TE PĀNUI O TE KURA O PUKETAPU
Week 8, Term 2 - Thursday 23 June 2022
Kia Manawanui - Have a Heart
Kia Māia - Be Courageous
Kia Kaha - Do Your Best
Kia Ora - Be Well
Mānawatia a Matariki!
While here in Taranaki we can't see Matariki quite yet, we can see Puanga - the brightest star in the Orion constellation. Puanga leads Matariki up into the sky, so Puanga is our tohu (sign) of the New Year here in Taranaki.
There are many different ways you can acknowledge the Māori New Year:
- Get up early and head outside to view the stars before sunrise
- Take time to remember loved ones who are no longer with us
- Give thanks for the year that has passed
- Cook a meal and offer it to matariki
- Plan for the next year
- Spend time with family and friends
- Have a matariki feast
- Plan to grow a garden
- Write down your wishes for the year
- Celebrate
You and your whānau may want to do something special to celebrate, like calling out the names of those who have passed or sitting around a fire sharing memories of the people who are no longer here. For you it might be a time of solitude and a chance to contemplate the world. It might be an opportunity to offer an acknowledgement to Matariki and the environment
Whatever you decide to do, we hope you have a wonderful long weekend with your whānau.
For more information about Matariki, see the Matariki Guidebook
matariki Learning
Thanks to our parent helpers in Rimu who came in to help make Matariki lanterns
Kimi Wano and her free range Matariki stars
Matariki kites to celebrate Ururangi, the star of wind, from Totara 4 & 5
Kowhai 2 have been working on Puanga whetu. They have been researching Puanga, who is also known as Rigel, and put their information on these whetu and then coloured them in.
Kauri students having a go at weaving. They started with a basic weave then added different widths of strips to add interest to their designs.
Our Matariki Walkaround
Spotlight on... Mr Quince
In our School Community, one of the most essential people is
Mr Raymond Quince.
While Mr Quince has the official title of "Caretaker", he actually does a lot more for our school than many people realise.
He is the first person on the site every morning - his day starts before 7.00am every day, when he checks and unlocks the school, puts the bins out and generally makes sure everything is ok on site.
Every day, rain or shine, Mr Quince is on road patrol in the morning - but did you know that by the time we see him on the road crossing at 8.30am he has already been working for almost two hours?
Mr Quince takes the safety and wellbeing of our tamariki very seriously, whether that is helping them cross the road in the mornings and after school, checking and repairing playground items, fixing broken things and making sure our grounds and buildings are safe.
As well as the physical safety, there are A LOT of Health and Safety paperwork and regulations that our school has to maintain and Mr Quince has it all under tight control. (When the building inspectors come to our school they always comment about how well organised and detailed our records are, so we know he does a great job.)
As well as the traditional caretaker role - which includes the pool, gardens, grounds, buildings, playgrounds... Mr Quince is also our IT guru, managing our school computers, leases, chromebooks (including fixing broken ones), networks, software... We are very lucky that Mr Quince is a computer whizz!
Obviously Mr Quince can't do everything himself, so another part of his job is organising tradesmen and builders, electricians, pest control, printer technicians, contractors... there are many, many outside organisations who are involved in maintaining our school buildings and grounds and Mr Quince manages them all.
For example, during our recent building works, Mr Quince was heavily involved as the school's liaison with the overall project manager, the builders' site manager, organising subbies, weekly update meetings, reporting to the Board and Principal and sorting out any issues arising... and that was on top of his day job!
Back at the gate at 2.45pm, Mr Quince sees children and parents safely away at the end of their day - but his day still isn't finished! Mr Quince is often one of the last people to leave at the end of the day. Sometimes he even gets called back in the evening or the middle of the night if the alarms go off.
And while we are all enjoying the holiday breaks, Mr Quince works on as this is the best time to get some of the biggest jobs done.
So, when you see Mr Quince, remember to say THANK YOU MR QUINCE for everything he does.
Unlocking buildings, changing netball hoops over, meeting Corinne, signing invoices, fixing Chromebooks, putting the rubbish out - just some of the things Mr Quince does around our school.
Four Questions for Mr Quince
Q: How long have you been been working at Puketapu School?
A: 30 years
Q: What is your favourite thing to do at our school as part of your job?
A: Mowing the lawns.
(We know the ride on mower is Mr Quince's happy place!)
Q: What is your least favourite job at our school?
A: The Toilets.
Q: How much has the school changed over the years?
A: Six new classrooms and a new building to accommodate all the new students. Two buildings removed. New playgrounds, more new playgrounds. New technology, chromebooks, computers, wifi, networks... Three Principals.
Harper Sutherland, Raymond Quince & Esther Poching
board elections
Why join a school board?
School board members are active leaders in our schools. They have an important role of supporting strong professional leadership and ensuring effective teaching for all students through informed governance.
Parents/caregivers and people in the wider community can be parent representatives. School boards need to represent the diversity of their school communities to ensure a bright future for all our children.
The school board elections are the opportunity to vote for candidates who will make a positive difference for children’s education. We need more people willing to use their skills and experiences for the benefit of students!
