Te Karere o te Tumuaki/Principal's Message
Kia ora e te whānau,
Here we are at the end of Term 2 already. It was a short term, with short weeks included so we have tried, not always successfully, to keep things simple. There have been a lot of exciting opportunities for our tamariki. Danny has shared many of these in his Friday Facebook posts. How lucky they are to get such a wide range of experiences that takes them into new territory.
We are in the process of gathering quotes and ideas for upgrading the playgrounds, and the environmental team are working on the establishment of a sensory garden. It is great to be able to make improvements to our outdoor space for the benefit of our tamariki.
Quite a number of us have been hit with the variety of bugs and illnesses that are going around. It is a timely reminder to practice our hygiene habits. Have fresh air in the indoor spaces and eat and sleep well so we can stay as healthy as possible. We expect absences during these winter terms due to illness, therefore it is even more important that our tamariki are attending school when they are well. Even when it's just here and there, missing days breaks up learning. Help your child to stay confident and connected. Being at school regularly really matters. If they are sick, please let us know via the regular channels.
I hope you have a relaxing and recharging whānau time planned during the holidays. Stay safe and well.
Ngā manaakitanga
AnnMaree MacGregor
Principal
Matariki Celebrations at Onerahi Primary
Whānau were welcomed into our kura on Thursday the 26th of June, to celebrate Matariki with us.
Time was spent visiting classrooms to check out the learning of their tamariki. Whānau were nourished with delicious soups, prepared by each class. Following this, there were performances by each of our Kapa Haka rōpu. It was great to come together to celebrate this important event.
Te Tau Ihu at the Morningside Primary Matariki Celebration
Our Kapa Haka performance rōpu - Te Tau Ihu - joined other schools recently at the Morningside Primary Matariki festival on Thursday the 19th of June. Two of our performers share their thoughts on the day below:
"We were nervous at first, but once on stage the nerves just disappeared. I think we did great. We have improved on last years performance. Our confidence in expressing emotions has grown a lot. Those that were in Whakapuawai last year found it especially hard as they had not spent as much time performing to large audiences.
Getting ready was stressful, with lots of coming and going. Getting fully kitted out for the first time in both Moko and Korowai made us feel proud, we worked hard to earn this privilige. Stepping up to lead, attending lots of practices, committing fully to learning the moves (the poi moves were tricky!) and the words did challenge us but we are glad we accepted that wero.
After our performance we got great feedback from other kura, it was good to hear we looked and sounded so professional"
By Lucy Abraham and Peyton Kemp
Ākonga/Students Corner
Recently, a small group of ākonga from the Reorua class turned into water warriors - petitioning our local council to extend the marine reserve at Whangarei Heads. Well done team, we are proud of your efforts. Kei te whakahīhī au. It was great to see that the council have passed on your request to the Department of Conservation, who manage Marine Reserves. Best of luck. Kia kaha waimarie mo koutou arataki.
Here is the email they sent:
"Dear Vince Cocurullo, Deb Harding, Phoenix Ruka, Patrick Holmes and Nicholas Connop,
We are a small rōpu from Onerahi Primary, we were chosen to represent our class, Reorua.
We are writing this email because we would like to expand the Reotahi Marine Reserve so more fish can live in the moana. We visited Taurikura and Reotahi with the Experiencing Marine Reserves to compare the fish we saw at the two places. We noticed a big difference between the amount of marine life that we saw, Reotahi had more fish and more species. We propose that making the area bigger will protect our marine life and the fish that have low numbers or are still growing. One of our teachers was a part of helping make the Marine Reserve when she was at school and we would like to carry that on.
We are kaitiaki of our whenua and moana and we think that if we could make this change it will be inspiring for other kids and they will know they can make a difference too.
We have included a map in this email and we think that if the reserve was extended at points G and F along the coast this would help our Marine life. We have also made a poster which we have attached to the email and we will share in our school community.
This is a piece of writing from some students who went snorkeling at Taurikura a non Marine Reserve and Reotahi the Marine Reserve.
For two days Reorua went on snorkelling day trips. The non-marine reserve day, we went to Taurikura and we saw a little bit of fish. When we got there all of us were cold and we had all forgotten our jerseys. The wetsuits were hard to put on, it took forever. We made up a fun noise with the wetsuits under our armpits. We were laughing so hard. We all were cold and shivering when we got in but the more we were in the water the warmer it got.
Then a few days later we went to the Marine reserve at Reotahi. We saw some weird fish like snapper, and floor sponges. The water was so cold but as we got used to it, it felt more warm. The ocean was a different colour as we got deeper and deeper. We were so amazed, we didn't expect that. There were a lot of unique fish as well like Spotty, Stingray and a Goatfish. When we got out we were so amazed by how many fish we saw we had stories to tell and memories to think back and enjoy the fun we had. There was a very big difference in how many fish we saw at Taurikura and at Reotahi.
We look forward to hearing back from you about what our next steps could be.
Nga mihi,
Bryton Bellas (Y6) Israel Rapana (Y6) Peyton Kemp (Y6) and Willow Snowden (Y6)"
Science Roadshow
Thursday 12th of June saw a busload of Year 3 and 4 students head out to Parua Bay school for the Science Roadshow. There were many learning opportunities on different topics, much of these were interactive. What a fabulous experience. Below, 2 students from Rm 17 share their words on the trip.
