Newsletter 3 February 2023
Mahora School
NAU MAI HAERE MAI, TALOFA LAVA, WELCOME!
This year, we have welcomed a number of new students to Mahora School and will introduce them during the term.
This week we introduce Wai-O-Hine Ngatuere, Samvir Singla, Jack MacLeod, Nia Cooney, Kevin Chandara, Blaire Overend, Gurfateh Singh and Daxter Green-Thomson who have all started this term. We hope you have all enjoyed your start at Mahora School.
TUMUAKI TALK
Kia ora e te whānau
A warm welcome to all Mahora families for 2023. It has been a fantastic start to the school year this week and all classes are underway. We will start to introduce our new tamariki to our community over the next few weeks...so far this year we have 30 new tamariki which is exciting.
Staff news - we also have some new staff/kaiako to introduce to our community. We are incredibly lucky that we continue to attract amazing adults to our kura who bring diversity, energy, skill and passion for our children.
It’s exciting to introduce these fabulous staff -
Whitney Nohokau has started as our Tumuaki Tuarua/Deputy Principal. It's wonderful to have Whaea Whitney in this role and we look forward to her many contributions.
Wiremu King has started as our new caretaker and has made a wonderful start. Wiremu is well known in our community and knows our school well, as a dad of 3 tamariki currently at Mahora and husband to Raven, who works in all our akomanga/classes as a Teacher Aide.
Daniel Filipo has started as a kaiako/teacher in Room 16 and is teaching alongside Tanya Greig with Year 5 & 6. Daniel also has 2 tamariki at our school so it's wonderful to have these whānau/ family connections.
Tanya Calitz has returned from maternity leave and is now teaching Year 1 and 2 in Room 3.
Courtney Simons has also returned from maternity leave and is teaching part time in Room 9 & 10 to release Maddie Boaler for her maths role three mornings a week.
Tessa Beaver has also returned from maternity leave and is teaching part time in Room 16 to release Tanya Greig for her Assistant Principal role one day a week.
In the next newsletter, we will introduce our 2023 Hauora/Wellbeing team, as we have some new external staff who will support our school and our community. We will also introduce our 4 EIT candidate teachers (trainee teachers), who are based at Mahora this year as part of their training programme.
Below is a full staff list for the start of the year. In addition, there is information about who to see for any queries you may have. It’s really important you check in with the right person, but at all times, please don’t hesitate to ask for assistance. All email contacts are listed on the school website - www.mahora.school.nz
Kākano Team – (Juniors)
Rangiora/Room 1 - NE Lisa Birrell
Konini/Room 3 - Year 1/2 Tanya Calitz
Kawakawa/Room 4 - Year 1/2 Robyn Perry
Mānuka/Room 5 & 6 - Year 1/2 Penny McKinley & Kim King
Teacher Aides - Charlotta Ayto & Raven Cuthbertson-King
Release Teachers - Ange Walker & Sacha Spurrier
Māhuri Team – (Middles)
Karaka/Room 7 & 8 - Year 3/4 Kate McKenzie & Racheal London
Kōwhai/Room 9 & 10 - Year 3/4 Maddie Boaler & Courtney Simons
Nīkau/Room 11 - Year 3/4 Denise Haronga
Teacher Aides - Jo Donnelly & Mel Manson
Release Teacher - Nicky Dawson
Whanake Team – (Seniors)
Tītoki/Room 12 - Year 5/6 Ben Stoyanoff
Pōhutakawa/Room 13 - Year 5/6 Louise Strickland
Tōtara/ Room 14 & 15 - Year 5/6 Anna Harvey & Darren Robinson
Rātā/ Room 16 & 17 - Year 5/6 Tanya Greig & Daniel Filipo
Teacher Aides - Tash Filipo & Wendy Reisima
Release Teachers - Pip Renton & Tessa Beaver
Sports & Music Coordinator - Denise Pearse
Reading Recovery - Aleece Jones & Denise Pearse
Maths Support Teacher - Maddie Boaler
Teacher Aide Te Reo Māori - Raven Cuthbertson-King
EIT Candidate Teachers - Kate Allen, Latoya Hempel, Erika Karena & Melissa Kernaghan
Principal - Rohan Pearse
Deputy Principal - Whitney Nohokau
Assistant Principal - Tanya Greig
Learning Support Coordinator - Tamla Smith
Kākano Team Leader - Penny McKinley
Māhuri Team Leader - Kate McKenzie
Whanake Team Leader - Tanya Greig
Office Manager - Kirsten Weir
Office Administrator - Chanelle Deslandes
Caretaker - Wiremu King
Cleaners - Eds and Paolo
Social Worker in Schools - Lauren Telford
School Counsellor - Tieran Walsh
Public Health Nurse - Vaevae Tuahine
RTLB liaison - Janine Remnant
Newsletters - These are sent via the school app and email every second Friday. We are conscious of wasted paper, use hence it being digital. If you would like a paper copy, please call in and ask at the office.
