Ao Tawhiti Newsletter June

Upcoming Events

IEMs – Friday 27th June – School Closed for Instruction
School Holidays – Saturday 28th June – Sunday 13th July
IEMs – Monday 14th July – School Closed for Instruction
First Day of Timetabled Classes Term 3 – Tuesday 15th July
RAMs Training – Wednesday 30th July 2:30pm
Emotional Rollercoaster – Ao Tawhiti Wearable Arts Event – Wednesday 13th August 7pm – Tūranga
Senior Camp – Monday 18th – Wednesday 20th August – Living Springs
Celebration of Learning – Thursday 21st August 3pm-6pm
Staff Only Day – Friday 22nd August – School Closed for Instruction
RAMs Training – Friday 29th August 8:30am
NCEA Co-Req Exam – Reading – Monday 1st September
NCEA Co-Req Exam – Numeracy – Wednesday 3rd September
NCEA Co-Req Exam – Writing – Thursday 4th September
NCEA Practice Exams Begin – Monday 15th September
IEMs – Friday 19th September – School Closed for Instruction
School Holidays – Saturday 20th September – Sunday 5th October
IEMs – Monday 6th October
First Day of Timetabled Classes Term 4 – Tuesday 7th October
Melva & Jenny HBs Camp – Wednesday 15th – Thursday 16th October – Mt Hutt Retreat
Mel & Nicole HBs Camp – Wednesday 22nd – Thursday 23rd October – Mt Hutt Retreat
Labour Day – Monday 27th October – School Closed
NCEA Levels 2 & 3 Last Day of Classes – Wednesday 29th October
NCEA Levels 2 & 3 Exams Start – Tuesday 4th November
NCEA Level 1 Last Day of Classes – Friday 7th November
NCEA Level 1 Exams Start – Monday 10th November
Staff Only Day – Thursday 13th November – School Closed for Instruction
Show Day – Friday 14th November – School Closed
Last day of School 2025 – Friday 12th December

Message From Anita

Kia ora koutou

Welcome to the end of term two. Sadly, we farewell a number of staff this term.

Grace Schischka was covering Gina Harrison’s maternity leave and Andy Ellmers was covering Matt Parkes’ study leave. Matt and Gina are back next term and while it is great to have them back, Grace and Andy will be missed. We have also said goodbye to TJ Clelland who has an amazing opportunity to work as a senior leader at Monash University in Melbourne. I would like to thank Ro Moody who supported Maths and Project learning, and Peter Muencke, who volunteered his time to support our larger Maths’ classes.

Finally, we farewelled Sarah O’Brien who worked at Ao Tawhiti for seven and a half years. In that time she had three beautiful children, and has made the decision to be a stay at home Mum (for a while). Sarah made an amazing contribution to our school, both at the old campus and in the new building, and will be missed. We are hoping we can entice her back when she is ready to start work.

This term I have been touring prospective students and their whānau around the school. I have also been listening to the government promote the Education and Training Amendment Bill which is going through parliament at the moment. This act is promoting educational attainment as the highest priority for schools. This has made me think about what we value at Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery, and how our school aligns with Aotearoa’s education system. At Ao Tawhiti we believe that academic achievement is important and we work hard to provide the right framework for students to gain academic success. We want learners to be able to access opportunities that school qualifications can provide. However, I also believe that education is more than just the acquisition of knowledge. I believe that success can come in many forms and not just through a test score. Our kaupapa is to instil a love of learning in our students. Our students need to be central in directing their learning program, which should also engage them through exploration of their passions and interests. If we are just preparing our students to pass an exam, then we are setting them up for a struggle later in life. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 identifies top emerging skills as analytical thinking, resilience, creativity, problem solving, leadership and social influence, underscoring the critical role of adaptability and collaboration. The OECD’s Learning Compass 2030 has developed an educational framework that highlights learner agency, co-agency with teachers and communities and the development of competencies that support personal and collective well-being. None of these can be measured through a test, but students should be able to recognise and celebrate the development and ongoing acquisition of these capabilities and dispositions.

