COASTAL TARANAKI SCHOOL

Office Hours

8.30am-4pm

Hours of Instruction

8.40am - 3.00pm

Email: office@coastaltaranaki.school.nz
Website: https://sites.google.com/coastaltaranaki.school.nz/coastaltaranakischool/home
Location: 92 Carthew Street, Ōkato, New Zealand
Phone: (06)7524022 - 027 320 1267
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coastaltaranakischool

Kia Ora Tatou

Thank you to everyone who has made my week such a great experience. Taranaki is a new adventure for me. While I have been to New Plymouth for children’s sporting events a number of times, I have never been around this side of the Mountain. The scenery and landscape is spectacular, with the sporadic views of Mount Taranaki adding a real sense of drama and mystery.

I have enjoyed my first week at Coastal Taranaki School. The Staff have been awesome, as have the students, who appear focused, welcoming, and well mannered. It is always refreshing when young people stand tall, look you in the eye, and speak with confidence.

I am a real fan of the Area School. Personal experience has included time as a student at Strath District High School (Area School in today's language) in Middlemarch, and 10 Years as Principal of Taihape Area School.

As a Primary Trained Teacher and Principal, my time in Taihape was a real learning experience, but one I enjoyed and embraced. I loved the whole School involvement in activities, and in particular the leadership and mentoring opportunities afforded students as they progressed through the School. Tuakana-teina relationships occurred naturally between students, and for the older students, this enabled them to become teachers and experts, and pass on their knowledge and skills.

With this came responsibility and empathy, while a strong sense of rapport and belonging developed. As well, being a Role Model assisted some of the more “lively” students to make huge progress in modifying their behavior. I look forward to seeing how this is applied here at CTS.

Congratulations to everyone who has been involved in the development of the School over the Years. The School is extremely well resourced, and has an amazing physical footprint. The space available is next level, and the playgrounds, playing fields, formal gardens (in particular the trees), vegetable gardens, and bike track, are awesome. And the icing on the cake, the School has a farm!! I know of many Schools that would be envious of the space and facilities available at CTS.

Something else that appeals is the Library, how it is used, and the fact that it is a whole Community Asset - and open to the Public during School Hours. This represents a genuine School/Community Partnership.

The Talent Quest has been a highlight of the week. The talent on show was very impressive, and the confidence displayed was actually inspiring. Huge congratulations to those young people who took part!!

There are only two weeks left until the end of term. Please check the Calendar for dates as there are several very important events scheduled including Matariki, the Teacher Only Day, and an Interschool.

If you are at School please feel free to pop in and say hello.

Nga mihi nui

Richard McMillan

Acting Principal

Community Survey

Tena Koutou Katoa

The Coastal Taranaki School Board remains committed to fostering strong partnerships with the community it serves. To effectively plan for future CTS development, the Board invites input from a range of voices through an online Board Community Survey. The survey is designed to gather insights, feedback and community aspirations, which will inform the Boards 2026-2028 strategic planning and the appointment of the permanent Principal.

1. Strategic Planning for 2026-2028

The Strategic Plan will guide the decisions and actions required to achieve excellence in education, student wellbeing and community engagement. The plan is pivotal to Board priorities and the allocation of its resourcing to the areas that matter most to whānau and learners. We invite feedback about which goals, values and initiatives should be at the heart of our strategic plan for the next three years.

2. Appointing the right Principal

We will soon begin the recruitment for a permanent Principal. We want to appoint the right candidate who can demonstrate the values and leadership required to improve student outcomes and which reflect community aspirations. The Board Community Survey asks specific questions relating to this.

3. Honouring the Treaty of Waitangi

The Board is committed to honouring the Treaty of Waitangi and to weaving Te Reo Māori and Tikanga Māori into the fabric of CTS culture and the curriculum. Feedback will help us strengthen a learning environment that respects and celebrates Māori culture, language and traditions and where learners feel valued. The Board Community Survey asks specific questions relating to this.

Finally, please actively participate in the Board Community Survey to shape CTS 2026-2028 development for the benefit of every learner. The survey will be open until 27 July 2025 so visit the survey link here or request a paper copy from the school office. If you have questions, please email Nicky or Jacky at office@coastaltaranaki.school.nz

Thank you for your consideration and for helping the CTS Board to plan for its community.

Ngā mihi nui

Kat Moffitt

Presiding Member

Coastal Taranaki School Board

Our school kapa haka group proudly took part in a whakatau to welcome our new interim Principal, Mr Richard McMillan. It was a special way to show our manaakitanga and school pride as we opened this new chapter together. Mr McMillan will be leading our kura for the next two terms as we head toward the end of 2025. We’re looking forward to the journey ahead under his guidance.

Recently Sophie, Marti and Thomas redeemed 100 Coastal Coins for PB4L Positive Behaviour for Learning, students chose to redeem their coins on a Burger lunch with Whaea Gemma.

Awesome work team, you have clearly earned your reward for showing our school values!

Students enjoying their PB4L rewards. Using Coastal Coins that they have earned from showing our school wide values here at CTS. Ka Pai!

