ORATIA SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

MESSAGE FROM MS LINDA

Tēnā koutou katoa. Nau mai ki te whānau o te Oratia. Talofa lava. Malo e lelei. Zdravo. Ni hao. Namaste. Kamusta. Greetings Oratia whānau and families.

I have spent a lot of this week reading over the reports for your children in readiness for them coming home to you next week. I have really enjoyed reading the student reflections that are a feature of our school reports, as they reveal so much about the inner thinking of each of them. What came through so clearly was their strong belief in themselves as learners, and their enjoyment of tackling difficult learning, and their recognition of their personal growth.

I shared this noticing with the parents and whānau who were present last night at our information evening. It was really great to see so many of you in the hall, and I hope that you found the evening useful and informative. We shared with everyone there about the changes to the curriculum and how that has affected the expectations for our students, with more learning and harder concepts now expected to be taught at younger ages. We shared the new progress descriptors that we are being mandated to use to describe the way your children are accessing the new learning being presented to them. We will be sending home to all families the powerpoint presentation that we used, so that you can all see the overview of what was covered.

My thanks go to Matt Moncur for his overall organisation of this evening, and for helping to present some of the content. Cheryl Hartnell, Louise Robertson and Shannon Seal also took part in the evening, and helped show us how the expectations in reading, wiritng and maths have changed. These staff are our curriculum leaders, and have done a sterling job of guiding our teachers through the last few years of curriculum and assessment change. I am very thankful to them all for their professionalism and support of their colleagues.

Your child's report will be sent home digitally to your email address next Friday. If you have concerns about our school records having your correct email address, please contact the office to discuss this. If you want a printed copy of the report please let your class teacher know, so that they can sort that out for you. We do printed copies for parents or caregivers, but not for extended family members.

Take care and stay safe.

Kia kaha, kia atawhai.

Ngā mihi nui, Ms Linda

ARCHAEOLOGIST VISIT FROM AUCKLAND MUSEUM - ROOM 12

Last month the Arawhata Syndicate had a visit from two archaeologists from the Auckland Museum. We learnt about the origins of the ancestors who first came to New Zealand. We also learned about their journey and that they used the stars, moon, sun, ocean currents and birds to navigate their way to NZ. They brought some things with them like food, plants and animals. Room 12 have used Pasifika patterns to create an artwork depicting their travels and the items that they brought on their journey.

MATUA MATT'S BIKE TRAIN

MATARIKI SCHOOL DISCO - THURSDAY 2 JULY 2026

Feel free to pop into the office and admire our Matariki artwork on the wall.

MENS T-SHIRT SALE

We have been donated a number of quality brand new ascolour black mens t-shirts which we are now selling at the discounted price of just $25 each (recommended retail $41.95)

These will be for sale from the school office until stock runs out.

POLICY TO REVIEW!

This term, the scheduled review focuses on behaviour management, staff wellbeing and safety. For more information about the review, go to the Current Review tab at the top of your SchoolDocs site. A summary is provided below.

Daily School Bus
School Swimming Pool
Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC)
EOTC Governance Roles and Responsibilities
EOTC Risk Assessment and Management

Follow these instructions to log on to schooldocs to review these.

1. Visit the website https://oratia.schooldocs.co.nz/1893.htm

2. Enter the username (oratia) and password (0604).

3. Follow the link to the relevant policy as listed.

4. Read the policy.

5. Click the Policy Review button at the top right-hand corner of the page.

6. Select the reviewer type "Parent".

7. Enter your name (optional).

8. Submit your ratings and comments.

9. If you don't have internet access, school office staff can provide you with printed copies of the policy and a review form.

Come one, come all to the 2026 Piha Matariki Festival (Friday 10- Sunday 12 July) Join us for a weekend full of free events perfect for people of all ages to celebrate our beautiful community and te Mātahi o te Tau, the beginning of the Māori new year. We'll have kites on the beach, live music, workshops and activities for kids, and so much more! For more details and a full schedule of events, visit our facebook page Piha Matariki Festival, or our website piha.org.nz/matariki. We look forward to celebrating with you!