Message from Virginia Montague - Principal|Tumuaki
This week is Tokelauan language week and the theme is: ‘Tokelau, tāofi mau tau aganuku, ko tō pale tēnā - Tokelau, hold fast to your culture, that is your crown. Some fun facts - did you know there is no airport on Tokelau? Access is by boat from Sāmoa, which takes around 37 hours! The capital of Tokelau changes from atoll to atoll - it depends on where the head of state lives at the time. The flag above represents a canoe sailing towards the Southern Cross (manu).
This week is also Diwali - the ‘Festival of Lights’. The festival gets its name from the row (avali) of clay lamps (deepa) that Indians light outside their homes to symbolize the inner light that protects from spiritual darkness. We are holding celebrations and activities around the school throughout the week and we would encourage all our Indian students to come to school tomorrow in their national dress.
I would like to give a warm welcome to Clair Barnard to our staff. Clair has been employed as our new learning support team member working part-time this term, and joining us in a fulltime capacity in 2025.
I have recently returned from visiting several primary schools in Finland. It was fascinating to see the difference between our two countries. Students do not have morning tea at school, but all students are provided with lunch where they eat together with their teachers, principal and classmates. Consequently the schools had no litter, as there were no packaged snack foods. Finland uses ‘looping’, where students stay with the same teacher for 2-3 years.
This helps build strong relationships between teachers and students. Finland offers free education at all levels, from early childhood through to university. This approach reflects its belief in equal educational access, contributing to high participation and literacy rates.
It was very pleasing to see that many of the teaching and learning best practices in Finland are also found in New Zealand and Sunnynook Primary School!
Ngā mihi
Virginia
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