Kia Ora Koutou,

It’s been a busy start to our term, with so many fantastic learning opportunities, celebrations, and community connections happening across the school!  We are proud of the students making the most of every opportunity on offer in Term 2!

A huge thank you to all our staff, students, whānau, and wider school community for the many ways you contribute to life at Rototuna Primary. Whether you are helping on trips, supporting your child’s learning at home, joining in on special days, supporting our PTA – it all helps us provide the best for our tamariki.

Please enjoy this week’s update, celebrating the many things we have achieved together and giving you a heads-up on what’s coming up next.

We value offering our students lots of different opportunities and have loads of EOTC (Education Outside the Classroom) events happening this term. If your child is taking part in any of these events, please make sure you fill in the forms quickly so that our organisation of the trips is efficient and effective:

Year 5 and 6 Trip to Te Awamutu Museum
Our Year 5 and 6 classes enjoyed a very well organised and informative trip to the Te Awamutu Museum last week. This experience has added so much value to the Social Science learning programme and we thank those parents who volunteered their time to make this trip a success.

EOTC Trips Coming Up This Term 

Band
Bethany Mitchell leads our Band students. I popped in to one of their practices and they are playing very well together!  We are proud of their effort and fantastic progress and can't wait for them to perform for the other students at our kura (school). 

Choir
Vanessa Matai'a leads our school choir. Every week, students come together in their lunch break to learn songs. We are so grateful to have Vanessa leading this rōpu (group). 

Kapa Haka
Our Kapa Haka rōpū is an important part of life at RPS. Tamariki are embracing the opportunity to learn waiata, haka, and Māori tikanga in a supportive and spirited environment. It’s fantastic to see our students developing confidence, cultural understanding, and pride in their identity through performance. We thank Ngahuia Nuri and Vanessa Matai'a who support this kaupapa and look forward to showcasing our group.

Chess Open Day
Maddy Edwards has been working closely with Chess Power and organised a chess open day at our kura yesterday. All Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 students participated in this experience and enjoyed a 45 minute lesson where they learnt about the history of chess, the rules of chess and then had a game of chess. They loved it!

Chess Club
Maddy Edwards is also organising a chess club one lunchtime a week. This will be run by an outside provider - Chess Power. The details of this exciting initiative are provided at the end in this newsletter.  I know many students enjoy the Hollis Football Club which operates during a lunch break each week and Bricks4Kids after school each week. 

Regional Chess Tournament
We are excited to host the Waikato Chess Tournament at our kura (school) this year. We will be selecting 15 students to represent our school at this tournament in Week 6 of this term. Thanks to Maddy Edwards for organising this in partnership with Chess Power.

Mandarin Teacher
We have welcomed Xingyue Liu (Krystal), our Mandarin Language Assistant, who comes every Thursday to work in the Year 5 and 6 classrooms teaching the students Mandarin.  

Year 1 Homework - Parent Workshops
A special thanks to Susan Haworth and Sherrin Jefferies (Year 1 team leaders) for facilitating four separate parent workshops for our Year 1 whānau about homework and ways to support our young learners get a head start with their learning when they begin school. Many thanks to the 50 parents who attended the workshops - your support is hugely appreciated and we value a strong home-school learning partnership.
 

Below are the dates that school will be closed for instruction in Term 2 and Term 3: 

Last week we celebrated our incredible support staff. We showed our appreciation for their mahi and valued contributions to our school. Our support staff are a special part of the RPS team and we value the way they work alongside us to make this the best kura.  We are all working together to build a culture of Manaaki, Haumaru and Kia Manawanui (Kind, Safe and Strong of Heart). 

Ngā mihi nui to the Board of Trustees for the generous staff morning tea on Tuesday. It is wonderful to work with a Board of Trustees who show their gratitude for the dedication and mahi staff do to make Rototuna Primary a great place. It is very much appreciated by the staff!

Ngā mihi
Kylie

Please note: our next Teacher Only Day is on Friday 30th May. School will be closed for students as teachers take part in professional learning.

Manaaki Stars for Week 2:  Thank you for being you and spreading your kindness at our kura! 

Congratulations Milina R22, Tyoma R3, Fidha R23, Lucas R15, Asher R26, Jordan R33, Pahul R34 Reyan R30/31, Ivania R30/31, Nelofar Rm29, Manay R9, Amara R14, Aiden R1, Taha R2, Vanya R19, Fenix R20, Lachlan Room 6 , Leen R10 Ben C R24, Atharv R13 , Lucia R21, Kahlecee R18, Eleanor R8, Iuni R 16, Zackson R27, Sayesha R5 Sapphire 35/36, Atmaj  35/36, Faiza R17 and Dave 28

Manaaki Stars for Week 3: What a great day to celebrate how kind and caring you are on Bully Free Day!
Thank you for spreading manaaki .... Henry R18, Blake R29, Jasmeen R3, Rock R33, Ngākauri R1, Arun R22, Cairo R26, Elena R16, Alex L R35/36, Indi D R35/36, Jane R14, Akiko R9, Mariya R15, Mohamad R25, Macy R27, Chankrisna R17 , Yulissa R8, Grace R2, Mayson R30/31 , Jessie R30/31 , Satieva-Jade R13, Urumahora R6, Enya R21, Cayden R10, Zoe R34, Japman R23, Yesha R19., Harriet R28, Asher R20, and Mehar R5

At the end of last term the Education Review Office (ERO) visited our kura (school) and carried out an external review of our school. Below are some of the strengths that were identified by ERO. We are extremely proud of our teachers and staff for their outstanding mahi that makes Rototuna Primary a great place to be for our tamariki.  The full report will be available on the ERO website shortly. 

An exciting opportunity  has arisen for our Y3-6 Māori tama. At a whānau hui last year we were asked about male role models for our tama (boys). We have engaged with Fairfield College and have planned a joint Tuakana Teina Initiative. Fairfield College have selected 5 leaders from their kura (school) who have skills in Te Ao Māori - kapa haka, te reo and mau rākau. These boys will meet with our RPS boys 3 times a term for approximately 45 minutes at Rototuna Primary. 

Ngā mihi nui to Ngahuia Nuri and Tangi (Fairfield College) for creating a Tuakana Teina rōpu where older students from Fairfield College come into school 3 times a term to mentor younger Māori boys. The first session yesterday was so successful with the Fairfield College students introducing themselves, performing a haka, meeting their rōpu (group) and teaching them a waiata (song). 

Last Friday we all stood together to speak up, stand together, and stop bullying by supporting Pink Shirt Day. Thanks to all the students and staff for getting behind this important message.

At Rototuna Primary School we have a robust process for identifying bullying. Here is some information that may help you understand the difference between bullying and rude or mean behaviour. It is important to understand that not all rude or mean behaviour is bullying.   

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 lunchboxes based on a mixture of main, mini and munch items. 

Below is our visitors policy which explains our expectations of visitors (including whānau) to our school.