And We Are Back!

Julie Cronin from Te Mata School Home & School Committee

Welcome back Te Mata families. It' set to be a great term 2 and I know we are all ready to get going on the brilliance growing and sharing, 🤓 and are sad to see the end of the holidays🤥.

I checked lost property this morning and we already have some. There are a few jumpers and more than a few hats, some raincoats and other assorted items of clothing. Please check or have your young'uns check for their missing items. The trolley is, as usual, to be found outside the hall main doors.

Lunch Online is up and running and our first orders will be delivered tomorrow morning, so please, if you haven't already, register at lunchonline.co.nz where you can order up until 9am tomorrow and every Wednesday. You can even order well in advance. Payment is strictly online, so please do not send cash or cheques to school. You can either pay at the time of order or pre-load your account. Don't forget, next Wednesday we have a $3 Pit Pit Special through Lunch Online. You can order this week for next week, as well, if you like.

If you have an existing account, at another school, just add your Te Mata child/ren to your account or change their school to Te Mata on your existing account. You can take your family account with you as they move on or up to new schools (if the school has LOL), as HN Intermediate do.

Safety on the roads and pathways is, as always, paramount. Please, when driving, keep to your side of the road (unlike several I saw this morning on Nimon St, travelling down the centre of the road), and please keep your kids safely retrained in the car until the car is fully stopped and the engine off, or the hand brake on. I saw one child jump out of a car that was still rolling this morning. When they get out of cars parked on the road, footpath side please. It is too easy for them to end up in front of moving vehicles if they get out on the road side.

When using the Legorne Lane entrance, please do not stop over driveways, on berms or in front of the lane to the school. All these are dangerous as they obstruct the views of other drivers and especially children. Also, it's just plain rude.

Please, please, please teach your children to use the footpath to the school, not crossing opposite the entrance on Legorne Lane or partway down Nimon Street. The footpath goes the whole way on Legorne Lane and there is a pedestrian crossing on Nimon Street. The kids are crossing in front of moving vehicles and popping out from between parked cars with no warning to drivers, who simply cannot see them in time. And if you are walking with them, show them how to get to school safely. If they are walking with older siblings, make sure the older siblings do this to.They will copy what they see. And they don't see you checking for traffic, they just see you crossing. Think about it. Show them what you want them to do.

Our new classrooms were blessed yesterday and we are all looking forward to them being utilised in the near future. Once they are occupied by the students, there will be other changes to classrooms taking place around the school. We will keep you informed as they occur. But, I personally can't wait to see all the great work that's coming, both at the school and from the kids.

As always, if you are interested in joining Home & School and having a say in the future direction of the school (and getting to know what's happing before anyone else), feel free to come along to any of our meetings, or join us in the staff room on Thursday mornings, until about 10am to count the Friday Treats. Or just send us a message. If you want chat in person, there are always some members gathered under the big tree outside the staffroom after school. Or ask one of the staff to point us out. We really aren't that scary, and we don't bite, unless you ask nicely.

Until next time, Sayonara.