Nominations for our Board members will be opening soon.
For more information about becoming a Board member, please see the NZSTA website - School Board Elections
school photos
An email was sent to parents directly from Photolife last week (Thursday 16 June) with the link and unique code to order. This was sent to the email addresses we have on Hero for Primary Caregivers.
Don't worry if you did not receive this, we have all the codes here in the office. Get in touch if you have not received your code.
pb4l
This week we have been focusing on Kia Ora - Be Well, with so many winter bugs around we thought it would be good to share our tips of WHAT TO DO WHEN SICK.
Sick kids?
- COVID-19
- Flu
- Tummy bugs
- Coughs and colds
- Pneumonia
For the health and wellbeing of all the other students and staff, if your child is less than 100%, please keep them home and message us that they will be away.
Superstars!
Hmmm... we know there were more Week 8 Superstars... we may have missed some photos in the office!
We did manage to get one of this cutie Harry Perkinson though.
Harry Perkinson from Rimu 3 has been showing Kia Manawanui by being helpful and kind
KA ORA, KA AKO-Healthy LUNCHES IN SCHOOL
On the menu for next week:
Monday: Mac n Cheese
Tuesday: Pizza
Wednesday: Mexican Wednesday
Thursday: Croissants
Friday: No lunches on Friday as it is Learning & Wellbeing Conferences
sport
A BIG THANK YOU to all our coaches, parent helpers and supporters who stand out in the winter weather to ensure our tamariki get the opportunity to play sports.
Hockey superstars practicing during their lunch break
Lucky Book Club
Issue #4 is now out, please get your orders in by 30 June 2022.
Home and school
PEPPER & ME
Last week our Home & School team sent out some forms for our next fundraiser.
Check out their website here - Pepper & Me https://pepperandme.co.nz/
If you want to place an order complete the form that was sent home and drop it into the Home & School box in the office.
If you missed out on a form and would like to place an order please ask the office for another copy.
BREAKFAST CLUB
beanies
THANK YOU to the wonderful people that made & donated these.
this week at school
On Wednesday we hosted St Pius for Interschool. Netball won 14-10 and Football won 1-0.
Today Mr Lewis, Whaea Kerie, Anya and a couple of parent helpers took 4, Year 7 & 8 Rippa Rugby teams to play in a Tournament at the Race Course. Two of our teams have made it into the finals to be played next week.
Our Year 7 & 8s enjoying the Pukekura park playground after Rippa Rugby
Hoani Adams' picture he drew of his whanau
Best of buddies - Kemp Hancock, Rocky Lomano, Rayne Morehu and Alexander Den-McKay
Mrs O and Whaea Rachel enjoying Matariki
from home
If you have anything you would like to share or celebrate from home please email it to ksmith@puketapu.school.nz
Birthdays
Happy Birthday to the few students who have Birthdays coming up over the next week:
- Brax Owens-Thomason
- Pukauae Kipa
- Pandora Cameron
- Tiaki Leaf
- Yasiin Falaniko
- Paris-Maree Yorke
- Lachie Waldron
- Harry Smith
- Bella Neilson
Upcoming dates
Please check the Hero App for more dates and information
Friday 24 June
- Matariki - School Closed
Tuesday 28 June
- Kowhai Interschool v Mangorei School (@ Puketapu)
Thursday 30 June
- Learning & Wellbeing Conferences (3.30-8.00pm)
Friday 1 July
- Learning & Wellbeing Conferences (8.00-4.00pm - No school except for conferences)
Wednesday 6 July
- Showcase @ Northpoint
Friday 8 July
- Last day of Term 2
Community notices
Lemon Club
If you are wanting to book for before school, after school or school holidays click on the link below.
Fire safety checklists
"Light in the Darkness"
Help KidsCan by Shopping at Noel Leeming!
(See next week's newsletter for the flyer to show in store.)
25% of sales will go straight to KidsCan!
Edventure
Edventure Holiday Programmes - July 2022
After reaching maximum capacity last holidays, we are excited to announce that these coming holidays we will be operating out of two venues in New Plymouth.
- Fitzroy School
- Merrilands School
The same programme will be running each day at each venue.
Week 1. July 11th-15th
- Edventure Everyday, see daily activities below. Onsite, 5-13 yr olds, $45/day
- Edventure Outdoors, Each day we head offsite for a new Edventure see daily activities below, 8-13yr olds $75/day $350 whole week special
Week 2 July 18th-22nd
- Edventure Everyday, see activity schedule below. Onsite, 5-13 yr olds, $45/day
- Edventure Dance Academy, In conjunction with Taranaki Academy of Dance, we transport the kids to the dance studio for their workshop. 5-11 yr olds $60/day
- Edventure Sports, A mixture of drills skills and modified games across a range of sporting codes 5-13 yr olds $45/day
Book Now - www.edventure.co.nz
Call - 02102241576
Email - mark@edventure.co.nz
Puketapu School
Email: office@puketapu.school.nz
Website: www.puketapu.school.nz
Location: Dillon Drive, Bell Block, New Plymouth, New Zealand
Phone: 06 755 0973