COASTAL TARANAKI SCHOOL

Office Hours

8:30 am-4:00 pm

Hours of Instruction

8:40 am - 3:00 pm

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

Tēnā koutou katoa,

I te tuatahi, tēnei rā te mihi aroha atu ki ngā whānau o ngā mate kua taka mai nei ki runga i ā koutou. Kei te hotuhotu te manawa i tō wehenga atu. Haere atu rā, okioki atu rā e ngā mate.

Ka huri au ki a tātou te hunga ora. Ka nui te mihi aroha atu ki a koutou katoa kei roto i te whakataukī o Te Kura o Coastal Taranaki, arā: Mā te whānau te tamaiti e puāwai. No reira, tēnā tātou katoa.

It’s hard to believe we are already in Week 4 of the term. The energy across Coastal Taranaki School continues to be positive and purposeful, with students well settled into routines and learning programmes. Classrooms are focused, our new students are finding their feet, and it has been wonderful to see friendships forming and confidence growing.

This term we are placing a strong emphasis on high expectations for learning, positive behaviour, and building strong relationships. When students feel connected and clear about what success looks like, they thrive. “Mā te whānau te tamaiti e puāwai” — Through collaboration our learners will thrive. Thank you to our whānau for supporting these expectations at home — your partnership makes a significant difference.

Over the past few weeks, staff have been working hard to ensure learning programmes are engaging, structured, and responsive to student needs. You will see more detail below about our key curriculum focuses, upcoming events, and opportunities for whānau involvement.

As we move further into the term, attendance remains a priority. Being at school every day supports both academic progress and social connection. If you need any support in this area, please reach out — we are here to help.

Please take a moment to read the important updates below regarding:

· Curriculum and classroom learning highlights

· Upcoming events and key dates

· Sports and extracurricular opportunities

· Notices and reminders

· Community engagement and whānau information.

Also, a special thank you to our phenomenal team at ‘Friends of Coastal Taranaki School’ (FOCTS) for another great Whānau Fiesta last Friday night. And a massive thank you to all of our helpers, vendors, and wonderful community members who joined us for our Whānau Fiesta. What a fantastic success it was! We hope your whānau had an absolute blast.

A very special thank you to the Ōkato Lions for keeping everyone well fed on the BBQ, Tots Can Trot and Genevieve for bringing along their beautiful ponies, Hayley Julian for leading the ever-popular space buns, and Amy Wade for her amazing face painting. We are also incredibly grateful to Ian Robinson and Moemoea for providing the evening’s entertainment.

To our awesome senior students and CTS staff — thank you for stepping up and supporting the event so positively. And to our generous sponsors who helped fund the fun and music for the evening, we truly appreciate your support.

Please continue to support FOCTS so we can keep moving ahead with school projects and providing opportunities for our tamariki mokopuna, ākonga, learners, students.

Finally, thank you for your continued support of Coastal Taranaki School. Together, we are building a learning community where every student is known, valued, and challenged to succeed.

Ngā manaakitanga, nā

Sonia Mau

Tumuaki | Principal

Te Kura o Coastal Taranaki | Coastal Taranaki School

Coastal Taranaki School Board – Message from Presiding Member

Kia ora koutou,

It is hard to believe that it has already been a month since our pōwhiri welcomed new students, whānau, and staff into our Coastal Taranaki School community. That special occasion set the tone for what has been an exciting and positive start to the 2026 school year. Across the kura, there is a strong sense of purpose, engagement, and optimism for the year ahead.

On behalf of the Board, I would like to acknowledge the resignation of Gemma Chambers from her role as Deputy Principal of the Primary School. We sincerely thank Gemma for her dedication, leadership, and the significant contribution she has made to our learners, staff, and wider community. We wish her every success in her next chapter.

In the interim, the Board has agreed to recruit for an Innovative Curriculum Design Project (Years 0–6) as a fixed-term, project-based leadership role, prior to advertising the permanent Deputy Principal position for a Term 1, 2027 start.

