Newsletter Term 4 Week 8

Tēnā koutou katoa

This is our final newsletter for the year and a great time to reflect on the dramatic change we have had since the start of 2022. It has been so rewarding to see all of our tamariki be able to go on trips this term and be involved in so many different things. I am very grateful that we are going be able to celebrate together as a whole school next week at our final prizegiving. You are all welcome to attend and will be notified if your child is receiving an award and hopefully you can keep this a secret from them!

Our tuakana students are at Narrows Park for their overnight camp and when I visited last night, they were buzzing with excitement at all the amazing activities they had done and were doing today - paintball, go karting, archery, foam fun and so much more! We celebrated the Year 6’s who are graduating from Pekapekarau next week and had a lovely time reflecting on their time at our school and what they have contributed. Our Year 5s were lucky enough again this year to be part of this celebration and performed an awesome haka acknowledging the Year 6s. We will be sad to see this cohort move on to Intermediate, however, they will always be part of the Pekapekarau whānau and we look forward to connecting with them in the future and wish them all the best. For those whānau who are moving on, thank you for being a special part of our place and the same applies to you!

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to Pekapekarau in some way - no matter how big or small or how frequent. We appreciate that it takes a village and we love being part of that and value how you support us with what we do here to create that village. Alongside our amazing team of staff who believe in putting our kids first, everyone has done a great job this year at giving them opportunities both in and out of the school!

School starts again for our tamariki on Wednesday February 1st and we will share the holiday office hours and dates once we have finalised this if you need to sort uniform and stationery in person. There will be an option to do this online again to make life easier for you.

If I don’t have the opportunity in person, please have a safe and restful break and some quality time with your whānau over the the holidays.

Ngā mihi nui

Tania and the Pekapekarau team

Kia ora whānau! What a successful term it has been for our kids in their Drama classes. I have witnessed new friendships, lots of laughter, and a new sense of confidence in all of our tamariki.

I have enjoyed teaching every class and hope they enjoy their well deserved summer break.

Be safe this summer, drink loads of water, and enjoy the time with the ones you love.

Meri Kirihimete,

Tovah O'Neill

Malakai Christie has been selected (one of fifteen) to play in the Rugby Junior world cup next year IN FRANCE!

Malakai will be representing T.A sports rugby club, New Zealand and his community. We are just buzzing with excitement, not only for our Malakai but for the ropu of tamariki that have been selected. This is once in a lifetime opportunity.

42 tamariki were put forward and went through a process for their application only 15 were selected for the tournament.

Malakai’s story is an inspiration for our tamariki to go for their goals, dream big and be proud of what they achieve. We are all so proud of you and can’t wait to hear how it goes.

We love to celebrate the successes of our tauira outside of school. Be sure to let the teacher know or email kyliem@pekapekarau.school.nz

Ko Kakepuku te maunga,
Ko Waipa te awa,
Ko Graham toku hapu
He Pakeha ahau
Nō Wellington ōku Tīpuna
Ko Chris toku tane
Aku tame he Joshua, Noah,
Lache and Theo
Ko Erinna ahau
No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.

Over the last few weeks we have been introducing our new Pekapekarau School Board members to you. Some of you will already know me, from being on our previous board. Following our recent triennial elections, I have been re-elected on to the Board and as the Presiding Member (Board Chair). My four sons have all come through Pekapekarau over the last 10 years, with our youngest graduating this year. Although we are not originally from Te Awamutu, my husband and I have enjoyed raising our family here and being active within our local community. Together we operate a film business which has allowed us to express ourselves creatively and to use that medium to promote projects we really care about. I am the Director of Systems & Compliance for the Billy Graham Youth Foundation which uses the sport of boxing, through gyms across the country, to support the physical, social and emotional wellbeing of young people. I am passionate about thriving communities and how that can influence better outcomes for all tamariki. It is for this reason that I joined the Pekapekarau School Board back in August 2019 and put my name forward for the Board again this year. It is important to me that all tamariki, regardless of their background, have the opportunity to thrive and are motivated to stay engaged in their education journey. As a parent representative, I am proud to play a small part in helping shape the direction of our kura to support our tamariki in this way.

Our new board have spent the last 3 months establishing ourselves as a new team, learning about our current context, delving into our strategic plan, and what that could look like moving forward. As we consider future plans, your input is important to us, and so we will be providing opportunities to do this at the early 2023 which will help guide and inform our decision making. Our board look forward to celebrating with you all over the next few days the many achievements of 2022 and wish our very first 'Pekapekarau' graduates all the very best as they continue on their learning journey.

Have a safe and happy break over the Summer
Ngā mihi mahana

Erinna Lane

With the end of Term 4 fast approaching Waikato Rugby are putting on one last day of rugby for 2022. We are hosting our Mini 2 Mooloos Holiday Programme on Monday 19th December at Memorial Park in Cambridge.

We have online registration and payment set up via our website to hopefully make it as easy as possible to sign the kids up. Here is the link to our Mini 2 Mooloos page. https://www.mooloocommunityrugby.co.nz/community/minis-2-mooloos-holiday-programme-1

We are a small whanau business based in Te Awamutu! We offer a range of fun filled entertainment for children of all ages. Bouncy castles, candy floss, popcorn and much more.

We are running a December Weekday special for FREE DELIVERY within the Te Awamutu area and 20% off all Bouncy Castles.

We would love to bring some cheer and excitement to your children this holiday season :)

Please let us know if you have any questions.

You can find all our offerings on our website www.humblehappyhire.co.nz

Do you or someone you know have a child turning 5 before the end of 2022 or during Term 1 2023? Encourage them to contact us and come for a visit. We would love to meet them.

We have some spaces at other year levels as well. Share this with whānau that you know. We have information on our website.

See the link below