Term 3 – week 8

17 September 2021

Kia ora koutou

CONTENTS

• Te Wiki o te Reo Māori
• Lambs at school
• Teacher Only Day October 1st – Friday of last week of term – no children at school
• Enrolments

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori

This year we have had a really strong focus on te reo within our classroom programmes.  It has been fantastic to see the confidence of teachers and students grow exponentially during this year.

During Te Wiki o te Reo Māori the teachers and students have lifted their use of Māori language significantly.  We have had passionate students bringing new Māori words/phrases they have learnt at home to school.  Slips have been given out to students using te reo during break times.  Duty teachers have been inundated with students coming up to get caught speaking Māori, or just showing off their knowledge.  The same is happening throughout the day in classes.  Ka mau te wehi! – That’s outstanding!

• Lambs at school

We have had a few problems with lamb animal health recently.  Some lambs have developed runny poo’s and are now based at home with a special lamb medicine.  Contact Terry if you are concerned and need help.  He has a contact that is supporting parents managing animal health.  Animals that are pooey can pass this on to other animals and species.  The heavy rain lately has turned our pen to mush.  Part of this is the high numbers of lambs we have had.  Today 8 lambs are at school, with 4 now staying at home (2 are larger lambs).

My expert advisor has informed me it is best to keep larger animals at home once they can handle 3 feeds per day.  The grass at home is best for them without risking picking up any bugs off other school lambs.   Small lambs needing more feeds can still come until they are big enough.  With 2 weeks left of the term, all of these lambs will be able to stay at home next term leading up to Ag Day.

Today I am moving the pen to gain fresh pasture for next week.  With less lambs at school next week, I hope the pasture can last to the end of the term.  Mud is a big factor.  The lambs are making mud, as are the children feeding them.  Children will not get time to play with the lambs in the pen due to them making more mess.  Therefore, bonding time will have to happen at home.

Thank you to all of the children and their families who have supported Ag Day by having an animal this year.  We have 21 lambs and 2 goats for Ag Day that I know of.

 

Teacher Only Day October 1st – Friday of last week of term – no children at school

Otaika Valley School has a planned teacher only day on the 1st of October which is the last Friday of this term.  This is a very important day for our school.  Staff will be working on a strategic plan refresh.  Our 3 year strategic plan was extended into this year, due to the 2020 lockdown and has been pushed back by the 2021 lockdown.  2021 has been a highly successful year with our strategic goals, but it is time to look ahead again for another 3 years.  Next week, 3 of our staff members will be attending a strategic refresh planning day with 5 other schools.  This will prepare our team to work with our staff.  From here we will be seeking community input into the direction of our school.  So have a think about why you bring your children to this school.  What does the school do that you value highly and would want us to continuing focusing on.  We will be preparing a consultation process to bring to the community in due course.  Lockdowns have put time pressures on us, as it has for all sectors of our community.

A reminder – no students at school on Friday 1st of October

Enrolments

If you know of anyone who is think of bringing their children to our school next year, I really need to know asap, so I can start planning classes, teachers and the complex background organisation that goes with it.  Anyone who is thinking of enrolling during 2022 from February through to December next year should contact the office this year.

 

To finish…

…it is so good to have the children at school learning, engaging with others,  smiling, laughing, playing in really big flooded field puddles and particularly this week being so enthusiastic about Māori language use.

 

Regards

Terry