Oratia District School Newsletter
Week 2 - 12 May 2022
Message from Ms Linda
Tēnā koutou katoa. Nau mai ki te whanau o te Ōrātia. Ni hao. Talofa lava. Zdravo. Kia orana. Namaste.
Greetings Ōrātia whānau. When you come onto the school grounds you might see the two new flagpoles that have been placed near the pathway leading to R13/14. These have been sponsored by the Parent Network along with a number of international flags that we will be flying each week alongside our own NZ flag. Our big thanks to the Parent Network for their generosity and fundraising prowess. The things they sponsor make a difference to our kura. In the case of the flagpoles we wanted a visible way to celebrate the various cultures and nationalities represented in our kura, and a way to mark international language weeks and celebrations. Keep an eye out to see if you recognise any of the flags we will be flying.
We have had two new staff start this week. Moira Craill is adding the groundsperson role to her Garden to Table responsibilities and began on Monday. We are sure we will see the benefit of her expertise in gardening soon on our school grounds, and are so happy she has joined our team. Jessica Kestle began as our school librarian on Tuesday and is taking the time to familiarise herself with the Learning Centre space, and to get to know how the library runs and to meet all our classes. She and Sophie Wills will be working together in the library. There is a little more about our two new staff later in the newsletter.
Thank you to all those parents and whānau who have been able to pop into school over the past two weeks and visit with the class teacher and interact with your child's learning in some way. It has made for a very happy hum across the school as we have begun to re-establish relationships after such a break.
We are finding the realities of full time life at school with all its meetings and planning, assessments and activities, to be busy and a bit tiring to be honest. The school strategic plan is also being outworked through all levels of the school and people's passions for extra curricular activities and clubs are also happening. School is a busy and stimulating place, and we are delighted to be making it somewhere our tamariki are happy to be. As we start to complete assessments and begin writing mid year reports, we hope that the wide variety of all that is on offer is reflected in your child's journey with us and you will be able to see their strengths and interests, as well as their areas for ongoing growth.
We appreciate you keeping your child home if they display any flu like symptoms or illness, so that we can keep classes going through these winter terms. Please read the Ministry of Education's encouragement of how to manage winter illness, later in this newsletter.
Take care and stay healthy.
Kia kaha, kia atawhai.
Ngā mihi nui, Ms Linda
Calendar of Events - Term 2, 2022
Monday 16 May - Board of Trustees Meeting
Friday 20 May - Pink Shirt Day
Monday 24 May - Wheels Day
Monday 24 May - Friday 28 May - Senior School Camp Week
Tuesday 31 May - Parent Network Meeting and AGM
Monday 6 June - Queens Birthday Public Holiday - School Closed
Tuesday 7 June - Teacher Only Day - School closed for instruction
Friday Lunch Schedule - Term 2, 2022
Friday 13 May - Pita Pit
Friday 20 May - Sushi (Chicken on rice now available!)
Friday 27 May - Jesters pies
Friday 3 June - Subway
Friday lunches can be ordered on Kindo and will be delivered to your child's classroom at the beginning of lunchtime.
Order cut off times: Sushi- Wednesday night, Jesters Pies-12noon the Thursday prior, Subway and Pita Pit Thursday night.
Please contact the office to make arrangements to collect lunch orders if your child is absent on the day.
Pōwhiri/whakatau
Meet kōkā Teena
Kia ora e te whānau
Ko Hikurangi te maunga e ru nei tāku ngākau
Ko Waiapu te awa
Kō Turanganui-a-kiwa te moana
Ko Horouta tōku te waka
Ko Ngāti Porou tōku iwi
Ko Whānau ō Ruataupare tōku hapū
Ko Sarah Ferris tōku tipuna wahine
Ko Charlie Cooper tōku tipuna tane
Ko Graham Cains tōku pāpā
Ko Raewyn Tattley tōku māmā
Ko Kōkā Teena ahau
I am blessed with 3 amazing, kind and courageous grown children, who also went to Orātia. Brooke and Sam are identical twins are 22, and my son Jesse is 24. This is his best mate Arlo.
