COASTAL TARANAKI SCHOOL
February 14th 2025
2025 Student Leaders
Left to right : Katie Brown Deputy Head,
Lara Smith & Rebecca Goodin Head Students,
Hayley Sulzberger Deputy Head
COASTAL TARANAKI SCHOOL
Office Hours
8.30am-3.30pm
Hours of Instruction
8.40am - 3.00pm
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
2025 Staff Only Days
Confirmed Staff Only Days for 2025
Term 2 - Week 9 - Monday 23rd June
Term 3 - Week 5 - Friday 15 August
SCHOOL OFFICE REMINDERS
ACTING PRINCIPALS KORERO
Exciting Events at Coastal Taranaki School!
Kia ora whānau,
Term 1 is off to a fantastic start with lots of exciting events happening at Coastal Taranaki School! The pool party was a huge success, with plenty of sunshine, laughter, and cool splashes—what a great way to welcome in the new school year!
I have loved seeing everyone’s beautiful smiles, hearing song from the gym at Kapa Haka and laughter from the playgrounds.
We congratulate our new Head Students and wish them well as they set themselves and their peers up for a fantastic year! Head students Rebecca Goodin, Lara Smith & Deputy Head students Hayley Sulzberger and Katie Brown.
We continue to adjust and readjust as we move through Term 1. Lunches are popular but we do ask, that if your child is not eating school lunches that you let their teacher or the office know that they are opting out. We are accountable and must pay for all waste.
Hats are still compulsory in T1 and T4 and we ask that you please please remind your child to bring and wear their hat at play. We highly recommend broad brimmed hats and sunscreen before they come to school.
Looking ahead, we have AmeriCARna coming up soon, and our school has a prime viewing spot! CTS will be able to watch the incredible classic cars from the roundabout, and teachers will share more details closer to the day.
We’re also thrilled to be hosting a Te Matatini kapa haka team in our gym as they prepare for the national competition. It’s an honour to support them, and we’re excited that some of our students will have the opportunity to attend the event and experience the magic of Te Matatini firsthand.
There’s plenty more to come this term—stay tuned for updates from your child’s teacher and keep checking HERO and our FB page.
Ngā mihi for your continued support!
New Staff Introduction
Natalie Bound - Science
Kia ora,
My name is Natalie Bound, this year I am teaching science at CTS in the secondary space.
After growing up in Taranaki, I moved away and have lived all over the North Island, most recently in Taupo where I was teaching science and senior chemistry.
When I'm not at work, I enjoy playing roller derby or spending time at the beach, either in the surf or relaxing on the sand.
I am excited to be here at CTS and am looking forward to getting to know everyone better along with bringing my passion for science into the classroom.
Keegan Bruckner - Social Sciences
Kia Ora,
My name is Keegan Bruckner and I am the Social Sciences teacher at CTS. I have just finished training as a secondary teacher in the subjects of Geography and Social Science and I'm looking forward to teaching secondary students here at CTS.
I am a Taranaki local who went through Ōakura Primary and Spotswood College before studying down south in Dunedin. I have worked in the region in conservation and biodiversity with the Department of Conservation and Taranaki Regional Council before recently spending a few years overseas.
I'm stoked to be home enjoying all the great things Taranaki has to offer again, and I'm excited to be involved with CTS and the surrounding community. If you see me around, come say hello! I love meeting new people from the area.
Ngā mihi nui,
Keegan Bruckner
Launchpad
Launchpad is not offered this year. We are grateful for the years of service that Mrs Morgan and Mrs Simpson volunteered in this space.
If you would like more information on this or other programs please contact the school.
CTS Pool Party!
On Wednesday we had our CTS Pool Party at the Ōkato pool where staff, students and whānau came together for an afternoon of fun, connection, community and a whole lot of splashing!
It was great for our staff to meet and connect with families, and for the students to enjoy a swim, sausage from the BBQ and the chance to win prizes. There are pool and pizza parties coming up for some of the lucky winners.
Thanks to everyone who came to support, and to the staff and students who hosted this awesome event!
PUKEITI RUA/ROOM 15 YEARS 1/2
The students in Pukeiti Rua/Room 15 have had an amazing start to 2025! 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.
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! Check out the photos below of one of our daily routines: after lunchtime break, students come in and read to a soft, cuddly reading buddy.
I'm really excited about diving into our learning programmes and watching these awesome students thrive. 2025 is going to be fabulous!
TOPEC
Last Friday (week 1) our year 11-13 students spent the day with TOPEC.
I was really impressed by the maturity our students showed. For their first week back, they were engaged and ready to give new things a go. They spent the day in three groups and completed a range of different activities that were based around teamwork, communication, and leadership. These were in the form of games, challenges, and then ended with rock climbing, flying kiwi, and high rope activities. It was also great to see students going out of their way to include everyone and practicing encouragement.
