Kia ora koutou,

On Thursday 8th December we have a thank you morning tea for anyone who has helped out during the year. We would love to see you at 11 am in the school hall. After today there are only six school days left and it will be a busy run in starting with the Year 6 Leavers Assembly on Wednesday afternoon.

What's on

7th - Year 6 Leavers' Assembly & Disco

8th - Helpers' Moming Tea 11 am

9th - SPCA Mufti Day

12th - Final Assembly 6pm & Reports home

14th - Last day of the school year - 12.30 pm close

Year 6 Leavers' Assembly

Tomorrow is our Year 6 Leavers' Assembly which takes place from 2-3 pm tomorrow in the school hall. This is open for all Year 6 families and it will also be streamed live through the school Facebook page for those families who cannot attend.

At 5:30pm-7:00pm tomorrow night the Year 6s have a celebration disco in the school hall.

Farewells

On Tuesday 13th December at 10 am, we have a farewell assembly for Shona Burrough who is retiring after 16 years of wonderful service as Deputy Principal - Curriculum, Robin Gray - Property Manager 10 years of service and 35 years altogether (25 years as Deputy Principal) and Nick Stygall 8 years service. Everyone is welcome as we farewell these fabulous members of staff.

Kapa Haka

Well done to our Kapa Haka who performed well at the Ngati Kahungunu Festival last week. They did us proud! A big thank you to Whaea Robin, Tara Wilkins, Rebecca Northe and families for their support on the day.

Mufti Day

A reminder that this Friday is a Mufti Day to support the SPCA. We ask that students participating bring a gold coin. There is no dress-up theme, but people may wish to consider getting into a bit of the Xmas spirit.

Prize-giving Assembly

A reminder that next Monday night (12th December) we have our End of Year prizegiving from 6 pm-7:15 pm approximately. We are hoping the weather gods will be on our side. This is always a special occasion, especially for our Year 6 students who will be piped out by ex-pupil Llewellyn Ward-Leikis and given a Kowhai sapling by our Year 1 students.

We remind people that there is no alcohol at the assembly.

Please ensure you drop off (no later than 5:45 pm) and collect students from the classrooms afterwards.

Thank you!

Freddie's Find

Thank you Freddie and those amazing people who supported Freddie's Find in making a presentation to Women's Refuge. So far we have $135. The last day to donate is Friday.

Lost Property

There is a truckload of lost property in the bin outside the hall. Please check it out as we would love to move it on.

Year 3 & 4 EOTC Week

Well done to the Year 3 & 4 team for a successful EOTC experience last week. A big thank you to team leaders Rebecca Northe, and Karen Duligall, the teachers and the wonderful parent helpers for their hard work over the week.

School Survey

Thank you to the 107 families who completed the recent Community Survey.

96% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that their child(ren) enjoyed school.

96% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that their child(ren) were making good progress.

80% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that their child(ren) got the right amount of homework.

95% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that the school was well-equipped with learning resources.

76% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that the School App is user-friendly.

100% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that the grounds were well maintained.

98% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that the buildings were well maintained.

96% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that the school values were well embedded.

93% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that they had a good understanding of the school vision.

98% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that they felt welcome in the school.

87% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that they supported the current house names.

91% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that they agreed with the school's "Balance is Better" philosophy.

Things the School does well - themes that came through

• Induction of new students
• Welcome feeling
• Grounds
• Leadership is approachable
• School Values are embedded
• Sports
• Teachers are approachable
• Positive Behaviour for Learning
• Student progress
• Happy environment
• Relationships
• House names
• Opportunities
• Resources

Work on - Themes

• Spotlight reporting
• Too much focus on sport
• More cultural activities
• Streamline communication
• Grounds and fencing
• Help the community understand the NZ Curriculum

Bits that were interesting

• Te Aō Maori
• New Parent induction
• Academics and Gifted Education
• Music
• Extra Curricular
• Balancing sport and academic
• Science /House of Science
• Personal Touch

Quote of the week

Love the life you live. Live the life you love. – Bob Marley

Have a great week everyone.

Ngā mihi

Nick Reed

Principal

Te Mata School Hall on TONIGHT Tuesday 6 December at 5.30 pm- 7.00 pm

RSVP link https://forms.gle/5uQUTrdhpXejDGEU6

We are really excited to have a Q and A session with Shea McAleese; the current assistant coach of the NZ women's black sticks hockey team and ex-player (playing just over 300 games) for the NZ Black sticks. He will be sharing his tips and insights into being a coach and player throughout his career.

Alongside Aaron O Keefe who will be questioning Shea but also will share his knowledge on coaching and parenting athletes. Aaron is the current HB under 18 men's hockey coach and has some talented athletes in his family. With a daughter playing high-level netball, a son playing hockey and also representing NZ in the 2022 Oceania Games for running and gaining a silver medal!

Lastly, a HUGE thanks for all you have done. To be sending this out to so many people reiterates what lucky children we have to have volunteers like yourself, and what a great community we live in.

I hope to see you on Tuesday to thank you in person.

Many thanks

Erica

BASKETBALL

Patch Stafford, Rupert Scott, George Wallace, Sean Martin, Lewis Attwood

FUTSAL

Saskia Lamborn

TOUCH

Kale Adlam

HOCKEY

Sam Cranswick

WATERPOLO

Ben Hunt, Ethan Zhang, Eva Balcombe

VOLLEYBALL

Lucinda Howard, Charlotte Crowther

December

7th - Year 6 Leavers' Assembly & Disco

9th - SPCA Mufti Day

12th - Final Assembly & Reports home

14th - Last day of the school year - 12:30 pm Finish

January

30th -Meet the Teacher 2-4 pm

February

1st - Start of the School Year