Our students are not identical. We have 670 individuals within our school. For example, we have neurodiverse learners, students who struggle with learning, Māori and Pasifika students, students from the rainbow community, students who have experienced trauma, students from countries overseas and so on. If we narrow down measures of success, or teach to a ‘one size fits all’ audience, then we exclude students who sit outside that narrow band of measurement. We make it that much harder for all our students to get the education that they deserve. Not only does this do a disservice to our students, it also does a disservice to the wider community, as we aren’t valuing what our students have to offer our community and the wider world. Doctor Sarah Aiono writes that we do not strengthen education by making it more rigid. We strengthen it by making it more responsive. That is what we aim to do at Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery, and that is why I am proud to say that I work at this school.

Once again, thank you all for your support over the term. Have a wonderful break and we look forward to seeing everyone back for term three.

Anita

Messages from Senior Leaders

New Staff Term 3

We are excited to have some fabulous new learning advisors joining the Y7-13 communities.

Ally Grosvenor

Kia ora e te whanau! My name is Alexis Grosvenor but you can call me Ally. I am new to Ao Tawhiti Unlimited and I can’t wait to get to know you all, but in the meantime here are some fun facts about me. I have 2 cats named Neko and Nimüe who I talk about all the time. I am a huge Marvel and Harry Potter fan and I love all things do to with true crime and mysteries. I am an avid reader and always love to have a kōrero about what everyone is reading. I will be stepping in as an English Learning Advisor and taking over TJ’s Homebase. I look forward to learning all about you and your passions in class!

Mark Stone

Ko Mark tōku ikoa. I have been teaching for ten years and am excited to join the team at Ao Tawhiti with Mathematics and Science. My leisure time took a big hit two years ago with the birth of my son Cooper, but I am still managing to find time for Football through winter and Kī-o-Rahi during summer, or even the odd round of golf. Originally I am from Tauranga, but my partner Amy and I have set down our roots here in Ōtautahi and it is great being so close to skiing, beaches, and other outdoor pursuits. Good luck to the Hurricanes for next season.

Megan Taylor

Playground Update

A million thanks to everyone for all of your support this term with our many, many fundraisers. Between the frozen cookie fundraiser, the Bento Box one and Jenny’s amazing 1960’s surf ball, we have made around $6500 towards the playground. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N6cXyth_huJoTOZBdy_phImlwhmieIgu/view

Next term I have promised no fundraisers, I am going to spend some time applying for grants to try to get the playground funded. In term 4 we will sell Cookie Time cookies and we will host a Halloween disco on 31 October, more details about this to come.

Jared and Emma have been through the quote with a fine tooth comb to see how/ where savings can be made. We all thought it was a good idea to share the breakdown of the quote in the hope that some of you can help cut costs even further. Please have a close look ~ is there anything at all that you could help with?

Ao Tawhiti BallPark Estimate	Alt Option
Foundations for Main Fort	1600
Main Fort Corten Panels and Acrylic Windows	15800
Fire Pole, 2 sets of Talk Tubes and Scramble Net Supplied and Installed	10600
Main Fort Fasteners	3600
Main Fort Timber	9900
Main Fort Horizontal Netting Platforms	3500
Main Fort Labour + Travel	8100
Mesh Fence 9m	13600
Enclosed Hut 1.5m with roof	5300
Small Huts 1m with Roof	0
Small Platform 1m without roof	8500
Platform 1.5m without roof	0
Balance Beams x3	1400
Balance Logs x 3	900
Fence for ball wall.	3700
Earthworks (site scrape, excavations, rock, loose materials supply and installed)	14400
Low retaining	3400
Site Management, Project Management, Health and Safety, Mobile Scaffold Hire, Signage, Site Amenities, Quantity Surveying and Design Development, Waste Management and disposal.	10700
Curved Decking/Seating to front edge	3700
Slackline Posts H5 Poles	6100
	0
Total (excluding GST)	124800

Niki Stephenson

New Curriculum Documents

The government has published new Y0-8 English and Mathematics & Statistics curriculum documents that all teachers need to be using fully by 2026. LAs in the Y1-6 and Y7-9 communities are beginning to explore these documents and use them in their planning. We are spending time during our community hui to become familiar with them, and some LAs have joined a Professional Learning Group to do a deep dive into them.

