Newsletter 13th May 2024
From the Principal
A warm welcome to our new families and your whānau to our school community. We also welcome this term a new staff member to our Pakuranga Heights whanau. Miss Anna Campbell is the new teacher in Room 6. Welcome Anna!
Another month until it's officially winter but the days are cooling down fast. Please ensure all jumpers and jackets are clearly named as often left in cloak bays, hall and on the field.
Government Priorities in Education
Daily attendance reporting
As part of the Government’s attendance action plan, Seymour announced the release of new daily attendance requirements..
The purpose is to raise public awareness. The Government has set a target of 80% regular attendance each term by 2030. To achieve this, the Ministry is advising schools that they need to aspire to reach an average daily attendance rate above 94%.
The Government is taking a harder line on unjustified absences by students eg: overseas holidays during term time.
Going to school is critical for our children’s futures. The evidence is clear that every day of school matters, missing school leads to lower achievement. In New Zealand, learners are expected to attend school every day the school is open. And yet many don’t. New Zealand has lower attendance than other countries and alarmingly attendance is falling. (Education Review Office)
We will continue to strive to raise attendance through a variety of ways as this directly impacts on progress and achievement.
Fintan, Sue and Monique
Senior School Shade Canopy Update
This project is about to start with fencing going up this week and work beginning on the drains and ensuring a smooth surface.
The whole project should take less than a month to complete as most of the frame is built offsite.
Is my child well enough to go to school
We know that going to school every day is important for all students. But as a parent or guardian, it can be difficult deciding if your child is well enough to attend school. Please use link to see latest Ministry guidelines.
Celebrating Excellence
Room 7’s Roly- Poly Birds!
Room 7 have been reading The Twits, and were fascinated by the very colourful, very clever Roly-Poly bird.
“I wish we could have a Roly-Poly Bird in our classroom.” Safaa told us. We decided we would make our own version of the Roly-Poly Bird!
We used pastels to blend two colours together for the bird’s body. Then we used dye to make the feathers for their long tails. Lastly, we added some glitter to give them some pizazz. We now have our very own flock of Roly-Poly Birds with us in Room 7!
Pink Shirt Day
Once again this year we will be taking part in Pink Shirt Day on Friday 17th May. Pink Shirt Day is a worldwide initiative to stop bullying and in New Zealand is driven by the Mental Health Foundation.
We will hold a mufti day with students encouraged, but not required, to add some pink to their outfit. While there are official Pink Shirt Day t-shirts available please do not feel you have to go out and purchase anything.
With Winter approaching, we are aware this is a difficult time for many families in our community, so we are asking students to bring a can or other non-perishable food item for this Mufti Day. These will be donated to the East City Salvation Army who we have supported in the past.
From the PTA
Pod Squad
These crazy kids from the Pod Squad had a awesome time last weekend at the school, 2500 points(2471 seedlings 29 pods)
From the Community
Kia ora and welcome to the May 2024 update on the Eastern Busway project. This month we’re including more photos in response to your feedback. The images give an insight into the work in progress and introduce some of the people involved in building the busway and flyover. If there’s anything else you’d like to see in these updates, please let us know by using the Quick Feedback buttons below. |
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Looking towards Botany A dedicated haul road has been constructed for site trucks between Riverhills Park and the Tī Rākau Drive Bridge. A retaining wall and piling foundations are being built for the busway bridge over the Tāmaki River. |
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The flyover’s foundations Equipment including a piling rig and stacked yellow temporary steel casings are at the closed end of Reeves Road, ready to build the piles which will support the flyover. The casings provide stability to the top section of the piles’ holes preventing collapse under the weight of the piling rig. When each pile hole has been filled with concrete, the casings are removed and reused. |
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Meet our people - Ida Taefu Climbing Iceland’s highest mountain is the type of project that professional engineer and accomplished sportswoman Ida Taefu loves to champion in her spare time. Ida enjoys taking big work challenges in her stride, too, leading a team of engineers, surveyors and project managers, and is completing an international MBA degree. Ida’s enthusiasm for travel led to her involvement with several complex rail projects in the UK, Australia and NZ before joining the Eastern Busway Alliance in 2021. Ida’s motivation for working on the busway project is that she loves a good challenge and being involved in projects that make a positive difference to communities. Born and raised in Samoa, Ida lives in Ormiston with her husband Alex - also an engineer – and their two children, Ida adds, “It makes this project personal. It’s wonderful to be able to help improve local public transport and connections”. |
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Managing noise, vibration and dust Construction activities can generate noise, vibration and dust, which we measure and manage to ensure compliance with regulations and the standards expected of large projects. Mitigation strategies include using equipment with low noise and vibration emissions, avoiding dropping materials from height, installing sound barriers in noisy areas, and scheduling activities considerately. While our neighbours may feel construction-related vibration, it rarely causes property damage or exceeds limits and we work closely with them to provide relief from constructon-related impacts. Dust is managed through regular site inspections, water spraying and clearing haulage routes. Trucks are loaded carefully and loose materials are covered to minimise dust emissions. Site monitoring helps assess dust levels and manage them effectively. |
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Roadwork updates for May and June · From 6 May there will be layout changes on Mattson Road · On 1 June the Reeves Road connection between Cortina Place and Pakūranga Plaza will close · Until mid June there will be layout changes at night on the South Eastern Highway and Tī Rākau Drive · Temporary access to the Edgewater Shopping Centre visitor car park will be from Edgewater Drive. Our closest neighbours may be interested to read more about work in progress and detours. | |
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Thank you for your ongoing support while we build the Eastern Busway and shape a more connected, accessible future for East Auckland. If you have any questions about this information or would like to talk to the team, please contact us by calling 0800 287 929 or emailing info@easternbusway.nz. Ngā mihi nui
The Eastern Busway Alliance |
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