Pouhere
Pou hīhiri
Pou rārama
Tenei te pou o te whare mātauranga, te kaupapa e tū nei
Ū te pou, kia hui te ora ki runga i a tātou
Kia puta ki te whai ao
Ki te ao mārama
Tihei Mauriora……
Kia ora koutou e whanau o Te Kāpehu Whetū,
Unbelievably, we are in the last week of Term 1, 2025 but theres still plenty of mahi on.
On Wednesday, we head to Opononi to perform at the Tai Tokerau Festival 50th celebration. It’s hard to believe that I was there at the very first festival performing with Tikipunga High, as a 3rd Former. I think 4th row, last on the right hand side, behind the curtain!!! My big debut!! Now, here I am 50 festivals later returning with our kura, Te Kāpehu Whetū. Matua Ropata selected 50 ākonga from Paerangi and Paetawhiti to perform, but all of our Tuakana will travel through as well as Years 4/5/6 from Paenuku. We’re on at 3pm if you are planning on coming.
Its last day of Kura on Friday but then on Saturday 12th April, Matua Rua is taking 3x teams through to the Kai Iwi Lakes Triathlon. We have some very hardy teams competing who will swim/bike/ run for TKW. We might also have a couple of athletes who will do it on their own.
Then into holiday mode for a week before the Leadership Academy’s 13th Intake starts Saturday 19th April. We have 11 current Academy and 18 newbies attending. They will spend the week learning about the 28 Māori Battalion, upskilling and visiting key sites of significance. More info out to whanau later. Importantly…. 2025 is the 15th year of the Academy and we are inviting all Old boys, TKW Old girls and whanau to attend the Academy March-Out on Thursday 24th April. It will be held at our own venue at Paenuku. March out starts at 11am so please be parked and seated by 10.30am (bring fold out chairs). Parking will be problematic. Please allow our grounds for kaumatua and kuia. Back gate and both top gates will be open for those that can park and walk from nearby streets. We are working through options and will update closer to the date.
And as you can see from Whaea Hera’s posts, this is also the 10th year of Paenuku and the 11th year of Paerangi/Paetawhiti. We will update on our plans to celebrate these amazing milestones later in the year
Kia pai tou wiki
Whaea Rae
POUHERE
Attendance
The evidence is very clear that attendance is a key driver of learners’ achievement, their wellbeing, and their lifelong outcomes. Regular attendance has a big impact: the more often children attend school, the better they do at school, the happier they are, and the better they are set up for life.
The government has set an attendance target for 2030.
80% of students to be attending 90% of the time (max of 5 days absence per term)
Currently across the country only 53% of students are.
Unfortunately in 2024 TKW’s regular attendance was less than this.
We need to work together whānau to get the best outcomes for our tamariki!
We understand that there are valid and important reasons for ākonga to be out of school at times and this is ok but please let the tari know when and why your child is absent.
Tari Year 7-13
ring Whaea Jackie: (09) 955 9996
Tari Year 1-6
ring Whaea Sam: (09) 438 8033
Automated text notification of absence
We will be reinitiating our automated text message system for absences this week. If your child is marked with an unknown absence in the morning an automatic text message is sent to the primary caregiver(s) to notify them.
Last year this made a significant difference to the number of unjustified absences we have. If you would like to discuss your tamaiti’s absence either contact the tari or email your child’s Pouwhakahaere.
In addition, you will get a term update of your child’s attendance at kura and we will be notify whānau who have children consistently absent and/or late.
Paenuku/Whakarurutehau – See the Panui PDF for this section
Paetata
Tēnā koutou e te whānau,
It’s been a slightly quieter week in Te Whare o Paetata, as some of our ākonga have been getting ready for their big performance next week at the Te Tai Tokerau Festival in Ōpononi. While we’ve been operating at half mast, it’s actually been a great opportunity for us to dive a little deeper into our learning.
It’s hard to believe we’re already heading into the final week of Term 1! The time has flown by, and looking back, it’s been a packed few months filled with valuable learning and awesome shared experiences.
One of the standout highlights this term has been our kaupapa, He waka eke noa. It’s worked beautifully alongside our waka sessions with Whaea Jolene Busby, who’s supported our ākonga through a range of new experiences both in the water and on land.
Our ākonga have really embraced the waka mahi — from mastering drills and paddle commands to gaining a deeper understanding of the tikanga behind the kaupapa. It’s been amazing to see their confidence grow with each and every session.
Another special part of our term has been the fortnightly hīkoi up Parihaka. These walks have supported our ākonga in so many ways — physically, emotionally, and culturally. It’s helped them feel a stronger connection to the whenua and the whakapapa of our local maunga.
As we prepare to wrap up the term next week, we’re taking a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come as a group. The sense of whanaungatanga in our whare is growing stronger each day, and we’re so proud of the mahi our ākonga continue to bring into the space.
Paetawhiti – See the Panui PDF for this section
Paerangi
This week Paerangi ākonga have been working hard on fine tuning the kapa haka bracket for Tai Tokerau Festival and we are all looking forward to seeing them take the stage at Opononi this Wednesday I am also proud of how our Paerangi students are stepping up and taking responsibility for ensuring all their assessments are completed on time. Despite the challenges posed by not having a full class schedule, due to the additional time allocated for kapa haka, they have shown remarkable commitment and dedication to their academic work demonstrating a strong sense of responsibility and work ethic.
RFL
We had our end of term RFL on Wednesday and it was great to see the desire to improve results in many ākonga. We have a new impressive fastest run time of 9.32 mins set by Boston Kleiman-Pene, taking over from Sonny Boy Hing’s 9.40min. Equally impressive were those students who pushed themselves and achieved new personal bests, some cutting 2 minutes off their previous times! Continuous self-improvement gets results
Policies
Te Kāpehu Whetū has worked with SchoolDocs to create a website for our policies and procedures.
The school works on a subscription basis with SchoolDocs to maintain, update, and review our policies. SchoolDocs provides us with a comprehensive core set of policies, which have been well-researched and align with the National Education and Learning Priorities. The policies and procedures are tailored to our school, and the school supplies specific information such as our charter, and procedures for behavior management, reporting to parents, etc.
SchoolDocs updates, modifies, or creates policies in response to changes in legislation or Ministry guidelines, significant events, reviews/requests from schools, and regular reviewing from the SchoolDocs team. Our school board has the opportunity to view changes/additions and comment on them before they are implemented.
We invite you to visit the site at:
https://tkw.schooldocs.co.nz (note that there’s no “www.”).
Username is “tkw”
Password “kiamaori”.
Kaupapa
We believe passionately in our culture, our people, our ākonga, and we know that through hard work, commitment, and focused support they will achieve within the Kura and beyond. We do this hereby acknowledging the 28 Māori Battalion and the price paid for citizenship, so that ‘we’ can “Navigate Māori Futures”.
To do this we commit to success in all its forms:
Kia Māori – Be Māori – Be
An education that validates Māori knowledge and ways of learning.
Kia Mātau – Be Knowledgeable – Know
Encouraging innovation, inquiry, the development of specialised knowledge and skills.
Kia Tū Rangatira Ai – Be Rangatira – Do
Development of strong character and personal excellence, living with mana.
Nā
Raewyn Tipene
POUHERE