The TOPEC instructors had really good feedback as well, telling us that our students showed great listening skills, were all engaged throughout the day with high levels of involvement, and they gave the instructors the sense that they really wanted to be there. When they asked students what they wanted to work on this year, some of the answers included; improving communication skills, having a positive mindset/attitude, and feeling comfortable to be heard or speak up.
Keegan Bruckner
Social Science Teacher
SENIOR ENGLISH
For senior English in Term 1, we started the year with a round of baseline testing for reading, writing and spelling according to the appropriate school level. Results and feedback will be given to students within 3 weeks (Week 6 onwards).
Term 1 Teaching and Learning focus:
Year 9s and 10s
We start the year by looking at our Texts from Different Cultures anthology. So far, we have read about protecting our moana on the coast front and extracts from The Boy in Striped Pyjamas. We will continue to polish our comprehension skills and information retrieval, building a solid foundation for our NCEAs and CAAs.
Year 11s
We’ll be 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). Students will also be revising for the next CAA literacy reading and writing window in May.
Year 12s and 13s
We are taking a step back in time to the 1600s. 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. Students will also begin their 6 responses internal assessment.
Resources, deadline dates and information on NCEA L1, L2, L3 and CAA literacy are available on Mrs Fung’s 2025 class site: https://sites.google.com/coastaltaranaki.school.nz/fung2025/home
Important Dates:
Wed 30th April
Year 12/13 Internal Deadline 1 - Stimulus Writing 1, Lyrics response and article responses.
Term 2 Week 4 and 5
CAA literacy and numeracy window
Wed 25th June
Year 12/13 Internal Deadline 2 - Stimulus Writing 2, Text 1 and Short Story responses.
Year 11 Internal Deadline 1 - NCEA 1.2 Creative Writing
Wed 20th August
Year 12/13 Internal Deadline 3 - Speech, Text 2 and poem responses.
Term 3 Week 8 and 9
CAA literacy and numeracy window
Wed 3rd September
Year 11 Internal Deadline 2 - NCEA 1.1 Verbal Language Essay
Wed 8th September
Year 12/13 Optional Deadline - Visual and verbal text
LIBRARY NEWS
Ka Puāwai
We have a new team member and some new instruments.
EVERYONE IS WELCOME
It is casual and FREE, come when you can.
Follow the link below to look at the CTS Library Catalogue
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SPORTS
Current Swimming Days
As this is part of the curriculum, all students are expected to have the right equipment and swim on their allocated days. Each class has two swimming times a week. If for any reason your child is unable to swim, a note to their classroom teacher would be appreciated.
With swimming, this is a perfect time to check all items of uniform are clearly named.
We look forward to using the Ōkato Pool, especially on these very hot days.
CTS Sports - Facebook page
Head over to our school sports facebook page CTS Sports and follow for all our school sports news, results and updates.
COMMUNITY NEWS
STAFF
COASTAL TARANAKI SCHOOL
Stephanie Clifton - Principal
Gemma Chambers Acting Principal
Sarah Oke Acting Deputy Principal, Food Technology, Careers/Pathways, Tech on 45
Viola Fung English
Andrea Dingle Maths
Steve Leppard Hard Materials Technology, Tech on 45
Kelly Waugh Visual/ Performing Arts
Natalie Bound Science
Casey Stevens P.E & Health
Justine Francis Music
Keegan Bruckner Social Sciences
Liana Roberts Year 7/8 Teacher
Jason Brewer Year 6/7 Teacher
Emily Finey Year 5/6 Teacher
Renee Leathley Kaitake Team Leader, Year 4/5 Teacher
Heather Jull Year 4/5 Teacher
Annie Harris NE Transition Teacher
Jemma Moorby Year 1/2 Teacher
Philippa Hofmans Pukeiti Team Leader, Year 1/2 Teacher
Johannah Poutini Year 2/3 Teacher
Sarah Warren/Tara Ross Year 2/3 Teachers
Lisa Betts Guidance Counsellor
Margaret Normanton Release Teacher
Delwyn Pearce School Librarian
Kirsty Koboski Publicity Officer
Jacky Kopu Office Manager
Nicky Phillips Office, Funding & Sports Administrator
Ole Bucka Grounds & Maintenance
Learning Assistants
Darryl Levett
Kirsty Koboski
Paula Fleming
Dee Heath
Jess Harfield
Ruth Barron
Ian Robinson
Nicole Whittle
Kaycee Cresswell
Fon Julian
Student Support
Ida Staunstrup-Moore