So far, we like much of what the documents contain. They are very specific in terms of teaching content, and there is also a focus on developing 21st century skills such as critical thinking, creativity and communication, dispositions that are valued at Ao Tawhiti as part of our special character. If you have any questions about these new documents, or are curious about what your child is learning, the MOE has created a Parent Portal which has a lot of information about the curriculum/ learning.

Niki Stephenson

Community Afternoon, Monday 23 June

What an awesome afternoon Y1-6 had on Monday at the Margaret Mahy Playground. There was lots of running around, enjoying the play equipment and being out in the sunshine. What I particularly love about these events is the fun the adults also have. Look out for the next Y1-6 community event in term 3. If you have any suggestions of what might be a good trip out, please let me know!

Niki Stephenson

News/Notices

Matariki

What a wonderful Matariki event we had last Thursday. As ever when we host this event, there was a beautiful ‘feel’ in kura as people connected with each other, enjoyed workshops, performances and kai.

Thank you to everyone who helped ~ Matariki would not be what it is without everyone pitching in. Whether you donated kai, decorated, ran a workshop, tidied up or helped in any other way, we are truly grateful to you all. Special thanks to Niki for organising a wonderful celebration, with the support of the Hāngi Team, overseen by Clint, Ian and Kay. Thank you to Jenny for the great choir performances, and to Kat and Jess for taking leftover hāngi kai to those in need in our city.

Maths Enrichment with Sam

Maths Enrichment Club had another successful term.

This is us constructing Hilda’s house in order to solve a spatial reasoning problem.

The other highlight was playing 3d Tic Tac Toe, which has got me inspired to try to learn Go with the group next term.

Sam Buchanan

Cultural Calendar

Get ready to celebrate creativity, connection, and culture in Term 3 and 4!

Ao Tawhiti will be hosting a range of Cultural Events that will bring together our ākonga, whānau, and wider community in the spirit of whanaungatanga, kaha, aroha and artistic expression.

Emotional Rollercoaster – A Wearable Art and Cosplay Event

Tūranga August 13th 5.30 – 7.00pm

There are two sections with various categories to enter for this event. The theme this year is “Emotional Rollercoaster” with the following categories;

Melancholy and Sadness

Joy and Happiness

Anger and Frustration

Calm and Content

These are of course open to artistic interpretation.

The Ao Tawhiti Film Festival is at Lumiere Theatre on October 20th at 5pm.

All types of genres are welcome. Please include titles and credits. This year, we potentially plan to have some prizes, guest speakers (film directors) and once again the post screening Q and A session.

Emotional Rollercoaster – Intention to Submit

The Ao Tawhiti Film Festival is at Lumiere Theatre on October 20th at 5pm.

Film Festival Submission Form

Jenny Ward

Football Institute

Last week our crew helped Sports Canterbury run a competition day here at CUFC. Our lads ran the show for these 14 local Intermediate schools, by organising the fields, reffing the games, coordinating the results and ensuring the competition ran on time and according to the schedule. They did a great job and even incorporated a prize giving at the end. I received a lot of positive feedback from the schools and from Sport Canterbury.

Steve Hunt

Welcome to Leah

Kia ora and hello everyone,

My name is Leah Ross, and I’ll be stepping in as Sports Coordinator while Megan is on maternity leave. I have a strong background in administration and event coordination, including five years working for a Sports Management company in the UK and NZ where I was lucky to be involved in some amazing events such as Rugby World Cup and BSI Speedway.

As a parent of Ao Tawhiti students, I deeply appreciate the school’s inclusive and collaborative ethos. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute to building an even stronger sports culture—helping our akonga discover a passion for a new sport or further develop the skills in the ones they already love.

I enjoy most sports and giving it a go. You’ll often find me cheering on the sidelines at my children’s hockey, basketball, tennis, and netball games. I grew up riding horses and playing netball, including competing for fun at the London Corporate Games.

I look forward to meeting you all, supporting our young athletes, and enjoying some great sporting moments together.

Hei konā mai,
Leah Ross

Forklift Operators

We had 12 students complete their Forklift Operators Certificate at Mainland Driving School this week. They worked hard to gain the credits and had some fun too! Lots of workplaces have forklifts and require this certificate to be able to operate a forklift in the workplace.

