Whānau Time Message:

Each fortnight we come together as a school to enjoy time together as a school family, celebrate learning and build and celebrate the special culture that makes us who we are.

Our overarching theme for this year has been to revisit, review, refine and celebrate the individual components that comprise our school culture, philosophy and way of learning, growing and being.

We have been focusing on one aspect per fortnight, every Monday Morning as a staff, and every second Friday as a full school at Whānau Time.

The Sequence We Are Following Is:

Our Vision                         - Ā Tātou Tamariki, Ō Tātou Whenua, Ka Ora Te Apōpō

                                             - Our Children, Our Land, For Our Future

Our Mission                     - Love to Learn to Lead

which we expand to      - We Love to Learn, 

                                               So We Can Learn to Lead, 

                                               So We Can Lead With Love

Our Whakatauki               - Toitū te Marae a Tane-Mahuta

                                                 Toitū te Marae a Tangaroa

                                                  Toitū te Tangata

Flowing through these is the message of HOPE

We focused on three meanings for HOPE that connect to the elements above:

HOPE                                       - Help  One Person  Everyday

                                                   - Help  Our  Planet   Everyday

                                                   - Help  Our  Pacific  Everyday

We began by revisiting our message about Guardians - Kaitiaki.

Last whānau time, we celebrated Matariki and shared the connection between Matariki and caring for the people and the land - the sea and the sky.

We met the Guardians of the Galaxy - their job is to care for and protect our Galaxy.

We met three Kaitiaki of Papatuanuku. Their job was to protect and care for Papatuanuku - mother earth.

Our HOW is also by living our  Pōhatu Tumu values every day and in all that we do -

Whānaungatanga. Whakapono. Whakamana. Manaakitanga. Turangawaewae

We looked at Whakamana - Leadership.

Whakamana is a big, strong stone. It’s grounded. It stays true - it’s not easily swayed.

It’s like a big, strong All Black or Black Fern forward.

So how do we show Whakamana? Three ways.

We all get knocked down at different times in our lives. When we do, we use Whakamana to showstrong character. 

That means if we get knocked down, we get back up and try again.

Whakamana teaches us that if something needs to be done, we get it done.

No moans, no procrastinating - we get it done!

Whakamana teaches us that Leaders Set the Right Example.

We teach our senior students that they are our role models.

Our little ones look up to our seniors - literally, they seem so tall (and good-looking).

They look to our seniors to see how to be. Our seniors teach them every day by what they do, what they say, and the values they demonstrate.

So their incredibly important job is to -  Set the Right Example.

We finished with a video from our Nature Speaks series - on Mountain.

This was quite appropriate as Mountain resembles our Whakamana stone.