Newsletter 3rd November 2022

Tena koutou katoa nga mihi ki te whānau o te Kura o Ōtātara,

It is not just the weather that brings joy to us, or the smiles to our faces but each and every day at our kura there is so much to celebrate, so much to look forward to and so much that is meaningful. It is not just your tamariki who bound out of bed each day all ready for school! I am pretty sure that the staff also sleep in their uniforms some days as well!

So, what is it that we can celebrate and what is it that makes a kura that awesome place to be? Apart from the obvious joy inspired by academic achievement, we can look at those little things that define us as creative wee creatures. Classic example this week was the group of Year 2 tamariki who formed their own band during their Play Based Learning time, creating their own instruments and performing their concert to all the other Year two tamariki. Absolutely no kaiako input, these wee musicians had it all under control. Just as inspiring was the question and answer time that followed with some amazing and deep questions asked of the band members. All very serious but answered with so much pride. Anyone who says that kids these days don't know how to communicate obviously haven't been to TPS!

This week I have also been taught to play Paper Scissors Rock (Pepa, Kutikuti, Toka, He) by a number of our tamariki. The absolute joy on their faces that they could do that was so inspiring. Unfortunately, their joy changes quickly to glee when they beat me. Not that I am uber competitive but come on....my reactions are dulled with age! How neat is that though? Also inspiring is hearing our Year 6 akonga practise and perform their pepeha, knowing that to them the use of te reo Māori is just a part of their life. On the weekend at our cricket game I was full of pride and joy as I noted how awesomely polite our players were in comparison to those who they played. Every opportunity taken to be positive and to use our manners! It is those little things that do make the difference.

There are so many other examples to share and so little space to do so, however what you do need to know is that this is just what happens during our day...each and every day. Joy, glee and all ever so contagious!

Nga mihi

Marty Hantz

Tumuaki

• Year 6 visit to Hastings Sports Park - 8th - 10th November
• Tabloid sports - Wednesday 23rd November
• End of Term 4 - Wednesday 14th December (School closes at 12.30pm)
  
• Term 1 Begins - Wednesday 1st February 2023 at 9am

Just a reminder that when collecting your tamariki early for whatever reason, you must sign them out in the office before collecting your child from class. Entry into the school before 2.50pm is only available through the office.

All gates are locked until 2.50pm. For those entering the school grounds via Ngarimu Crescent please DO NOT enter the school through the pool area during school hours as this is very disruptive to Dolphin Academy staff and unacceptable. You will be redirected to the school office by their staff as per school policy - do not be offended when turned away from entry through the pool area as it is not their responsibility to let you in.

One of the many actions we have implemented over the last few years has been to ensure that our tamariki are as healthy as can be was to implement a Water Only policy at school. This has made a huge difference to the energy levels of our tamariki as they are so much better hydrated with wai (water) rather than sugary drinks, including fruit juices. Our Dental Technicians have also noted that the TPS tamariki have very healthy teeth and they are very sure that this has a lot to do with that!

Please note in your diaries that our Start Date in 2023 will be Wednesday 1st February. This is a shift from the norm of starting on a Monday however the week before that a vast number of our staff will be on a three day hui as we dive ever deeper into the realms of Te Reo Māori and Te Ao Māori. Starting on the Wednesday will allow us as a staff to spend the Monday and Tuesday prior to that in our classrooms making sure that the learning environment is all good to go!

For those of us who love shopping without your tamariki prior to Christmas the good news is that this means that you get two extra days in December next year to do that!

Congratulations to Aiden Carlisle (Year 6) who has been selected in the Hawkes Bay Under 14 Water Polo team! Well done, kapai mahi, Aiden!

As many of you will no doubt know we created four Houses for our kura a few years back, incorporating local identities, local features and, of course, elements that are of importance to our local hapu, Ngāti Paarau.

The four Houses, Upham, Ngarimu, Bassett and Apiata will now share that little bit more each week as we will abandon those places that we usually sit to eat lunch and we will sit in our House groups instead. A fabulous opportunity for our tamariki from the same whānau to eat their kai together and an even better way for us to work on the Tuakana -Teina concept - Big Buddy's. This will start this Friday!

It’s that time of year again where we do our annual foodbank fundraiser for our local Salvation Army. We ask each student to bring in 1 or 2 non-perishable items to donate. These can be placed in the box that is in your child’s class. We need these donations by Monday 5th December. Thank you so much for your support and for helping those less fortunate than ourselves.

As kaiako / teachers we are entitled to so many meetings to discuss union matters and these tend to be within school time. The NZEI has chosen certain dates which we must attend and these are as follows, with the year groups that will be affected.

Tuesday 15th November - 1.30 to 3pm, Year 4, 5 and 6 kaiako will attend.

Wednesday 16th November - 1.30 to 3pm, Year 1, 2 and 3 kaiako will attend.

It is our intention to not close the school although entitled to do so, as we are aware that we have found this to be really short notice for us so would be even harder for whānau. We are also aware that we have recently had a planned Teacher Only Day, so would not want to add any further pressure to this.

To make this work for all we will be changing the school day slightly, so will take lunch from 1pm until 2pm on those days and will then take those that are then without a kaiako to the hall for a bit of light movie entertainment.

You are more than welcome to pick your tamariki up at 1pm if you wish. If so then they will need to be signed out through the office.

We apologise for the disruption to the school day however we do feel that this is the best possible solution under the circumstances.

If you just happen to notice that the male staff seem to be carrying a bit more facial hair than normal it is not because we have developed an aversion to our razors. It's Movember!

We apologise to you if we scare our tamariki!

At the recent Board of Trustees and PTA meetings we have decided to replace half of the existing court area with a new netball surface, with an added extra area between Rooms 11 and 19 to be resealed with Four Square and hopscotch games. At a cost of $23,000 this is awesome and will be a real asset.

The timing around this will be in March - April next year with funds raised by the PTA at this year's Fete providing the backbone of the funding. How fantastic! This is Phase One in a series of new developments across our kura.

We will add the concept map to next week's newsletter.

Kia ora Whānau,

Here is a challenge for you!

Make water your drink of choice this November!

The 30-day Switch to Water Challenge is now on! It is a great way to add to your toolbox of looking after your Taha Tinana (physical wellbeing!)

You can sign up at nzda.org.nz/switchtowater and start the 30 day challenge anytime between the 1st and 15th of November.

“Switching your sugary drinks to water is a great first step towards a healthier you!"

The power of water:

• Naturally the best way to hydrate
• Zero calories
• Non-acidic
• 100% natural
• Free and readily available on tap

A reminder that as of the 5th November until early February there will be a loss of 4 or 5 car-parks in the Pool car-park area. This is due to the need for new work on the filtration system. Please be mindful of this as even losing a small number of car-parks impacts upon those that pick up their tamariki from our kura at the end of the day and those that are taking their tamariki to after school swimming lessons.

Please be patient!

Have a go at trying this phrase at home.