A Message from Kylie
Kia Ora Koutou,
你好 Nǐ hǎo,
你好 Nǐ hǎo,
Nau mai, haere mai! Welcome to a jam-packed edition of our last newsletter for Term 3! In this newsletter you will find:
- Celebration from each team
- Manaaki Star Celebration
- He Puna Manaaki focus for Week 10
- Whānau Hui date for Term 4
- Application process for Student Leadership Positions for 2025
- A School Uniform 2025 update
Last week, we came together as a kura to celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori where we sang waiata, tamariki shared their mihi, our Te Rōpu Whai Mana presented the building names using sign language, the choir sang waiata and our Enviro rōpū shared our new tuna life cycle sign that was created in partnership with Mangaiti Gully Trust. Our teachers organised a range of activities to support students to learn te reo Māori in authentic contexts. Some of these included: poi, rakau, string games, traditional narratives, waiata, Māori art, Marae tikanga, cooking kūmara, mihi and tuna lifecycle presentations.
Did you know..
Did you know..
- Te Reo Māori sits alongside sign language as one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s two official languages.
- Aotearoa New Zealand is the only country in the world where Te Reo Māori is spoken.
- Aotearoa New Zealand is the only country in the world where Te Reo Maori is taught in schools.
- Aotearoa New Zealand is the only place in the world where we celebrate Matariki.
- Aotearoa New Zealand is the only place in the world where we celebrate our Māori language with ‘Te wiki o Te Reo Māori’ and ‘Mahuru Māori’.
- Aotearoa New Zealand is the only country where Māori tikanga and reo will be preserved.
- Aotearoa New Zealand is the only country in the world where Te Reo Māori and tikanga Māori can be privileged.
- Aotearoa New Zealand is the only country in the world where Māori arts (poi, waiata, haka, rakau) are part of the school curriculum.
- Aotearoa New Zealand is the only country in the world where it is law to give effect to ‘Te Tiriti o Waitangi’ in schools.
Here at Rototuna Primary School we value te reo and tikanga Māori as part of Aotearoa New Zealand's history.
This is why we are committed to weaving it through our school curriculum, policies and practices.
We were incredibly proud of our Kapa Haka rōpū (group), who gave an outstanding performance at the Kahui Ako Te Wiki o te Reo Māori evening at Waikato Diocesan. A massive thank you to Ngahuia Nuri for her talents in supporting tamariki to perform waiata, poi and haka and to, Vanessa Matai’a and Morgan Lewis for supporting on the guitar. It was definitely a performance to be proud of! Thank you to all the parents and teachers who came to support our Kapa Haka.
Teachers enjoyed our Hui Nohotahi (parent-teacher interviews) last week. We value connecting with parents and whānau to share the progress and achievements of your child with you and work together to support them to achieve their learning goals. If you were unable to attend a parent-teacher interview last week please email your child’s teacher and organise a time to connect.
This week, we are celebrating Chinese Language Week with a range of experiences planned:
- We are so very fortunate to have some wonderful learning assistants in our school tha shared some Chinese culture and language with our students during Chinese Language Week, which included Calligraphy, How to draw a Panda, Storytelling, Papercutting, and Jianzi (shuttlecock - like hacky sack). Thank you to Meg, Venus and Lin for sharing your Chinese culture with the students.
- We once again we are extremely lucky to have the students from Fairfield College come along and share some performances with you.
- We also have a Mandarin Language Assistant at our kura who teaches the students mandarin.
He Puna Ngawari (Year 4) hosted an incredible art exhibition in the hall today, showcasing their students’ creativity. Thank you to all the parents who came and enjoyed the exhibition.
Teachers have completed your child's Term 3 report with an update on their progress and achievement. Make sure you check it out via the @School Parent App or your child's Spotlight Dashboard. If you require support with logging in to your @School Parent App please refer to the help sheet on the school's website.
As Term 3 comes to a close and the holidays approach, we hope you take this time to enjoy time with whānau. We look forward to welcoming everyone back refreshed and ready for Term 4. Thank you for your continued support and partnership - it is greatly appreciated and valued.
As Term 3 comes to a close and the holidays approach, we hope you take this time to enjoy time with whānau. We look forward to welcoming everyone back refreshed and ready for Term 4. Thank you for your continued support and partnership - it is greatly appreciated and valued.
Ngā mihi,
Kylie
