May 30, 2022
Kia ora koutou
Just a short update this week.
I hope everyone has had a great weekend. The cold weather is starting to kick in as we approach the halfway point of the term. We are enjoying our new building which keeps everyone warm.
I am off site on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at a Principals’ conference. Please be in touch with the following senior leaders if you have any concerns or questions.
Years 1 – 6 Niki Stephenson niki.stephenson@aotawhiti.school.nz
Years 7 – 10 Ian Hayes ian.hayes@aotawhiti.school.nz
Years 11 – 13 Megan Taylor megan.taylor@aotawhiti.school.nz
School Calendar for the remainder of 2022
Below are the dates for Public Holidays, Term Dates, IEMs and Staff Only Days for the remainder of 2022.
| Date | Event |
| Monday 6 June | Queens Birthday Public Holiday |
| Friday 24 June | Matariki Public Holiday |
| Thursday July 7 | Last day of normal timetabled classes for term two |
| Friday July 8 | IEMs – supervision is available for students in Years 1 – 6 if needed |
| Monday 25 July | IEMs – supervision is available for students in Years 1 – 6 if needed |
| Tuesday 26 July | Term 3 normal timetabled classes begin for term three |
| Monday 22 August | NCEA professional learning day. Students in Years 9 – 13 will learn at home on this day as the Learning Advisors who teach NCEA will be off site. Online learning will be provided for students on this day. School is open for year 8 and younger. |
| Thursday 1 September | Staff Only Day – School is closed for instruction |
| Friday 2 September | Staff Only Day – School is closed for instruction |
| Thursday 29 September | Last day of timetabled classes for term three |
| Friday 30 September | IEMs – supervision is available for students in Years 1 – 6 if needed |
| Monday 17 October | IEMs – supervision is available for students in Years 1 – 6 if needed |
| Tuesday 18 October | Term Four normal timetabled classes begin for term four |
| Monday 24 October | Labour Day – Public Holiday |
| Friday 4 November | Last day for students in Years 11, 12 and 13 (NZQA exams start on Monday 7 November) Graduation at The Piano |
| Friday 11 November | Show Day – Public Holiday |
| Thursday 15 December | Last day of school for 2022 |
Covid Update
Our new building also has a modern ventilation system and I think that this is helping to keep our case numbers low. Mask wearing and students staying at home when they are unwell is also beneficial in slowing the spread of covid and allowing us to avoid rostering students home.
The numbers this week are below:
Learning Advisors x 1
Year 7 x 1
Year 9 x 1
Year 10 x 1
Year 12 x 1
Year 13 x 2
Apologies if I have missed any other positive cases. If your child does test positive then please email us at covid@aotawhiti.school.nz. This helps to support our health and safety decision making around covid.
Please continue to keep your child at home if they are unwell.
Here is a link to the updated education guidelines under the COVID-19 protection framework.
Matariki
It is that time of year again! Celebrating matariki at Ao Tawhiti is a highlight of the school year. This year, we will run our usual celebrations on Wednesday 22 June from 2-7pm. We would LOVE you to be involved. Click here to see how you can help, and here if you or your child/ren want to perform. Any queries, please contact niki.stephenson@aotawhiti.school.nz/ 027 226 4017
Have a great week everyone.
Ngā mihi nui
Anita