Raewyn & Rodney

Raewyn and Rodney

We are thrilled to introduce you to the newest members of our caretaking team, Raewyn and Rodney! This wonderful couple come from a background of hard work in farming, and now they've decided to bring their amazing skills and dedication to help keep our school grounds neat and tidy. Raewyn has also previously worked in a School Office.

An extra helping hand for our current full-time caretaker Mr. Quince, who does an outstanding job but with the growth in our school it is great for him to have some help.

Raewyn and Rodney are also proud grandparents to some students attending our school. Their family connection makes them even more special and invested in ensuring our school remains a safe and nurturing place for all the children.

Next time you spot them around the school grounds, don't hesitate to say hello and give them a warm welcome. We are lucky to have Raewyn and Rodney as part of our school family, and we look forward to all the great things they will bring to our community.

We would like to welcome: Vicki Pihama

An accomplished educator with over 30 years of teaching experience, Vicki has recently returned to Taranaki from Western Australia.

Vicki has a wealth of experience and knowledge to support the learning of students from diverse cultural backgrounds and her expertise in bilingual education and commitment to cultural inclusivity make her a strong addition to our team.

Vicki strives to give her best to all the children she works with and is passionate about teaching and learning. She believes it is important to teach children skills and strategies they need to create a positive learning environment. The virtues and values of caring for others, empathy and respect are highly regarded within her classroom environment.

Nau mai haere mai Vicki

This week we will be introducing some of our new staff to our whānau and community.

We would like to welcome: Moana Te Waaka

Previously, Moana was working as a kaiako for Kindergarten Taranaki and enjoyed this mahi for almost 10 years. Moana embarked on her journey at the kindergarten because her teaching style aligned perfectly with the delivery of a play-based curriculum, which will make her a valuable asset to our new entrant ākonga and the Year 1-2 team at Puketapu School.

Foundational to Moana's teaching approach is hononga, which emphasizes strong collaborative and communicative skills. She takes pride in her abilities of whanaungatanga, fostering connections and relationships, and believes that these qualities, along with her manaakitanga, are precious treasures inherited from her tīpuna.

Moana is deeply committed to supporting Māori students in their journey to succeed within the education system while embracing their Māori identity. She has embarked on a personal quest to reclaim her cultural language and heritage, which has granted her a profound understanding of tikanga me te reo Māori.

Nau mai haere mai Moana

From this term, we are changing the way we communicate with our school community!

Here is the Term 3 Newsletter that has all the major information that you need for the term. https://www.smore.com/dbn42

From now, rather than saving everything for one weekly roundup newsletter, we will have one big newsletter at the start of term, then share events and news via our web site, our public Facebook page and Hero, as they happen.

Using the Hero app, parents can still report absences, check learning, view reports, give permission for trips, book conference meeting times and much more. All major announcements come out via Hero anyway, now we will make sure news and updates come out to you this way as well.