Anne-Marie Hampton

Floor 4 News

This term has been another busy term with lots of students working on Arotahi goals and lots of CAC and HB projects.

Every fortnight we have a hui that includes a spotlight on learning and it has been really interesting seeing the progress our students are making. Here are a few examples of the projects shared:

DELTA food bank can drive at Ao Tawhiti. We would like to thank everyone who donated cans and food to DELTA. They were very grateful when we took everything over to them. We were able to fill up around 3 large boxes.

KOOKS Surf – A couple of entrepreneurial students have been creating a brand and logo for surfboard stickers and T-shirts. They have started to sell their stickers which can be used on surfboards or other items like laptops. They also make T-Shirts to order.

After School Clubs – A group of students have been using an Arotahi block to organise some special activities for students between 2-3 on a Wednesday. Thanks to a wonderful parent who has agreed to supervise, they have had heaps of fun making sushi, pizzas and much more. They are really excited about next term clubs.

Cornhole Game for Floor 4

A couple of students noticed an unused cornhole game that needed some repairs. They decided to upcycle it by making two new sets of bean bags, giving it a new lick of paint and making some stickers using the school branding. It should be finished early next term.

Kay Hayes

Medications at Kura

Please register any personal student medications with the school office.

We have a secure medication administration process in place. When your student needs medication, at school, please chat with us. We will complete a medication form and create a plan to ensure safe storage, communication, and administration.

While it might be convenient for students to carry medications including over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen and antihistamines, we require all medications to be securely stored in the first aid room. This helps prevent accidental medication ingestion or misuse.

By following this policy, we can create a safer and healthier learning environment for all students. Thank you for your support.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact office@aotawhiti.school.nz

Golf Warehouse Trip

Big thank you to Ellen and the whole team at The Golf Warehouse Mega on Moorhouse for inviting our students to play a round on the simulator and offering swing tips from the NZ Amateur Champion! We had a blast and can’t wait to be back!

Rob Miceli

Parent Help Wanted

There is so much happening on Floor 4 and we would love more parent help. We are looking for parents who can be Arotahi coaches, supervisors and experts of a particular skill. If you would like to contribute and have some time every now and then to pop in we would love to hear from you. Staff and students on floor 4 love having adults involved and we value all that this brings to the experience for students.

In particular but not exclusively we have a session of 3hrs on a Monday and we are looking for anyone who might be able to do any of the following:

Share a craft

Supervise the kitchen

Parent Coaches to help students reflect and set weekly goals – (no experience needed just chatting and asking questions)

Times Tables practice

Reading to or with us.

Sharing expertise on a particular skill or subject

Please email kay.hayes@aotawhiti.school.nz if you would like to know more or if you think you might be able to help.

Kay Hayes

Thank you to Blues Booth

A big thank you to Blues Booth who made the 1960s Retro Surf Cocktail Ball so fun! Below is a link to the downloadable album along with the download code.

If you loved their work, they would love it if you could review them via Google reviews (see link below). Additionally, they are finalists in the NZWVA (New Zealand Wedding vendor Awards) for 2025 and would love your vote (also linked below).

Review Blues Booth

Vote for Blues Booth

https://bluesbooth.pixieset.com/discoveryschools60sparty/

Download Code: 8155

Jenny Ward

Term 2 Arotahi in HB Pekapeka

This term there has been a variety of interests in the HB. Stop motion, arts and crafts, dancing, research… just to name a few!

Here are some photos of the mahi of some tamariki:

– Lena has been learning how to finger knit (photo attached).

– Teddy and Iola have been working on their submissions for the Wearable Arts next term (photos attached).

– Thea has been learning how to sequence her ideas and making several stop motion videos (photo attached).

Students have also been able to work with Andrew in the garage, dance lessons with me, and baking with Jen.

Daisy-May Hanley

Student Volunteer Army Awards

Any student who engages in service or volunteering can sign up to SVA Awards and have their efforts acknowledged. I am really keen to support ALL students at Ao Tawhiti to become Members of the SVA by doing just 5hrs of service.

