We’ve noticed a few more non-uniform items creeping into school lately. We kindly ask for your support in making sure all tamariki are coming to school in the correct uniform each day. Our uniform helps students feel part of our school whānau and shows pride in who we are together.

Canterbury items: Please note the correct school shorts are the plain blue style from The Warehouse, available with either a button or elastic waist. Canterbury shorts are NOT part of our uniform. Blue Canterbury pants are, however, acceptable. Why pants and not shorts you may ask? This has come about as originally our uniform  supplier only stocked fleece track pants, which were not long lasting or good in wet weather. So we made the Canterbury pants an option. Now that our current school pants are available, Canterbury pants remain acceptable. However, Canterbury shorts are not part of our uniform.

Under-shorts/skins: We’ve noticed some students wearing Ethica or other skins/shorts underneath their uniform shorts. These should not be visible. Please ensure no underwear, skins, or extra shorts are showing beneath school shorts.

Thank you for helping us keep our uniform consistent.

To help keep our bus system running smoothly, we need parents to let the office know if your child is not going on the bus. At the moment, a lot of time is being spent looking for children who have already gone home another way, and this makes our lists inaccurate, we are holding the bus up and safety is being compromised. 

Please remember:

• Always let Emma in the office know (phone or email) if your child is not on the bus — even if you pick them up early on sports days.

• It is up to parents (and children) to ensure Emma has this information. 

• Make sure your child knows their travel plans in the morning so they are organised and head straight to the bus on time.

Thank you for your support in helping us keep all our bus students safe and accounted for.

Recently we had Matua Damon Ritai visit our school to seek the voices of our Māori learners. He surveyed all Year 4-6 learners. The purpose was to understand how our programmes and practices support Māori success as Māori. We are really proud to share some of the key findings with you:

• Pride: 92% feel proud to be Māori

• Belonging: 92% say it feels good to be Māori at school

• Whānau Pride: 86% say their whānau are very proud of their Te Reo/tikanga learning

• Achievement: 89% felt that Māori children are achieving well 

• Kaiako Support: 81% feel teachers help them feel proud to be Māori

• Whakapapa: 70% know their whakapapa

• History: 84% are learning Māori history

What shone through the report was the strength of identity, pride, and whānau connection. Our Māori ākonga are clear that learning Te Reo Māori and tikanga is important to them and their families, and they value the opportunities to connect with their culture at school.

If you would like to read the full findings of this survey, it is included as a link above. We look forward to collecting voice from other groups of students and whanau over the coming weeks to help us shape our strategic direction moving forward. As always if you have any feedback, either about things that are working or areas we could improve, please email me principal@tawhiti.school.nz or pop in a chat. 

We’ve noticed attendance has dropped a little from last term (from 72% regularly attending to 69%). This is can be expected in Term 3 with winter colds and bugs going around, and we do appreciate families keeping children home when they are unwell — this helps to keep everyone else healthy.

At the same time, it’s important to keep non-justified absences to a minimum. A family holiday or long weekend doesn’t cause concern if your child’s attendance is already strong. However, if a child has low attendance and then more days away are added, this can have a real impact on their learning and progress.

Every day at school really does count. Thank you for your support in helping our tamariki get the most out of their learning by being at school as regularly as possible.

• 🟩 ✅ Green Zone / Excellent (90%+ attendance) – 194 children (69%)

• 🟨 ⚠️ Yellow Zone / Concern (80–90% attendance) – 74 children (26%)

• 🟧 🔶 Orange Zone / Serious concern (70–80% attendance)– 10 children (4%)

• 🟥 🚨 Red Zone / Urgent concern (Below 70% attendance)– 2 children (1%) 

For many whanau and tamariki this will be their first production experience down at the theatre. I have tried to include all the info you will need, but if you have any questions at all please do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher.

Tickets

• If you are yet to purchase tickets, please do this before Wednesday. On Wednesday we will be releasing unsold tickets to those who want more as well as our community who may wish to come.
• Tickets are for allocated seat numbers.
• Please be patient and kind to the people who are helping with seating, and please sit in your numbered seats as indicated on your tickets to avoid confusion or delays.
• Doors will open at 12:30 for matinee and 6:00 for night shows.

How the week works...

• On Monday 15th of September and Tuesday 16th, children will be walking to and from the Memorial Theatre to practise. Teachers who require support walking their children to and from the theatre will send a notice out via HERO.
• On Wednesday and Thursday, we will walk down to the theatre for matinee shows, leaving school at 11. In the case of bad weather on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday we will organise buses.
• Children need to be collected from the theatre on Wednesday and Thursday after our day shows - not from school. Bus children will be collected from the theatre. A note will come home next week so you can let us know whether you will be collecting your child, whether they will walk home from the theatre or whether they will be on the bus. If you are collecting your child, you will need to come in and sign them out. We will require the form returned if you wish for your child to walk home, no child will be allowed to leave without your form stating they are walking.
• A lot of practise has gone into our show and all 300 children are important. No matter how big or small their role is, it all contributes to the overall show. He waka eke noa! Therefore, it is important that children attend all shows (unless sick).
• We understand that show week can be really tiring, so if children need a sleep in that is more than ok. They are welcome to arrive to school anytime between 8:30 and 11am.
• Our regular school rules around food apply during production time (including the night shows). Children will require substantial lunches during production week and may like to bring a snack to the night show but no lollies or fizzy drinks please. Our wonderful PTA knows just how busy production is so they are here to help! They will be doing a sausage sizzle lunch on Wednesday (no subway) and then pizza on Wednesday and Thursday night. Keep an eye out for communication regarding how to order over the next week.

Our night shows...

• All children should be dropped at the theatre at 5:00pm to get ready for the night shows. No children are to be dropped off at the theatre before this time as there will be no-one there to supervise them.
• When dropping off children please ensure they go directly to their teacher to sign in and let them know they are there. Likewise, when picking up children, make contact with their teacher to sign them out. This is essential as teachers will be taking rolls and need to know exactly which children are at the theatre at any given time.
• We estimate that the show will be an hour to 1.5 hours so please come to pick your child up at 7:30pm.

Parent help…

• Production is a really busy time for all involved and wouldn’t be possible without a team of parent helpers to support us! I know that many of you will have already helped out with costumes - thank you! Teachers will send out notices outlining the help they require during production week. If you are able to help out with any of this, please tick what you can do and return to school. We will send out a list of confirmed helpers, jobs, and times the week before production so you will know when you are needed and what for.

• With props and the large number of children involved, space side of stage and back stage is at a premium. Therefore, no parents will be able to come down to the greenroom or backstage during the show. If you are staying with your child while the show is on, you will need to remain in their dressing area while they go to perform.

Lastly but possibly most importantly - nits! ALL children need to be checked and if necessary treated before production. We don't want to spread crawlies and will not be able to do your child's hair for the stage if they have them.

We have an exciting and busy couple of weeks ahead of us! Please contact your child’s teacher if you have any other questions regarding our production.