We are really proud of the progress our tamariki are making.

As you will be aware, our new curriculum is now in place and has higher expectations than the previous curriculum. Despite this, across our school, 81% of children are achieving in reading, 69% are achieving in writing, and 79% are achieving in maths.

Under the new curriculum, spelling now makes up a significant part of the overall writing judgement. This is an area where many of our children, particularly our senior students, need further support. We cannot emphasise enough how valuable it is to practise spelling at home.

Our teachers will be happy to share practical ways you can support your child during the upcoming Home School Partnership hui. Please have a chat with them if you are unsure where to begin.

Attendance is also something worth celebrating. It is currently at its highest level for a number of years, and this is reflected in our achievement results. Last term, 81% of our children attended school regularly.

Let’s keep this positive momentum going. Every day at school really does make a difference.

It feels a long way away, but 2027 will be here before we know it.

If you have a little person starting school next year, please complete our online enrolment form as soon as possible. We will soon be working out how many out of zone spaces may be available and will be advertising these within the next few weeks.

Having our enrolment information early is incredibly important and helps us plan accurately for staffing and classes.

Thank you to everyone who responded to our survey about the way we organise sports teams.

Of those who responded, 76% supported having mixed teams for participation events, with a top team selected for competitive inter-school events. The remaining 24% preferred competitive teams to be selected for all events.

Between now and the end of the year, we will make contact with local event organisers to discuss the purpose of the different sporting events we attend. We also have a sports cluster meeting with all schools where we intend to discuss competitive and social grades as well as what other schools are currently doing. It is important to note that these discussions and changes only affect our Year 5/6 players. All other year groups and grades are mixed teams. 

We will keep you updated and will consider any changes needed for 2027.

School Docs

Our school works with SchoolDocs to maintain, update, and review our school policies. Different policies are reviewed each term, and members of our school community are welcome to provide feedback.

To take part in the review process, please visit:

https://tawhiti.schooldocs.co.nz/1893.htm

This link will take you to the current review information and instructions.

Enter the following login details:

Username: tawhiti
Password: tawhiti

The key policies under review this term will be listed on the page. Click on the policy you would like to review, then click the Start your review button in the top right corner.

Follow the prompts to submit your feedback.

You are also welcome to review any other policy that has a Start your review button, not only the key policies listed for the current term.

Communication Procedures

Clear and consistent communication is important to us.

To ensure school related communication is easy to access, manage, and keep a record of, all school communication will take place through HERO.

In the rare situation where using HERO would create a legal or safety concern, please provide me with the relevant court order, legal direction, or supporting legal documentation. This can be emailed to principal@tawhiti.school.nz. From there, we can review the communication arrangements as needed.

School production

Our school production will take place during the final week of the term. This year, we will be bringing a Tawhiti twist to the classic story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

We will continue to share information as the term progresses. We are looking forward to providing another varied opportunity for our children to shine. However, as I am sure you are aware, a school production involves an incredible amount of extra mahi for our teachers and staff. Any support from our community would be greatly appreciated.

• For class costumes, dance support, or other class based assistance, please contact your child’s classroom teacher.
• For props making and painting, please contact Narnz.
• For costumes for our main characters or singing coaching, please contact me (Sarah J).
• For help operating the follow spots during the shows, please contact Tayla Carlson.
• For taking photos during show week, please contact Emma Hilford.
• There are lots of different ways to be involved, and many hands really do make light work.

Change to break times

We will be trialling a slightly later lunch break this term. The purpose of this change is to maximise our learning time and make the best use of the children’s energy and focus during the day.

• Brain food will remain at 10.00am.
• Morning tea will be from 11.00am until 11.30am.
• Lunch will move to 1.15pm until 2.00pm.

We will monitor how the change works for our tamariki and will keep you updated.

Home School Partnership hui

Our Home School Partnership hui will take place this coming week.

On Wednesday, school will finish at 2.00pm. Interviews will begin at 12.00pm, and our learning assistants will supervise classes from 12.00pm until 2.00pm.

You are welcome to collect your child at 12.00pm. Please let their classroom teacher know if you plan to do this. Otherwise, please arrange for your child to be collected at the earlier time of 2.00pm.

Bus children will need to have alternative transport arranged, as buses will not run at the earlier time.

If you have not yet booked a hui, please do so through HERO. We will make contact with families who have not booked by Tuesday.

A form will come home with your child on Monday. Please complete it and bring it with you to the hui. Your feedback will help us make sure we are doing the very best we can for your child and will inform our decision making moving forward. If you forget the form, we will have plenty on hand to help you fill out then and there. 

We value these conversations and look forward to meeting with you.

Our unit this term...

Our schoolwide learning focus for the first half of the term will be health and safety.

Each year group will explore topics that are appropriate for their age and stage. Across the school, learning will include Firewise, road safety, emergency preparedness, disasters, and other important ways to keep ourselves and others safe.

We are also looking forward to a visit from the Firewise team as part of this learning.

The second half of the term will be focussed on story telling, the arts and drama, as we get ready to hit the stage! 

It is going to be another full on and exciting term. Thank you, as always, for your support, encouragement, and partnership. We are incredibly lucky to have such a caring and committed school community.