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

As part of our ongoing commitment to student wellbeing, we are reviewing and updating the health information we hold for all students. Children’s health needs can change over time, and having up-to-date information helps us to provide the best possible care and support during the school day.

We kindly ask that you take a few moments to let us know of any changes to your child’s medical needs, including allergies, medications, or any other relevant health information. Even if there have been no changes, it’s helpful to confirm that the current information we have is still accurate.

If you’ve already provided us with this information recently, thank you—and please accept our apologies for the double-up. We’re simply making sure that nothing slips through the cracks. Please disregard if this form does not apply for your child.

You can update your child’s health information by completing this form. If you have any difficulty with completing this, please send an email through to our school office with the name of your child and the medical issue we need to be aware of and any medication that we need to know about.

Thank you for helping us keep our records accurate and our students safe and supported.

Warm regards,

On Tuesday 24th of June we will be holding whãnau hui for Year 1 – 11 students. All Year 1-8 hui will run for 10 minutes. Year 9-11 hui will run for 20 minutes. Please consider these time frames when booking multiple hui.

Each hui will have nominated booking times. Bookings can be made on-line by following these simple steps

Step 1. Go to the website: www.schoolinterviews.co.nz

Step 2. Enter our School code: dkcv7 and press GO

You will be guided through three simple steps, and a few moments later you will get an email confirming your interviews.

All whãnau are encouraged to leave 10 minutes between sibling hui/interviews to allow for late running appointments.

If you do not have internet access or would prefer the school office to make the bookings on your behalf, please contact the office directly.

If you are unable to attend on the scheduled hui day, please get in touch with your child’s teacher to arrange an alternative date and time. We will do our best to accommodate your request. For students in Years 9–11, if you require a different day or time, please contact Sarah Oke at sarah.oke@coastaltaranaki.school.nz.

Please Note: School will close at 1pm. Buses 2,3 & 4 WILL pick students up at 1pm to deliver them home. Bus 1 students will be supervised on site until 3pm.

Yesterday we held the CTS Talent Show which displayed the special talents of students from across our kura. Singing, dancing, drama and musical acts entertained our students and whānau.

Congratulations to everyone who took part, and to the Year 9/10 students who put on the show with the amazing co-ordination of Mrs Waugh!

It’s hard to believe we are already at the end of Week 7, with just two short weeks to go! There is an amazing buzz of learning happening across our Year 7-13 space. Students are meeting deadlines and working hard to produce their best work — we’re so proud of their efforts.

As a team, we are currently focused on our Internal Moderation processes. This involves working with colleagues to confirm grades before they are shared with students. Our goal is to return results within three weeks. While this process has been delayed this term due to illness and a high workload, we are aware of the hold-ups and are actively working to speed things up.

A reminder to please book your whānau hui with us, we’re really looking forward to connecting with you and your learner to discuss their progress. If you have any issues with booking, feel free to contact me directly so I can help - sarah.oke@coastaltaranaki.school.nz

CAA Exam Results – Early July

CAA exam results will be available in early July. Once released, we will go through the individual feedback with students to help them identify areas where they can focus their attention and make improvements.

We recognise that this can be a stressful time, and some students may feel disappointed with their results. Please know that we are in this journey together, and we are here to support both you and your child through the process.

The Importance of Our Gateway and Pathways Programme

Our Gateway and Pathways programme plays a vital role in preparing our ākonga for life beyond kura. It provides meaningful, hands-on learning experiences that help students explore potential career paths, develop practical skills, and make informed decisions about their futures.

Through partnerships with providers such as the Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki (WITT) and The Learning Place, our ākonga are given access to a wide range of industry-based courses and training opportunities. These partnerships allow students to gain valuable insight into fields they are passionate about, while also working toward relevant qualifications and certifications.

An important aspect of the programme is the integration of work experience, which helps students become work-ready by developing soft skills such as communication, teamwork, and time management. For many, these placements are a stepping stone to part-time or even full-time employment, with some students securing jobs as a direct result of their placements.

We are proud to offer a diverse range of opportunities to suit different interests and strengths. Some of the pathways our ākonga have explored include:

• Early Childhood Education
  
  

• Agriculture
  
  

• Horticulture
  
  

• Automotive
  
  

• Joinery
  
  

• Beauty and Makeup
  
  

• And many more...

By providing real-world experiences and industry exposure, our Gateway and Pathways programme empowers ākonga to follow their passions and begin building their futures with confidence and purpose.

In Term 3, we will begin collecting expressions of interest for courses. Priority will be given to Year 12 and 13 students, followed by Year 11s.

Acceptance into a course will be based on attendance, behaviour, and the ability to meet the academic demands of Level 2. For those who are not successful in gaining a place in a full-year WITT course, there will be opportunities to participate in shorter STAR courses. The same criteria will apply to these as well.

On Tuesday the 3rd of June, we took 5 year 11 students to the Greenwood Road frontage at the bottom of lower Pitone Road to help the NPDC with their sand dune restoration work.

The students were given a safety briefing before hitting the sand to plant around 800 spinifex grasses.

