Kia ora koutou,
There has been plenty of excitement at school, with formal practices for our Gobsmacked Production getting underway this week. Every child from Year 2 – Year 6 is involved in this learning experience, culminating with three shows held on Tuesday, the 28th and Wednesday, the 29th of March.
This production opportunity is an authentic way of engaging with The Arts curriculum, but also leaves all involved with life-long memories of performing on the ‘big stage’, lights and all!
Tickets for the three shows are now available for purchase through Eventbrite. Follow THIS LINK or visit the school website to purchase your tickets. Performing in a full auditorium takes the event to the next level, so please buy tickets and encourage your friends and wider family to come and support the show.
Show Week Information
Show week for production is a busy time. All the information you need is available in our Show Week Newsletter. To read the newsletter CLICK HERE.
Strike and Teacher Only Day
As you will know, NZ Teachers and Principals will hold a national strike day next Thursday, 16th March. The majority of our teaching staff are union members, therefore, Matua School will be closed for the day.
As a school, we are acutely aware of the disruption this will cause to families, and as parents too, we understand the impact.
You know the team at Matua well. We love our school, are passionate about the children, and are committed to their success. This action comes from the same place and a desire to see an education system that is under immense pressure resourced appropriately.
So while we know the challenge a strike creates, please support our teachers as they stand up on this issue.
For Matua School, it is unfortunate that the strike has fallen the day before our planned Teacher Only Day. We would not have put the two together if a strike had been forecast. Our Teacher Only Day on Friday, 17th March, involves professional facilitators coming from Auckland and teachers from six other schools attending a conference being run at Matua. We will have 70 teachers engaged in a full day of professional learning, and cancelling this day isn’t feasible on this occasion.
Therefore the school will be closed for students at Matua on Thursday the 16th and Friday the 17th of March.
Ngā mihi nui
Marcus Norrish
Principal
MĀHURI TEAM PLAYER DAY
TOP SCHOOLS TEAM
SECOND HAND UNIFORM – HELP NEEDED
LIBRARY
The library is open every lunchtime except Friday. All children are welcome to enjoy our wonderful space. Thursday lunchtime, however, is reserved just for our Kākano team to visit. We will soon have two new sites set up for children to search for Matua Library Books online. Searching for books online is a skill that students can take with them to Intermediate and into the wider community.
Scholastic Books
Once a term your child will bring home a Scholastic Book Club Catalogue. The Scholastic Book Club Term 1 Issue 2 will be handed out to students soon.
Our school receives 20% of the price of each book purchased through the Scholastic Book Club. In turn, the scholastic dollars are used to purchase books and literacy resources for the school. There are many fantastic books available at reasonable prices, but please do not feel pressured by your child to purchase from the Book Club Catalogues. This is a resource offered to the community.
Orders are made online with credit card payments, or an order form with a cheque attached may be brought to school. The school does not accept cash. If you would like the book or purchase to be a gift, click the gift tab when ordering online, and we will contact you when the order arrives at the school office.
Last day for orders for our Term 1 Issue 2 is Wednesday 22 March 2023. Books purchased will be handed out to children in their classrooms unless they are gifts which are picked up from the office.
Tauranga City Libraries Bus Service
Please remember you will find the Tauranga Library bus either on Levers Road (opposite the bowling club) or at the Matua Shops (Tilby Drive) on Tuesdays. This is a great service that doesn’t require you to negotiate the busy roads into town on weekdays!
SPORT
REST HOME READERS
ROOM 22
Room 22 & 3 enjoyed some water fun this week with the help of the school pool and some water soakers. The sun came out for us and we all had a ball! It reminded us how lucky we are to have a school pool and a good amount of green space to run around on.
MATUA ANGELS
We have an amazing group of volunteers that come into school on a Monday morning. They help with anything from laminating, making resources for staff and all those jobs that help with the everyday running of school life.
It’s a great way to meet other parents and also support our wonderful staff.
If you would like to be involved, pop into the school office on Monday morning (9 -11am), have a cuppa and a biscuit, meet other parents and get involved. We really appreciate any help you are able to offer.
SCHOOL HOURS
A friendly reminder that school is not open until 8.30am. If you require childcare before these hours, please contact SKIDS either by email – matua@skids.co.nz, phone – 027 586 0408, or book online – www.skids.co.nz/Matua.
SCHOOL INFORMATION
SKIDS BEFORE & AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMME
“It’s time to book your Before & After School sessions with SKids, and join us for some fun in the sun at www.sKids.co.nz/Matua”
LUNCH ORDERS – EVERY FRIDAY
Lunch orders are available for delivery to Matua School each Friday.
SUBWAY
Simply order your SUBWAY lunch online through you myKindo account by CLICKING HERE
Order (or cancel) any time before 9:00am on the day or schedule in advance.
Help? Visit support.mykindo.co.nz or call 09-869 5200 Mon-Fri, 8:00am to 4:00pm.
Order ezlunch for delivery from Monday 27 March to Thursday 6 April and go in the draw to WIN a Lego Creator 3-in-1 White Rabbit. The winner will be drawn on Thursday 6 April 2023 and be notified by phone and/or email. Every lunch order gets another chance to win. Go to www.mykindo.co.nz to start ordering.
TERM DATES 2023
Open Morning – Friday 27th January, 10:30am – 12:00pm
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL 2023 – Tuesday 31st January
TERM 1 – Tuesday 31st January – Thursday 6th April.
Waitangi Day – Monday 6th February (school closed)
Parent/Child/Teacher Conferences – Friday 24th February (school closed)
Teacher Only Day – Friday 17th March (school closed)
TERM 2 – Wednesday 26th April – Friday 30th June.
Anzac Day – Tuesday 25th April
King’s Birthday – Monday 5th June
TERM 3 – Monday 17th July – Friday 22nd September.
Term 4 – Monday 9th October –
Labour Day – Monday 23rd October
Last Day of School – TBC
OUR SCHOOL APP
Our School App
We have a school app to keep you up to date with events and notifications. Click on the button below to check it out.
SETTING UP KINDO
Setting up with Kindo
Kindo is our prefered payments system. To help you learn how it works, we’ve added their new help sheet and video. We hope it helps.
KINDO VIDEO HELP
COMMUNITY NOTICES
NUMBER WORKS N WORDS
Maths and English after-school tuition – Boost your child’s confidence and results with NumberWorks’nWords. They provide fun, individualised lessons in maths and English for students who are struggling to keep up, and those bursting to race ahead.
Right now they are offering a free assessment and introductory lesson. Call Leanne or Kate on 07-578-5575 to book, or for more information visit www.numberworksnwords.co.nz
