Kia ora e te iwi,

We have had another excellent term of learning, sporting and cultural opportunities for our tamariki at Arataki School. When I reflect over the term, we have been busy.

Thank you to our school whānau for your continued support of the kura. It was great to see so many of you at school last week meeting with your child’s teacher for their whānau learning conference.

I want to acknowledge the recent sporting success of three of our students who competed in the Bay of Plenty Cross Country on Tuesday in Rotorua. Julian who placed 11th in Year 5 boys, Breanna 14th in Year 5 girls & Daniel who placed 16th in Year 6 boys. We are proud of your effort and how you represented our school. Ka mau te wehi!!!

On Wednesday our Year 5 & 6 Tackle 5’s rugby team participated in the Chiefs Rugby tackle 5’s competition in Rotorua after qualifying to participate from the Western Bay of Plenty tournament. I am incredibly proud of the team, for their determination and resilience in how they played every game. They came away 2nd overall for the entire tournament. This competition had teams from across the Bay of Plenty, Thames Valley and King Country. The games were close but the players stuck to their game plan and did not give up. A big thank you to our parents who supported us on the day, Ngarohi McGarvey-Black for coaching the team and Tatai Kerr-Tuaupiki for managing the team.

Tatai Kerr-Tuaupiki our Sports Coordinator is on maternity leave during Term 3 & 4. During this time Mel Morgan - (Teacher in Room 22) will be overseeing sports. Tatai will still continue to do some hours remotely for us such as coordinating and registering teams. If you have any sports queries we have set up the following email address for parents: sports@arataki.school.nz. Tatai will return to her position at the beginning of 2026.

On Tuesday we had a group of 3 students represent Arataki School at the Tauranga City Council Library book quiz. These students worked very well together as a team, answering questions on various topics and books. Congratulations to Robyn, Maggie and Asher. You did very well coming third place. Ka rawe!

As you are aware we have had our teacher only day today. The focus was on the Mathematics Curriculum. Our teachers have had a day of professional learning focussed on curriculum coverage, ensuring that teachers are upskilled in the changes to the revised curriculum. We have focussed on activities to engage students with learning their basic facts and timetables as well as looking at the measurement side of the curriculum. If you are looking for ways to support your child at home with their mathematics, please continue to help your child to learn their times tables and basic facts.

Lastly, we would greatly appreciate your whakaaro/thoughts for the Arataki Strategic Plan. Please click the link below for the quick survey.

Arataki School Strategic Planning Survery

Arataki News - Highlights of Term 2 - Video

Article added: Friday 27 June 2025

Wednesday afternoon 2 students selected from our Arataki School Choir went to the soloist auditions at Matua Primary. This is for the inter school festival in August. These 2 students had worked very hard and were very nervous about competing for solo parts against the students from all the other schools on our night.

Mea Simmons from Room 23 won the solo part for “Pocketful of Sunshine” and Sarah Vu from Room 24 won the solo part for “Cover me in Sunshine.”

Miharo Girls - we are very proud of you, your courage and hard work.

On Tuesday, three of our amazing tamariki, Julian, Angus and Breanna, headed over to Rotorua to compete in the Bay of Plenty Cross Country and they made Arataki School so proud.

Despite nerves, mud, and tough competition, all three gave it their absolute best. A special shoutout to Breanna, who wasn't feeling the best still managed to push through and placed in the top 15! Talk about resilience and determination.

What an experience for these incredible kids! We are beyond proud of the way they represented our kura with heart, grit, and a whole lot of Arataki pride. Ka mau te wehi, tamariki mā!

On Wednesday our boys attend the final chiefs day for our tackle 5s rugby CHIEFS FINALS DAY!

We played 5 great games in our pool, winning them all and sending us into the semis.

We headed into the semis versing mount and we were down by 3 and with the penalties given our way we won right on the hooter by 1 point.

Our final was against Te Akau Ki Papamoa. This was a big game, both sides gave it everything.

We are so proud of our team, representing Arataki with mana and taking out second for the tournament. A great future in rugby or wherever they set their sights. Ka rawe e tama ma!