Kia ora, Talofa, and welcome to Week 2 of Term 2. It was with pleasure that we welcomed our new tamariki and their whānau yesterday with a Pōwhiri and Mass. It is wonderful to have you as part of the St Anthony’s whānau. Our wish for you all is many happy years of fun and learning. It was especially gratifying to formally welcome Alison Reid onto the staff as Te Moana Wēta’s hub teacher. Alison tells us a little about herself further in the newsletter

Next week, we begin our journey with our Evaluation Partner, Mary Elys. As you will be aware ERO has changed their model and while we began the process of an ERO visit in 2020, COVID19 halted the process and so now we are beginning under the new model. As ERO explains: 

“ERO is shifting to a more developmental approach to evaluation, supporting each school’s improvement over time.

An ERO evaluation partner will work alongside our school, building a professional relationship over time.

ERO’s evaluation role will connect with each school’s strategic planning and reporting cycle as part of an ongoing improvement journey. ERO is supporting schools to build and sustain high-quality evaluation as part of their planning for improvement focus.

Consideration of a school within its wider network and community is woven throughout the new Operating Model, which will also identify an opportunity to undertake evaluations at a community level.

More information is available on the ERO website: New Schools Operating Model | Education Review Office (ero.govt.nz).

Te Maunga was privileged to experience a session with the “I Am Hope” initiative recently and you can read their thoughts on this further in the newsletter. The mission of I AM HOPE aims to promote positive attitudinal societal change around mental health throughout New Zealand, and fund private care and counseling for young people stuck-in-the-mud on waiting lists. They offer hope and a voice to young people in our country through various projects including school tours, practical courses such as a barber and barista course, allowing people to share their own journeys through their podcast series 'HopeCast' and much more. Because of Te Maunga’s experience we have decided to support “I AM HOPE’s’ initiative of Gumboot Day on May 28. We will be using the resources of Bully Free NZ and linking these into the Gumboot Resources for all of Week 4. On Friday, May 28 we ask everyone to wear gumboots to school as a show of support for mental health. For those who don’t have gumboots, we invite you to create a badge/necklace of gumboots instead.

On Monday, May 24 we are holding our ‘Learning in Action” morning for whānau from 9 - 10 am. We invite you to come along and participate. There will be other times over the year as we know this time will not suit everyone. 

We wish all of our children the very best of luck as they compete in the Junior Tough Girl or Boy Competition on May 26 & 27. They have been training hard and we look forward to hearing how they go. All the best girls! And I look forward to hearing how many of you ran 'right through the mud' this time!

Finally please mark in your calendar June 8th for an important meeting about our tamariki's safety online - please see further details below. 

Have a wonderful weekend

Ngā manaakitanga

Denise

Future Important Dates:

• Week 3 Road Safety Week
• May 19 Year 5-8 Eastern Zones Netball Tournament 
• Friday, May 21, 2:15 - 3:50 pm Te Awa will be presenting the Assembly
• May 24, Learning in Action morning
• Week 4 Supporting positive attitudinal change for young people’s mental health
• Monday, May 24, Learning in Action morning 9 - 10 am
• Friday, May 28 Gumboot Day 
• Tuesday, June 8, 7 pm - 8:30 pm Kids Online Safety Presentation 
• Friday, July 9 Teacher only day for the Kāhui Ako’s Winter Hui - last day of term is Thursday for the children