The Connection Week 9 Term 3
Huapai District School 23rd September 2021
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
One of my hero’s is Earnest Shackleton - namely his successful failure to reach the South Pole. In reading his biography there is a section where he describes waiting for the ice to melt so they could push out onto the ice waters in their tiny boats. In one diary entry he simply wrote “waiting waiting waiting” - he named the campsite “Camp Patience”.
I’m sure you must be feeling the frustration of waiting, waiting, waiting. I am also sure you can see in your children elements of frustration surfacing. We remain hopeful and look to the day when we have your children back at school. I can hear the words of my mother echoing in the back of your head “You can choose your attitude”.
Thank you for all you are doing. Thank you for the support you are giving your children. We remain very positive with what we are seeing online, what we are hearing from your children and (best of all) the character we are seeing in your children - well done.
Regards,
John Petrie
Alert Level 3
Yesterday we began our on site support programmes for a small group of children. Our school remains essentially closed and is able to cater for those children of essential workers only. The online learning programme continues for the remainder of this week and next.

The exception to the above is those very few children whose parents and carers must go to work at Alert Level 3 and therefore their house has no appropriate caregiver nor do they have someone who they can ask to ‘bubble share’ and care for their children.
Virtual Assembly
We are thrilled to invite you to our school assembly on Friday at 2pm. Please join us using the link below.
Year 4 And Year 8 Camps
We are proceeding with the planning for these camps in the hope and expectation we will be able to hold these camps. It is too early to make a confident call either way and so we proceed with hopeful anticipation.
Getting To Know...
Jemma McKenzie
Hi, I’m Jemma McKenzie and I teach Year 2&3 in Room 6. I’ve been teaching for 4 years and this is my first year at Huapai. I grew up on a farm in Swanson with lots and lots of different animals. Now I live with my friends and our two cats named Millie and Winston and we enjoy playing board games together. I’m enjoying being able to sleep in a little bit later during lockdown as I don’t have to drive to school.
We Miss You!
Sport
Entries are now open for summer sport. Registrations close end of next week.
Kaipara Touch Rugby
If you would like your child to play in a Huapai team for Touch Rugby at Helensville on Friday nights please visit the website https://www.sporty.co.nz/kaiparajnrtouch/Module-Information/Register-Online to register your child. Games begin Friday 29th October and fees are $30 per player. Years 0-8.
Kumeu Touch Rugby
If you would like your child to play in a Huapai team for Touch Rugby in Riverhead on Thursday nights please use the google form to register your child. Games begin 28th October. Fees are $35 payable to school once we finalise teams. Years 0-8.
Summer Hockey
If you would like your child to play summer hockey this year, please use this google form to register your child. Games are played on a Monday or Tuesday night depending on the team grade (info can be found on the form). Fees are $20 - $30 depending on grade, payable to school once we finalise teams. Years 0-8.
Summer Soccer
This year the West Coast Rangers Football Club is running registrations for summer soccer slightly different to usual.
We can organise our own team of school students. Leagues are open for mixed teams of boys and girls for ages: 7-8yrs, 9-10yrs and 11-12yrs. Games for juniors are always on a Friday night at Fred Taylor Park, on Fred Taylor Drive, Massey. Please use this google form to register your child. Fees for school based teams are $30 per player, payable once teams are formed.
Mental Health Awareness Week
Next week is Mental Health Awareness week throughout New Zealand. As a school, we recognise that our community has been through a huge amount of change and uncertainty over this past term. We also acknowledge that everyone reacts differently to this change and there is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to our Mental Health.
We encourage you to talk to others about how they are going and know that “it’s ok to not be ok”. As a school we are always here to listen if you need to talk.
A list of some great resources are listed in the link below.
Get Your Heart Pumping Challenge
Thank you for the efforts you are going to to support your children with these weekly challenges. We share all the photos and videos each week in the virtual assembly. Here is a sneak peek of this week’s “Get your heart pumping” challenge.
Lockdown Learning
We are so proud of the efforts our staff and students are going to with their learning at home!
School Holiday Programme With Huapai Plus


HERO Notifications
We use HERO to send classroom updates and to share regular learning posts. HERO sends push notifications or emails. You can now choose how you receive HERO notifications as well as manage devices that receive them.
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