Kia ora e te whānau o te kura o Parakawhara (hello friends & family of Gladstone School).

4th June 1876.

This is the day that Te kura o Parakawhara (Gladstone School) first opened its doors. On the 4th June 2026, we will celebrate our 150th Anniversary. Since that day nearly 150 years ago, families have created long-standing, multi-generational connections and friendships. It is whānau that form the foundation of our gorgeous wee school. This week we have seen that foundation strengthened further with the arrival of 15 new students and their families - many of who have been to Gladstone School themselves. We wish our new whānau a happy, positive start to their time with us and look forward to weaving everybody in.

Welcome to the following new students, teacher and their families. We would also like to extend a huge thanks to the support and guidance Matua Keepa & wife Rose provided for our mihi whakatau on Wednesday.

Our whānau picnic went ahead on Wednesday evening - a huge thanks to those who braved the soggy weather and came along. A copy of our slide show is linked below. A key date for your calendar is the 'Super Bee' on Sunday the 19th of March. We have decided to try one massive working bee rather than smaller ones during the year. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. We will send out a help list in the next couple of weeks outlining in more detail what we need assistance with and what equipment we need to try and source.

We were super impressed and pleased with our people who received a 'Whetu o te Wiki' ('Star of the Week') award. Awards went to the following people: Koby Klue & Allie Blake for stepping up to be awesome Kapa Haka leaders at the mihi whakatau. We were really impressed.

Other stars this week were the 'Holiday Animal Feeding People' - Kaylee Huck (not once but 3 rounds = 9 days) Jaelyn & Arlo Fraser; Corben Schischka; Olivia & Jorja Palmer; Hugo and Toby Wilkinson; Hunter Gawith; Alex & Amy Wenger; Maisie & Henry Post; Mrs Lang. Thank you all so much for giving up your holiday time to do a 3 day duty.

Congratulations to the following tamariki (children) who were awarded certificates by their classroom teachers today: Allie Blake; David McKay; Ayla Edwards; Louie Guilford; Hedley Macdougall & George Dick.

Each Monday our wonderful FoGS committee organise school lunches for our tamariki. Can an adult in your whānau help one Monday this year with school lunches @ 12:40 pm for approximately ½ hour?

Parent Helpers get the food ready for handing out at eating time. Please contact Liz Mason (lizarthan@hotmail.com) if you can be a parent help.

Thank you to the following fabulous families who have offered help to start the year off. A roster for the remainder of the year will follow once we have volunteers:

Tues 7/2 Paula Dick
Mon 13/2 Bron Wood
Mon 20/2 Liz Mason
Mon 27/2 Paula Dick

In other FoGS news we have a couple of fundraisers in the pipeline - catering for a family reunion (200 boxed lunches for the 25th February). Requests for baking will be sent out closer to the time.

The other event is a Cèilidh or céilí. Which, according to google, is a traditional Scottish or Irish social gathering. In its most basic form, it simply means a social visit. In contemporary usage, it usually involves dancing and playing Gaelic folk music, either at a house party or a larger concert at a social hall or other community gathering place.

Each year we offer the opportunity for whānau to check in with their child's teacher/s. It is a 10 minute chance to discuss any concerns, FYI's or other matters before we get into the year. Please us the link below to book a meeting (either in person or via zoom/the phone). If you are wanting a zoom or phone call, please email the teacher advising this. Email addresses can be found under the contacts tab on our app. Please note: due to the size of the class, Ōnoke will only be running interviews on Wednesday the 15th Feb.

Visual Art Classes: Art Classes are due to start in the 2nd week of term for anyone interested. There was a great response last year and all the kids seemed to absolutely love it. Elissa Smith is keen to continue for the kids this year, but only for two days a week. The classes are $20 per child per week, with all materials supplied. Classes are in Gibson Hall and run from 3:15 to 4:30pm on either Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. If you are keen, please email gladstone.artclass@gmail.com with your preferred day, and a back up in-case that day is unavailable. Please include a parent/caregiver name and mobile number for emergency contact (if you’re new or this has changed).

Contact Charlie Post for any queries.

Singing Groups (Choir & Small Group Tutoring): Cara Brown is continuing her lessons at 1:20 on a Wednesday afternoon at school. Please contact Cara directly for more information and to register if your child would like to participate in the classes - Cara@wairarapawhanautrust.com . Year 3 & up.

Week 2

Mon 6/2 - Waitangi Day.

Wed 8/2 - Ōnoke (Y7&8) Beach Education @ Riversdale.

Week 3

Tues 14/2 - BoT Meeting, 6pm.

Wed 15/2 - Whānau Check & Connect Meetings

Thurs 16/2 - Whānau Check & Connect Meetings

Week 4

Fri 24/2 - Wings Over Wairarapa

Enjoy the long weekend, see you on Tuesday.

Ngā manaakitanga,

Belinda

2022/23 Wairarapa Spitfire Baseball season online registrations are now open!

We have club teams available for all ages and levels of experience.

ROOKIE BALL – Ages 5 to 9 will play on Saturday mornings at Kuranui College at 9am.

MINOR LEAGUE 11U – Ages 9 to 11 will play on Saturday mornings at Kuranui College at 10.30am

INTERMEDIATE 13U – Ages 11 to 13 will play on Wednesday afternoons at Kuranui College and MIS at 5.30pm

13U/16U TRAVEL TEAMS – Baseball in the Wellington Regional Competition. Spitfires teams will be formed mid-September, email mcwilliamae@gmail.com asap if you are interested. Games are on Sundays and played at home and away in Lower Hutt, Wellington and Levin.

Our Have a Go Open Day is on Saturday October 29th from 10am to 12pm at the Kuranui College Baseball Diamonds. Come along for a fun morning learning about baseball and free sausages.

For more information and to register check out our website www.sporty.co.nz/spitfiresbaseball.

Join our Facebook Page: Wairarapa Spitfires.

Contact our Teams Coordinator, Eileen McWilliam, on mcwilliamae@gmail.com.

Netball Wairarapa are running the Future Ferns Term 1 for Year 1 and 2 and Year 3 and 4. This programme is for both girls and boys. It will be played on Tuesday after school at Colombo Road Netball Courts. Starting February 21st 2023.

I am also looking for someone to be the Primary liaison/contact person - who will help to communicate with parents of both schools and get information out to the school communities. Please if you are willing to take on this roll - answer the last question!

Please complete this form by Friday 10th February 3pm so we can enter teams or individuals into the competition.

As per last year in Term 1 we are running a Yeah Girls Community Hub down at Carrington Park for girls in school Year 4-8 to experience cricket games and activities. Starting Tuesday 21st February 3:30-4:15pm

It is lots of fun, games based rather than technique- but as an intro into girls being exposed to cricket and potentially wanting to play for a school / club.

Attached is a flyer- if you could please either share on your school social media or in a newsletter or send out to parents who may have daughters that might be interested. And with the following link to register: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/register/bb695e

It is $10 per participant for the 4 weeks- and they receive a free tote bag with this

For more information on what the programme is head to this website: https://play.nzc.nz/playyeah-girls

Or if you would like this programme or SmashPlay within your school environment aswell please get in touch and we can chat more:

https://community.nzc.nz.main-bvxea6i-7hxdji4zylu64.au.platformsh.site/programme/smash-play-junior-tamariki