This project role represents a significant leadership opportunity to guide a comprehensive review, scoping, mapping, and redesign of our primary curriculum. The successful applicant will bring proven experience in a senior management or equivalent leadership role, along with demonstrated success leading curriculum innovation and organisational improvement aligned to a school’s vision and strategic priorities.

The selection process will be thorough and robust, ensuring we appoint a leader who can work collaboratively with staff, students, whānau, and the Board to shape a future-focused curriculum for our primary school.

We also acknowledge the significant contribution of Simon Ripia as a parent representative on the Board. Simon has tendered his resignation due to changes in his work commitments. We thank Simon for his time, insight, and service to Coastal Taranaki School. The Board will fill this vacancy in accordance with the NZSBA co-option and selection process. We look forward to receiving expressions of interest in due course.

Thank you for your continued support as we work together to strengthen governance and leadership at Coastal Taranaki School.

Ngā mihi nui,

Kathryn (Kat) Moffitt
Presiding Member
Coastal Taranaki School Board

Hi! My name is Ros and I am the new High School Maths teacher here at Coastal Taranaki School. I have been teaching high school for quite a few years now around New Zealand and did some relieving at Coastal last year. I have five children - in their 20's and 30's - including my unofficially adopted son! And I became a grandmother last November! Three of my children are in Wellington. One is living in London for a couple of years. And my youngest daughter works on super yachts in the Mediterranean! I love teaching. I really love maths and chemistry. And I am really enjoying being part of the Coastal Taranaki community!

A massive thank you to all of our helpers, vendors and wonderful community who came to our Whānau Fiesta last Friday night. It was such a great success, we hope your Whānau had a blast!

A special mention to our Ōkato Lions who cooked on the BBQ, Tots can Trot and Genevieve for bringing their beautiful ponies, Hayley Julian for leading the space buns and Amy Wade for all her help with face paints, Ian Robinson and Moemoea for the entertainment. Our awesome senior students and CTS staff, thank you! We were also so lucky to have so many great sponsors this year who sponsored the fun and music for the evening.

Please continue to support FOCTS so we can keep moving ahead with school projects and supporting our tamariki!

Ngā mihi nui!
FOCTS Team
(Friends of Coastal Taranaki School)

Please email office@coastaltaranaki.school.nz if you require a parking permit for any accessibility needs.

Our Swimming Sports for years 4-13 will be held on Friday 6 March at the local pool.

Competitive races (Years 4–13): 9:00am–12:00pm

Fun events (Years 7–13): 1:00pm–3:00pm

We strongly encourage students to get involved in the competitive races in the morning — it’s a great opportunity to represent our kura, challenge themselves, and be part of a competitive day. In the afternoon, all year 7-8 students will head to the pool for fun events. This is always a highlight and a fantastic chance for everyone to take part and enjoy the atmosphere.

If students choose not to swim in the competitive races, normal learning will take place at school during that time.

Students can sign up for competitive events with their class teacher, or whānau are welcome to email me directly. If any whānau are available to help on the day, we would greatly appreciate your support — please get in touch.

We’re looking forward to a positive, energetic day at the pool and hope to see as many students involved as possible.

Kia ora whānau,

We are already in Week 4 of a 9 Week Term, and the year is well underway. It has been fantastic to see our ākonga settling into routines, taking up opportunities, and showing pride in our kura. The energy across the school has been positive and focused, with students getting involved, supporting one another, and making the most of what is on offer.

Thank you to our whānau and community for the ongoing support you give our young people and our staff. When we work together, our ākonga thrive.

Our Year 7–10 students proudly represented our kura at Te Katonga Nui – Community Planting Day on Friday the 20th, where they successfully planted over 300 plants. Not only did they learn about caring for our environment, but they also made connections with our wider community and enjoyed a delicious sausage and ice block for lunch, generously provided by the crew on site.

