Marco School Community Newsletter

Kumusta, Kia ora and hello to all our families and community!

A huge congratulations to the Whangamomona Dog trial club for their amazing dog trials over Waitangi Weekend. It was an absolute pleasure to watch the dogs and their owners in action. Thank you as well to the many people who took the time to say hello to my family and me — you truly made us feel included and welcome.

Congratulations also to our students for their outstanding triathlon efforts. We are incredibly proud of the determination, resilience, and positive attitudes shown on the day. What wonderful examples of perseverance and school spirit!

We are now well into our learning across our core areas, alongside our connected curriculum. The whole school has been highly engaged in learning linked to the Winter Olympics, and students have been producing excellent work through developing their digital research skills. It has been wonderful to see such curiosity, teamwork, and creativity across all year levels.

We love welcoming visitors into our kura, and we have been very lucky recently. Finn from Sport Taranaki has been working with our students, bringing energy and expertise to our sports programme. We were also privileged to host Chris and Julie from the New Zealand Fire Service, who shared their amazing Smoke House experience with the children. This linked perfectly to our learning about being “Fire Wise.”

We are so thankful to these wonderful people who travel far to share their time, knowledge, and passion with our tamariki. We truly appreciate their generosity and the rich learning opportunities they provide for our students.

Have a safe and happy fortnight,

Mel Gee

“We Can and We Will”.

Our mission is ‘We can, and we will provide a quality learning environment that will help our students achieve and become valued participants in our society.

Principal: Mel Gee Email: principal@marco.school.nz

BOT Chairperson: Rowan Jordan

Email: office@marco.school.nz for newsletter notices

Website: www.marco.school.nz Phone: 06762 5815

20 Feb (Friday)

2 March (Monday)

20th March (Friday)

Please remind your child to wear covered in shoes (no gumboots or crocs) and take their water and lunch!

Juniors..straight into writing:

We are focusing in on what makes a perfect sentence…maybe your little one can tell you what they need to do!

Across the school, all our students focus on handwriting everyday. We want to raise our neatness and letter formation…the only way to do this is practise practise practise! The Piwakakwaka class use a very cool resources called sky, grass, ground which allows them to really get a good foundational knowledge of where they should start their letters.

Seniors have been studying the Winter Olympics games and have been using their digital skills to create a slide deck to showcase their learning.

The line was big and long. We raced to our seats with lollies,popcorn,chocolate, and drinks.We watched the elegant dancers as they stepped onto the stage. I was amazed by their dancing, my jaw dropped. I had never viewed such skilled actors.They lit the rings up and set off the fireworks. As I looked up I felt tears of joy dripping down my cheek. It was such a beautiful experience to be a part of.

By paige

Our library had a great clean out in the school holidays and it is looking sharp and engaging! Every week all our students have 30 minutes (or more) for choosing and reading BEST FIT books- these are books they think will engage them over the week and that they could share the whole thing, or parts of it, with someone after they have read it several times. We have a Librarian- Paige Jordan - who is doing a stella job of issuing books as well as returning the pukapuka to the shelves.

As part of our Inquiry theme this term of Ko Wai au- Who am I the school have been creating amazing pieces of art that reflect who they are and how they are connected to the land they live on. This week each child made a Visual Pepeha out of mixed mediums, then described it using landscapes and landmarks.

Chris and Julie are the New Plymouth Firewise Educators. They made a special trip out to see us on Tuesday. The children were very engaged and practised safe exiting of the smoke house that was brought along!

Each week our tamariki will take part in Discovery Time — a dedicated part of the school day on Friday where children follow their own curiosity and interests through hands-on, activity-based learning. Discovery Time gives students the chance to explore ideas, create, problem-solve and build new skills across the curriculum, while developing important key competencies like thinking, relating to others, and communicating. Discovery Time is all about letting children lead their learning in a fun and supportive environment, building confidence and a love of learning that extends beyond the classroom.

It is that time of the year again and we are gearing up for the Netball Season.

Please find attached information for Year 1-6 and Year 7 -8.

Eastern Districts registration of Interest - Click here

The 2026 Netball season is coming up soon. Year 7 and 8 netball is held at the Stratford Netball courts on Saturdays. The season starts on 6th June and ends on 22nd August.There is a change to this competition and it will run for a shortened season of 10 weeks. Each team will need a coach and parents to be scorers. A part of being in a Year 7 and 8 team is that you attend practices. These are held on Thursday between 3 and 4.30pm at Toko School. If you would like your child involved in ED netball this year, register your interest by completing the Google form.Click here or it will be in the Toko School newsletter and sent to the other Eastern District schools. This must be done by Friday 27th February. Another link will be sent in due course to register with Netball Taranaki and confirm your commitment to the 2026 season. The AGM of the Eastern Districts Netball Club will be held on Thursday 5th March at 6.30pm,at Toko School. This will be followed by a short informative meeting about the upcoming season. Could all parents, coaches and interested parties please come along. We require at least one person from each school to be at this meeting and to be a part of the committee. Any queries, please contact, Alison Eagar, ED Netball Co-ordinator Email: ednetball@gmail.com

