2026 Off and running, biking and swimming

 Triathlon Triumph

If you thought that we were off and running last week we are literally off and running, biking,and swimming in week 2. It was fantastic to see so many whanau at school supporting their children. We had very few no-shows from our students and nearly everybody gave triathlon a go. It is a challenging event and it’s fabulous to see our school values in action.If you want  examples of Attitude, Adventure and Achievement, there they are.  Maybe next year Coast to Coast (I did hear a local radio announcer say this morning that he had just received a text from a local listener saying “I’m just confirming that I am not competing in the Coast to Coast for the 44th year in a row.”)

A standout for me was the way that our new leaders and some of our senior students supported other students. They were like old souls cheering them on, encouraging them and helping them. We talk often of the values of whanaungatanga, awhingatanga and manaakitanga and they were right there front and centre. As always some of the staff ran with the children to make sure that they could be included.  Despite the contrary weather it was a truly heartwarming day. Congratulations everybody. Excellent organisation from the Sports Team and all of the staff.

Asia Pasific Dodgeball Championships at Te Puna Wai

 Nearly 2 years ago Simon, an ex school board member asked if our kapa haka group would be willing to lead the mihi whakatau at the opening ceremony of the  Asia Pasific Dodgeball Championships held at Te Puna Wai. Of course I said yes.

Murphy's Law says that anything that has been planned that can be affected by weather events, will be affected by weather events. Thursday was a strike day for teachers in the union and we had severe Red Weather warnings with the possibility of hurricane force winds. Oh goody!

We followed all the precautions and notified every authority to seek advice and then decided to proceed

A Day to Remember -Athletics Day

 Oh my life we couldn't have ordered a better day. Well the morning part anyway.

The sun was out, the grounds looked beautiful and the scene was set for a fantastic day. Our tamariki were truly wonderful and we noticed how many children overcame their reluctance to participate in previous events, and absolutely gave their best. Our goal is to have all children turn up on the day ready to do  their best.

The positive comments we received from parents, grandparents and extended whanau were heartwarming . Thank you for being so kind and supportive of our kura, staff and children. Even the caretaker got a special mention for the pristine state of the grounds. Go Dennis.

The stand out comments were about the commitment and kindness of the teachers and Teacher Assistants and the evidence of tuakana teina across the school as the older tamariki looked after and supported younger children.

Another fantastic day team.