Thank you so much for the lovely welcome to Motumaoho School. It is a pleasure to learn the well-organised systems in the school, which have enabled me to get straight on with the Principal role. 

In discussions with some whaanau and the teachers we are making a few small changes here at school.

As many of you know, we are now encouraging whaanau to come into the school grounds at the end of the day to catch up with teachers, or to look at children’s amazing artwork or science experiments. It is awesome to see the adults having a catch-up as you wait for your children. 

Please remember to let only your children out of the gate at the end of the day. We have identified this as a potential hazard for our tamariki and appreciate your support in ensuring children leave the grounds only when someone is identified to pick them up.

The teaching team have also decided that we will have assembly once every four weeks instead of fortnightly. We are finding with the demands of the new Curriculum that it is difficult to find time to prepare the children for presenting quality items in assembly. We will continue to have the 'Caught Being Good' draw on Friday afternoon as we gather together at the end of the day for karakia in Ruma Tūī. Assembly dates will be shared closer to the day.

The whole school worked together on Pink Shirt day and explored what bullying is and how to respond when we see someone being bullied. There was a lot of pink worn on that day - thanks everyone for making such a great effort on Pink Shirt Day 2025!

Last week, we delved into the fascinating world of animals and how we can categorise them. Room Pīwakawaka have thoroughly enjoyed sharing their ideas, wonderings, and opinions, showing excellent collaboration and curiosity throughout our discussions.

We’ve introduced and explored new vocabulary such as carnivore, herbivore, mammal, amphibian, and reptile, helping to build a strong foundation in understanding the characteristics that make each group unique. It’s been a fantastic start to our topic, and we’re all looking forward to continuing this exciting learning journey in the second half of the term.

This week, we started learning about recycling and waste. Room Pīwakawaka shared what they already know, and we are excited to learn even more. Next week we are looking forward to making recycled paper with our friends from Room Tūī.

There’s also been lots of excitement in the kitchen as students take turns baking delicious Anzac biscuits with Eden.

Ruma Tūī have been enjoying the last of the autumn sunshine. It was lovely to share a lunch outside with Ruma Pīwakawaka and celebrate Whaea Anney’s birthday with some delicious cake.

Our cross-country training is going extremely well — the children have surprised themselves with what they can achieve.

As part of our Inquiry into Zero Waste we have focused on keeping things we no longer need out of the landfill and recycling.  We have made an attempt to make paper and are looking forward to evaluating the product and having another go soon. (See the photos below).

Thank you, Miss Carli, for the music lessons we have on a Tuesday afternoon. It is wonderful to see the enthusiasm and everyone being ready to learn new skills.  

It is hard to believe that June is almost with us and we have started some work on Matariki. Stand by for an art project that Whaea Anney is working on!

Ruma Pīwakawaka - Blake and Leah

Ruma Tūi - Waiparemoa and Rhona

Caught being Good Lucky Draw: Rhona and Blake

We have just been provided with a date for planting our native plants. The demands of a working farm have meant that the plants need to be in the ground before the end of June, and the unavailability of the staff from Trees for Survival towards the end of the month has brought the date early into June. Notices about the planning for this will be available next week.

In Week 8, 16-19 June we are having a whole school focus on Matariki. This will involve a number of activities which fit the Matariki theme. If you have any skills in fried bread, rēwana bread or weaving, puti-puti making we would love to hear from you!

On Thursday 19th June we will hold our Cross Country event here at school in the morning, followed by a Matariki Assembly and then shared kai. More information will come out about this soon.

As previously mentioned our school Cross Country will be part of our Matariki Day celebrations on Thursday 19th June.

School closed on Monday 2 June

This is a part of the Government-Directed Maths Professional Development program for all schools. Motumaoho School will be closed for the day.

School Cross Country/Matariki Celebration
Thursday 19 June

Matariki
School closed on Friday 20 June

Every three years, state and state-integrated school communities elect their parent and staff representatives to help govern their schools. Later in the year we will be holding our triennial School Board Elections.

To ensure we have the correct contact information for you, a Google form link was emailed out last week. Thank you to those caregivers who completed the form. If you haven't already, please click here and complete the short form.  This information will only be used for the purpose of the elections and to update our records. 

Enjoy your extra long King's Birthday weekend!