Newsletter Term 1 Week 8

2023 Term 1 Week 8

Kia ora koutou, 

What an amazing experience camp is for our ākonga. Children are being challenged, developing a variety of new skills, and working cooperatively – all on not much sleep! I am certain they will arrive back absolutely knackered this afternoon! Teachers were still patrolling rooms at 11 pm on Monday night! The excuses were oscar worthy, some children think I came down in the last rain shower teehee. Go and check out the facebook page of Tūrangawaewae to see snapshots of their adventures. It would be fair to say, the teachers and the fantastic parent helpers are also having a blast – again, on very little sleep! I am forever in awe of our amazing staff who continue to go above and beyond for our tamariki. There’s camp, but there’s also a myriad of other events taking place on any given week. Hardly a week goes by where a staff member doesn’t come to me with a plan to make something awesome happen for our children to engage and motivate them.

We have an exciting new refresh of the New Zealand School Curriculum called Te Mātaiaho ready for us to explore. On the 24th of April (next term’s teacher’s only day) our staff and staff from our Kāhui Ako schools across the wider Rangitīkei region will begin to explore this document together in order to ready ourselves to teach and plan from it in the near future. This is the first major curriculum update since 2007 and it looks fantastic. I look forward to sharing aspects of the document with our whānau as the essence of the document is deeply embedded in whānau aspirations for their tamariki. Watch this space.

My final word for today’s newsletter is one I would rather not have to write about. Schools are sitting ducks when it comes to vandalism, theft and general misuse. In the past month, we have had to contend with a swimming pool break-in, drinking on the school grounds, and leaving glass bottles behind. We then had another group of young people smash the bottles on our court areas. We have had bark from our playground stolen and had to clean up after some ‘nighttime action’ that resulted in some undesirable rubbish being left in our playground. Prior to these incidents, we have grown-ups stealing our pot plants and a set of trees ready for planting was also stolen. This is such disappointing behavior but ultimately a community concern as these people, both young and not so young are not concerned with the safety of our tamariki and staff or the impact their actions have on our school as a community.

My concerns are that these incidents have the potential to cause harm to our tamariki. Having them exposed to dangers lurking on our grounds or having their resources stolen has a direct impact on them. What we really rely on is our community letting us or the police know if they notice anything suspicious. We can see some of the culprits on our school cameras and will pass the information on to local authorities. We can also see on our cameras that our own whānau are sometimes using the grounds at the same time as some of this activity is taking place, please if you notice anything, contact the police. This low-level behaviour has the potential to increase if we don’t try to get a handle on it now. Many of you will have seen schools that look locked up and totally unaccessible – they seek to keep people out which is not what we want Bulls School to look like. These large and expensive fences are paid for out of $$ we would rather spend on our children – not on keeping our whānau and the wider community out.

Kim Gordon

Tumuaki/Principal

A bit of history…

How cute is this!  Below is a photo of Lucas (5 years old) and his Mum, Leigh,  holding a photo of his Great Great Great Grandfather, Joseph Tamblyn. He was once the Principal (or Head Master) of Bulls School (known then as Bulls District High School) so also in the photo is me, the current Principal ;-). Bryce & Judith Tamblyn shared this kōrero with us and we thought it would be fun to share it with you.  Do you have any gems like this that you would like to share with us – if we don’t talk about these moments, they can be lost to us.

Manawatu Tough Kids (Year 3-8)

Friday 24th March @ Mt Biggs School

Leaving Bulls School at 9 am, returning by 2.50 pm.

Please remember to bring a change of clothes, a towel, a waterproof bag, a large water bottle, and a large packed lunch

(unless your child has pre-ordered the lunch). 

Shoes are recommended, as is applying sunblock before and during the event.

If you are providing transport please be at school by 8.50 am.

Hunterville Athletics (Year 4-8)

Friday 31st March

Congratulations to those that have qualified, we wish you luck competing at this event. The standards at Hunterville are high and the records that have been set over the years are very impressive! Go out there and give it your best shot team Bulls! Please remember to wear your Sports Tees and plain black shorts.  

Jump Jam Workshop

Those who are attending the Jump Jam Workshop on Monday the 27th have been notified by letter. Thank you to the parents who have offered to take transport.

We will be leaving Bulls School at 8.30 am.

Rangatira Challenge – Students doing the Manawatu Gorge Walk on Thursday 30th, please return the permission slip via the App or hand it into the office by Friday. 

Lunch in School

The Ministry provides free healthy lunches daily, you will need to provide morning tea and a water bottle for your child. Please let the office know of any dietary requirements, alternatively, you can opt-out of the Lunch Scheme by contacting the office and then provide your own healthy lunch. 

SECOND-HAND UNIFORM AVAILABLE

(from the office)

Polo Tees in sizes 4, 6, 12, 14,  & M

Polar Fleece in sizes 4, 5, 10, 12, 14, 16 & S

Term Dates 2023

Term One Thur 2nd Feb to Thur 6th April

Term Two Mon 24th April to Fri 30th June

Term Three Mon 17th July to Fri 22nd Sep

Term Four Mon 9th Oct to Tue 19th December (TBC)