Camp payments

A wee reminder that school camp payments are due by the end of this term. If you have not yet paid or arranged a payment plan, please pop this on your to-do list.

Bank account name: Tawhiti School Board of Trustees
Bank account number: TSB 15-3950-0412950-00
Reference: Student or family name and the name of the class camp

HERO permission reminders

Touch registrations are due, as are camp permissions. These are now in the Events section on HERO. Once you are in Events, find the correct event on the calendar and complete the registration or permission form there.

There is one week left for touch registrations. If you cannot find the event or are having trouble completing the form, please pop in and see Emma in the office.

Practices are well underway and the excitement is building. We cannot wait to hit the stage! Below is the key information for now, with more to follow as we get closer to show time.

Show times

There are three shows:

• Wednesday 23 September at 6.30pm
• Thursday 24 September at 1.00pm
• Thursday 24 September at 6.30pm

A huge amount of work goes into our production, so it is important that children attend and perform in all three shows.

We know our little people can get tired during production week, so sleep-ins and late starts are very welcome across these two days.

Tickets

Because of the number of families we have and the seats available in the theatre, we use a ticket allocation system so every family has the chance to attend.

This system has been refined across the many shows we have performed at the theatre over the years. Please bear with us and show kindness to our lovely admin team as they work hard to accommodate everyone.

• Tickets are $10 each, plus a 60-cent booking fee that is donated to charity.
• Tickets go on sale online at 5.00pm on 31 August.
• A purchase link will be shared through HERO.
• Payment is made online at the time of booking.
• Tickets are limited to five per family, not five per child.
• Please do not purchase more than five tickets, as any additional tickets will be cancelled and refunded.
• If you can attend the day show rather than an evening show, please do. This leaves more evening seats for whānau who are working during the day.
• Tickets include a QR code that can be scanned from your phone or from a printed copy when you enter the show.
• Children under two are free when sitting on an adult’s lap. A seat must be purchased for every child aged two or over, or for any younger child who needs their own seat.

If you would like more than five tickets or would like to attend more than one show, a waitlist will be available. Please email Emma at office@tawhiti.school.nz with the number of extra tickets you would like and your preferred show. Extra tickets will be allocated on Monday 14 September.

If you need help with tickets, please contact the school office on 06 278 7117 or email office@tawhiti.school.nz.

During show week

Children will be walking to and from the Memorial Theatre for practices during show week. We will send further details about this closer to the time.

Thank you to everyone who completed our whānau consultation. We received 98 responses, which is just over half of our school families.

Overall, the feedback was very positive. You told us that Tawhiti is a school where children are known, cared for and well supported. You value strong teaching, but you also value the relationships, experiences and opportunities that surround our children’s learning.

What you want us to keep doing

You told us to continue:

• Keeping reading, writing and maths at the centre of our teaching
• Knowing and supporting children as individuals
• Helping children feel safe, happy and included
• Providing camps, trips, sport, culture, arts and leadership opportunities
• Living our values of ako, manaakitanga, whanaungatanga and hauora
• Building strong relationships and communication with whānau

Where we can improve

You also identified some areas where we can do better:

• Letting you know earlier when a child needs extra learning support
• Explaining clearly what support is in place and how it is helping
• Providing consistent extension and challenge for children who are ready for more
• Continuing to teach kindness, resilience, respect and positive ways to solve problems
• Sharing learning updates in a way that helps families support learning at home

What happens next

This feedback tells us to hold onto what is working well and make sure it works consistently for every child.

Some comments asked for better support for individual learners. We already have a range of support in place, so this feedback does not necessarily mean that support is missing. Instead, it tells us that what we are doing is not always visible or clearly understood by whānau.

We will take this on board and work to communicate earlier when a learning need has been identified, explain what support or extension is in place, and share how it is helping. This will make it easier for whānau to understand what is happening and how they can help at home. 

Thank you also for placing such importance on resilience and perseverance. These were among the most common qualities whānau hoped others would see in Tawhiti children. This gives us a clear message that success is not only about achievement. You also want our children to become confident young people who can manage challenges, solve problems, keep going when learning is difficult and recover when things do not go their way. Your feedback will help us keep this learning visible across the school. Our role will not be to remove disappointments and setbacks but to help children understand them, support them through difficult feelings, and encourage them to keep trying and make the most of the next opportunity.

So thanks again for your feedback - it is truly valued. We will now bring your feedback together with student voice, staff feedback, achievement information, attendance and wellbeing information. This will help the Board and staff decide the priorities for Tawhiti’s next strategic plan.

If you did not take part in this round of consultation, or have further ideas you would like captured and considered, please feel free to email me at principal@tawhiti.school.nz.

The feedback you gave leads nicely into this new section of our newsletter where I hope to share more about what learning at Tawhiti looks like in action, starting with our wellbeing curriculum. How do we teach social skills, resilience and ensure individual wellbeing needs are catered for? 

A morning check-in

Every morning, children complete a short SWITCH check-in. They answer simple questions such as how they are feeling, whether they have had breakfast, whether anything is worrying them and whether they would like to talk with an adult.

This gives teachers a quick picture of how the class is arriving that day. It helps us see who might need a quiet chat, who may need to head over to Breakfast Club, and whether there are common worries or friendship issues we need to respond to.

Most importantly, it gives children a safe and regular opportunity to reach out.

If your child comes home with an issue at school, you can encourage them to use the morning check-in to let their teacher know they need some support. You are, of course, always welcome to contact the teacher as well.

Short, responsive lessons

Twice each week at roll time, classes have a short SWITCH lesson based on what the teacher is noticing and what the class needs.

It might focus on friendship issues that are arising, strategies for managing anxious or angry feelings, ways to solve problems respectfully, or a particular social skill that will help the group work well together.

Planned learning across the year

Alongside these short lessons, every class has a full social and emotional lesson each week based on our long-term plan.

Across the year, children learn about understanding and managing emotions, positive friendships and social skills, kindness and respect, bullying, problem-solving, resilience and how to ask for help.

This learning reflects our value of hauora. Children need to feel happy, healthy, safe, resilient and confident if they are going to fully engage in learning, experience success and become the best version of themselves.

Wellbeing is not an “extra” alongside reading, writing and maths – it is part of the foundation that helps all of that learning happen.