ORATIA DISTRICT SCHOOL - NEWSLETTER

Tēnā koutou katoa. Nau mai ki te whānau o te Oratia. Talofa lava. Malo e lelei. Zdravo. Ni hao. Namaste. Kamusta. Greetings Oratia whānau and families.

Last week we had our first Tino Rangatiratanga rōpū hui with whānau. These hui are for all whānau Māori and anyone else who is interested in this space, and has a heart to contribute and learn. At this hui we made the decision to meet Week 3 and Week 8 of each term if this was practical. We will be adding these dates to our public calendar, which can be accessed from the website, for future reference. It was really wonderful to meet with some of the families of our Māori students, especially so early in the year, and to hear from them about their hopes and aspirations. We would love this group to become even more connected, and so invite you to attend our next hui. We will be advertising it as usual so keep an eye out for the notice.

We have organised a Pasifika fono for next week on Tuesday, March 18. You may have seen the invitation in the newsletter? This will be in the staffroom starting at 5.00. Our new Cultural Diversity unit holder Monica Muir-Bergh (Room 5 teacher) would love to meet with our Pasifika parents to talk about the year, her role in it, and how she is looking to establish strong partnership with aiga. We have a Kahui Ako Cultural Festival happening in September so we want to make sure our students are well prepared for it. Please do come along and meet Monica and Kath Goldsmith, and perhaps some other parents that you do not already know. We would love to see you there.

This week Kath and I, and Francene from the office, popped out to Lone Kauri School to be a part of their assembly. They showed us their incredible story writing, their beautiful handwriting and sunflower artwork, and we got to share with them as they were awarded certificates. We had a great time with Whaea Jo, and Alice and the students. They have an amazing little school out there.

This week is Family Friendly Week, where we cease all our before and after school meetings and encourage our teachers to spend time with their own families. It is one small way that we try to show how much we value our staff, and appreciate all the time they give to our kura and your children. Thank you for your support of this practice.

Take care and stay safe.

Kia kaha, kia atawhai.

Ngā mihi nui, Ms Linda

Tuesday 25th March 2025

At the start of the year teachers collect key information on each student from a range of different assessments and data from last year’s teacher. This information helps to set the next learning steps for each child. At our data sharing/goal setting meetings we want to strengthen our home-school partnerships by setting aside time to meet with you to discuss what this term’s learning and achievement information tells us about your child’s next learning steps for term 2. These will be 10 minutes meetings.

How to make a booking: You can make your booking online at www.schoolinterviews.co.nz.

Event code: rb25a

Please be advised that school will close for instruction at 12.30pm on this day. The buses will run at the earlier time of 12.30pm.

We are looking for a small digger to help remove the very large flax in our bus bay garden. If you can help, please contact our caretaker Steve - 022 653 11650 - stevenr@oratia.school.nz

Thank you.

Te Tiriti ō Ruma Waru ā mātou tenei - This is our Ruma Waru Class Treaty.

The harakeke was grown here at kura, and harvested by our kaitiaki, kaingaki māra, Moira. Our guardian of our gardens at kura.

Each tamariki wrote their promises to be kind, brave and supportive to and of each other, on the fresh green whā (harakeke leaves) and signed them. They also added tokotoko patterns on both sides.

As the harakeke dried and curled, their promises became tightly held and sealed within. We also learned another technique sometimes known as makawe, or muka, to separate and comb the fibres of additional harakeke whā. They were then all bound and woven together as a visual representation of the promises we have made to each other, embraced by our kura values and our tupuna that embody them.

You might have seen the option to donate to the 'Student Support Fund' on Kindo.

The Student Support Fund is an initiative funded by the PTA and supported by generous donations from amazing people in our community.

In the last year, the initiative has anonymously supported many tamariki in our school. It has enabled opportunities that might not have been possible without a little help.

Because of this funding, children have been supported to go on camp, play in a team sport, participate in the Weetbix Tryathlon and go on class trips.

The PTA never knows who is receiving this support and we are only able to offer this assistance because of the kindness of families in our school. Next time you are on Kindo, please consider adding a small donation to help the Student Support Fund.

Lone Kauri School planted some sunflower seeds. When they grew tall and flowered, we sketched the biggest sunflower. We painted our sunflowers and put them on a painted background. We then added some shading to our flowers to make the petals.

Our Oratia School Netball teams have weekly games at Te Pai courts, just off Lincoln Road. Year 5-6 play on Mondays after school and Year 1-4 on Thursdays after school. Games start from 3:40pm and runs for 10 weeks.

Netball is a great team sport, and each week new skills are taught and built on. We have wonderful parent coaches who support the children through their weekly games and training.

The winter season starts on the follow dates:

Year 5-6 starts on Monday 5th of May for grading.

Year 1-4 starts on Thursday 29th of May

If your child is interested in playing netball this season, they can collect a form from Rm 2 or email Louise Robertson louiser@oratia.school.nz

Registration closes on the 4th of April and fees are available to be paid form this date.

The Community Transport Safety Team visited Oratia District School last week following concerns raised by the school regarding parking. We had some great conversations with drivers parking along Shaw Road and West Coast Road. Overall, the majority of whānau were parking safely and legally, so we want to say a big thank you!

Some reminders for Drop Off/Pick Up time:

• Please do not double park along Shaw Road. This ensures that the school bus can safely turn out of the bus bay.
• Broken yellow lines indicate no stopping, including waiting in your car. Stopping on the broken yellow lines reduces visibility for pedestrians and other drivers.
• Please ensure you are parking so that your tamariki can enter the car from the footpath, not the roadside.

Our Parking Officers will continue to monitor this area going forward. If you are unable to find a safe and legal park near the school, consider parking further down West Coast Road and enjoying a short walk to the school gate.

A few safety tips for seating:

It was observed that some students need to put on their seat belts prior to the vehicle moving off and that there are some smaller students who should be using booster seats.

• The back seat is the safest place for young people, and make sure those belts are buckled before you start your car!
• “It’s best to wait until 148cm” – our tamariki should wait until they’re at least 148cm tall before coming out of a booster seat.
• The five-step test for children coming out of boosters:

Email: principal@oratia.school.nz
Website: https://www.oratia.school.nz
Location: 1 Shaw Road, Oratia, Auckland 0604, Auckland, New Zealand
Phone: +64 9 818-6216
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OratiaSchool/