Wednesday 27th July 2022 No. 11

Te Kura o Tōtara Grove

Tōtara Grove School

Ngā mihi nui kia koutou

Ko Ngararatunua tōku maunga
Ko Maruarua tōku awa
Ko Ngatokimatawhaorua tōku waka
Ko Ngati Kahu o Torongare tōku hapū
Ko Ngapuhi tōku iwi
Ko Ngararatunua tōku marae
Ko William rāua ko Coral Kaire ōku matua
Ko Ken Gataulu tōku tāne
Ko Sharon Kaire-Gataulu ahau

It is an immense privilege to be the new principal tumuaki of this wonderful kura and I would like to thank the School Board very much for this honour. I would also like to thank everyone here for the lovely warm welcome I have received. The pȱwhiri on Monday was a very special occasion which my whānau and I really appreciated. I am really enjoying getting to know everyone and I look forward to meeting many more of you soon.

Tamariki are always at the heart of everything I do and I have been most impressed with how friendly, inclusive and respectful the tamariki here are. It has been wonderful to see all of the learning they are doing in their classrooms too.

I was born and raised here and am delighted to return home again and be with my mum, Coral Kaire and all of my whānau in Ngararatunua. I have worked in different areas of education for many years and prior to this I was principal at Karori West Normal School in Wellington. I am married to Ken, we have 2 adult daughters and 3 wonderful special needs grandsons who light up our lives.

Fostering and developing home school partnerships is really important to me as whānau truly are the experts on their children and as educators we can learn so much more about our students when we all work together.

“Nāu to rourou, naku to rourou ka ora ai te iwi – With your food basket and my food basket, together we will thrive.”

Mauri Ora!
Sharon

TUPU TAHI – GROWING TOGETHER. STANDING STRONG. REACHING HIGH.

Caught Being Good

Winners of books for the previous two weeks were:

Rm 3: Te Whata, Lincoln

Rm 4: Jorja

Rm 6: Sheila-Rose, Roman

Rm 8: Kason

Rm 10: Te Iwa, Lorelai, Delivyryance

Rm 14: Connor, Korbyn

Ngā Mātāpono Awards

Rm 3: Martha, Hemi, Chloe, Ita’lee

Rm 4: Ayla, Maahaki

Rm 6: Princess, Tana, Laker, Ava, Arlo

Rm 7: Jayde, Sebastian

Rm 8: Precious, Colin

Rm 10: Emma, Lincoln, Mason, Ashlyn

Rm 13: Sinaraa, Wyatt

Rm 14: Odessa, Cameron

Yummy fruit stickers

Our school is collecting yummy fruit stickers to qualify for free sports gear.

Please send your yummy stickers and cut out labels in to the office by the end of term 3. One cut out label is worth 10 apple stickers.

For more info see the website: https://www.yummyfruit.co.nz/schools/

Totara Grove School Board Elections: Parent Election Notice

Nominations are open for the election of five parent representatives to the school board.

All eligible voters will receive a nomination form. Use this form to nominate yourself or someone in your community. You will also receive a nomination cover letter calling for nominations.
Information on who is not eligible to be a board member is provided with the nomination form.
If you need more nomination forms, contact the school office.
Nominations close at noon on Wednesday 17th August 2022 You may provide a signed candidate statement and photograph with your nomination.
The electoral roll is held at the school and can be viewed during normal school hours.
As nominations are received, there will be a list of candidates’ names kept at the school up until election day, which you can view.
Voting closes at 4pm on 21 st September 2022.

Ngaire Olley
Returning Officer

Free school lunch programme

Please see attached the menu for the next fortnight. A detailed ingredients list is published on the lunch by libelle website: www.lunchbylibelle.co.nz/current-menu.html (click here).

This Fortnights lunch menu:

Preloved library books

As part of our library revamp we have weeded out a lot of books that were tatty or out of date. As a result we firstly offered them to the tamariki of our school and then to whanau. Any books that were left were put out at our Matariki celebration last term for whanau to take home.

It is so heartening to see these books going into our homes for tamariki to read. Enjoy!!

Fundraising raffle

We have kindly been donated a wheel barrow by Mitre 10 to kick off our fundraising raffle for the school. If you have any non perishable items that you are happy to donate towards this fabulous prize then can you please bring them into the office and pop them into the wheelbarrow. Those who donate something will also go in the draw to win a bonus prize that will be drawn after the raffle winner is announced. Raffle tickets will be available from next week.

Free to a good home

We have surplus school desks that are available for free to those who may want them.

Please contact the office and let us know how many you would like and when you would like to collect them.

Te Manawa Tahi Timetable

If you have a concern about your child’s language development, learning progress, social and emotional wellbeing, or behaviour, TeManawa Tahi have specialists available so you can discuss your concerns directly with them.
This is a free service and each site will be identified by a Te Manawa Tahi flag. Drop into a hub or make an appointment by phoning 0800 5248 4256 or emailing TT.Support@education.govt.nz.

School Term Dates for 2022

Term 1 3rd February – 14th April

Term 2 2nd May – 8th July

Term 3 25th July – 30th September

Term 4 17th October – 13th December

Community Notices

Does your child require further support, over and above what can be offered at school?

Would your child benefit from bespoke and nurturing learning sessions from a highly experienced teacher designed to accelerate learning and boost confidence? We would love to help. We are a team of dedicated teachers, specialising in English and Maths support, for primary, intermediate and college students. Visit www.boostyourlearning.co.nz for more information or contact Jenny 021 223 3349 to book a free consultation.