JUNIOR NETBALL MORE SPACE, MORE PASSES, MORE GOALS, MORE FUN! This is the netball programme that is run throughout New Zealand for Year 1 to 6 children. The format sees small-sided games with modified rules, which are run alongside sessions to support fundamental skill development. Both the equipment and the style of game fits the physical, social and cognitive ability of the player to deliver an enhanced Netball experience. For Year 1 and 2 the aim is to develop fundamental movement and ball skills. The game that follows the preceding skill session is played on one third of a full-sized court, by teams of four, with the emphasis on equal participation. Modified equipment is used. For Year 3 and 4 the focus is learning basic skills in a modified game of 5-a-side, using two-thirds of a Netball court. Year 3 & 4 is designed to be fast and fun, maximising participation. Five players in each team and rotating positions ensures everyone gets an equal chance to develop their skills. Year 5-6 is a 6 v 6 format. Netball continues to be modified for this age group. Players rotate to prevent early specialisation in positions. The emphasis is on all players getting plenty of touches of the ball and the opportunity to develop a broad skill set. For more information search the Netball Taranaki website. All teams play on Saturdays starting on 2nd May and finishing on 27th July. The Year 1 and 2 team needs at least two parents to be ‘Star Helpers”. These people are just an extra set of hands to help out the Junior Co-ordinator on the day. The Year 3 and 4 teams require a coach. There will be no extra practices for these teams, just the Saturday game. Year 5 and 6 will also require a coach and a practice will be held on Thursdays, after school at Toko School. Star helpers and Coaches must attend a training session. These are for Year 1-6. There are two options: TET Stadium Meeting Room 21 March 6-8pm 9 April 10am-12pm If you would like your child involved in ED netball this year, register your interest by completing the Google Form. Click here or it will be in the Toko School newsletter and sent to the other Eastern District schools. This must be done by Friday 27th February. Another link will be sent in due course to register with Netball Taranaki and confirm your commitment to the 2026 season. The AGM of the Eastern Districts Netball Club will be held on Thursday 5th March at 6.30pm, at Toko School. This will be followed by a short informative meeting about the upcoming season. Could all parents, coaches and interested parties please come along. We require at least one person from each school to be at this meeting and to be a part of the committee. Alison Eagar Eastern Districts Netball Co-ordinator Email: ednetball@gmail.com

We try our best to show our Values in everything we do - in and out of the classroom. Every week we focus in on one Value and talk about how this looks, feels and sounds around our school and in our classrooms. Our Values cup is given out to an ākonga who has been spotted showing ALL of our 5 Values.

Jairah you are a ray of sunshine and smiles at school. You are showing our School value of Responsibility every day when you walk through the door and are ready for learning and FUN! Well done Jairah!

ack showed all his Marco values during the Triathlon on Friday. However, what the staff really took notice of was the way he got up and carried on when he had a tumble. He showed a huge amount of resilience, determination as well as self-managing skills! This week Jack receives the Values Cup for Community - being an absolute role model and a team player. Ka Rawe Jack!

Next board meeting: 18th February 6pm

Marco School BOT welcomes any comments or feedback that you may have.

Please feel free to contact any of the members:

Mel Gee, Rowan Jordan, James McFarlane, Hass Herbert and Jess Jane

Manaakitanga

For the ākonga (students) of Marco School to develop a sense of wellbeing and personal identity.

Mahi Tahi

For the ākonga, whānau, and kaimahi (staff) of Marco School to collectively strive to be the best they can be.

Kaitiakitanga

For the ākonga of Marco School to take responsibility, make a difference, and give back.

We have all our school policies and procedures on SchoolDocs

https://marco.schooldocs.co.nz

username: marco - password: whanga

Our trials were held on Friday 6th & Saturday 7th and we had a very successful trial. Many thanks to the landowners Maeve, Pork & Ceri for your cooperation.

To our helpers in whatever capacity before, during and after our trials, thank you so much, without your help we couldn’t have a dog trial. To all sponsors a big thank you, we really appreciate your support.

Congratulations to all winners and place getters, especially Steve & Edge winning the Longhead with 99 points, Dan & Nippy winning the Shorthead with 96 and ex-local Tony Price & Awa winning the Straight Hunt with 98 points, well done. Good luck to all trialists for the coming season and to Ken Lobb who is Judging his second NZ Championship at the end of May in Hawkes Bay with Donna as his clerk.

Hi everyone, if you are currently using the recycling station down at domain and pay annually then please be aware it is due again.
If you are interested in starting then it is $100 a year or $10 a month for domestic use and double that for businesses.
Please pay directly into account with your name as a reference.
The Republic of Whangamomona Incorporated
15-3947-0228087-000

*Big tractor tyres and / or smaller tyres to make a tyre climb? The tyres need to be in a tidy condition please to keep our kiddies safe!

*A small sand blaster to give our playground poles a tidy up?

*Any spare full round fence posts about 2m high to continue our family / whānau,

Pou on the driveway? We need 10 if possibile!

*A contact for getting a new Whangamomona flag as ours is looking very tired and worn...a bit like Mrs Gee on a Friday!

If you have any of these items or can help us out please get in touch!

Mark Zehnder 06 765 7554 or 027 755 4279

Keep these guys in mind if you need any electrical service!