Kia Ora Koutou,
It's newsletter time once again! Dive in and discover the latest highlights and achievements from our incredible kura (school).

Winter Sports Teams
Thank you to Anna Beveridge and Deanna Sewell for organising our Winter Sports Teams for 2024. A big shout out to our parents who have volunteered for Manager and Coach positions this year. Without their commitment we would not be able to have our students participate in winter sport opportunities.
 
Playground Rewards
The students are loving our new Manaaki Playground Reward mailbox outside the hall! They have great pride in posting their playground reward when they get noticed for their positivity in the playground. We have given out many rewards in our first week of term. 

Dr Ngāpare Hopa
It was with sadness that we shared the news of Dr Ngāpare Hopa's passing last week. Aunty Pare (as we affectionately knew her) was a much loved and treasured kaumatua, who has over the past few years showed us immense manaaki in our quest to be a committed and dedicated Te Tiriti partner.  She willingly provided valued wisdoms, tikanga and guidance to our kura over many years. Aunty Pare was instrumental in our school’s revisioning mahi and the development of our kura’s local curriculum. She truly was our north star with all things māori - never telling, but always there to guide and support us - a natural leader, who will be incredibly missed.

Hui NohoTahi - Parent Teacher Interviews

We have had over 500 bookings from parents making a time to meet with their child's teacher this week - this is a fabulous response. Thank you to all of our parents and caregivers for making a time to come to a parent-teacher interview.  We value working in partnership with you and I know our teachers appreciate the connect and support you give in helping your child reach their goals. 
 
Ngā mihi
Kylie 

This week is NZ Sign Language Week. As a kura (school) we are rising to the NZSL challenge by doing the NZSL 3 challenges listed below:

We also shared with staff some important DOs and DONT's:

Check out the video link below of Haven, Ava and Ella teaching our kura sign language. 

 At Rototuna Primary we promote healthy food options and water only in drink bottles. We are noticing that lunchboxes  have an increasing amount of biscuits, cakes, juices and packaged food. Below are some ideas for healthier lunchbox swaps.

What a great start to Term 2 celebrating a fabulous bunch of manaaki stars. Thank you to these students for  sharing their manaaki at our kura (school):

Tanmeet R13, Verna R23, Mitchell R36, Tommy R40/41, Tukotahi R40/4, Sami R12, Hudson R30, Doreen Rm 32, Haven Rm 38, Rahyl Rm 6, Avinoor Rm 8, Fatima Rm 10, Saheim Rm 2, Hugo R15, Harry R9, Sasha Rm5, Osman Rm20, Ruby Rm 14, Nadine R35, Japnoor Rm 34, Fidha R11, Pragyan R18, Zavaiah R39, Thashil R31, Zoe R22, Vinnie R24, Hayley Rm33, Maggie Rm33, Asna Rm33, Mia R16, Michael R7, Pahul Singh Rm 21.

Students have LOVED the Puna of Manaaki lessons each morning in classrooms  from 9.05-9.15am. Here are some comments from the students as to why they are enjoying this special time:

Our Puna of Manaaki lesson for this week is focused on Kia Haumaru - Be Safe. This week we are teaching our students how to walk away from trouble, not into it. This involves bringing their A game to the situation and walking away or ignoring instead of making the situation worse. 

When we analyse the school-wide data from our Term 1 Manaaki data, we have found that the skill of walking away from trouble is the most challenging manaaki behaviour for our students to master. They find walking away from trouble the most tricky thing to be able to do!

Walking away from trouble, not into it requires high levels of emotional control. - that's why it is tricky. We are teaching students to 'play their A game' when they are triggered by something someone else does or says - to STOP, to think, then to walk away from trouble, not into it and to ask for help. 

We would really appreciate your support with this by discussing the 'walking away from trouble' skill at home with your child/ren. 

Thank you to Fiona Hancock, our librarian for organising the Book Fair for our community!  We have been so happy with the support of our community - thank you so much! It is not too late to pop along this afternoon and see all the fabulous books on offer!

Last week, Cameron and Barbara from the Hamilton City Council invited us to join in the footpath art project by the St James / Coleraine bridge. The artwork features tuna and waterways and is an interactive path for students to enjoy on their way to school. The student leaders loved the opportunity and joined in painting the artwork. We attended the opening today where our Kapa Haka group sang a waiata. 

Attached is an update from our Public Health Nurse and a link to the Public Health Snippets for Schools:

Congratulations
Isha - Hockey Purple

Next week, on Friday 17th May it is Pink Shirt Day! Students and staff are encouraged to wear a pink shirt on this day to participate in a whole school focus on eliminating bullying by celebrating diversity and promoting kindness and inclusion.