Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. Greetings to you all.

Firstly many thanks for your support with the early finish and strike day last week. It was fantastic to see nearly every family attend Learning Conferences which provides the foundation for our educational partnership and the 2023 reporting cycle. If you didn’t manage to connect with your child's teacher, please contact the office to arrange a time that suits for a face to face meeting, or alternately, a phone call.

Congratulations to Masha, Ryan, Emily, Harry, Benson, Reuben and Amelia, Amelie and Quinn who represented Witherlea and the Marlborough Interschool Swimming Championships on Friday. They performed beautifully both in the water and on the poolside, making us incredibly proud!

Last weekend eighteen students from Witherlea took part in the Weetbix Tryathlon in Nelson. The field of participants was 1400 strong and it was great to see all of our students complete the course and give it their all!

We are thrilled to see the Witherlea School Parent Community Group (WSPCG) now Friends of Witherlea reestablished with a committee eight strong. Many thanks to Marion Terpstra and Tash Stewart for their past involvement in this group and current efforts to enable succession. The new committee met today to plan their first meeting which will be on Tuesday 28 March at 7.30pm in the staffroom. Anyone is welcome to attend and an agenda will be circulated prior. The new committee is:

Chairperson: Kristen Hammond

Treasurer: Ruth Hawker

Secretary: Kylie Sheard

Committee: Kim Davies, Kelsi Johnston, Ruth Daudjee, Felicity Franken and Lucy Best.

This week we start a focus on Road Safety Education with our junior classes looking at pedestrian safety and cycle safety for our senior students. These programmes are led by the Police Education Officers and the Ride On facilitators funded by Marlborough District Council. Please talk to your children about what they are learning to reinforce these messages.

We were excited to hear Martina Suleiman's efforts with the Closest Room have been recognised by the TVNZ ‘Good Sorts’ programme. Hayden Jones (TVNZ reporter), visited school on Friday to celebrate Martina’s contribution to the community. The Closet Room has raised over $$36,000 for the school through the proceeds of second hand clothing sales. These funds will be used to build a scooter track around the top field which should be completed over the coming term break. Congratulations Martina on this recognition - well deserved!

On Saturday 1 April we are hoping to run a working bee to remove some of the unnecessary internal fences and landscape the area behind the amphitheatre. We plan to kick off at 8.00am and conclude with some sustenance at 12.00pm. If you are able to help, please complete this form to inform our planning.

Ngā manaakitanga,

Symon Beattie

Principal

Be Kind, Be Safe, Be Fair Shoutouts

Congratulations to these students who have displayed one or all of our school behaviour expectations and are a model to others;

FERNS TEAM

Nash M - You show kindness, compassion and initiative well beyond your years. Nash, Witherlea School is a better place because you are in it!

Gracie G - being kind and inclusive of others, Gracie, we love how you help those around you and care for others. What a wonderful friend you are!

KOWHAI TEAM

Kamryn A - Kamryn always shows kindness and fairness to all of her peers. She includes others and supports them in what they do - Kamryn, you are a superstar in Room 8!

Lily B - The way you live and breath our school motto. You are always kind to those around you, you make others feel safe to have a go and you are consistently fair. Keep it up superstar!

KAURI TEAM

Grace M - The commitment you have shown during your job application in room 19. Your references were outstanding and your interview was excellent. Congratulations on becoming the new bank manager!

Ruby A - Going above and beyond to look out for her friends and classmates. Ruby is always offering a helping hand and takes those closest to her under her wing. Ruby you are an incredible friend!

The awards are for recognition in displaying and modelling our school motto and values; Be Kind, Be Safe, Be Fair.

Last week was Sea Week and Room 4 got up to some exciting learning. We studied some sad photos of what happens to animals when rubbish enters our oceans. This sparked us to take our own action. We did a rubbish clean up of Harling Park with Room 3, where we found A LOT of rubbish. We also came up with this acrostic poem that sends a very powerful message. A message that Room 4 students would like everyone to hear!