2 April 2026

Kia ora koutou,

I’ve been reflecting on a high-energy term!

"Nā tō rourou, nā taku rourou ka ora ai te iwi." (With your food basket and my food basket, the people thrive).

We certainly have had a whirlwind of a first term with many standout happenings for both our children and staff members. In nine short weeks, we have remained focused on our 2026 goal of elevating parent partnerships.

The word "elevate" was a deliberate choice for this year’s annual plan. While we have always offered a "decent menu" of opportunities for parents to engage with learning and school life, we wanted to go further. In an era where there is so much "noise" surrounding education, our desire was to hoist, boost, and advance our partnership with you. (Thanks thesaurus).

We have continued with our regular events such as 2x weekly karakia and assemblies, and Rising 5s: Welcoming our newest learners/whānau into the fold.

The Whānau Picnic is always a good one - kicking off the year alongside our traditional "stationery drop-off," which has become an embedded ritual for the start of year connection.

To ensure you are "insiders" in the classroom rather than playing a guessing game we held two Parent Information Sessions in the very first week. Clear communication saves brain power and avoids the "pick-a-path" fairy tales that can sometimes emerge! 

Your feedback was appreciated, and we are committed to making this an early year thing.

Following this, our Goal Setting Meetings provided a solid connection point for you, your child, and the teacher — hopefully ensuring our waka is pointed in the right direction from the outset.

The Poi Toa Wānanga was a new event: a great experience with high engagement. I think we definitely found a winning formula there!

The Mihi Whakatau. We shifted our approach a little this time and we have never seen so many of our community present to welcome new whānau. It felt deeply connected, with the children truly at the centre. Thank you for making the effort. 

Then on Tuesday there was the newly developed Haerenga followed up the next morning with a parent workshop on brain development.

What a lovely feeling there was on Tuesday evening up here. Please take time to listen to the stories on the QR codes and read the associated material on Seesaw. A huge amount of work has gone in behind the scenes to keep the children’s learning at the centre. Their storytelling is lovely!

Yesterday morning Suz shared our 2026 learning on the Neuro-Sequential Model in Education, based on the work of Dr Bruce Perry. We have two hopes here - that parents who attended got something ‘decent’ out of coming and the second hope - we hope to keep this learning and sharing alive with you. If you couldn’t make it there will be other ways to learn with us and share knowledge.

Soon we will venture into Term 2 with bold plans and many opportunities for continued elevation! Please keep an eye on the newsletter for all of the specifics. 

Right now it's time for a bit of R and R. 

Kia pai ngā hararei - Happy Holidays!

Ngā mihi nui