Newsletter 31 October 2024

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TPS Art Exhibition 2024!!

We had a wonderful turnout at our Art Exhibition last Tuesday. Our Kapa Haka groups and the student leaders capably supported Devika in opening the exhibition. With art to view, activities to explore and food to be enjoyed there was something for everyone! A big thank you to the SCG for providing refreshments and to all the families who were able to come along and support our tamariki. We hope you enjoyed the event. 

HATS

A reminder that Term 4 we have a compulsory hat policy. Children can wear any hat as long as it is brimmed and named. If they do not have a hat, they have a designated play area under the sunshade. 

Health Programme – Community Consultation

The Board must consult on this with the community every 2 years. I encourage you to take the time to look over these and provide any feedback or ask questions. This has been sent as a separate Hero Community post and will be reposted again. 

Camp Year 5 & 6 students

Next week, our Kererū learners are off to Camp Carey for 3 days and 2 nights. It is a fantastic experience that includes many learning opportunities. A huge thanks to the Kererū teachers and families who have done an enormous amount of planning to make this experience memorable. We look forward to seeing photos and getting updates.

Playground update

The old playground is gone and we have the team from Playground Creations building our new playground. Tamariki are very excited to see the changes and development of the playground. We expect that we will be able to open it before the end of this year.

Staffing news for 2025

Bernice

After more than 25 years teaching at Takapuna Primary and a huge contribution to educating so many children in her career, we will farewell Bernice Hunt at the end of this year. Bernice has been an asset to our kura and we will miss her experience, wisdom and expertise. We wish Bernice a very well deserved retirement!

Susan

We also farewell Susan Han who has been at Takapuna Primary since starting her career over 6 years ago. Susan has decided to continue to grow as a teacher and has won a position teaching North of Auckland. We’re sad to say goodbye but we’re very proud and thankful for Susan’s huge commitment to TPS.

Harmony

We are excited to announce the appointment of a new specialist teacher to Takapuna Primary. Harmony will be our Music and STEM specialist teacher as she has experience and background working in both of these areas. How fortunate are we that she chose TPS.

2025:

In the newsletters to follow we will share information about teachers and teams as we confirm these for 2025. 

SCG (School Community Group)

Thank you for supporting the food stalls for the Art Exhibition. We had dumplings, a sausage sizzle and a bake sale. 

Calendar Art

Learners have been creating art pieces that will be scanned and a range of products will be available with the art on, such as calendars, cards, mouse pads and notebooks. The notice will share how to purchase these items. If you would like to see what the Calendar Art products look like, please visit the school office to see samples. This is another fundraiser organised by the SCG. 

If you are interested in volunteering some time to help with fundraisers, please email scg@tps.school.nz.

Regards, Devika and the TPS team.

你好 Ni Hao

This a reminder that we are having our Chinese Community Meeting on Friday 1 November at  9:00am. Please join us in the staffroom. There will be a Mandarin speaking teacher available to translate if necessary.

It is a casual get-together to talk about things that are important to you and your family, based on your own cultural perspectives. Last year we had some great discussions around aspirations for your children while they are at TPS. We are looking forward to strengthening this relationship between home and school – we value your thoughts and opinions. 

IMPORTANT – Facebook:

We have launched a Takapuna Primary School Facebook page, so we can share the fabulous things our students, teachers and community are achieving on a more regular basis. The purpose is to share general events, however your main communication from the school will remain as HERO. Please note it is a public forum and will be accessible to a wider community than TPS families. This means extended families and friends from around the world can view our posts. When you enrol your child, you were asked if you give permission for online publications, this includes Facebook. I urge you to get in touch with the office, if you have changed your mind and do not want us to publish your child’s photo online including Facebook.

School Swimming:

Please remember your togs and towel on your scheduled swimming days. We do not have an endless supply of gear to borrow, which means your child will miss out on all the fun!

Disabled Parking: (from a concerned parent)

“This inconsiderate person has no disabled parking pass is parked in disability park also people struggling to get around it as it’s way over the line”.

Supergenerous

Would you like to claim your charitable donation tax rebates? 

Help Takapuna Primary by re-gifting your tax rebate to the school

Takapuna Primary has partnered with SuperGenerous.co.nz to help you share your charitable donation tax rebates with the school.

By signing up at SuperGenerous.co.nz, 33% of your donations made are able to be paid back to the school as a tax rebate. For example, when you pay the school donation, the donation is tax deductible. Using SuperGenerous, this means you can both claim back the tax for your donation paid and support your school. All you need to do is sign up here: https://www.supergenerous.co.nz/

Please note:

• By signing up, SuperGenerous will become your tax agent for charitable donations only and is IRD approved. It will Not replace your existing tax agent for other tax services you may have. 
• We are listed as Takapuna School on SuperGenerous (not Takapuna Primary School). 

Every dollar helps as often the Ministry does not cover all costs. We would greatly appreciate your support!

https://www.supergenerous.co.nz/

TPS SPORTS:

A few weekends ago, Alfonso and his team Western Springs under 11’s, played at the McCartney Invitational Tournament which is the largest Junior Football tournament in Australasia.  The boys earnt 2nd place!

Peninsular Football Tournaments: 21st October and 23rd October 

TGS Cricket 22nd October

Save the date: T.P.S Sports Day

          A whole school sports event incorporating athletics, fitness and whānauatanga

When: Thursday 28th November, starting 9:30am

More details to come. We look forward to seeing you there!

Mitey – Mental Health Education:

Mitey is a New Zealand specific, Years 1-8 approach to embedding mental health education in both teaching and learning. It was developed by the Sir John Kirwan Foundation. Our kura is now in the second year on our Mitey journey.

Children will learn how to recognise and respond to their own mental health and those of others. Cultivating good mental health helps us cope with life’s ups and downs, and to feel comfortable asking for help from others when we need it.

All the teachers at Takapuna Primary are engaging with Professional Development from our expert coaches working for Mitey. 

For more information visit the website: https://www.mitey.org.nz/

IMPORTANT DATES

Thursday 28 November      Whole School Athletics Day

Friday 29 November           School Disco (details to follow)

Wednesday 11 December   Whole School Beach Day

Thursday 12 December      Year 6 Graduation (details to follow)

Monday 16 December        Meet the teacher (10:00am – details to follow)

Wednesday 18 December  Last day of Term 4 (3:00pm)

Click here for School Calendar

2025 Term Dates

COMMUNITY NOTICES:

ENROL FOR KEYBOARD LESSONS IN TERM 4!

We are now accepting new enrolments for individual or group keyboard lessons at Takapuna Primary School for Term 4!

Tutor Gulnara is a dedicated and experienced tutor who is looking forward to sharing her love of music with new students next term.

Fees (based on a 10-week term): $400 individual lessons, $185 group lessons.

Lessons take place on Tuesdays during the school day, which means no after-school pick-up/drop-off hassle! 

The first step is to complete our enrolment form – click here or head to our website www.lewiseady.co.nz/music-school.

Email: musicschool@lewiseady.co.nz

Music Education Centre

Ignite your child’s creativity this school term with our in-school music lessons!

In collaboration with Auckland’s leading music education provider, the Music Education Centre, we have professional music lessons right at our school. Each lesson is designed to inspire and nurture your child’s unique musical interests while making learning both fun and rewarding.

With lessons held conveniently at school, it’s an ideal option for busy families.

Limited spots are available for Term 4, so don’t wait! For more information on instruments and availability, contact the Music Education Centre at 0800 89 39 39.