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

Welcome to the end of Week 5, the halfway mark of the Term, and only two weeks now until the official end of Winter. It has been a great Term with a wonderful mellow tone around the School, and it appears everyone focused on the core business of learning.

This is a busy School, and each week there seems to be one or two major events, or activities. So far this term we have had Literacy Week (which had many highlights, including the dress up day), a Self-Defence Programme for our Year 7/8 Girls, a Powhiri to welcome new Students, a keynote performance by the Kapa Haka at the LEAD Conference, and a session when Free haircuts were given for pupils by Students from WITT.

The life of a Teacher is definitely varied, and no two days are ever the same, which makes it such an interesting, and exciting occupation.

One of the challenges Schools face is that there is no such thing as an even playing field for children. We all come from different backgrounds, some poor, some wealthy, most in between, some which value School, and some who place no value at all on Education. All people however are born with various talents, skills, attributes, abilities, and in a few cases gifts.

The challenge for Teachers is to enable all children, from whatever background, to achieve their potential. Unfortunately reality is that the playing field isn’t even, and many children face barriers, sometimes almost insurmountable obstacles, right from the day they are born.

In a sense the way we live replicates our home lives and backgrounds. Attitudes towards School typically tend to reflect those of our parents. If School and Education is valued in the Home, most children will develop positive attitudes towards learning. When achievement is valued, children will generally aspire to achieve and excel.

On the other hand if little value is given to Schooling, children will often turn up at School with poor attitudes, and be ill prepared for School Life. For them a poor attitude often equates to poor behaviour, apathy, and learning difficulties, issues which tend to compound over time.

The support and encouragement you as parents provide your child/children is priceless, and important for their overall growth and development, and mental and physical well-being. By showing an interest in their schoolwork, by attending Learning Conferences, by transporting them to and from sport, by supporting School Events, and by talking to them about school generally, you are providing constructive and invaluable input into the lives of your children. This will have massive repercussions in the long term, and impact positively upon their achievement, attitude, and overall quality of life. As summed up by this anonymous quote - “Education is the magical key that opens the door to a world of possibilities.”

There are now only a few weeks until the end of Term 3 - please remember everyday counts, and it is important that your child/dren are at School everyday, and they are ready and willing to engage in learning.

Have a great end of week, and weekend.

Nga mihi nui

Staff Only Day

Please remember that School will be closed for instruction on Friday for a Staff Only Day. All Staff are involved in PD focused on MOE initiated changes in Education.

Have a great weekend

A huge thank you to the many people who go above and beyond to support the School. In this instance the ladies who have worked so hard to upgrade the carpark garden (by the steps). This has been totally refreshed, and once established will really enhance the formal entrance to the School. A huge thanks to Jane Bowden-Dobson, Alicia Rich, Maria Terrill, Whaea Cherri, and Margaretta Ratcliff.

They have developed a great relationship with a group of Students who seem to love helping, and are learning plenty of skills while they work. Tidying up the gardens was definitely hard work, but the children got stuck in, and there was lots of laughter and plenty of high fives. Excellent work Team CTS!!

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

--

Annie Harris

Transition to School and New Entrant Teacher

It is time to return all Pets Day trophies from 2024.

Our wonderful FOCTS team are just finalising the last few details for Pets Day 2025, information will be out soon.

CTS Pet Day 2025

Thursday Oct 9th

Please see Google form below for Pet registration

https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSfyVbFwrfrNUA.../viewform

Click on the button below for all pet information.

We recently discovered large amounts of broken glass on an area of the playing field, and believe it was deposited from a neighbouring section during one of the recent storms. Obviously this was a serious problem. The decision was made to scrape the area, replace the top soil, and resow. This task has been completed by Goodin Agricultural Contracting Services - they were absolutely awesome to deal with, and have done an outstanding job.

A huge shout out to them!!

Thank you to our incredible wahine helping our Tamariki re native our front gardens at school.

Huge transformations taking place to restore native balance.

We have dug out some great African Lillies if anyone would like to take them for home. They will be in the school trailer today and tomorrow morning. Help yourselves.

If you are keen to help us on ths transformation journey please contact Gemma or Jane Bowden on: Jane.Bowden-Dobson@sustainabletaranaki.org.nz

We welcome you all!

• We are seeking your support - we need parent helpers to keep our extra curricular options open for our kids if you can help us please let your class teacher or Gemma know.

  Please sign up for:

  Art Club Monday 1.10 - 2pm - simple art activities such as origami, colourings, small crafts

  Cross Country Training Tuesday 1.10 - 1.40pm - we would love to have the 0 - 3 train but don't have enough people to support them.

  EPRO8 (engineering, no experience required just a passion for building, crafting and puzzling) Wednesdays 1.45 - 2.45pm (We may have to close EPRO8 if we can't get more support. )

  We also need volunteers to help us with some organising and sorting of uniform storage cupboards.

  If you can give any time we would be very grateful - our teachers are maxed out at the moment.

  It's through your support our school can thrive....

  contact the office or Gemma Chambers if you can help

Last Friday students attended the Taranaki LEAD Youth Conference in New Plymouth. This exciting opportunity was for our ākonga to experience the inspiring atmosphere of the conference, hear from a range of engaging speakers, and explore what it means to be a young leader in Aotearoa.