The purpose of the project is to restore some stability to the sand dunes and to provide nesting places for our native species.

The students all worked as a team and managed to get all of the grasses planted reasonably quickly.

Math is in the limelight with the New Curriculum in Year 0 - 8 and in progress for

Year 9 - 13. Weekly zoom meetings with the ministry are keeping us up to date with all the changes and assessments. Students at Coastal definitely see the value in math and I am inspired as a teacher by the students commitment to understand new concepts and achieve in this area.

In the secondary space I can not fault the students in their preparation for the National CAA exams. Their enthusiasm and dedication to learn, practice past papers and extra lunchtime sessions was outstanding. At Coastal ALL students from year 9 upwards sit the exams, this is so they can gain experience in the format and exam setting. (Most schools only enter students who they know should pass) I am looking forward to our results.

At Coastal we are small enough to care and design programs for all students. The Year 12 class students all have their own individual program and 1-1 tutoring and like the Year 11’s are an outstanding group of students. The learning environment I can only compare to International Private Schools I have worked at in Europe. Many students have achieved their last assessment with Merit or higher.

The Year 9 and 10 combined classes are also highly committed to covering the full curriculum and most of the class will also complete the Algebra unit and trigonometry in preparation for year 11.

Year 7 and 8’s are also participating in the Secondary Mathematics sessions and we are introducing topics relevant for NCEA including. Pythagoras, trigonometry, data collection and the transfer of CSV files, NZ Grapher. Geometry, Measurement including area and volume as well as Number concept and using the scientific calculators.. I am enjoying getting to know these students and look forward to seeing them in Year 9.

Please encourage your child to complete extra work at home as there is never enough time in class. Students may take their workbooks home and Smartlab the digital programme is always ready with new tutorials to help with any gaps or extension material

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns

Mrs Andrea Dingle

andrea@coastaltaranaki.school.nz

Pukeiti tahi have been busy busy bees this term. Lots of inquiry topics to cover - hectors world, science and firewise!

We have also made a special tuakana teina connection with room 17 where they read to us every Monday morning. Some of Pukeiti tahi are beginning to read and are building confidence to read to their new friends.

Our lovely FOCTs have begun to create a garden transformation outside of room 16 and 15 that we are working hard to maintain and appreciate when the sun is shining!

Kia ora koutou,

Whaea Annie, our new entrant teacher, is planning ahead. If you know of any preschoolers in our community, who may be turning five in the next year or two please share this Pre-enrolment at CTS with their families. Even if you have a child at the school already please fill the form out. It only takes a few minutes to do, but it is really important that we have an idea of student numbers so that we can plan ahead. This also ensures that all new families have all the information they need around Transition to School visits.

For more information about transition to school, click this link - Transition to School CTS 2025

If you’d like to contact me directly, my email is annie.harris@coastaltaranaki.school.nz

Ngā mihi nui

Annie

Transition to school/New entrant teacher

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Annie Harris

Transition to School and New Entrant Teacher

Room 22 had lots of fun learning and reflecting on our digital online safety lessons throughout this term. We have shared ideas about safety behaviours online and keeping our personal information private. With the sea creature characters on Hector's world, we got into small groups to design posters and share information and fun facts about them. Here are our very cool posters we designed.

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Head over to our school sports facebook page CTS Sports and follow for all our school sports news, results and updates.

COASTAL TARANAKI SCHOOL

Richard McMillan Interim Principal

Gemma Chambers Junior School Deputy Principal

Sarah Oke Acting Deputy Principal, Food Technology, Careers/Pathways, Tech on 45

David Cripps SENCO

Viola Fung English

Andrea Dingle Maths

Steve Leppard Hard Materials Technology, Tech on 45

Kelly Waugh Visual/ Performing Arts

Natalie Bound Science

Casey Stevens P.E & Health

Keegan Bruckner Social Sciences

Liana Roberts Pouakai Team Leader, Year 7/8 Teacher

Rebecca Connolly Year 6/7 Teacher

Emily Finey Year 5/6 Teacher

Renee Leathley Kaitake Team Leader, Year 4/5 Teacher

Heather Jull Year 4/5 Teacher

Annie Harris NE Transition Teacher

Jemma Moorby Year 1/2 Teacher

Philippa Hofmans Pukeiti Team Leader, Year 1/2 Teacher

Johannah Poutini Year 2/3 Teacher

Sarah Warren/Tara Ross Year 2/3 Teachers

Justine Francis Release Teacher

Margaret Normanton Release Teacher

Delwyn Pearce School Librarian

Kirsty Koboski Publicity Officer

Jacky Kopu Office Manager

Nicky Phillips Office, Funding & Sports Administrator

Ole Bucka Grounds & Maintenance

Learning Assistants

Darryl Levett

Kirsty Koboski

Paula Fleming

Dee Heath

Jess Harfield

Ruth Barron

Ian Robinson

Nicole Whittle

Kaycee Cresswell

Fon Julian

Marcus Wade

Student Support

Ida Staunstrup-Moore

Lisa Schrader