This term we had a representative from The Student Volunteer Army come and meet a group of staff. This means we have set up a number of staff ready to support students to sign up and enter their service. These include Jess Dewhurst, Suze Lambert, Bridget Scott as well as myself Kay Hayes.

I am reaching out to parents to encourage students to get involved and to come and see one of us to sign up.

This term we have had Knox Hikuroa reach the Member level and a number yet to bank their hours after helping out with Matariki and the Hangi.

Kay Hayes

Whenua Iti Waka Journey

An incredible journey taken by some of our students last week. Thank you John for making this possible.

Whenua Iti Waka Journey June 2025

The Waka Journey programme (which was tailor made for our eight ākonga) was designed by Whenua Iti Outdoors – see https://www.whenuaiti.org.nz/

The aim was to increase student’s self-confidence, cultural connection, and develop a strong sense of belonging. This programme identified individual student’s strengths and built on these to develop leadership skills. Waka is experiential by nature and provided a series of engaging and challenging learning opportunities for students. We were guided by expert guides Matua Mike, Whaia Linda and Matua Jason who showed us whakawhanaunga through the whole time we were there.

As well as the experience students also had the opportunity to achieve the following unit standards:

Unit No	Title	Level	Credits	Version
6141	Describe whanaungatanga in relation to the way Māori interact with the natural world	2	3	8
9677	Communicate in a team or group which has an objective	2	3	11

Day 1 Monday 16 June: We were welcomed to Whenua Iti.

After initial team building games, students headed to Kaiteretere for a Waka training day. Here students learnt the etiquette (tikanga) associated with Waka before embarking on the journey (haerenga) the next day.

Days 2-4 (Tuesday – Thursday 17-19 June): Waka Haerenga

We journeyed by waka into the Abel Tasman National Park and after 14 kms of paddling we arrived in Rākauroa (Anchorage) for two nights. At Rākauroa, the rōpu had the opportunity to engage in activities such as: mau rakau, haka, ngā kemu, nature connection, dawn paddle, hāngī and hīkoi before embarking on our haerenga back to Kaiteretere. We then returned to base at Whenua Iti for the poroaki before departing back to Christchurch.

We stayed in tents and, although it was cold, we had great weather for the whole time except for Thursday morning when we woke up to rain and wind which persisted while we packed up the tents and started paddling. The sun finally appeared for the last hour of our Waka Journey. As through the whole of the time, during the morning storm the ākonga ( aka The Awesome Ao Tawhiti Eight aka The Storm Riders) showed great attitudes and determination and were great ambassadors for Ao Tawhiti. The Kaiako were so impressed with Paikea, Mele, Blake, Sia, Hemi, Kris, Pippa and Paula that they each said they wanted to visit Ao Tawhiti when they are next in Ōtautahi.

The hot showers at Kaiteretere campground were very welcome before we got on the plane to fly back home.

ProActive Physio at Ao Tawhiti

We have a physiotherapist on-site at kura every Thursday morning. Not only convenient; appointments with him will save each student/staff member $43.00 at the initial assessment and $35.50 per follow up visit.

Our physiotherapist is Kash, here’s a little about him from the team at ProActive:

Kashif is a wonderful Physiotherapist with expertise in musculoskeletal and sports therapy. He recently moved from Timaru to the “big smoke” and is loving exploring a new city.
Before he trained as a physio therapist Kash was a teacher in Pakistan and enjoys being in the education setting just as much as working in the clinic. His was one of the first of his friends to move to NZ-which was a brave and courageous step. Kash is the middle child, with 2 brothers and 2 sisters. He talks to his family almost daily on what’s app. Outside of work, he is an avid cricketer, previously playing for Temuka Cricket Club and now looking to join a new team in Christchurch. (We hear he is a great bowler).
Kash will be at Ao Tawhiti every Thursday morning from 8am to 10:30am. Come say hi and
get to know him.

Term Two CAC home base report

This term has been great. We have done so many awesome activities including: an orienteering course, lots of cooking and baking workshops, a matariki kite making workshop, a paracord bracelet making workshop, sewing with Heather, a geocaching workshop, and scootering. We also made star decorations for the Matariki tree at The Richmond Community Gardens Matariki Celebration. Dimitri has even taken a special CAC Code Club.

