Kia ora koutou,

Last Monday was a massive day at Matua School, with 540 children boarding 11 buses and travelling to Mauao, Mount Maunganui.  Once we arrived, the children divided up into Syndicate teams to explore Mauao and Moturiki Island (Leisure Island).  With our Senior Team tramping to the top and our other teams exploring other tracks on the maunga, the place was streaming with blue uniforms!  The focus of the trip was to spark curiosity and develop wonderings about the treasure that is Mauao.  The mountain is such a valued part of our landscape which is identified in our mihi and sung about in waiata.  So we wanted to consider why it is so important and what is being done to protect it.  This is all part of our Social Sciences and Histories Curriculum, which will continue to be the focus through Term 3.

We were thankful to have a group joining us from Ngati Ranginui.  Along with our kaumatua, Des Tata the group shared stories from local history that are connected to Mauao and also back to Matua.  We were thrilled to receive feedback from the Ngati Ranginui team and the bus company about the quality of the trip, the engagement of the students and the professionalism of our teachers.

We’d like to put a massive thanks out to all those parents and whānau who were able to support on the day.  It was a big undertaking and one that could not have happened without you.

Click on the video below to see a range of photos from the day.

Returning to school following illness

With COVID now part of daily life, guidelines around when to keep children home from school can get confusing.  The Ministry of Health has recently updated the winter wellness guidance for parents, caregivers and whānau to reflect the following points:

• If a child has been unwell with a respiratory illness other than COVID-19, they can return to school 24 hours after they have significantly improved and are behaving/eating normally.
• Following vomiting or diarrhoea, a child should be symptom-free for 48 hours before they can return.
• AFTER being sick, when a child still has a runny nose or dry cough without any other symptoms such as a fever, vomiting or diarrhoea, they are unlikely to be infectious and can be considered well enough to attend school.

KIDS CAN RIDE

MYSTERY BUS TOUR

What an amazing day at The Mount last Monday, for our ‘Mystery Bus Tour’.

The students learnt so much about the history of Mauao, Leisure Island and the surrounding area. For some of our students, it was the first time they had walked to the top of The Mount.

Huge thanks to all our parents that volunteered to help on the day. We really appreciate your time and effort.

SCHOOL INFORMATION

COMMUNITY NOTICES