Whenuakura 

School 
 
Newsletter 
 

 
 
 
 
‘Growing Personal Excellence’ 
 

Thursday 2nd May 2019 

Term 2 Week 1 
Hi everyone,

We are thrilled to welcome everyone back to term 2

and a special welcome to Kayson Williams. Kayson is in
the Teina nest and has already settled and making
friends.
We have also had Eric Vaughan coming along to
before school visits, and will welcome Eric as a 5 year
old on Monday. We hope you both enjoy your
schooling at Whenuakura.

The drop in temperatures remind us that winter is

looming. A timely reminder to please wear the correct
school uniform - plain black or red thermals under the
polos, and if students want to wear long pants /
leggings, please ensure these are plain with no big logos.
This photo is of some of our learners who decided to spend ​their Dojo points on a well earned morning tea. Well
done on using the CORE values and showing the Whenuakura Way.

Paid Union Meetings

Paid Union meetings are being held around the
country, and our local meeting is on Thursday 9th
May. All staff who are NZEI members are entitled to
attend these meetings, so to enable this to happen,
please ensure your children are collected at 1pm on
Thursday 9th May.

Rippa Rugby
The Taranaki Rippa Rugby Tournament is being held at Hawera Intermediate on Wednesday 8th May. Thank you
to everyone who has returned their permission slips for this. We will be leaving school at 9.10 and return by
2.45. Please wear black shorts. Mouth guards are optional and everyone plays in bare feet. Please remember
lunch and a water bottle.

Bhana Cup
All year 5 and 6 children are participating in the Bhana Cup Tournament and involved in either rugby, netball,
hockey or soccer. Practices will be held at Patea Area School and we may need help with transport for these. We
will let you know as soon as practices days and times are confirmed. The tournament is on Wednesday 26th June
in Hawera.

Duffy Theatre
Duffy theatre is always a very entertaining show which promotes reading in schools.
We are lucky enough to have Duffy visiting again on Tuesday 14th May at 1.30pm and
invite you to come along. The show is approximately 50 minutes long, and on their
recommendations, “ it can sometimes be frightening for very young children.”
Wai O Turi Marae Visit
We were so grateful to have spent some time at
our local Wai o Turi Marae. It was a fantastic
learning opportunity for all and we really
appreciate your support with this visit. Children
were involved in a range of activities and all really
enjoyed the experience. Some of the highlights
were learning mau rakau, weaving, poi making, ti
rakau, kapa haka and much more. Check out all of
our photos on our school Facebook page.Thank
you to Whaea Narlene and our Nannies - Te Aroha,
Betty and Queenie for imparting your knowledge.
Thank you also to Sunnie Kershaw, Whaea Puhi
and Patea Area School students - Te Pouwhare,
Patrick, Te Anahera, Kahurangi and Aiyana for sharing your skills.

- A person nurtured in the community contributes strongly to society.

Tangata ako ana i te kainga te turanga ki te marae tau ana.

AgriKids
Wow, what fun we all had! It was the first time our school has run AgriKids and a huge thank you to Dean
Sorenson and all of the parents who helped out on the day. Our CORE value of collaboration was utilised
throughout all of the activities as children worked in their teams to complete challenges.
ANZAC Day
Thank you to Lorcan, Georgie, Aidan, Lachlan and Jack for representing Whenuakura School so well at the recent
Patea Dawn Service. You did us all very proud. Lest we forget.

School Pool
As we have now finished swimming for the year, can everyone who has had a pool key please return this to
school. Thank you to Geoffrey Miller for maintaining this for us.

Cull Cows
Once again our local community has been so supportive of Whenuakura School by donating a cull cow. We
would like to thank most sincerely the following farmers for this generous donation.
Scott & Alex Newland, Conna & Nick Smith, Andrew & Alison Hurley, Joe & Kelly Crawford, Al & Alva
Honeyfield, Craig & Marichen Honeyfield, Ross & Kate Williams, Paul & Bianca Mitchell.
If you would still like to donate please contact Josh Sandford, ph 027 471 5042 or Nigel Corbett, ph 027 453
7602.

​Board of Trustees Elections

We will be calling for nominations for the School Board of Trustees by the 10th May. There is a Board of Trustees
meeting tonight, Thursday 2nd May at 6 pm. If you are interested in becoming a Board member, you are
welcome to come along and observe the meeting.

Dates to remember:

Thurs 2nd May BOT meeting, 6pm

Wed 8th May Rippa Tournament, Hawera

Thurs 9th May Stop work meetings, please pick up children at 1pm

Tues 14th May Duffy Theatre, 1.30 pm

Tues 21st / Wed 22nd May National Young Leaders camp, Wellington

Fri 31st May Assembly, 2.30 pm

Mon 3rd June Queens Birthday, school closed

Fri 7th June Quiz Night

Regards, Whenuakura School Staff