![\"\"](\"https:\/\/turiteaschoolwp.colmandesigns.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_6062-768x1024.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Monday marked the first day of school for Anya,<\/strong> who joined Anna, Kristin and the tamariki in Rimu. She is the first of her wh\u0101nau to attend Turitea. Herzlich Willkomme<\/em>n (Warm welcome in German) to Yannik<\/strong> who has joined Whaea Anneliese and the \u0101konga in T\u014dtara, also on Monday. He comes to us from Jena in Germany, a few hours out of Frankfurt. Nau mai haere mai e korua (Welcome to you both).<\/p>\n\n\n\n We sincerely appreciate the messages of support from wh\u0101nau during yesterday’s strike action. <\/strong>Your encouraging words via email or in person, highlighted your understanding of our intent. Despite Judith Collins\u2019 open letter<\/a> the other day, in which we felt our credibility as educators was undermined, our dedicated kaiako (teachers) have spent countless hours over the year preparing for and embracing the changes to the curriculum, only to find out over the weekend that the framework and delivery mode has changed again without explanation or consultation. While we share the government’s goals of equity and excellence for our tamariki, the pace at which they expect us to transform our system is somewhat unrealistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The rhetoric at the moment suggests that \u2018many kids are below where they should be\u2019 <\/em>and that is the case for schools in Aotearoa, New Zealand. However, I want you to consider a scenario where success is measured in bananas<\/em>, then one day, it is decided that it is now to be measured in apples<\/em>. As you all know, comparing apples to bananas is rather difficult. But by having time with our \u0101konga to implement the refreshed curriculum, and hopefully have no further changes made,<\/em> will help us get them to where they are expected to be. By the end of this year, we will be able to \u2018compare apples with apples\u2019 regarding their progress against the new outcomes, based on their mid-year report. Please trust us before listening to the \u2018propaganda\u2019 that is out there. Turitea has an amazing team of outstanding practitioners who showed they are willing to stand up for what we think is best for our tamariki. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our Garden to Table <\/strong>programme resumed today with \u0101konga from Rimu and R\u0101t\u0101 having their turn to learn about gardening and prepared a yummy soup to eat. Mihi atu (thank you) to our helpers who came along this morning. No doubt Meryl will make another one of her awesome movies showcasing what they got up to, which I will share in the next p\u0101nui.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hui \u0100 Kura:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I t\u0113nei ahiahi (This afternoon) we had our first Hui \u0100 Kura (Assembly) of the new term led by Jack and Ariki from T\u014dtara and Kauri. It was a busy one as we handed out the trophies as mentioned above. We also recognised those who demonstrate our school uara (values) consistently. Receiving their tiwhikete (certificate) this week were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Lamb, Calf and Pet Day trophy recipients were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking Ahead to 2026:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Today we held an out-of-zone ballot and were able to offer places to new wh\u0101nau members to join our kura in 2026. At this stage, our projected<\/em> classroom arrangements for next year is listed below and it will look similar to 2025, apart from year level changes in some classes, due to our numbers of \u0101konga (students) in each cohort. We will offer you a chance to share your voice with us, in a future p\u0101nui, on which classroom environment might best suit your tamariki, but this doesn\u2019t <\/strong>guarantee their spot. As you can imagine, there are many variables we need to consider when placing students and it is a complex task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rimu<\/strong> – Year 0\/1 with Anna Production Video:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Last Friday, we let our kids watch themselves shine on stage from our production of \u2018Aotearoa Tiki Tour\u2019 <\/strong>that we did last term. You can watch it here<\/a> if you missed out on seeing it live. Please can you not share this video any further, as some Turitea wh\u0101nau members have requested that their child isn\u2019t visible online and we want to respect their wishes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n From the PTA:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank you to those who came to our PTA hui on Wednesday. We are happy to share that we funded the installation of the salt water system in our school pool, which we will re-open in December. This means safer water for our tamariki with sensitive skin and less risk of dealing with harmful chemicals for our amazing \u2018pool parents\u2019. Your child’s artwork has been submitted to the Online Printer<\/a> and communication about how to order products with their amazing creation on them will come out soon. A great fundraiser for us, but also an opportunity to give your wh\u0101nau members some cool Xmas gifts!<\/p>\n\n\n\n School Photos:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This afternoon, your child should bring home a photo order form from Clicks Photography with your unique code to view and order individual, sibling and class photos. Keep an eye out for this, let us know in the office if it has been misplaced and we can sort you out with the code. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Term 4 Important Dates:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As I outlined last week, a lot is going on in Term 4, so here is a list of all the goings on. Some dates\/details have changed, which are highlighted in green. This will stay as a regular feature on the weekly p\u0101nui.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Enjoy the long weekend and if your child is in one of our senior classrooms, ask them the importance of Monday and hopefully they can share with you why, as they have been learning about Labour Day in class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/turiteaschoolwp.colmandesigns.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_5984-768x1024.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/turiteaschoolwp.colmandesigns.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_6041-768x1024.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/turiteaschoolwp.colmandesigns.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251017_160733-1-edited-scaled.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n
\n
R\u0101t\u0101<\/strong> – Year 1 with Carly
P\u014dhutukawa <\/strong>– Year 2\/3 with Cameron
Mata\u012b<\/strong> – Year 3\/4 with Trish\/Bridgit
Kauri<\/strong> – Year 4\/5 with Hannah\/Faye
T\u014dtara<\/strong> – Year 5\/6 with Whaea Anneliese <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n