Titirangi residents fed up with school playing 'Poi E' on repeat
Titirangi is in tatters over the primary school's new PA system which saw the traditional bell replaced with a song playing on repeat several times a day. Titirangi Primary School has this week been testing its new PA system and, judging by feedback from its neighbours, it's got some tweaking to do. The new PA system includes the option to ditch the traditional school bell in favour of playing a song instead. The school has been marking the beginning and end of classes with Patea Maori Club's classic "Poi E", played loudly over the new speakers. Some residents are not amused. "So sad, I used to love the song "Poi E" . Not anymore," one person posted in the local Facebook group. "What's wrong with using a regular old bell?" another local Titirangi resident commented. Titirangi Primary School Principal Julie Lynch told the Herald the school is currently testing the new PA system and aware of the issues residents have raised. "We had a really old system in the school. Over the summer we put in a new telephone system and came into the 21st century with Voice over IP. Whilst we were doing that we thought we'd update our PA system," Lynch explained. "We're on a multi-level site and there are areas where children couldn't hear announcements. For health and safety reasons, we needed a more up-to-date system," she added. The school has received feedback from numerous people in the community and will work with a technician to reposition the speakers so the sound doesn't travel quite as far outside the school grounds. "What we will need to do is review where our speakers are positioned," Lynch said. "Have had some feedback that is quite loud." As for why the school decided to ditch the traditional bell, it is all part of the offering with the new system. "It's different but a nice celebration of Māori culture, especially with Waitangi Day this week," she said. "It's a brand new system so we can do all sorts of different things. "After this week, I might have to have a look at different options."
The song chorus currently plays about six times a day, between 9am and 3pm, to make the start and end of classes, morning tea and lunch. "It's a health and safety issue, we need the children to hear it all across the school. "We apologise to the Titirangi community for yesterday, Waitangi Day, as it was going off. We're still working it all out," Lynch added.
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Poll: If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? 🛻🚨🚓
In the Post's article on speeding penalties, the question is asked whether speeding fines are truly about road safety, or are they just a way to boost revenue for the Crown?
What do you think? Should speeding motorists receive speeding fines or demerit points?
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36.6% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
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63.4% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
Scam Alert: Bank cold calls
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Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
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