Our CTS Kapa Haka group performed at the event opening.

Our Year 11-13 learners are working hard to undertake their final internal assessments and begin preparing for their external assessments. While some have completed most of these assessments, there is always more to learn. We will continue to provide learning opportunities for our ākonga, and it is expected that they remain engaged and prepared for their classes.

It is crucial for our Year 9-13 ākonga to arrive on time and ready to learn, which includes having a charged device. Currently, valuable time is wasted searching for devices or dealing with uncharged ones. We offer lockable lockers where devices, chargers, and personal belongings can be stored. All that is required is a padlock. This can help students be ready to learn. Being organised, prepared, and taking responsibility for one's belongings are essential life skills for the future. While we do not have spare devices, please talk to us about how to purchase a Chromebook.

Week 7 and 8 our Benchmark exams and CAA exams will be underway. Benchmark exams, previously known as 'mock exams,' are crucial because they not only serve as practice but also determine grades if learners are unable to sit for the end-of-year exams for any reason. It is essential that all learners participate in and prepare for these exams, regardless of the number of credits they have already earned. Week 7 and 8 will include both benchmark exams and several assessments. Failure to attend will result in a Not Achieved grade and no credits, as there will be no further assessment opportunities. If your learner misses an exam or assessment, please inform us as soon as possible so we can try to arrange an alternative plan.

The timetable and details will be released on Helix in the following days.

As part of their NCEA Geography 1.2 assessment, our Year 11 Social Science students undertook a field trip to Mt Taranaki in Week 3 to investigate how vegetation patterns change with altitude. Despite some damp weather early in the day, students successfully collected a wide range of primary data across several field sites on the mountain’s slopes.

Using geographic field techniques, students gathered information on vegetation type, density, height, and trunk circumference, as well as environmental variables such as slope angle (relief), soil depth, infiltration rate, air temperature, and wind speed. This data forms the foundation of their geographic investigation, allowing students to describe observable patterns and begin to explain how natural processes such as climate, relief, and soil development interact to shape the environment.

The fieldwork experience not only supports the development of core geographic skills, but also encourages students to interpret real-world data, identify trends, and evaluate the factors influencing vegetation distribution. These insights will be crucial as they move into the analysis and explanation phase of their assessment in the coming weeks."

Mathematics in the secondary department is buzzing with learning. I am so impressed with the way students value Mathematics and the effort they are showing. Year 9 and 10 students are currently learning Geometry - incorporating Pythagoras, Trigonometry and Algebraic Geometry leading into their next subject of Algebra.

All year 11 students are attempting at least one external mathematics exam - which is Statistical Interpretation and a number of brave students are studying hard for the 1.4 exam - Methods of Mathematics, which is known to be very challenging.

Year 12’s have had a busy year with : Networks, Statistics, Trigonometry units and the Calculus exam at the end of the year.

It’s that time again with the CAA exams coming up for year 9 - 11 students in week 8.

(1st to 5th September) There are only a handful of year 11’s still to pass and we already have quite a few year 10’s who passed earlier in the year.

Please remember Benchmark exams are also week 8 for our senior students.

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

On the Class web site there are also CAA exams with answers that all students still to pass need to be studying for homework as well as extra material and workbooks.

If students are aiming to take year 12 Mathematics they will need a Graphics Calculator for most of the work. fx-9750GII

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns

Mrs Andrea Dingle

andrea@coastaltaranaki.school.nz

Click on the Room 17 button below to see what the class has been working on this term!

Tickets on sale on Monday 18th August at the office.

Shows are Wednesday 10th September 12 noon Matinee &

Wednesday 10th September 6pm

&

Thursday 6pm 11th September

Adults $10. Family 2 adults/2 children $25. Children u16 $5

Production props are under construction, practice and dances are in full swing. Please check Helix for any information from class teachers regarding what your child will need to bring into school for their class performance.

Check this Minecraft competition: Primary (Yr1-6), Intermediate (Yr7-8) and Seniors (Yr9+).

More details on this link: https://interfaceonline.co.nz/minecraft2025/

Raising Calm Kids in a World of Worry

Tools to Ease Anxiety

Ashley Graber & Maria Evans

A must have guide for helping your child conquer worry, fear & overwhelm

• Recognize often-missed signs of anxiety and uncover their root causes

• Manage big feelings and guide your child toward useful coping tools

• Navigate difficult conversations with therapist-approved techniques

• Nurture your child’s confidence and independence

• Create psychological safety at home to increase calm and lower anxiety

.

Congratulations to:

- Tangaroa Roberts for his selection in the Taranaki Basketball team.

- Kayla Drayson for her second place at the Taranaki hunting competition.

- Jessica Sulzberger for making the Taranaki Bowls team.

- Our volleyball team winning all games played across term 2.

A range of achievements and the first year that 4 students have made Taranaki teams! Including Clyde.

Jai Harfield took part in the Steven Adams Basketball camp last week in New Plymouth, what a cool experience!

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