Matapu School Newsletter
Term 2, Week 2, 24th April 2020
Principal's Weekly Update
Term 2 Week 2
RAISE Goal: at Matapu school we look after the well-being of others and myself.
Te reo phrase of the week: Rā Maumahara ki nga hoia o Aotearoa me Ahitereiria – ANZAC Day.
Kia ora,
We have had another interesting week, I’m glad the government not only made the decision to move us to alert level 3 on Monday, but also noted the date of the 11th May which is when they will review the alert level again. All of our staff have been busily adapting to the new guidelines and managing their distance learning programmes as well. Thank you very much for responding to our communications this week in regards to whether you require your child/ren to attend school in a physical capacity. The vast majority of you have decided to keep your children at home and continue with our distance learning programme. For those of you who are sending your child to school, I have sent you an email today with information about what school will look like during alert level 3. It details all of the requirements that we have to adhere to. I have included a flow chart below, which helps to clearly describe the advice the government has given us regarding students returning to school. Please remember that your child/ren cannot turn up to school at random so please contact me by email at principal@matapu.school.nz if your situation changes.
As many of you would have heard, our wonderful teacher Mrs Guest is having a baby! We are extremely excited for her and her husband and know that they’ll make great parents. Mrs Guest is planning to go on maternity leave early in Term 3, therefore you may see a maternity leave job advert come out in the local paper. Please rest assured that the BOT and myself will find a quality and effective teacher to educate our students in Room 4 while she is on maternity leave.
I have received numerous encouraging comments from our community about the distance learning programmes that our teachers are running. They are incredibly heartening and have given our already positive teachers a real lift. All of our teachers have said how much they appreciate the hard work that our parents/whanau are putting in and have commented on the joy that they are getting from checking out their students’ work. Please note that no distance learning will be set for your child/ren on Monday (ANZAC Day observed) and Tuesday (Teachers Only Day).
Tomorrow we commemorate and remember all of the people who have been involved in the conflicts that New Zealand has fought in over our past. ANZAC Day is an incredibly important day for our country and I find it truly meaningful that we have a memorial to our fallen soldiers on our school grounds. It doesn’t seem like that long ago when we were placing all of the crosses in front of our memorial for the WW1 100 year centennial commemorations in 2014. Unfortunately we are not able to attend any dawn parades this year, but I really like the idea of standing by your letterbox for 1 minute at dawn tomorrow.
Lastly can I please just ask you to continue to communicate with us by email or phone. Part of our requirements for alert level 3 is keeping the amount of people who visit our school site to an absolute minimum. Any one coming on to our school grounds will need to sign in and leave a contact phone number with us.
Ngå mihi nui
James Willson
Room 1
This week the students in Room One were asked to imagine they are 90 years old and what it would be like to tell their grandchildren about the time when Coronavirus hit the world. Here is Ryder’s writing.
“Listen here kids when i was your age a deadly virus started spreading, it was called… the coronavirus. We had to shut down all the stores, stay home, close our borders and some people even lost their jobs. Our government was trying so hard to protect everyone but still some passed away. Nurses and doctors worked so hard to help the ill and scientists worked to kill this virus but we still lost some family members. I was 10 years old when the virus started in China it killed tens of thousands and infected millions of people, as people traveled around the world the virus spread more and more. By the time I was 11 it had hit New Zealand, school shut down for a whole month. All the shops, restaurants and businesses closed too; only the supermarkets and Hospitals remained opened. Because I was a child I could not leave our house for a whole month, I spent my time baking, having fun with my siblings, creating paper planes and playing on my ipad lots. We had to start term two learning online. It felt a bit strange not being able to see my classmates and teacher in person but on a virtual screen. During this time we had to wash our hands a lot and be cautious of others. The breaking news was on tv all the time and it got scary listening each day seeing more and more people getting sick but after a while it was relieving to see more and more people recovering. Thousands and thousands of tests and combinations were being done each day to find a cure but most were failing, for some all hope seemed lost but others were extremely hopeful”.
Ryder
Room 2
Room 3
Room 4
Room 5
Room 6
Room 6 students have adjusted to lockdown and the challenges of working through Seesaw so well...I am so proud of you all and a huge THANK YOU to parents and caregivers for all the efforts you have put in to make it run smoothly. A HUGE welcome to our two new students Hudson Cleaver and Sophie Barr, you two have settled into school without even being there...and Braxton Te Waaka who had one day in the classroom is doing a great job too!
Looking forward to seeing you all again soon, but I am so enjoying seeing you every day in our ‘Seesaw Classroom’!
There is still a lot to be thankful for...
#StandAtDawn
Apart, but together as one
Anzac Day is one of the most important national occasions for both Australians and New Zealanders. In 2020, for the first time in history, Anzac Day Services across New Zealand have been cancelled due to COVID-19. Even though public Anzac Services are unable to go ahead, it does not mean that the tradition of remembering and commemorating our veterans and service personnel should be cancelled too.
Join us at 6:00 am on Saturday 25 April. Stand at your letterbox, at the front door, in your lounge rooms, balconies, in your driveway. Wherever you are in the world, stand with us and take a moment to remember our fallen – but please stay within your ‘bubble’.
Click the link below for more information.
Whakatauki
Whāia te iti kahurangi ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei
Seek the treasure you value most dearly: if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain
This whakatauki is about aiming high or for what is truly valuable, but it's real message is to be persistent and don't let obstacles stop you from reaching your goal.
Sponsors
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
Mark Joblin Concepts & Construction Ltd, Sanfords Rural Carriers, Taranaki By Products, McDonald Real Estate, Eltham Vet Services, ANZCO, Power Farming, Corrigan Electrical, Matapu Bulk Transport, CRV Ambreed, FMG, Mack Transport, Blastways, Nevada, Ballance, JP Refrigeration, & BCCL (Burgess Crowley Civil Limited) Carrfields Livestock, Rosemount Charolais - Dairy Bull Specialists, PGG Wrightson Livestock, Jack Gray Ltd, Hawera Auto Court. Bruce Parry Livestock, Kelsen's Glass & Glazing, Tommo's Tyres Ltd, Chris Perrett Electrical Solutions, Holdem Contracting Ltd, STE (South Taranaki Electrical)
PLEASE SUPPORT THOSE THAT SUPPORT US
Matapu School
Email: admin@matapu.school.nz
Website: matapu.school.nz
Location: 495 Hastings Road, Matapu, New Zealand
Phone: (06) 272 6764