Malo ni parents and friends

It is Week 8 of the term this week and we are continuing to work both at school and via distance.

Thank you for keeping your children home if they are sick. The children are coping very well with wearing masks. We look forward (once the Omicron peak has passed ) to enjoying some more freedom.

We offer our prayers and sympathy to the Bain and Lysaght families on their recent family bereavement. We also offer our prayers and sympathy to Viv and Craig Healy on the recent death of Craig's Mum. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you at this time.

Congratulations to Katy and Mike Grant whose daughter Eleanor gets married this coming Friday. We wish Eleanor and Ollie many blessings for the future. We also wish Katy all the best for her mother-of- the bride duties!

Please read any emails or messages we send home as they contain important information for you.

Fundraiser for Otis Hill

Thank you for your generosity for Otis. We raised $1200.00 which will enable Otis to purchase something for himself to use as he continues on his journey.

Please also keep Otis and his family in your prayers at this time.

Touch Rugby:

The season finished last week for Year 3 / 4 and it finishes this week for everyone else. We would like to thank you all for following the guidelines for watching as this enabled the season to go ahead. Thanks to Lucy Duncan, Claire Malaeulu, Lucy Miller, Caroline Bartholomew, Etuale Ioane, Rob McNeill, Luigi Mollo, Lance Scurrah, Rachael Davidson and Kate Wasson for coaching and managing our teams. Without you our students would not have been able to play. Please could you return your Touch bag to school as soon as possible.

Life Education Caravan

All classes have had visits in the Life Education caravan and we thank Andrea and Harold for coming to share their time and talents with our school

Movin' March: We are participating in Movin' March again this year. Children who bike, ride or scoot to school may get a card from the office. This year we are giving 2 stamps per day. Well done to everyone who has been participating so far. The programme finishes on Thursday 31st March so you have another week to fill your cards.

Please keep an eye on our School Calendar on the website and the school App as it is updated regularly.

Teacher Only Days:

As part of the last Teacher's Contract round we were given 8 Teacher Only days by the MOE to use by June this year. These days did not have to be made up at the end of the year. Due to COVID we had to cancel 2 of our planned days. The MOE have extended the finish date and we have until the end of the year to use all our days. Therefore we have the following Teacher Only Days scheduled for the rest of the year:

• Friday 3rd June
• Friday 2nd September
• Friday 11th November

These days allow the whole staff to participate in schoolwide professional development.

Winter Uniform:

In Terms 2 & 3 students wear winter uniform . For Year 7 & 8 this means they wear a tie which can be purchased from the Uniform Shop. This is part of our Senior Uniform. We also encourage you to order any winter uniform before the end of this term. Sunhats will come home for a wash and need to be brought back to school in Term 4

Book Club:

The Scholastic Book Club closes this Friday 25th March. All orders must be done online please.

Reminder:

• Netball fees of $50.00 per player are due by Thursday 14th April.

Thought for the Week

God of love,

e te Atua o te aroha,

We pray for peace in our world, and an end to war.

Instead of hatred, let there be love.

Shelter your children and protect us.

Guide us and keep us from harm,

so we can build a world of love

and live our lives in peace.

Amen.

Ke manuia koutou uma I te Aloha o te Atua

God bless

Liz

Yummy Stickers

Let's get the ball rolling! Yummy Sticker sheets will be coming home today with your child. Please check their school bags. Yummy stickers are a great way for our school to end free sports gear, and also puts us in the draw to win $200,000.00 worth of free sports gear.

Yummy stickers can be found on Yummy apples and bags at supermarkets. Tally sheets can be handed in as they are completed or by the end of August. Please let the office know if you need a new tally sheet.

Covid 19 Procedures

As most of you may have heard today from our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, the rules around Covid-19 ie QR codes, vaccine pass requirements and gathering limits will be changing from 5th April 2022.

We would like to reiterate what the Prime Minister has said about New Zealander's working hard to get through this pandemic together. The temporary public health measures that were put in place to first flatten and then slow the curve have been tough at times for many families but have been well worth the effort.

It has been wonderful to see our school community in particular band together to keep ourselves, our families and our neighbours safe. Thank you to all.

While we are awaiting further information from the Ministry of Education on how this will look going forward for schools, please continue to scan and sign-in at the office if you are coming into school.

Easter play

We are needing a person to video our Easter Play. If you know someone who has a camera and is able to do this, please contact the office.

Friday 25 March

Touch Rugby Finishes

Book Club closes

Monday 28 March

School Prayer 9am

Board Meeting 7pm

Friday 1 April

Assembly 9am

Tuesday 5 April

School Cross Country