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Connect Communication
25 March 2026
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Hikuwai 456 have some changes ahead in early Term 2.
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You will be aware that Whaea Sally has been travelling from south of Ashburton to Ararira every day. She has recently won a job at Tinwald school, and they need her right away. We wish Sally all the very best. While with us a short time, she has left a big impact and we have loved having her on the team. Thank you Sally and good luck for your new role.
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Whaea Casey will be going on maternity leave at the end of the first week, but we are grateful to have Whaea April in the wings, ready to step in. We will celebrate with Casey early next term. Finally, we welcome Whaea Jamie-lee (Davies), who will take over from Sally in Hikuwai 4. Teretere continues to grow, and Whaea Nicole (Robinson) will be joing the team in Term 2. She is moving with her family from Auckland. Remember, if you would like our teachers' emails or find out a bit more about the team, we have a teachers page on our website.
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The chaotic state of the world has deflected from the massive changes in education. Currently the Ministry of Education are consulting on the remaining learning areas. The changes are extensive and lead us down a very old-fashioned path of a knowledge curriculum. Topics are proposed for each year level. They are disparate and will not allow any depth or student led learning.
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The sheer quantity is alarming. Children are in class for 4 hours and 45 minutes, and there is three hours of reading, writing and maths. This leaves 1 hour and 45 minutes for everything else!
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I encourage you to take a look at these areas and provide feedback to the Ministry before April 24th if this is something you are interested in. Education sectors have united in providing a joint statement to the Ministry. I encourage you to read this.
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The main points are as follows;
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- The content and process do not honour Te Tiriti
- The current process has not involved key stakeholders, including young people, educators, teachers, experts and iwi.
- The pace and extent of change are untenable and unmanageable.
- The proposed changes are not fit for purpose and cannot be executed.
It is exciting to see some site development starting. Work on the hills and hollows starts this week, and the shade sails for the Pūrei spaces are being put up.
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With a shorter term, this may be our last newsletter for the term. Have fun and stay safe.
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From the Office
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Emergency Food - Reminder
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As part of our planning procedures, we need to keep a supply of snacks in each classroom in case of an emergency.
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Could each child please bring 2-3 individually wrapped snacks (eg. snack pack of chips or crackers, muesli or snack bars, etc.). If your child has special dietary requirements, please provide snacks for your child in a clearly named ziplock bag so they can be easily identified.
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Please drop these in at your child's class as soon as possible.
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Community Dental Service Van
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The Community Dental Service van has arrived on-site to begin their scheduled check-ups.
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Please note that the dental team manages their own independent patient list and schedule. Because of this, we kindly ask that you do not contact the school office with dental inquiries, as our staff does not have access to their records or schedules.
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If your child hasn’t had a check-up in a while, or if you have any specific concerns about their dental health, please call the Community Dental Service directly on 0800 846 983.
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Every lunch order placed between now and the end of term goes into a draw to win Kindo credit of up to $100! You don't need to do anything extra. Just order Ezlunch as usual and you're in the draw. Winners announced in Term 2. Happy ordering!
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IMPORTANT DATES
- 25 March - THT Meeting, 7pm in Tahuna | Staffroom
- 26 March - Wear Purple for Epilepsy Awareness Day
- 27 March - THT Hot Cross Buns Distributed to Students
- 31 March - Coffee with Whaea Claire, 9-10am in Tahuna | Staffroom
- 01 April - School Board Meeting, 6.30pm in Tahuna | Staffroom
- 02 April - Hui (Teretere), 9.15am in the Hall
- 02 April - Last Day of Term 1
- 20 April - First Day of Term 2
- 29 April - Yr 2-6 Learning Conversations, 3:15-8:00pm
- 30 April - Yr 1 Learning Conversations, 2:00-6:30pm
- 10 June - Yr 7-8 Learning Conversations, 3:15-8:00pm
- 11 June - Yr 7-8 Learning Conversations, 2:00-6:30pm
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School Board
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Next meeting Wednesday 01 April, 6.30pm in Tahuna | Staffroom
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Te Hapori Tautoko (THT)
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Next meeting - 25 March, 7pm in Tahuna | Staffroom
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Congratulations to all our swimmers who took part in the Zones Swimming competition at Selwyn Aquatic Club. For some, it was the first time and a very noisy affair. Thank you to our parents and grandparents for coming to support us.
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We would like to congratulate Lily D, who will be going to Canterbury’s to represent our school and zone on Thursday. Waimarie pai, Lily!
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Huxster Mountain Bike Race
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Next week, on Tuesday, the 31st of March, Olivia from K4 will be taking part in the Huxster Mountain Bike Race. We wish her all the best!
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Thank you to all the parents and families that have given up their time to come and support or marshal or just help out. We could not do this without you! Ka nui te mihi!
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Please keep an eye on the Sports Website and newsletters for upcoming important dates and events. Next term will be a busy sporting one!
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The closing date for Issue 2 is 02 April 2026.
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All orders will be delivered to school in batches and distributed to the classrooms as they arrive. Any orders marked as gifts, we will put to one side and contact you when they are ready to be collected.
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Attendance at Ararira
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The Importance of Attendance We all recognise that education is the pathway to the future. The key to educational success relies on being present at school. Consistent routines and practice are a big component of learning. Neurological pathways in our brains require repetitive exposure to strengthen and cement learning and develop mastery. We also create these neural pathways for resilience, …
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Attendance Monitoring at Ararira The government has publicly stated that it wishes to lift attendance rates at New Schools so 80% of all children are attending 90% of the time by 2030. We have set this as a target for our kura|school in 2026. All schools are required to have an attendance management plan (AMP) in place that follows stepped …
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2025 End of Year Progress Graphs The end-of-year progress graphs for students (English Year 0-6 and Maths Year 0-8) will be live on Friday, 12 December. English progress in Years 7-8 will be released in a statement at the bottom of Year 7-8 children's reading and writing comments. The Overall Teacher Judgements (OTJs) regarding progress that your child will receive …
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Te Mātaiaho | The New Zealand Curriculum Curriculum Update - English, Term 3, 2025 Kia ora, Earlier this year, we held a successful whānau hui regarding the refreshed Maths curriculum for Phases 1-3 (Year 0-8). We are unfortunately still waiting on Phase 3 (Year 7-8) of the English curriculum, which is due to be released in Term 4 of this …
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