Oratia District School Newsletter
Week 4 - 18 August 2022
Message from Ms Linda
Tēnā koutou katoa. Nau mai ki te whanau o te Orātia. Zdravo. Talofa lava. Ni hao. Kia orana. Namaste.
Greetings Orātia whānau. What an amazing community we have! Last Saturday a group of teachers and families got together for a giant sewing bee to work on the Fiafia uniforms. Some of us were making little dresses and others were sewing the boys' outfits. People came at 10.00am and some stayed right through till 5.30pm! Gemma and Ben are our Cultural Diversity leaders in the school and they gathered a group of supporters to work on the uniforms and a collaborative art project that day and on through this week. It was so wonderful to work alongside parents and whānau for a common purpose. We had a great time together with such a good feeling of unity. I loved being a part of it. Thank you, thank you to all those who came to take part. I know that there are also others in the community who have committed to making food for the Fiafia, and I want to thank you in advance for your contributions and efforts. Excitement is rising amongst our tamariki. We look forward to seeing you at the Fiafia next week - hopefully you were quick enough to get a ticket, as they have all sold out now.
On Wednesday evening, Cheryl Hartnell and the Potiki team hosted a parent information evening about the Orātia approach to reading, and the trialing we are doing with decodable readers and structured literacy principles. We hope that the people who attended found it useful and interesting and that they have a better understanding of how we may be helping their child to read. If you have any further questions please talk to your child's teacher or Cheryl.
Board of Trustees voting papers have been distributed this week via post to all eligible voters. Please take a moment to read through the candidate statements and then cast your vote. There is a ballot box just inside the door at the school office.
We are still seeing cases of Covid-19 amongst our students and staff as well as the winter illnesses doing the rounds. The majority of Covid cases are coming from outside infections rather than from within the classroom, so we feel that the mask wearing is having positive benefits. I wish you continued good health and well being.
Kia kaha, kia atawhai.
Ngā mihi nui, Ms Linda
Friday lunch schedule
Friday 19 August - Jesters Pies (order by mid-day Thursday)
Friday 25 August - Subway (order by 8.30pm Thursday)
Friday 2 September - Pita Pit (order by 9am Friday)
Friday lunches can be ordered on Kindo and will be delivered to your child's classroom at the beginning of lunchtime. Please contact the office to make arrangements to collect lunch orders if your child is absent on the day.
Fia Fia Night - Meal Tickets
We will have delicious meals available on the night which can be purchased with a $5 meal ticket. Meal tickets are now available to purchase online on Kindo.
A $5 meal ticket can be used to purchase any of the following:
- Sapasui and rice - $5 (400 limit)
- Ika mata - $5 (limited to 50 pots)
- Otai - $5 (200 limit)
- Cook Island donut with ice cream $5 (200 limit)
Please note: food stock is limited.
40 Hour Famine 2022
A BIG thank you to everyone who participated in the 40 hour famine! From cycling 40 km in 40 hours to device and furniture free for the weekend. We appreciate your commitment and contribution to this very noble cause.
Final numbers are being crunched, so if you have any further donations, please drop into the office by Thursday 25 August.
Sky Wallace from Room 15/16 wrote about her 40 Hour Famine Journey
I’m Sky from Oratia District School in Auckland and this is my story of doing the Wold Vision 40 Hour Famine. It all started at our school assembly when a teacher went up on stage in an orange t-shirt to tell us about the famine. She said our school was getting involved to raise money for people without water in third world countries. I was so excited!
I asked my mum and dad if I could do it with no eating, but they said no, so I decided to do something even harder – no talking for 40 hours! My challenge started at 8pm Friday and went until 12pm Sunday. It was really hard not to talk especially when I went to gymnastics and to the ballet with my mum! But I had a whiteboard to write things down.
I slipped up a couple of times but that doesn’t change the amazing feeling of making a difference for the kids that need it. I hope to inspire other kids (and adults) to do this challenge and a big thank you to all the people that sponsored me. I raised $326 – that’s enough to give 3 children long-term clean water from a pump close to their home! Now it’s your turn to get involved: https://www.worldvision.org.nz/connect/40-hour-famine/
Meet Whaea Debbie from Room 22
Kia ora Whānau
Whaea Debbie introducing myself. I have been at Oratia for 12 years and a teacher for 22. I have two beautiful daughters, one finishing university as another starts next year. We have three horses which my husband and daughters ride. One of our horses, Phoebe, is very old, at least 33 years old. My dad and sister also live in Auckland. I grew up in Ireland and was an environmental scientist before becoming a teacher. I love maths, science and technology so I'm quite a nerd. I am a keen walker and here are my lovely pets - my old dog Van, a silken Wind hound 14 years old and Lola a very busy happy 8 month old pup.
Popular Pokemon club!
Oratia kids keeping busy with extra-curricular activites
Weekend rugby/soccer catch ups
After school netball trainings, even in the wet weather!
Sketching profiles this week in Wednesday afterschool art class
REMINDERS
Do you have any boxes?
Do you have any My Foodbag/Whoop/Hello Fresh boxes and/or woolen inserts we could please have?
We're building a no dig garden at school so we would love to have them as the base for our gardens. Please drop them in to the school office. Thank you.
Lucky Book Orders
LUCKY BOOK ORDERS CLOSE ON THE 19th AUGUST
All orders once received from Scholastics will be sent to your childs class. A reminder that orders are online only.
School Photos
Ideas for keeping children healthy this winter
Here are some tips from the Ministry of Education to support keeping our tamariki healthy this winter:
Provide children with healthy and nutritious food to eat. Healthy eating supports immunity and helps our bodies to work well and feel good.
Food, activity and sleep – Ministry of Health
Support children to get enough sleep. Sleep is important for restoring energy, maintaining mental and physically wellbeing, learning, and aiding healthy growth and development.
Helping young children sleep better – Ministry of Health
Encourage and create opportunities for children to be active. Being active at home, at school, at play during the weekends and in the community helps children maintain good health and wellbeing.
Activities for children and young people – Ministry of Health
It is a good idea to encourage children to play outdoors – they just need to be dressed warmly during the winter months!
Being outdoors helps to boost children’s immune systems through exposure to fresh air and enables them to make vitamin D from exposure to the sun.
Arawahata Disco Fun
COMMUNITY NOTICES
EZI Lunch/KINDO Fathers Day Competiton
Whether it's a Dad, Uncle, Grandad or Poppa in your life, make them feel extra special this Father's Day with our ezlunch giveaway. Every lunch order gets you a chance to win one of two $50 'Not Socks' vouchers.
Order ezlunch for delivery from Monday 22 August - Friday 2 September to be in the draw to WIN! Two vouchers, two winners!
The winners will be drawn on Friday 2 September and notified by email.
Go to www.mykindo.co.nz to start ordering.
Green Bay Primary & Intermediate School Open Day and Evening
2022 Intermediate Open Day
- When: Thursday 1 September 2022
- Where: Green Bay Primary & Intermediate School, 131 Godley Road, Green Bay
- Venue: School Hall
- Time: 8.50am-2.55pm (School gates open at 8.30am)
2022 Intermediate Open Evening
- When: Thursday 1 September 2022
- Where: Green Bay Primary & Intermediate School, 131 Godley Road, Green Bay
- Venue: School Hall
- Time: 6.30pm – 7.30pm
We offer a full curriculum aimed at Year 7&8 students in order to prepare them for High School. There are exciting initiatives in the pipeline for next year, so come along and meet our Principal, Mr Anand Muthoo, along with our whanau Kauri teachers (Y7&8) to find out more.
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/