Pukeokahu School - Pukeokahu School 84 Matawhero Road

Arohamai koutou – we have been flat out! Life seems to be heading back some kind of normal which means that the calendar is back to almost as busy as pre-pandemic!

Speaking of COVID – we had a very small brush with this early in the term but thankfully it didn’t spread far and we were able to keep school operational. A long overdue thank you must go to the parents and Board members who stepped into fill in when we had staff away. It really is lovely to be surrounded by a supportive bunch of people.

Anyway on to more interesting updates.

Learning this Term

This term has had a focus around the Hauora of People. We have explored road safety and gathered information from our community about the speed vehicles drive by school. The outcome of this is a plan to install more signage. Currently a work in progress.

We also looked at financial literacy in related to our chicken mission. We now have our chicken coop at school, many thanks to Pip Stalker for building this for us and to Horizons for supporting us with a grant to pay for it. The chickens will come in Term 3. We still need to purchase the fencing and few other things. We’ve loaned money from the BOT to do this and will be working during the year to pay this off.

Currently we learning some more about Matariki and then will look at our well-being.

Earlier in the term we also received a grant from Pub Charities Limited. This helped us purchase a Magic Play Box with loads of loose parts for outdoor play. Pity it’s pretty much rained ever since it arrived! We also purchased some maths equipment and are making good use of this in the classroom.

Jumping June

Some of you remember Jump Rope for Heart, well Jumping June is the new name for this fundraiser. We will be holding a Jumping June event on Thursday 23rd June at school, see flyer below, and have Papanui School coming to Join us. All are welcome to join us, however if you’re feeling unwell please avoid coming.

Congratulations

Huge acknowledgement to the following children:

Rickon Gilbert got player of the day for his rugby last week and then went onto run very competitively in the Taupo Possum Run last weekend.

Keeva Harrison got player of the day for her netball this week.

School Values

We have had a spotlight on the school value of Manaakitanga over the past couple of weeks. Manaakitanga at our school means:

• We care for ourselves and others.
• We accept others for who they are.
• We are active participants in our learning and our community.

This means that we use kind words and tone of voice to speak to each other and adults. We take responsibility for our mistakes and make it right when we need to. It also means we get on with the our mahi and do a decent job of it.

The kids can be super proud of how they’re going with this particular spotlight!

Upcoming Events

• Thursday 23 June – Jumping June
• Friday 24 June – Matariki Holiday (school closed)
• Monday 27 June – Mangaweka visit.
• Wednesday 29 Jun – Board Meeting 7pm at School. All welcome. This is an election year – have you considered joining the Board? Come along to this meeting and see what it’s about.
• Friday 1 July – Mid Year Reports go home.
• Friday 8 July – End of Term 2
• Monday 25 July – Start of Term 3.

National Young Leaders Day

We sent 5 students to this day in Palmerston North. Thank you to Andrea, Melissa and Hazel who took the children. There a couple pieces of writing about the day below which will tell yo more.

Ngā mihi nui koutou – until next update!

From Keeva…

The day started bright and early. It was Wednesday the 25th of May. As I woke I felt a spark of excitement. When I was all ready to go Mum drove me to Aunty Melissa’s house, Hazel had arrived just as we did. When all of us were ready to go we hopped in the car and drove to Palmerston North. On the way we stopped at BP and got a drink to warm us up. Luca and I also got two doughnuts (they were so good). When we arrived in Palmy, Luca, Hazel, and I hopped into Andrea’s car with the boys. We all got wristbands that were neon green. When we entered the theatre where the Young Leaders was being held, we decided that we would sit on the top floor. When we got to where we were sitting we noticed the music that was blasting as loud as it could go. 

The first people to come on stage were the hosts. I can’t remember what their names were, but they were definitely trying to make sure that we were having fun. The first speaker was Sam Johnson. He was there to talk to us about his business which was the Student Volunteer Army. Sam had helped a lot of people with his volunteer group. The next speaker was supposed to be William Pike but instead it was a girl that lost her arm and a car crash when she was six. She said that sometimes life puts a mountain in front of you and you have to learn how to climb it. Then we took a break for morning tea.

After the morning tea break, we played a game. The game was an emoji game, where they would put pictures on the big screen and we had to guess what the emoji was. The next speaker was Georgia Latu, she had created a Poi business at the age of twelve. Georgia had made her business with her Mum. After that we got to see the NZ singer, songwriter, her name was Georgia as well. Georgia Lines was very interesting, and inspiring. Because she is a New Zealander, and that shows that New Zealanders can really do anything. 

We stopped for lunch at about twelve thirty. We had sushi, and Luca and I had boba, but we didn’t like it so we gave it to the boys. We also had a look around well, Luca and Charlie had a look around for their old school mates. The last speaker was Riley Hathaway. She was the co-founder of Young Ocean Explorers. She started it  with her dad. 

At the end Georgia Lines sang for us, she sang one of her original songs. After that she sang Driver’s Licence, and everyone sang with her. Georgia had a gorgeous voice. Then the host came out and said goodbye. Personally I had a really good time, and wish I could go next year. 

From Luca….

On 25th of May we went to the Young Leaders. Me, Keeva, Hazel and my Mum were all in one car. I was really tired on the way so Keeva and I got donuts and a hot drink. When we went into the Theatre an old man showed us to our seats. We got to sit on the top level. The windows were tinted black so it felt like night time. There was a dance cam so if the camera was on you, you had to dance.   

There were 5 speakers. My favourite was Georgia Lines. She’s a NZ singer/songwriter. There was also a guy who started a business to help people. There was a girl who started a poi business when she was 12 she is 15 now. And another one of my favourites was a girl who lost her arm in a crash. She came instead of a man with no leg. Also there was a girl from Young Ocean Explorers. 

We got to ask the speakers questions. Charlie asked the girl from Young Ocean Explorers what her next challenge was, she said she didn’t know yet. Around 12:30 we went for lunch. We got sushi, Keeva and I got boba. The boba was disgusting so we gave it to the boys. Keeva gave hers to Mikaire but he didn’t want it so he left it on a table.

After lunch we had a game. The top and the bottom level had one pool floatie and one inflatable boat. We had to get in from side to side the fastest. The bottom row won the first round and the top row won the second round. Then in the third round we won. We also played another game called the emoji game. They showed emojis on the big screen and we had to guess the movie or the song.  

Towards the end Georgia Lines Sang a song for us. First she sang one  of her originals. Then she sang a famous song called Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo. I could hear the boys singing really loudly. After that the host came out and said goodbye. Before we left we went to the Plaza. While we walked there we saw Keeva’s drink on a different table. When we got to the Plaza we bumped into Mamma and she brought us a drink. After that we drove home. Overall it was a very fun day. I wish I could do it next year!