I love our Wednesday Whānau nights, that's when everyone comes home for dinner and games night.
I have lived in Orātia for 25 years and taught here for 8 years. I teach across all classes developing Mātauranga Māori, tikanga and kapa haka, and as Ka Hikitia lead. I also teach at Lone Kauri 2 days a week. I am really passionate about tino rangatiratanga and our whānau being equal partners in the decision making processes at our kura. To support this we have a whānau focus rūpo who meet regularly. It began as part of my Masters project and thanks to the visionary support of our kura leaders, has become part of the way we do things now. I am grateful for the inspiration, enthusiasm and the learning shared between all our whānau involved. Ngā mihi nunui.
I really enjoy harakeke weaving. I love the way harakeke uplifts my spirit and engages my senses: the look, the feel, the smell, ataahua! This precious taonga inspires me to find new ways to share and enjoy its beauty. I named my favourite piece Tui because it reminds me of my favourite manu. I can happily sit, watch and listen to our beautiful native birds for hours. Luckily I live here in Orātia so there are lots of wonderful opportunities to do this.
Poipoia te kakano kia puawai
Nurture the seed and it will grow
Welcome to Jessica Kestle
This week we welcomed to our school our new librarian Jessica Kestle. Jessica already has a connection to our kura as she is the mother of one of our Arawhata students. She has a degree in librarian and resource management and has worked in the Unitec library and at Sky TV. She is an artist (print maker) and has taught in schools in the far north. Jessica is a great addition to our school team.
Feel free to say hello and welcome her the next time you are in the library.
Welcome to Moira Craill
Also this week Moira Craill began her new role of Groundsperson alongside her existing Garden to Table role. She will be looking after our grounds and gardens, helping out our Caretaker Ian Julian when needed and working with teachers and staff on collaborative projects related to gardening and the environment. Some of you may know Moira already from Garden to Table but feel free to say hi as you see her working around the school.
Seacleaners - Trip One
As part of our Ngā Rākau Kaha programme, six lucky students attended a Sea Cleaners session on the Waitemata Harbour today with Mrs Goldsmith and Whaea Danielle. This is part of the community service aspect of the Ngā Rākau Kaha programme and counts for 6 hours towards their 20 hour total.
During this session they travel on a boat cleaning up the harbour. By the end of the today our students had been on a boat, hauled up loads of rubbish (old carpets, plastic bags, old wood etc), been soaked and had loads of fun.
Winter illnesses (from the Ministry of Education)
Along with COVID-19, it is likely we will also be grappling with the impacts of illnesses such as colds and flus through the winter season.
Caution over the flu season is very important in 2022.
As noted on the Ministry of Health website:
- we've had very little influenza circulating in our communities since the pandemic began. This means our community immunity is lower than usual
- this winter there is the very real possibility of having flu and COVID-19 within a short space of time – this can lead to very serious illness
- if you do catch flu, it’s important that you stay away from work or school while you’re unwell. Look after yourself and your family – rest and fluids are especially important
- the symptoms of influenza can be the same or similar to the symptoms of COVID-19
- if you’re sick, stay home. Call your health provider or Healthline and follow their advice. They may advise you to have a COVID-19 test, and self-isolate while you wait for the results
- it’s also important to seek medical advice early if you are concerned, and especially if there are any danger signs, even if you have been seen before. Other serious conditions can also look like the flu, including meningococcal disease.
Influenza – Ministry of Health
In Terms 2 and 3 we may also experience multiple peaks of illness in our community, including COVID-19.
Because we are more vulnerable as a population to colds and flus, maintaining a highly cautious approach for anyone who is symptomatic is strongly encouraged, to keep spread of illness as low as possible.
The tools we have in school to minimise spread of COVID-19 will also support a reduction in transmission of other seasonal illnesses including:
- wearing masks when indoors(optional and recommended)
- ensuring we have good ventilation
- staying home if unwell
- cleaning and disinfecting of high-touch surfaces regularly
- encouraging vaccination in our staff and students (for example, COVID-19, flu, measles, whooping cough).
