Week 10 Update

🎉 Week 10 – We Made It! 🎉

Kia ora TAPS whānau,

Here we are – the final week of Term 3! It’s been a full-on ride, packed with learning, laughter, challenges, and plenty of moments to be proud of. Week 10 is our chance to finish strong, celebrate together, and soak up everything that makes our kura special.

We’ve got some awesome highlights lined up: the unveiling of our new House Flags for Māori Language Week, kapa haka performances, a sausage sizzle fundraiser, staff vs. students netball (who’s putting money on the students? 👀), and the big finale – our PTA Disco to wrap it all up.

💡 Let’s bring our best energy into this week – lift each other up, sing loud at waiata, and make these last five days count.

Thank you all – staff, students, and whānau – for your mahi, your aroha, and your support through Term 3. Rest up over the holidays, recharge, and get ready to hit Term 4 running.

Hei wiki whakamutunga pai – let’s go out on a high! 🚀

🌱 Gratitude

• Gratitude felt: 156 (up from 146 last week)

  • Biggest drivers: My whānau (43), Friends (26), Good health (16).

  • Notable lift in pets (3), teachers (2), and spirit (4).

• Gratitude given: 161 (up from 135 last week)

  • Top values: Kindness (50), Humour (36), Fairness (17).

  • A big spike in Tuku Mihi – Just say thanks! (42) shows lots of acknowledgment happening across school.

👉 Overall: Whānau, friends, kindness, and humour remain the backbone of our gratitude culture — with clear upward momentum this week.

📊 Benchmarking

• Sentiment: 0.83 (national 0.79) – consistently above NZ average.

• Standouts:

  • Material basics (0.88 vs 0.84 nationally) – students feel their basic needs are well supported.

  • Participating (0.85 vs 0.80) – strong sense of involvement.

  • Identity & culture (0.80 vs 0.76) – slightly above average, but room to lift.

• Healthy sits at 0.80 – solid but still one of the softer areas compared to other domains.

🔥 Experience Heatmap

• Overall score: 8.2 (steady from 8.4 last week).

• Valued & Safe: 8.2 – good connection to adults at school (8.9), but bullying sits at 5.7 (holding steady).

• Learning: 8.6 – strong teacher engagement (8.9) and perseverance (9.2).

• Participation: 7.9 – lower scores in agency (6.9) and organised activities (7.0).

• Identity & Culture: 7.8 – boosted by school belonging (9.3), but peer belonging at 7.6 pulls this domain down.

👉 Green zones: perseverance, engagement with teachers, school belonging.

💡 Wellbeing

• Overall wellbeing: 8.1 (slight dip from 8.4).

  • 92 students reported “I’m feeling great”, 38 “I’m feeling positive.”

  • 12 students marked negative feelings, 0 asked for direct help.

👉 Takeaway: While the overall wellbeing average has eased slightly, the large number of students feeling great shows strong baseline positivity. The “middle” group (19) is where we can lift momentum.

🎯 Summary

The Pulse in Week 8 shows:

• Gratitude and kindness are climbing fast — a real strength to celebrate.

• Engagement in learning and belonging at school are strong pillars.

Overall: TAPS heads into the final stretch of Term 3 with solid wellbeing and learning engagement, and a culture of gratitude that’s growing stronger each week.

🌼 Attendance Update – Week 8

Kia ora whānau,

Thank you for helping us keep an eye on attendance as we head toward the end of Term 3. Being at school every day really makes a difference for our tamariki – it’s where the learning, friendships, and fun all happen together.

📊 The Big Picture

• 63% of our students were in the “regularly attending” category this week (that’s 9 out of 15 days or more each fortnight).

• Chronic absence (missing more than 30% of days) has dropped from 47 students last week to 35 this week – a step in the right direction!

• Most of our older students are attending really well

👦👧 By Group

• Girls: 67% regular attendance (stronger than the boys).

• Boys: 60% regular attendance, with more in the chronic absence group.

🌟 The Wins

• Senior classes (Years 6–9) are showing strong consistency.

• Chronic absence numbers are heading down, which is fantastic progress.

💬 Final Word

Every day at school counts – not just for learning, but for connection, confidence, and wellbeing. We know mornings can be tough sometimes, but even small improvements in attendance make a big difference for your child. Thank you for working with us to help every child thrive.

As we step into the heart of spring, there’s something so special about seeing our tamariki out and about — laughing, learning, and filling the school with joy. Just like the flowers bursting into colour, our children bring life and energy to every corner of TAPS. Let’s carry that same sense of growth and new beginnings into the weeks ahead, celebrating the small wins, the shared moments, and the brighter days still to come. 🌸🌞