Kia ora koutou,
Over the last couple of weeks, I have had the opportunity to visit our Rākau Team at camp. Each year our Year 5/6 students stay at Ngamuwahine Lodge, a campsite run by Tauranga Intermediate. The camp has an exciting range of adventure activities, which provide opportunities to challenge and create life-long memories. I know our teachers and parent volunteers come back from camp quite tired, but also buzzing about the great times that classes have while away.
On Thursday 28th March, we have our school Pōhiri at the Ōtūmoetai Pa. This is after it was postponed earlier in the term due to the weather. New families to the school are invited to join us as we formally welcome new children to the kura. All students will walk with classes to the Pa at approximately 11:00am, with the formalities starting at 11:15am. New parents are welcome to join us in the staffroom after the event for tea and coffee.
Kindo
The Kindo payment system is now up and running for the year. Any school costs that need to be paid can be completed through Kindo, so if you don’t currently have an account please follow the link and sign up. School Donations, Camp Fees and Sports Fees are now available online. If you have any problems accessing the system, please don’t hesitate to contact the office for support.
Follow THIS LINK to sign into KINDO, or use the link found in the Hero App.
Hero School App
This year, we introduced the Hero App. This tool has replaced the @School and Seesaw Apps and is designed to be a one-stop-shop for school communication and information. We are now five weeks into using Hero and have generally been very happy with how things have started. Like anything new, there will be the odd issue. Thank you to those who have let us know when you’ve had any issues. Mostly, problems have been minor and easily resolved.
We would like to gather some feedback from you regarding how Hero is working for you. Please take the time to complete the brief survey below.
Swimming Lessons Survey – Data Summary
In our last newsletter I shared about the decline in swimming ability we have been observing over the last few years. 94 parents completed a short survey asking about swimming lessons and your expectations of swimming at school. Thanks to the 94 parents who completed this survey. For your interest, below is a summary of the feedback received.
Ngā mihi nui
Marcus Norrish
Principal
TŪĪ TALKS – EPISODE 7…Follow, Like & Subscribe on Spotify!
Tūī Talks Episode 7 is now available on Spotify. This week, the team talked with Mark Lister about Money! Mark is an Investment Director at Craigs Investment Partners, and also a parent at Matua School. He also has his own podcast called ‘On Point’, so is a pro when it comes to all things money.
Please follow the link below to listen, and subscribe to our Tui Talks SPOTIFY channel for future episodes.
MAKERSPACE
In Rms 13, 14, and 15 we have started our weekly Makerspace sessions. Students are read a storybook and then posed with a ‘problem’ to help solve by designing and making a ‘contraption’ which fits a particular criteria. It’s way more than art and craft. It’s design, technology, maths and science for practical purposes. Ask you child about their Makerspace experiences, so far.
Sponsorship 2024
We are thrilled to have a number of businesses that support Matua School as sponsors. We are approaching a time when we have opportunities for new sponsors to partner with Matua School. If you are a business leader and would like to explore these opportunities further, please see the information below and/or contact me at marcusn@matua.school.nz
GARDEN TO TABLE NEWS
We have been very fortunate to have the Grice family donate more Tui Garden mix to Garden to Table. This will be used to refill the growing beds. We really appreciate the ongoing support we have received. Thanks. We look forward to getting winter crops in before the temperature drops. Adrian Knowles kindly transported this massive amount of garden mix. Thanks so much. This programme relies heavily on community support. We really appreciate the time and effort that goes into making this programme a highlight for many.
SPORT
KAKANO – POLICE VISIT
| Our schoolwide theme for this year is on service. People who serve us, provide a service/help us and what we can do to be of service.
Constable Jenna came to talk to us about what the police do. She told us how important it is to know our names, where we live and who we are with. The children got to hop in the police car and try on police uniforms too. |
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
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.
TERM DATES 2024
Term 1, 2024 – Wednesday 7th February 2024 – Friday 12th April
Waitangi Day – Tuesday 6th February
Learner Conferences – Friday 1st March. School will be closed for instruction.
Easter Weekend – Friday 29th March until Tuesday 2nd April
Term 2, 2024 – Monday 29th April – Friday 5th July
Teacher Only Day #1 – Friday 31st May
King’s Birthday – Monday 3rd June
Matariki – Friday 28th June
Term 3, 2024 – Monday 22nd July – Friday 27th September
Term 4, 2024 – Monday 14th October – Friday 20th December (12:30pm finish)
Teacher Only Day – Friday 25st October
Labour Day – Monday 28th October
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
CAPE EGMONT VIRTUAL HALF MARATHON 2024
Want to walk or run in your own time, but also be part of a fantastic event? Then we would love you to join us.
The Cape Egmont Virtual Half Marathon offers three distance options – 5 km, 10 km and 21 km. Which can be completed any time anywhere from the 1st to the 31st of July 2024. Simply record your time via Strava, Map my run, Fit Bit or screenshot and upload through our website. Every finisher receives a medal and all money raised goes to the Taranaki Cancer Society and the Taranaki Men Can Exercise Group. To help those in our province affected by cancer.
ENTER AT: www.capeegmonthalf.com ENQUIRES capeegmonthalf@gmail.
BLUE LIGHT – KIDS GONE FISHING
The annual Blue light Kids Gone Fishing Competition is being held on the 17th of March 2024 at Tauranga Bridge Marina.
This event is FREE!
- Free bait
- Free handheld lines
- Free BBQ
- Spot Prizes
