We are so appreciative that we have a committed group of relievers here at Ruakākā. We currently have lots of illness in our community. We currently have Covid cases, a vomiting bug, chicken pox, strep throat, coughs, colds and flu. Please keep tamariki at home if they are unwell. For vomiting bugs please stay at home for 2 days after the last episode of vomiting or diarrhoea. Please call the office if you are unsure. Covid tests are available free from the pharmacy.
We are currently planning the move into our 5 new classrooms. All whānau are invited to our blessing at 6.30am on Monday 1st July. There is an invite below and we will also send this out via Seesaw.
Working Bee to help with TWH classroom moves: On Monday 1st July after the celebration of 10 years of Te Whānau Harakeke we will have a working bee to move 5 classrooms into the new building. We would love whānau to help out with this. Mā whero mā pango kua oti te mahi!
Working Bee to help with Room 11-14 classroom moves: On Wednesday 3rd July, after classrooms have been cleaned, we will move Mr Green, Mr Meadows, Whaea Gillian and Whaea Elly into their new classrooms. If you are available from 9am on this day to help to move chairs and tables, boxes etc. this would be greatly appreciated.
Staffing Congratulations: We would like to congratulate Ryan Green who has been appointed Assistant Principal of Ruawai Primary and begins this position at the start of Term 3. We are currently working on appointing a new teacher for his class. Congratulations also go to Zeralda Pirini who is reducing her hours in Room 10 to take up a position as an Enviroschools Facilitator - she will continue her role as Literacy Coordinator teaching small groups. We are also sorry to say goodbye to Jess Loomis who has been teaching maths in Room 2. In order to support the junior team for the rest of the year Kelly Mount will step out of her classroom teaching role to fill both these roles and we have appointed Donna Most to teach Monday-Thursday in Room 9.
Congratulations also go to Kat Hiki who has a new position working at the Correspondence School. She has been running a Reo Matatini support programme in Te Whānau Harakeke. Her programme will be continued by 2 of our Kaiawhina Whaea Natty and Whaea Hana. Whaea Kat has been providing training in how to run this valuable literacy support programme. We also wish Abby Maclean all the very best - she began her maternity leave last week and Amber Porter has stepped up into her role as teamleader for the Y4-6 English Medium team.
We are also busy planning for the Matariki Festival - this will be held during the school day at Waipu School this year. More details next time.
Just a reminder that the Tuesday after King's Birthday is a Staff Only Day for all kura in the Bream Bay area as our staff attend their Conference Day at the College.
We know that our tamariki can only flourish in their learning and relationships when they are attending regularly.
Ruakākā attendance statistics so far this year: 84% Overall attendance is
Year 1 - 87% Year 2 - 84% Year 3 - 85% Year 4 - 83% Year 5 - 79% Year 6 - 82%
We understand that from time to time many issues such as physical or mental health, financial hardship and other challenges can affect attendance - if you need support or advice please give us a call. No judgment - just support!
Te Aronga Pīata / SHINE Focus
Matua Ariki
Over the last two weeks our SHINE focus has been inclusion. This has been taught through Pink Shirt Day resources. At Ruakākā School we value and celebrate differences. Hopefully through the use of some of these rauemi/resources our tamariki will have a greater understanding of how to be inclusive.
Mid-year hui a-whānau and reports
Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou! 90% of our whānau attended our Hui ā-Whānau day which was amazing! You should now have received your tamaiti's report as a follow up to this hui. If you have any questions about the report please contact your child's kaiako.
We would love your feedback on how useful this hui and the mid-year report was - we will make decisions about how we do this in future based on your feedback.
In the last two weeks we have had a few new whānau start at Ruakākā School. If you meet them, please make them feel welcome. Here is a list of our new tamariki, as well as photos that their whānau have sent through. Nau mai haere mai ki te kura o Ruakākā.
Max Mereu Kobie Schutt Hazel Martin Atara Palu Emmie Van Sinten
Max Mereu
Emmie and her whānau
Atara Palu with his big sister Anahera
Tūtaki i ngā Kaimahi / Meet the Staff
In each newsletter we will continue to learn about kaimahi / staff of our kura. Read about them below.
Ko Rangiputa te maunga Ko Awaroa te awa Ko Whangape te moana Ko Te Kotahitanga te marae Ko Mamari te waka Ko Ngati Haua te hapu Ko Te Rarawa te iwi Ko Ed Murray toku pāpā Ko Irene Moody toku māmā Ko Toko tōku hoa tāne Ko Darroll taku tama Ko Tahlia rāua Tessa taku tamāhine Ko Kelly toku ingoa
Hi, I'm Kelly and I have been working here in this amazing kura for 3 years. I am one of the “office ladies” as the tamariki like to call us. I have 3 tamariki - Tahlia who is year 8 at Bream Bay College, Darroll who is year 6 and Tessa who is year 3. The best part of my job would have to be all the amazing people I get to see and talk to every day - all the wonderful tamariki and staff here at Ruakākā School.
