Week 6 Term 3 Newsletter

Term 3 Week 6 Newsletter

Principal’s Message….

It has been an eventful couple of weeks around here against the backdrop of production rehearsals rolling on and spring arriving. It seems incredible that two weeks ago we couldn’t really use the field because it was too boggy and now the kids are happily running around again on it. 

Last week we went to Kahutara school to see the Martinborough Music Festival string quartet. It was a great event where the musicians engaged the students really well. And this week the year 6,7 and 8s travelled to Aratoi in Masterton for a photography workshop. 

Sadly the other event that has been important to this community this week has been the passing of Teresa Aporo. I would just like to briefly mention the experience I had visiting to pay my respects on behalf of Pirinoa School on Wednesday. 

I’m a Pākeha with a strong interest in Te Ao Māori but not a massive amount of experience. I have to say I was humbled and moved by my visit to Kohunui. I had driven past a couple of times on Tuesday and Wednesday and had seen lots of cars. But I wasn’t 100% sure about whether I could just turn up. I did anyway and wandered up to the front entrance. I wasn’t quite sure where to put myself but was rescued by a young woman on her way out. Everyone was very welcoming, and all of a sudden I was standing waiting to be welcomed into the wharenui. There was a quiet karanga and then accompanied by my host shuffled forward onto the porch of the wharenui. We entered and the tangata whēnua were there seated on one side waiting for me to enter. A very eloquent young orator did his whaikōrero and then the people of the marae sang a truly beautiful waiata in response. Then it was my turn, followed up by my host singing for me. Afterwards we all ‘hongi-ed’ and then I spent some time with Teresa and met some of her family.

I have spoken on marae before but never in this very impromptu way. I did my best in Te Reo and in English and I think I represented us well. I emphasized how grateful I was that Teresa had recently reached out to arrange for the school to come and have some experiences at the marae in coming months, and for all the hard work she has done, especially in the realms of waterway restoration, a mahi which I know resonates well with the Pirinoa School community. The school has contributed a koha to the marae in honour of Teresa.

ROOM 1 NEWS:

Today Room 1 did a nature treasure hunt today, finding all sorts of interesting things. We unearthed millipedes, slaters, worms and of course spiders. The most popular though was snails. We also looked at the spring growth in the orchard and noticed all the flowers that will eventually turn into fruit.

ROOM 2 NEWS:

In Room 2, we have had a great few weeks. We have been busy rehearsing for the production, our year 6’s went on a photography course, and we have been working on developing our writing skills by adding similes to our stories. We are getting pretty good at them, and our stories are sounding fantastic! 

Jadson Gardner – Age 7 

ROOM 3 NEWS:

This week, Room 3 hosted Sarah Silk. She is an Environmental Advisor who came to help us with a Power Up Challenge. We were challenged to design and build a wind turbine that would power up 9 LED lights on a small chip board (our city). After some trial and error on Wednesday, today we managed to make 6 different types of turbines that actually worked! We loved having Sarah in our classroom and really appreciated her giving up her time to hang out with us.

LANDGIRL LUNCHES:

School lunches available everyday. $10 includes fruit and a slice for morning tea and either a toasty or pizza with a hot chocolate for lunch. ($7.50 for just lunch, no morning tea)