Newsletter 8th April 2024
From the Principal
It has been a great term of fine weather and a wide range of school events and activities. It was wonderful to come together as a community for the school picnic, parent interviews, book day parades, community events such as the Howick fun Run and inter-school sport.
END OF TERM REMINDERS
Lost property
We have quite a few items in lost property so if your child has misplaced any clothing please get them to check the box between Room 6 and Room 7 and their class cloak bay.
Sunhats are not compulsory until Term 4.
EMERGENCY CONTACTS
It is important we have all your contact details correct including address, cell phone and an emergency contact in case we cannot get hold of a parent.
We ring if your child has had a knock to the head or injury we feel needs further medical attention.
TERM 2
School starts back on Monday 29 April at 9.00 am – Normal school day
During the holidays we acknowledge ANZAC Day on April 25th
Significance of Anzac Day
ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. April 25th marks the first major military action fought by the Australian and New Zealand forces during World War 1, at Gallipoli.
OUR SCHOOL VALUES AND PROMOTES GOOD MANNERS
Our core values of Respect - Kauanuanu
Responsibility- Kawenga
Honesty - Pononga
Kindness- Manaaki
are part of who we are at Pakuranga Heights.
We encourage all students to greet adults and each other, stand back and let others through, help those who need help without expecting a reward, be kind, honest, and responsible in all that we do and say. A simple please and thank you goes a long way all throughout life. Thank you for the great job that you as parents are obviously doing as your children look to us as adults to be their role models. We often get great feedback from visitors about the warm and friendly culture and environment that is our school.
More Water and Drink Bottle Stations
During the holidays we are installing more stations around the school. This will ensure easier access for junior and all students using the field.
Have a safe and happy holiday
Fintan, Sue and Monique
Book Day 2024
Thursday 28th March saw the school overtaken with characters from our favourite books. As always, it was amazing to see the time and effort that had gone into creating costumes at home, it is incredible to see what can be made out of what you have at home. Thank you to all the parents, siblings and friends that put time into supporting our annual book day.
PTA Guess the Easter Egg Competition
Congratulations to Harley from Room 10 who won the PTA's Guess the Easter Egg competition with a correct guess of 188 eggs right before the close of the competition!
House Spirit Day
Last Friday we held our first termly House Spirit Day and a great time was had by all. The day started with a values assembly where we all sat in our house groups instead of with our classes, it was fantasic to see the sea of colour in the hall. After values assembly each house gathered to practice their house chant and take part in a range of co-operative games. The morning finished with house vs house tug of war on the field. It was a great start to our house days which will happen towards the end of each term this year.
Sports News
PALS workshop day
Our Sports Leaders had the amazing opportunity to participate in a Physical Activity Leaders (PALs) workshop day on Tuesday 12th March at the Auckland Netball Centre. It was a day filled with inspiration, growth, and invaluable lessons in leadership.
Throughout the workshop, the Sports Leaders embraced their roles as emerging leaders with enthusiasm and dedication. They participated in a variety of activities and discussions aimed at developing their leadership skills, so that they can implement them back into weekly lunchtime sports.
We are looking forward to delivering more fun and engaging activities throughout the rest of the year.
Wheels Day 2024
On Friday 22nd March, Pakuranga Heights School had their Wheels Day. It brought lots of excitement for everyone, with Juniors, Middles, and Seniors each having their own zones of fun. The Juniors started their day with a bike and scooter course, showing off their colourful wheels. The Middles also participated in a bike and scooter course, navigating their way around ramps and cones. Lastly, the Seniors enjoyed a challenging afternoon with their peers, sporting cool tricks and impressive skills on their wheels. Our Travelwise and Sport leaders supported all students throughout the day by encouraging safety and fun. They even had a bike wash to make our wheels squeaky clean!
Throughout the day, there was laughter and cheering, with students supporting each other and even the teachers joining in on the fun. Ka pai everyone on an exciting and successful wheels day.
Extra Curricular Excellence
On Easter Sunday Braxtyn and Kade from Room 15 played league at Mt Smart Stadium. Braxtyn played for the Pakuranga Jaguars and Kade played for the Richmond Bulldogs. It was mate vs mate in this exciting game which was played in front of a sold out stadium before the mighty Wah's defeated the Knights. Tu meke boys, this is an incredible experience!
Celebrating Excellence
Every week, as a class Room 6 reads a shared big book. We take turns reading out loud, find out the meaning of unfamiliar words and discuss the text. One of the books we have studied is Mrs McFee who keeps losing her colourful hats to the wind and magpies because she fails to read a sign. As a response, our class made some fun hats and recorded why we liked the book.
Room 5 have been learning about waka hourua migration canoes. They have worked very hard to try and build their own!
From the Community
