Greetings Tauriko School Community. Welcome to Week 6 of Term 3.

And with a whizz and a roar the term is officially over halfway and Spring is just around the corner, bringing not just daffodils but copious amounts of rain! 
In the lead-up to our annual Ag Day, it is great to hear about the various goats, lambs and calves that are ‘in training’, even the chickens are getting a mention. 

Congratulations to Rooms 5 and 6 for taking out the overall prize for the PTA Mathathon. Both classes are looking forward to their trip to Flip Out in Week 8. Thanks again to Flip Out for sponsoring this great prize for the two classes. Other classes to be acknowledged with a special lunch provided by the PTA in Week 8 are Rooms 3, 10 and 13. We are so fortunate to have such an active, enthusiastic PTA!

This week we welcomed Constable Emma Buxton into the school. Constable Emma worked in each of the Year 5 -8 classes with a specific focus on Cyber Safety. Having worked in the school earlier in the year as part of the Keeping Ourselves Safe programme this was a perfect opportunity to revisit and highlight key ideas for students as part of staying safe on-line.
Following my discussion with Constable Emma, there are a few key messages for all parents that I would like to share:

· Be involved with your child on-line – know what they are doing, know about their social conversations. Are they appropriate? Are they kind?

· Actively and regularly check in when they are on-line.

· Ensure that the real age is entered into sites – on most sites there are restrictions to messages or language used based on the age entered.

· Consider screen time – is there a balance of on-line and off-line time?

· A great website to regularly visit is NetSafe https://www.netsafe.org.nz/advice/parenting/
This website is highly recommended and has excellent advice for parents.
These messages are timely reminders for us all as we work together to support our children to develop into digital citizens who actively model our school values of Respect, Integrity, Innovation and Excellence.

I had the pleasure of watching the 'Stand Up, Speak Out' Poetry and Speech Celebration for Years 1 - 4 students on Tuesday afternoon. What a wonderful achievement to be selected for this event, it was obvious that much preparation had gone into the learning and delivery of each poem and speech. It was also fantastic to see so many families there – proud as punch, as was I! Congratulations again to the students who shared their poem or speech.

This morning I was a very proud member of the audience as selected finalists from Years 5-8 presented their speeches. Thank you to Jill Taylor who judged the speeches with her usual dignity and wisdom.
Congratulations to all finalists for a stunning effort. All the very best to our winners - Lacey Graham (Year 5), Rylee van Dijk (Year 6), Matthew Couper (Year 7) and Ivy Anderson-Podmore (Year 8). These students now go on to represent Tauriko School at the Inter-School Speech Competitions.

Finally,  thank you to all the parents for their support and understanding regarding the black gates being locked each day between 8.45am and 2.15pm for health and safety reasons. For parents who do park in the drop-off bay during the day, a pathway has been cleared through the native garden alongside the fence so you can walk safely to the office without having to go on the road. This is a timely reminder that all parents and visitors to the school during the day are required to enter the school via the office.

From sports to speeches, Inquiry to Maths, Languages to the Arts, there are wonderful things happening across our school. Thumbs up to all our great learners!!

Lisa Rose
Acting Principal
To read our full newsletter please click here:  Newsletter No 9