In 2022, flu vaccinations are free for pregnant people, people aged 65 years and over (Māori and Pacific people aged 55 years and over), people who have a long-term medical condition like diabetes, asthma, or a heart condition and children under the age of four who have been in hospital with respiratory illness such as asthma.
CatchIT sessions
Room 20 have been enjoying the CatchIT sessions at school. We have been learning about pests in our backyard and tracking their footprints to see who the biggest culprits are. It seems as though we have quite a few sneaky hedgehogs in Oratia! Our next steps are trapping these pests to help protect our native wildlife.
A beautiful day for Garden to Table
PB4L
Congratulations Lucas Kewell!
We would like congratulate and celebrate one of our past student's achievements - Lucas Kewell has won a scholarship to a prestigious music school in Boston. We wish Lucas all the best for this exciting adventure. We are vert proud of your achievement. Below is some more information about Lucas' musical journey with a link where you can watch him play.
Lucas Kewell was a pupil at Oratia school from 2008- 2014. At the age of ten he started having piano lessons once a week with school piano teacher Larissa Kuznetsova and he showed great promise at the school Christmas concert. Lucas attended Glen Eden Intermediate school where he was given xylophone to play! It was when Lucas attended Avondale college that one of the music teachers spotted his talent and he joined the college big band and later in a jazz combo. Lucas is self-taught and can read and write music. He has produced music for two short films and has played several solo concerts, he is also part of a jazz quartet (Toby and the Rest) In 2021 he was awarded the Bill Hoffmeister trophy for most outstanding pianist at the National Youth Jazz contest in Tauranga and in Wellington got the top award for most outstanding original composition. Lucas is now at Auckland University studying music and had recently heard that he has been awarded a scholarship to Berklee College in Boston USA.
Congratulations Laura Hammond
Past student Laura Hammond has won the St Dominic's 'Dominican Sisters 2022 Academic Scholarship' for Year 9, valued at $1,000. This Scholarship is given to the student who gains the overall top outcome in Year 8 assessments. Due to Covid-19, we based this on Term 1, 2022 overall assessment outcomes. Congratulations Laura!
Can you help?
We are looking for whanau, parents or grandparents who have great ears and have some spare time to listen to our tamariki read.
In Term 2, Oratia School would like to set up a volunteer reading programme again. If that sounds like something you or someone you know could be interested in and you are available to attend for an hour block each week (same day and same time). Please contact kathrynm@oratia.school.nz or leave a message at the office.PARENT CORNER
COMMUNITY NOTICES
FREE TRAPPING WORKSHOP - half price traps for sale!
Kia ora,
Birdsong Opanuku is a group that was established in 2017 by a small group of Henderson Valley residents. Our goal is to improve the state of the indigenous flora and fauna in Opanuku/Henderson Valley. To work towards this goal we have established a mammalian predator control programme in the Sharp Bush, which has already reduced pest numbers (rats, possums and stoats) greatly.
We’re holding a workshop to help members of the Oratia community to control mammalian predators on their own properties and to potentially develop their own programme.
So we are holding a Pest trapping workshop
Sunday May 22nd, 10am-12 midday, Oratia School Hall
Learn how, where and when to set traps to control rats, possums and stoats on your own property. Connect with others in the community who are helping to improve our native biodiversity.
Half-price traps for sale: (Cheapest in NZ)
Timms (possum) traps, $25 plus free wooden tree mount for every Timms sold
DoC200 in pet-safe box $40 (stoats, rats and hedgehogs)
T Rex rat trap in pet-safe box, $15
New Flipping Timmys $40 Pet-safe, easy tree mount version of Timms
Cash is helpful on the day or you can use our bank A/C to pay.
Trees too! - We will also have eco-sourced trees that we grow and distribute for FREE
For more information, please contact Matt Ross or Karen Colgan at:
Contact Us
Email: principal@oratia.school.nz
Website: https://www.oratia.school.nz
Location: Shaw Road & West Coast Road, Oratia, Auckland 0604, Auckland, New Zealand
Phone: +64 9 818-6216
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OratiaSchool/