THIS WEEK’S MEMORY VERSE

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

Proverbs 16:3

 PRINCIPAL’S NOTICE

Tena koutou whanau ma – warm greetings to all.

Legal matters

I want to bring you up to speed with several things that are happening in and around the school in the near future – some of it as our response to new laws and some of it our response to the commitment to continuous improvement.

The change of government last year has brought a change in expectations about how schools manage learning, and this is most visible to our whanau in two areas. The first is the legal requirement for schools to teach one hour reading, writing and maths each school day. It is important for us to understand that in our case, this will not mean much of a change in what you see happening here because we (like most schools) already have a strong emphasis in these areas. There are however, important things we can do to improve our learning programmes more, particularly to engage whanau more to support our reading and maths learning. We have a challenge before us to work together to get the very best results for our rangatahi and the impact of whanau support in things like home reading cannot be overstated.

The second thing is the new law that in essence bans students from having cell phones in class. The school needs to formulate a policy about this and the Board of Trustees is attending to this matter currently. We already do not permit students to have cell phones in class and it is likely that we will just proceed as normal in this way. For clarity, if students do bring a cell phone to school, they are asked to hand it in to the office at the beginning of the day, where it is then locked in our safe for protection. Students needing to contact whanau are always able to use the office phone, and whanau needing to contact students can be assured that by phoning the office, messages will be promptly passed on to students as necessary. The policy that we are required to have will reflect these basic processes.

Stewardship

I also want to ask for your support as we work together, encouraging our rangatahi into greater personal responsibility with regards to looking after the things we are blessed with. Most of our students, most of the time, demonstrate how careful they are to take care of resources and environment. Some however need more help to show that they value what is provided by those agencies who support our kura. For example, Kids Can resources (snack bars, fruit cups, shoes, jackets), Ka ora, Ka ako (School Lunches), Fruit In Schools (fresh fruit twice a week) and Kick Start Breakfast (Bread and Milk). We want to show how we value these things that are provided for our children by respecting food that is available and by looking after the things that are supplied, something that is unfortunately not happening well at the moment.

1 Timothy 4:4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude.

Camp

Coming up in late March is a Year 7 to 13 Camp on Urupukapuka Island. This is an awesome camp for our students and teachers and is a valuable event that helps us draw close together and build stronger relationships in a beautiful part of God’s Creation. Look for the camp documentation that will be coming your way.

Psalm 146:6-10

6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth,

    the sea, and everything in them—

    he remains faithful forever.

7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed

    and gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets prisoners free,

8     the Lord gives sight to the blind,

the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,

    the Lord loves the righteous.

9 The Lord watches over the foreigner

    and sustains the fatherless and the widow,

    but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

10 The Lord reigns forever,

    your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord.

Nga mihi mahana

David Rogers

KEY DATES:

IMPORTANT SCHOOL DATES

SCHOOL TERMS

 PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

Minutes: 

• Minutes 13th February 2024
• Minutes 17th October 2023
• Minutes 28 November 2023
  

TEACHERS NOTICES

JUNIOR OCEANIA CUP

We would like to wish Tumu, Khody, Kayden, and the U16s Māori Tag Team on their tournament coming up on Friday 8th – Sunday 10th March. They will be competing in the 3 day tournament at Bruce Pulman Park for Aotearoa Maori U16s. Furthermore, a big mihi to Amoron Phillip (present student) and Rangatira (pass student) who has been coaching the team and will be taking them through to the tournament. 

WHAT ARE ATTENDANCE DUES?

The Ministry of Education does not fund building related costs at our School. Attendance Dues are only used to pay for building related costs. They can not be used for any other purposes.  Paying Attendance Dues is a condition of enrolment for all students attending our School. Attendance Dues are compulsory – there is a legal requirement for parents and caregivers to pay Attendance Dues under the Education and Training Act 2020. They are not a donation.

Mike Shaw

CEO Celebration Trust

COMMUNITY NOTICES

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:8-9