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.

We have all been commenting on the great weather we had over Labour Weekend - a bit of a rarity based on the past few rainy years. People took the opportunity to get into the garden and plant ready for the summer crops, or they visited the beach and went off to their baches, biked or hiked around the whenua and generally enjoyed family time in the sunshine. I hope that the predictions of a warm and sunny summer will eventuate for us - as long as we don't head into drought!

Our Leadership Planning Day was a success with the strategic plan drafted, professional learning development decided upon, and the structure of our leadership units and responsibilities agreed to. Since then we have planned our professional learning schedule for 2027, and signed up with Evaluation Associates to run our school wide PLD in Explicit Teaching Approaches. We are excited about this PLD, as we intend it to strengthen our classroom teaching practices and assessment application, as well as bring greater consistency across teams and the whole school. We will be having a Teacher Only Day before school begins in January to kick off this PLD.

I want to give huge thanks to Staci Hamlin and Louise Robertson for their excellent organisation of our Athletics Day last Friday. It was such fun to see our students and staff sporting various animal inspired outfits, and we all commented on how engaged and happy the students were to be taking part in all the activities. It was good to see so many parents and whānau spectators throughout the day. Thank you if you were able to attend and support your child and their classmates.

Potiki syndicate were treated to a visit from the fire brigade on Wednesday. A big team of firefighters came to show off their engine and all its equipment, and talk to the students about their job. We love having these sorts of visits to build better relationships between us, and for the students to see they are real people and not just heroes from afar. Thank you to Glen Eden fire station for supporting our kura this way.

It is World Teachers Day on Friday October 30. If you would like to take the time to send a note of appreciation to your child's teacher, or have your child make a card of thanks, then I know that it would be well received. We do value the relationships we have with our parents and whānau as we work together in partnership for your children's growth and success.

Kia kaha, kia atawhai.

Ngā mihi nui, Ms Linda

ATHLETICS DAY

Our Athletics Day was a fantastic day of fun, energy and team spirit! With an animal theme, our tamariki embraced the fun, showing off their creative costumes while giving the events their best shot. There were plenty of smiles, laughter and encouragement throughout the day. A big thank you to Staci and Louise for organsing this event and to the parents and whānau who came along to help make it such a great day for our school community!

Pasifika Fono evening

Pasifika Fono – Let’s Work Together!

A big thank you to the parents and whānau who joined us for our Pasifika Fono last night. It was lovely to come together, share kai and connect!

We would love to do more for our Pasifika ākonga at Oratia School by celebrating their cultures through song, dance, art, drumming and other cultural activities.

We know our school community is full of wonderful talents, knowledge and skills, and we would love to tap into these! Are you a parent, aunty, uncle, grandparent or older sibling who might have experience with Pacific drumming, traditional dance, singing, weaving, art, language or storytelling.

You don't need to be an expert or commit to something every week. Even sharing a little of your time, knowledge or ideas could make a real difference.

We would love to hear from you! If you have any ideas, suggestions or would like to get involved, please get in touch with the school office. Together, we can build stronger connections between home and school and create more opportunities for our Pasifika children to shine.

THANK YOU

A big Thank You to Matthew, dad to Mika in Room 5, who has very kindly donated a basketball hoop to the school. The basketball hoop is on the Potiki tiger turf and has already been well used by some very excited children.

Bike the World - Bike Train

Bike the World – Bike Train Update

Our Travelwise student leaders are excited to share that our first ‘Bike the World’ bike train was a great success! We’re looking forward to seeing more students join in as we make this a regular Thursday morning activity.

The bike train travels from Parrs Park to school along the shared path, with students forming a ‘train’ of riders as they go. Riders can join at the start of the ride or along the route, and adult riders will be positioned at both the front and back of the group.

This is a great opportunity for capable riders to travel to school in a way that is active, environmentally friendly and wheely fun!

A few important things to know:

When: Thursday mornings.
Where: Meet at Parrs Park, or join along the shared path route.
Who: Students who are capable and confident riders.
Registration: Prior registration is essential. Please complete the Google registration form here.
Communication: On-the-day updates will be shared through a WhatsApp group.
Getting there: You’re welcome to drop your child and their bike at the Parrs Park meeting point to participate – you don’t need to live along the route.

A big thank you to our Travelwise student leaders and the adults supporting this initiative. We hope to see plenty more riders joining the Bike the World train!

For further information, see the Google form, or contact matthewm@oratia.school.nz.

Q : "What do you call a sad Strawberry?"

Hey Everyone. It's Moira, the school gardener here - Well, Labour weekend is traditionally tomato planting weekend - so if you haven't got yours in the garden yet you can get some from the Garden to Table seedling sale next week and support the gardening programme at the same time.

So, dig over your vege bed this weekend, add some organic matter and maybe a little fertiliser, water it well and then next Thursday, on Whānau Day, you can buy some plants to put into your prepared bed. Tomatoes, pumpkins, lettuce, bok choy, beans, silverbeet and more- The kids have been working hard growing these veges and they are now ready to be planted up in your garden!

Get growing Oratia!

A: A Blueberry.

"Moira’s new potting shed is here! A lovely new space for our school gardener Moira to pot, plant and prepare for all the gardening happening around Oratia School. We can’t wait to see what grows!

Congratulations Janez Webster

Please join us in congratulating Janez on a fantastic football weekend. Straight after Athletics day on Friday, Janez jumped on a bus with his team to Hamilton. Janez participated in the annual Cambridge Cup with his club Patagonia FC. He played in the U 12 division. Their team placed second in the group stages played incredibly well and ultimately were the Plate Winners of the tournament. Janez also won MVP for scoring the two winning goals during the finals and his 8 goals over the whole tournament.

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.