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Principal’s Message:
Welcome back for Term 2 families! We’re excited to have everyone back. There are some fabulous events happening this term including a focus on Jump Rope for Heart, a disco, Matariki and King’s Birthday long weekend! We have our Science focus across the school so we’re jam packed with excellent learning opportunities.
IMPORTANT – Lockdown Exercise/Practice – Tuesday 6 May
As part of keeping our school safe we need to be able to respond safely and quickly to a range of emergency situations. We work alongside an independent company, Harrison Tew®, who specialises in emergency management planning for schools and procedures have been successfully implemented in hundreds of schools throughout New Zealand.
As part of maintaining our emergency procedures in our school, specialised training is being conducted with our senior leadership and staff by Harrison Tew®.
The students will also receive information on how to respond in an emergency, directed at their respective age groups, from either their teacher or Harrison Tew®.
We will then be conducting a lockdown exercise under the guidance and support of Harrison Tew®.
During the exercise you will receive a notification from the school, so it is important that your emergency contact details are up to date and correct. The notification will emphasise that this is an exercise/practice and will explain that all updated information will then be posted on the school website.
In a genuine incident, should you become aware of a lockdown or evacuation at the school, can I please ask that you do not come to school or phone, as we will not be able to respond. Your presence or contact may make it more difficult for us or the emergency services to manage a situation.
New Staff
We are delighted to appoint new Learning Support Assistants who are an amazing resource to be able to support our students and teachers. Welcome to our kura:
Harman
Elaine
School and Community News:
Anzac Parade
On Friday 25 April, Takapuna Primary School joined the local parade and commemorations. It was a beautiful morning with many TPS families coming out to support this special event. Our student leaders, Baliharjot, Zehra and Skye did a fabulous job of laying a wreath on behalf of the Takapuna Primary School community. In particular, we honour the many soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice from the Takapuna and North Shore area and especially from Takapuna Primary School. These names have been forever engraved into our Anzac Street gates to remind us of the sacrifices that were made.
Teacher Professional Development focus for 2025
This year, our teaching team is focusing on strengthening the teaching of writing. We are working closely with Helen Walls. She is a professional learning facilitator and educational researcher. She founded ‘The Writing Teacher’ in 2021 with the goal to help raise achievement in writing by sharing evidence-based, practical methods to engage students and teachers. In Term 1, we attended several sessions with Helen Walls and this term Helen will be visiting classrooms and working more closely with our teachers. We have already noticed a significant improvement with handwriting, spelling, punctuation and sentence structures.
Spotlight learners!
Tūī learner
Ka pai Kye, Tūī D. You achieved some writing goals last term. You wrote a great story about Maui fishing up the North Island and illustrated it beautifully.
Parent feedback spotlight!
“To Takapuna Primary School,
I hope this message finds you well! I’m writing to let you know that my children will be wrapping up their time at Takapuna Primary School as we’ll be moving to Melbourne. They have had such a wonderful experience at your school, making great friends and benefiting from the incredible learning environment. We are truly grateful for all the support and care they’ve received from their teachers and staff.”
Property updates:
Modernisation completed!
We’re very excited that Room 6d and 6e classrooms have now been modernised and all work is completed. Here are a few photos of these lovely classroom spaces!
Modifying our entrance/exit via Anzac Street
You will notice that Rakesh, our caretaker, has made excellent progress over the holidays with only some concreting left to do. Once this has been completed we will share a new way to enter and exit school from Anzac Street. Here are some progress photos.
Team Newsletters
These will be shared early next week by classroom teachers. They are also available on our website for future reference.
Attendance
A friendly reminder that taking children overseas during school term time is not considered a justified absence and the Principal does not approve leave requests for travel. If you choose to take children out of school during term time, please remember that classroom teachers are not responsible for providing additional learning or filling in any gaps after their return.
Upcoming Events and Important Dates:
Mihi Whakatau Tomorrow, we welcome all new students, families and staff starting Term 2
Term 2 Board Meeting Monday 12 May at 6:00pm – please email takapunaboard@tps.school.nz for further information
Photolife – School photos – Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 May
Road Safety Week – 12-16 May
Teacher-Only Day: The second day for the year is confirmed as Friday 30 May (weekend of King’s Birthday)
Public Holidays: 2 June & 20 June (NO school)
Friday 6 June: – School Disco
Regards, Devika & the TPS team
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