“Be the best we can be, to ourselves, each other, and our environment by making good choices”
We hope you are all well in what are very interesting and challenging times. At home, we are all experiencing similar circumstances as you. With three teachers in our house, we are all struggling for space to zoom and our poor internet connection makes it even harder. We are also juggling and supporting two young children alongside our work commitments so we have every empathy for how challenging things can be. Please look after your selves as a priority. Do not stress over the learning; do what works for you.
We do know that some of our tamariki need stretching or a bit of extra guidance to get them to finish their learning. Please contact your child’s class teacher if you feel your tamariki would benefit from the teacher to support with this.
Put a smile on your face and savour some of the wonderful memories of 2021 to date.
With all this uncertainty, we thought we would share some of the awesome experiences we have had at Te Huruhi so far in 2021. Even though we know times are hard we must remember the positives and look forward to even more to come.
And there is more!
We would like to say a huge well done to all of our tamariki who entered the school writing competition after book week finished. We were very lucky in that we had local Waiheke Island children’s author, Paul Mason, judge our competition. His expertise and experience helped in what was a very difficult decision. All writers made it a hard choice which made us all very proud indeed.
For just giving it a go- Congratulations indeed!
We will publish the winners and runners-up in the near future for both categories; 8-11 years and 6-8 years.
Both will receive book tokens and we aim to self-publish their stories for our school library too.
A message and the announcements from Paul Mason:
“Firstly, well done to everyone who took part in the competition. With so many strong writers taking part it was a hard job to select the winners, involving lots of reading and re-reading!
What certainly stood out was the lively imagination and sense of enjoyment that came across in all the writing. I hope that entering this competition encourages all of you to carry on in your journeys as authors. You never know where it might take you!” — Paul Mason
8-11 Competition
Four Friends
Winner: Four Friends find a Forest by Hanife Atamer
In Four Friends Hanife creates a strong, consistent narrative voice, and uses descriptive detail to make the world of the story feel real. Four Friends is well-controlled and clear, and builds to a satisfying resolution. Ka pai!
Runner Up: Ruthless by Ayla Kurtini
In Ruthless, Ayla does a great job creating the characters of the four friends, and gives good depth to her narrator. A well-placed flashback adds drama to the story, and sets up a meaningful conclusion. Well done!
Honourable mention: The Midnight Adventure
My Best Friend Competition
6-8 Years Old
Winner: Harper by Daisy Cull
Harper is a warm-hearted, and well-rounded description. The writing is personal and honest, and gives the reader a touching sense of what Daisy’s best friend means to her. Well done!
Second Place: Untitled by Lily Torrance
Lily’s writing contains charming observations that really add to the description of her best friend. Lily does well in her efforts to lead to an interesting conclusion. Ka pai!
Third Place: My Best Friend
This work brings personality and a sense of fun to her writing. She includes details and observations, and does a good job expressing what her best friend means to her. Well done!
Honourable mention: Licky by Meg Butler
We will keep you informed of any new developments as soon as we are aware of them from the Prime Minister and MOE. In the mean time, please keep sharing all of the good learning with your teachers, with each other and find time to tell jokes, play games, go for walks, read, chill, talk, try something new etc.
Make the most of what we can and do not waste a drop of any magical moments.
Phil Wainwright (Acting Principal)