Our senior leaders absolutely shone during Fiesta and continue to step up as reliable role models. They set up, ran stalls, and supported the Fiesta pack down. Thank you for continuing to be the backbone of our kura and for representing us with such brilliance.

WITT has begun with 96.5% of our ākonga participating in a WITT programme, gaining between 17 and 54 Level 2 and 3 credits this year. As we move into next week with roadworks and expected delays, we ask that all WITT students meet at 8:15am, ready to depart by 8:20am at the latest. Unfortunately, anyone arriving late will need to arrange their own transport to WITT.

TOPEC Dates & What to Bring

When:

• Week 4: Wednesday 25th February

• Week 6: Wednesday 11th March

• Week 9: Wednesday 1st April

What to Bring:

• Clothing & Footwear: Suitable sneakers and clothes for physical activities (shorts, t-shirt, sweatshirt)

• Swimming Gear: Towel, swimming togs, and your own wetsuit if you prefer to use your own

• Personal Items: Medication and sunscreen

• Food & Drink: Drink bottle and lunch (refill stations are available; snacks are optional)

Notes:

• Specialist items, wetsuits, and appropriate safety gear are available at TOPEC.

• TOPEC does not take responsibility for loss or damage to personal items used during any course. This includes cameras, cell phones, iPods/MP3 players, cash, watches, and similar items.
  
  

We began the year with two successful courses. Our Year 11 students gained 8 Level 2 credits in their Confidence and Resilience course, while our Year 12 and 13 students gained 15 Level 3 credits in their Communication and Teamwork course. These courses are carefully selected and designed to give our ākonga valuable workforce skills that will help set them apart in what can be a challenging job market.

We have already seen growth in our roll in the Year 7–11 area this year. We will continue to provide expert teaching, high expectations, and wrap-around support so that our ākonga feel confident, secure, and successful in our kura.

I am incredibly proud of the teaching team we have here and the positive start our students have made to the year. My door is always open if you have concerns, things to celebrate, or questions. It is important that you share these with us so we can celebrate alongside you or provide the right support.

We are all in this together, working in partnership.

“Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini.”
My strength is not that of an individual, but that of the collective.

Last Friday morning (20th Feb), our Years 7-10 participated in the Community Planting Day and planted 3000 trees for Te Katonga Nui (Okato). Our tamariki worked extremely hard to make sure each plant was put into the ground properly. We are proud of their efforts.

Year 9s and 10s

We are approaching unfamiliar texts throughout this term to build key, foundational skills so we are ready for the demands of Year 11 English. We are exploring short stories, poetry, articles. We are also engaging with digital learning strategies and resources to support our CAA preparations.

Year 11s

We’ve stuck into reading The Hunger Games novel, which forms our core learning throughout the year. THG text will be the stimulus for our internal assessment tasks (NCEA 1.1 and 1.2) as well as our external exam (NCEA 1.3). This is the Year 11s enjoying a scavenger hunt for the novel’s context.

Year 12s and 13s

We are using William Shakespeare’s Macbeth as our core learning this year and will be using it as the stimulus for our writing portfolio. This is the Year 12s enjoying a scavenger hunt to take a trip back in time to the 1600s.

All resources and deadline dates are available on Mrs Fung’s 2026 class site: https://sites.google.com/coastaltaranaki.school.nz/2026english/home

Term 1 and 2 Important Dates:

Friday 3rd April

• Year 12 - Stimulus Writing 1 deadline

Friday 24th April

• Year 12 - Text 1 and 2 responses deadline

Friday 8th May

• Year 11 - NCEA 1.2 deadline

Term 2 Week 6

• CAA May Window (Years 9-12)

Friday 29th May

• Year 12 - Stimulus Writing 2 deadline

Friday 19th June

• Year 12 - Text 3 and 4 responses deadline

Over the last 2 weeks, Room 21 enjoyed walking around our school to explore the beautiful patterns and whakairo carvings that surround our kura. It was both fun and interesting to take time to look closely at the artwork that we often walk past each day.