"We went to the science roadshow. We went on a bus. We were singing on the bus. I like the bed of nails, we learnt that 1 would hurt you but lots of nails won't"
By Macca and Hugo.
Chinese Peacock Dance at Auckland University
At the award ceremony for the recent Chinese Bridge Speech competition, on the 14th of June, a new group of graceful dancers performed the Peacock Dance. Supported by their whānau, alongside Hannah He, Liying Wang, and Philippa Todd, they travelled down to the University of Auckland and put on a polished display. Well done to our junior performers! We are so proud of you. A big thanks also to the whānau whose encouragement and support meant everything to our tamariki.
Hundertwasser Experience
On Monday the 23rd of June, Rm 15 headed into town and explored the Hundertwasser Art Centre at the Town Basin. This was a great experience where they got to tour the galleries and even participate in a hands-on clay creation session.
Molly and Jack share their tales from the trip below:
It was amazing! I loved going to the clay session and I liked the art exhibiion. I learned that Hundertwasser does not make his creations perfect. This makes me more confident to give things a try. He is so famous.
The floors and walls are not straight. There are ups and downs. At the top there was a big garden, on the roof, we got to go right up to the big onion (Cupola). It was worth the climb on those steep steps, and we were surprised there wasn't as many as we thought.
We did a big drawing of the ocean in the chalk room. We also had a 1min to sketch challenge inspired by a picture that Hundertwasser had done. We also got about 30-40 minutes in the room with all the blocks, where we could build things. "Me (Molly), Winnie and Llayla built a house"
The bus trip was good too. When we got back to class Miss McInnes had a special treat waiting as a reward for our good behaviour in town.
Kokonga o Kirsty/Kirsty's Corner
Kia ora e te whanau,
Term 3 will be an exciting term in the library with lots of fun things planned.
School library week will be celebrated from the 21st to the 25th of July with exciting activities and lots of Library Fun including our annual book parade on Tuesday the 22nd of July.
As part of school library week on the 24th of July, author June Pitman-Hayes will be visiting our school for the day and everyone will get to meet her. June is a local who went to Onerahi School as a child.
On the 19th of August we are lucky to host a second author visit with Sam Smith coming to visit some of our ākonga as part of a Storylines tour.
Those important dates for your calendar are:
21st-25 July- School Library Week
Tuesday 22nd July - Book Parade
Thursday 24th July - Author visit: June Pitman-Hayes
Tuesday 19th August - Author visit: Sam Smith
Have a wonderful holiday break, I look forward to seeing everyone next term.
Ngā mihi
Kirsty
Honey
Once again, in 2025 we have honey available for purchase at the school office. Honey has been kindly donated by our partner beekeepers - Tahi honey, and we have further been gifted larger sized jars of Honeyeater honey - also from local Pataua hives. The honey is priced amazingly from $5 per jar (250gm) to $20 (the big 1 kg jars) so why not pop in and pick some up. With winter bugs already rolling through, it's great to have on hand.
2nd hand Uniform
Uniforms come and uniforms go! Stock levels are constantly dropping on our school shirts in many of the sizes. Especially the bigger ones! (Size 10,12,14 etc). If your child has outgrown their uniform and you have no further need of it, please feel free to drop it in to the school office. The sales of these help the school purchase additional items that our former PTA used to supply, such as sunscreen, etc. Stocks are depleting again now of the jackets and jumpers and there are few to be found in some sizes. The price has returned to $10 but it's still a great bargain!
IMPORTANT NOTICES/TINO PANUI NUI
Medication: If your child requires medication to be brought or kept at school, please be aware that due to health and safety concerns, this must be kept secure in the school sick bay. It is not to be kept in children’s schoolbags during the day. This is to protect the safety of not only the child requiring the medication but also all other students. All medication requires an accompanying permission/approval form signed by their parent or caregiver. This includes epi-pens for allergy management, inhalers for asthma or any other medication your child requires on a short-term or as needed basis.
Contact Us
Email: office@onerahi.school.nz
Website: https://www.onerahi.school.nz/
Location: Onerahi Primary School Church Street, Onerahi, Whangārei 0110, New Zealand
Phone: +64 9 436 0521
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onerahischool
Quarry Arts School Hols Programme
July School Holidays
The Quarry Arts Centre is hosting a range of children’s creative workshops over the holiday break. Designed to spark imagination and inspire young artists, book now for this chance to learn, create, and have fun! Classes are available as full day bookings as well as shorter sessions.
10am - 12pm $28
1pm - 3pm $28
Full Day programme 8.30am - 3pm $55
Workshops will be held in The Scallop Room, The Quarry Arts Centre, 21 Selwyn Avenue, Whangārei 0110
Follow the link to see the days available and book your place.
https://quarryarts.org/product-category/art-workshops/kids-workshops/
ENROLLING AT WHANGAREI INTERMEDIATE??
Enrolments for 2026 are now open! If your child will be joining us next year, please complete the online enrolment at wis.ac.nz. We’d also love it if you could spread the word—encourage your friends, whānau, and neighbours to enrol early too. We can’t wait to welcome another great group of tamariki to Whangārei Intermediate School.
