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Message from Virginia Montague - Principal|Tumuaki
Principal's Message
This week we have been celebrating the culture and language of Tonga during Uike Kātoanga'i 'o e lea faka (Tongan Language Week). Tonga is a Polynesian kingdom of 169 South Pacific islands with a population just over 100,000. The 2024 theme for Tonga Language Week is 'E tu'uloa 'a e lea faka-Tongá 'o ka lea'aki 'i 'api, siasí (lotú), mo e nofo-'a-kāingá - The Tongan Language will be sustainable when used at home, church and in the wider community.
What a thrilling few weeks we had with the Olympics, and for a small nation, New Zealand did extremely well. We incorporated Olympics in Maths Week last week, with our tamariki doing estimation challenges on the Olympics, which was a fun way to learn. In the sporting arena, students participated in a Tug of War for one of our House Olympic lunchtime events! This was hugely popular. We have had the Year 5 / 6 Hockey Super Cluster event - please see the write up from this under our sports page in the newsletter. Our Gymnastics sessions have now concluded and the children were entertained by Ms Fifield showing her impressive handstands and cartwheels on the final day of the programme!.
This week has been Book Week at school. Our Ngā Kōwhai students started the week with a puppet show put on by ‘Hands Alive’. They brought their favourite book to school on Tuesday, to share with others. Our school library has a fabulous collection of books for tamariki of all ages and I would encourage you to read some of these to your child. I would like to take the opportunity to say a huge ‘thank you’ to our library volunteers - Belinda Smith and Jenny Watson who spend a lot of time making sure that books are current and catalogued, and that the library remains an exciting and welcoming place to learn. Thank you also to our staff members Emma Brailey and Rachael Epsom for their time and commitment to ensure the library runs smoothly.
Our senior students recently participated in Book Battle at Northcross Intermediate and came in at 3rd place - well done to everyone! There were around 20 teams participating so it is a fantastic result. Our Year 4 students have been on an interesting trip to Auckland Museum, and our Year 3 will be visiting the museum tomorrow.
Ngā Kauri held their Science Fair last Friday and whānau were invited along to see what they had been learning. Students carried out experiments, and analysed and presented the data to their parents. This event is a great way to stimulate their interest in Science. See more information and photos of our future young scientists later in the newsletter.
Ngā Kauri have also had their Speech Finals, and I was very impressed with the message students gave on the topic of unity. It is not an easy task to write a speech, and then stand up in front of others to deliver it, and I would like to congratulate all the finalists!
What an exciting term we are having at school!
Ngā mihi
Virginia
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