We discovered the amazing designs and stories shown in the carvings and noticed the special details in the patterns. The students were inspired by what they saw and gathered ideas to include in our own classroom wall displays.

It was a wonderful opportunity to appreciate the art that lives around our kura and to feel proud of the creativity and culture within our school environment.

The students in Pukeiti Rua/Room 15 have had an amazing start to 2026! They've been settling in beautifully and showing incredible confidence. Together, we've created our class treaty statements, discussing how these will ensure our classroom is a happy and safe place for everyone. Morning arrivals have been calm and settled and students are ready to learn.

We've been having a great time getting to know each other and exploring our class resources. I'm so impressed with how well they are adapting to new routines and expectations! Thank you to all parents and caregivers for ensuring your children have their hats and water bottles each day and for bringing all their stationery needs to school in week 1. Home learning books have begun coming home this week and are due back to school every Friday please.

Here are some snapshots of moments in time in room 15:

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This past weekend CTS student Kenny Phillips was at the Taranaki Children’s Athletics Championships representing Woodleigh Athletics Club. This is a step up from athletics ribbon days.

Kenny got a gold in High Jump -1.30m & Long Jump- 3.70m and Silver in 100m Sprint 16.25s for his age group (10yr olds)

Kenny continues to challenge himself, and is looking to improve his distance for long jump and time for sprints, it was a good chance for him to check his time & distance.

Sophie Juffermans smashed her own goals, set new PB's, had a blast and did Ōkato proud with another outstanding performance of perseverance and determination in the pool for the Taranaki Summer Swimming Champs representing Ōkato Swimming Club.

Volunteers Needed – Join Our School Emergency Response Team

Coastal Area School is proud to be identified as an ideal community Hub in the event of a Civil Defence Emergency. To help us prepare, we are seeking four local volunteers to join our on-site Emergency Response Team.

In the event of a Civil Defence (CD) emergency, our school may serve as a coordination point for support agencies and a safe, welcoming space for our community. Volunteers would:

• Participate in a simulated emergency exercise alongside the Red Cross

• Be available (when possible) during a CD emergency

• Assist with coordinating support agencies on site

• Use our onsite VHF radio for communications (full training provided)

• Help welcome and support local residents who come to the school grounds

This is not a frontline emergency role — rather, it’s about being a calm, organised presence and helping our community stay connected and supported during challenging times.

If you’re community-minded, dependable, and willing to be part of this important initiative, we would love to hear from you.

Please contact the school office to register your interest.

COASTAL TARANAKI SCHOOL

Sonia Mau Principal

Gemma Chambers Junior School Deputy Principal

Sarah Oke Senior School Deputy Principal, Careers/Pathways, Tech on 45

David Cripps SENCO

Viola Fung English

Ros James Maths Term 1

Steve Leppard Hard Materials Technology, Tech on 45

Kelly Waugh Visual/ Performing Arts

Natalie Bound Science

Sarah Warren Release Teacher, P.E Teacher

Keegan Bruckner Social Sciences, Geography, P.E Teacher

Hayley Gilmour Release Teacher

Liana Roberts Pouakai Team Leader, Year 7/8 Teacher

Dee Heath Year 7/8 Teacher

Renee Leathley Kaitake Team Leader, Year 5/6 Teacher

Emily Finey Year 5/6 Teacher

Johannah Poutini Year 4/5Teacher

Annie Harris NE Transition Teacher

Jemma Moorby Year 2/3 Teacher

Philippa Hofmans Pukeiti Team Leader, Year 1/2 Teacher

Tara Ross Year 3/4 Teachers

Jacky Kopu Office Manager

Alana Campbell Office Receptionist

Delwyn Pearce School Librarian

Kirsty Koboski Publicity Officer

Ole Bucka Grounds & Maintenance

Learning Assistants

Darryl Levett

Kirsty Koboski

Paula Fleming

Ruth Barron

Nicole Whittle

Fon Julian

Lisa Schrader