Kia ora e te whānau Ko Matua Ariki ahau He uri ahau nō te maunga Ruapehu. Ko Te Atihaunui a Pāpārangi te iwi. I whānau mai au, tupu ake hoki ki Tāmaki Makaurau. Ka hūnuku mātou ko tōku whānau ki Ruakākā i ngā tau 9 kua hipa. My name is Matua Ariki. I decend from the mountain Ruapehu and the people of Te Atihaunui a Pāpārangi. I was born and raised in West Auckland but moved here with my whānau 9 years ago and have never looked back. My wife is Katy, who is also a kaiako and we have two tamariki who have both been students at Ruakākā. Violet is currently Year 8 at Bream Bay College and Reade is Year 4 in Whaea Tuiata's class. I am a proud Māori, proud Croatian and very proud to work at Ruakākā School (my dream kura). I have now taught here for 4 years and teach in Te Kōrari with Year 4, 5 & 6. I am also one of the Deputy Principals at the kura, which keeps me very busy. When I am not at work I enjoy time at the beach, spending time with whānau, playing bowls, attending reo Māori classes and travelling whenever I can. The below photo is from an amazing holiday I had last year in Japan! Mauri ora
Taonga Tākaro
We have been looking for ways that we can ensure that our tamariki from English and Māori medium have some chances to work together, so when Sam Tracey from Sport Northland offered to come and work with us we thought it would be the perfect opportunity. Room 37, Te Kōrari & Te Māhuri worked together to learn some Māori games such as Pukao, Tapuwae, Ki o Rahi, Poi Rākau & Kuku. These are games that were played by tūpuna (Māori ancestors) and are very fun. Tamariki opted in to the activity that they wanted to play. In the future they will get chances with other activities too.
Sam Tracey will be back next week to work with the group that played Ki o Rahi to train them up as leaders, who can then run this at lunchtime. This is a great way to show kotahitanga and manaakitanga and will make the tamariki more aware of the importance of these taonga tuku iho (treasures that have been passed down).
AUT study on anxiety & ADHD
I am writing on behalf of a research team from Auckland University of Technology, working under clinical psychologist Dr Amy Kercher to investigate treatments for children with anxiety and/or ADHD in Aotearoa New Zealand.
We are currently inviting parents to share their child's experiences with support services for anxiety or ADHD. We have developed an anonymous online survey that should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Our research aims to provide insight into current practice, and we hope to develop effective and accessible services for children and their whānau in the future.
Te Māhuri - Kei Roto i te Awakeri / In the Trenches
We are learning how to make our descriptive writing more vivid by using our senses and feelings.
Kite - see Rongo - hear Hongi - smell Kare ā roto - Feelings
Book Fair and Clifford
PTA - Movie Night
On Friday the 3rd of May we held a Movie Night here at our kura under the canopy. We were very lucky with the weather. It turned out to be a beautiful calm evening. Everyone was cosy and warm under the canopy with their beanbags and blankets. There was plenty of beautiful home made food kindly donated by whānau, along with food from the Lions and Loaded by Kirsty Sadler-Bridge. It was such a wonderful evening and a great opportunity for whanau and friends to enjoy time together. The PTA raised over $900 and this profit went towards Duffy books . Thank you to everyone who helped on the night or donated food for the night and to NorthCloud who helped sponsor the Movie.
Netball
The Netball Season has started and we have 5 amazing teams representing the school on Saturdays. It is so nice seeing all the children out on the court displaying the SHINE values of Ruakākā School and having FUN while doing it.
They have had amazing support from the sidelines as well with parents cheering when both their team and the opposition are working hard. This is such a great way to model sportsmanship to your children. Good luck with the season ahead Ruakākā Netballers. KEEP SHINING!
Building a new bike jump
Tommy, Liam, Liam, Maddox and Noah helping Jimmy to build and fill the new bike jump they wanted to make.
T-shirts for Sale / Hoko Tīhāte
Exciting news! Whānau t-shirts can now be ordered online for each of the whānau (Piroa, Taranga, Te Whara, Manaia, Pukekauri). These have been made available on the Design by Em website. A huge shout out to Emma Scobie-Jennings for providing us with this opportunity. T-shirts can be found at this link. In other exciting news, Emma has also made Te Whānau Harakeke kākahu available on her website. These can be found at this link. These are not being done as a fundraiser and are being sold at the lowest possible price for you all. Happy shopping
Lifewalk
We are really fortunate that Becky from Lifewalk will be supporting our kura as a Wellbeing Mentor. She will be available for 4 hours each week to meet with any students who are needing extra support in a low key way to chill or chat. Becky is a chaplain for LifePoint Church. All conversations/sessions will have parent permission prior and no religious aspects will be part of the sessions. If you would like your tamaiti to be able to talk with Becky please contact the office so that we can set that up.
Introducing Becky: It is a privilege to be available to support the students and amazing teachers here . My whānau : I am a grand-mother, wife, and mother of 3 children & 2 mokopuna . I live in the Bream Bay area and have enjoyed this beautiful local area for 17 years. I understand how tough some of life's challenges are and that is why I am here as a listening ear to any student that wishes to meet up.
Sign In System - VisTab
We have a new sign in system. As our school is growing, it creates a safer way for us to monitor who is on our school site. When you arrive at school, come in to the office and sign yourself in via the tablet that is attached to the front desk. When you sign in for the first time, there will be Health and Safety guidelines to read and accept. You will only need to do this the first time you sign in. Also if tamariki are late to school, they will need to come in to the office and sign themselves in on the tablet. Amy or Kelly will be able to help if needed.
Spare Change of Clothes / Kākahu mō te pēke
Please make sure your tamariki has a change of clothes in their bag every day. We only have a small amount of clothes in the office in case of emergencies, so we may need to call you to bring in some clothes for your child.
If you are not in a hurry and would like to save on shipping costs, there is a link on the website to a form to fill in to place your order. When we have 20 orders we will process them and get them all delivered to the school.
Thank you to Emma for offering the Hoodies and Tees at cost price to our school whānau.
Dawn blessing for opening and naming of new Te Whānau Harakeke classrooms
-
End of Term 2
All Day
Staff Only Day
All Day
We will open for Term 3 on Tuesday 23rd July. During the holiday 2 classrooms will be demolished and the extra day allows us to ensure that the site is safe and ready for our tamariki to return. Staff will spend the day learning about Mana Potential - a self regulation tool for our tamariki.
.jpg)
.jpeg)
.jpg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
