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.

Kia orana. We are enjoying celebrating Cook Island Language Week, sharing greetings in the morning and wearing our ai katu on our heads.

We are in the final week of rehearsals for our school production Bottled Up. Ms Mckinnon and Whaea Hayley have been working with all our classes in turn to bring all the separate scenes together into a seamless whole. Teachers and classes have been practising their songs and dances over the past weeks to make sure they are all ready for their time on stage. It is a huge undertaking that involves all our students. I have been told that our tickets for the evening performances have been sold out, and that there are still some available for the Wednesday matinee if you are still looking for a ticket. We are so looking forward to next week and seeing it all come together.

I have been meeting with all the leaders in the school this week - all our team leaders, curriuculum leaders and our unit holders with responsibilities for various areas in the school. I love this time of conversation with them about their leadership actions, and the positive impact these have had on their areas of responsibilitiy. We are blessed to have such a competent and capable leadership team here at Oratia, and I always feel grateful for their efforts to make school engaging and fun for your children. There is always something of interest happening at lunchtimes, in sports or the arts, in the library or on the field, which our teachers offer, and our students enjoy.

There is a lot of illness running through the school at the moment, and we appreciate those families who are able to keep their unwell child at home till they are fully recovered, so that the bugs are not being spread around, especially with the production coming up next week. Look after yourselves with this Winter cold we are experiencing.

Take care and stay safe.

Kia kaha, kia atawhai.

Ngā mihi nui, Ms Linda

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

COOK ISLAND MĀORI LANGUAGE WEEK

The 2026 theme for Cook Islands Māori Language Week is -

“Me kite koe i te tuatua i to’ou reo tupuna, e turanga rangatira tena nō’ou no te uki amuri atu"

With our language as our foundation, we will embrace the future.

Cook Island Tivaevae design made by the Pasifika Performance Group

Litterless Lunchboxes Reminder

We're noticing an increase in rubbish around our school grounds and would appreciate your support in helping us keep our kura clean and tidy.

Where possible, please pack litterless lunchboxes by using reusable containers instead of single-use packaging. Not only does this reduce waste, but it also helps care for our environment and keeps our school looking its best.

If your child's lunch does include wrappers or other packaging, please remind them to bring it home in their lunchbox rather than leaving it in the playground or around the school.

Small changes can make a big difference. Thank you for working with us to help keep Oratia School a clean, safe, and environmentally friendly place for everyone.

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.