Communication - Effective communication channels are really important in a school.
There are many options for how to contact staff or find school information including -
The school website has lots of information that may help. Go to www.mahora.school.nz
The school app is one of the main forms of communication we use for notices and updates for parents and families. Please see the separate section about the app later in this newsletter. To find the app go to this link or ask the office for assistance.
The school Facebook page is another form of communication we use for celebrating and sharing what has been happening at kura. It is not about notices or updates, please use the app for this.
All staff have an email addresses so you can email them. These are all listed on the website.
The good old phone landline is there....06 878 2622. Feel free to give us a ring or leave a message.
And of course...and often the best...come in chat. Face to face is often the best form of communication.
Please use the table below for any queries you may have. At all times we are here to help.
Hats and Sunscreen - All children need to wear hats in Term 1 and Term 4. We also encourage children to have sunscreen applied at home and we provide sunscreen in all of our classrooms and children will re-apply during the day.
This is really important…we still have a number of children who do not have a school hat. We have a very simple rule around sun safety. No hat = no play and these children need to be under the shade sails during breaks.
School hats are available to purchase from NZ Uniform Shop. All children need to be wearing the black school labelled hat only.
Uniform Shop - A reminder that all school uniform is now sold from the NZ Uniform Shop at 819 Heretaunga St West.
Stationery - Thank you to whānau who have already paid for this. Could we ask those that haven’t been able to pay yet, to do when you can. Small amounts are fine. A small automatic payment is a great idea to chop away at costs like this. Please see or email Kirsten in the office for this.
Enjoy Waitangi Day...it is a significant time in our history. It's wonderful to see it being a main learning focus of the new Aotearoa NZ’s histories curriculum that all schools are starting to deliver this year. It will be fantastic for all future generations of tamariki to have this learning and deeper understanding.
Piki Haere,
Rohan.
AKO IN ACTION
First Week of 2023
Our tamariki have settled back into school and are excited for the year ahead. It has been wonderful to see the tamariki build their sense of belonging alongside their kaiako and creating new friendships within their classes. There is some amazing mahi being created by our tamariki throughout the school.
Nau mai, haere mai e ngā tamariki o Rangiora!
It has been wonderful to see all the smiling faces and excitement from our youngest new tamariki to Mahora School. Taonga - Treasures is something that they are learning about and sharing with each other. Many of the tamariki have enjoyed exploring their new space and building some new friendships along the way.
Swimming time!
Thanks to our awesome caretaker Matua Wiremu, as we have been able to have the swimming pool open on our first day back. The tamariki have thoroughly enjoyed getting back into the pool, learning some swimming skills and preparing for our school swimming sports that will be happening very soon, so watch this space. Please make sure your tamariki are bringing their togs and a towel each day and that they are named.
OTHER KORERO
MAHORA SCHOOL APP
REALLY IMPORTANT FOR ALL FAMILIES
The School App is used to communicate whole school and specific group information to our whānau. Everyone is welcome to download the App onto your smart device. Instructions are below these details.
To keep the School App as efficient as possible, each year we reboot all alert groups. This enables the launch of new groups, changes of classrooms, and allows you the chance to select the groups you wish to receive alerts from for the year. This reboot will occur on Friday evening, with new groups available to subscribe to from the weekend.
There are many different groups. We suggest you select the ones that are relevant to your child/ren. By signing up for the app you are automatically connected to receive whole school messages but you need to sign in for specific group messages.
A reminder of how to select the alert group you wish to follow:
Open the School App for Mahora School.
Click the ‘Alerts’ button.
On the top right of the Alerts screen will be a small tick inside a circle, click this.
From the Alert Subscription page, tick the box next to the Alert Group you would like to follow:
For classrooms, click the drop down arrow titled ‘All Classes’
For sport groups, click from the drop down arrow titled ‘Sport Groups’
Other alert groups may be able to be selected from the main list.
Classrooms will have their name and number. If you are unsure what classroom your child is in, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s kaiako or the school office.
If you are unsure at all, please call into the school office for assistance to load the app.
UPCOMING EVENTS
- Waitangi Day - Monday 6 February - NO SCHOOL
- Weetbix TRYathlon - Wednesday 15 February
- Swimming Sports (Whanake and Māhuri) - Friday 17 February
- Inter-school swimming sports - Friday 24 February
- Life Education caravan visiting - Monday 27 February - Thursday 9 March
- Staff Only Day - Friday 10 March - NO SCHOOL
Email: admin@mahora.school.nz
Location: 710 Frederick Street West, Mahora, Hastings
Phone: (06) 878 2622