But we think the most amazing thing about the CAC is being able to play games on grass with lots of room to do it.

By Milo and Maz

Documentary by Michael Woods Gets TV Premiere

My 2023 documentary film ‘The Craftsmen’s Castle’ will make its first public premiere on Channel 200, which is the home of Juice TV.

‘The Craftsmen’s Castle’ follows the construction of Chapman Castle. A middle ages styled home built by business couple Dennis and Debbie Chapman. It is a documentary that not only explores the history of Chapman Castle, it is also an exploration into the state of architecture and housing in New Zealand and what environmental lessons we can take from Chapman Castle’s use of clean energy.

It will be screened on Saturday 5th July at 6:30pm where along with ‘The Craftsmen’s Castle’, you can also watch my 2023 short film ‘Glitch: The Debugged Cut’. Which will also screen as an introductory short film before ‘The Craftsmen’s Castle’.

Michael Woods

MATP – Science Teaching and Leadership Programme

I will be returning to Ao Tawhiti next term after two terms on placement at the University of Canterbury. During the next year I will be working to review and upgrade the Science programme at our Kura, with a focus on years 7 to 10. As part of this process I have been given some surveys by the Royal Society Te Apārangi to help establish some baseline data to assess the current state of engagement with Science in our school community. To this end, it would be really helpful is any parents of students in Y7-10 could complete this google survey.

This is very much the start of the process, so expect more to follow over the next year.

Ngā mihi

Matt Parkes

MasterChef

The Youth workers recently ran our annual Masterchef competition. This time round Students had a mystery ingredient that they needed to incorporate into their dessert dish. The mystery ingredient was Jelly!

Students handle this well and the challenge of trying to get jelly to set in 70 minutes!

Congrats to team Matariki who created cupcakes with chocolate stars and used Jelly in the icing of the cupcakes!

Jess Dewhurst

Student Absences

Thank you for always keeping the school informed if your student is off sick, learning from home, or not attending for any other reason.

There are multiple ways you can record an absence;

send a message through SchoolApps – an App available on Apple or Android. Simply subscribe to Ao Tawhiti via the app.
leave a voicemail or speak to us directly on 03 377 7773
send an email to office@aotawhiti.school.nz

Please make sure you notify the office via one of the above options in order to prevent being sent an absence message, regardless of whether or not your student’s LA is aware of their absence.

The Seed Pod

Looking for free, engaging resources that combine art, environmental education, and nature connection? The Seed Pod- founded by new Climate Action Campus team member Sian, offers a growing collection of hands-on activities for ākonga, from creative games and comics to inquiry-based science and wellbeing tools. Explore the full range at www.theseedpod.co.nz/resources and discover how sparks of curiosity can grow a more connected, empowered future.

Sian Crowley

Project playground

Project playground is ready for orders.

This is how it works:

1. You will have to fill out a form saying what you want.

2. We will get back to you confirming the order and saying how much money you will need to pay.

3. Once you pay we will make your Items.

4. Then we get back to you when it’s ready.

Project Playground Orders

Project Playground Website

Thanks

Kay’s HB Project Playground

TA wins Gold at Hip Hop Dance Championships

Over the Matariki weekend, my crew and I flew to Wellington to compete at Hip Hop Unite NZ Nationals. This is an annual competition that gives teams and dancers from around New Zealand to compete in various divisions against some of the top dance studios. HHU NZ is world qualifier that if chosen for team NZ, will be able to compete at an international level anywhere in Europe. This year, HHU Worlds 2025 are held in Prague, Czech Republic. As a team we have qualified for Worlds in Prague. With a lot of hard work leading up to nationals, we won gold in the adults mega crew division (mega crew consists of 11-25 dancers). We have the opportunity to go and represent NZ and Christchurch on the world stage later on this year in October. If we decide to go then these things will need to be covered:

Flights, accomodation, registration fees, food, water, transportation in Prague, fees, team NZ tracksuit and fees etc

Any support would be appreciated if we decide to go. Donation, funding, any connections that you may have that would help us. Every dollar counts and we would be also fundraising as well.

Thank you so much