Tēnā koutou e te whānau,

Wow, Term 1 has been a busy term and has gone incredibly quickly. We have had many learning opportunities for our students. There have been school trips, Marae visits, sporting events, kapa haka performances, choir and production practices. As we head into our Easter school holidays, I want to take a moment to reflect and thank our awesome staff for their commitment to our tamariki and our kura. I am always grateful for our school community. Thank you for your continued support of your children and our school.

Teacher Only Day 

 

Today we had our first teacher-only day for the year. We were learning about the new reporting to parents components that we will be using next term at our mid-year reports and whanau learning conferences. In our mid year reports, we are required to use progress descriptors to inform parents of where your child is achieving in Reading, Writing and Mathematics. 

Please save the date: Wednesday 29th April - We are hosting an information evening for parents on Curriculum updates & what our mid-year Reporting to Parents will look like. The information evening will be at 6pm in the staffroom.

School Holiday Reading Challenge

Please encourage your child to keep reading over the school holidays. It is really important that our children get reading mileage - that means reading lots of books. Please take your child to the library and encourage them to read as much as they can. If your child is not reading independently, please continue to read to your child. Reading aloud to your child allows your child to hear the rhythm and flow of language. This supports their brains ability to process information and develops their imagination. 

Arataki Friends of School

Last week our Arataki Friends of School parents & teachers organised our Teina and Tuakana discos. The tamariki enjoyed getting dressed up, having glow sticks and having a great time.  

Thank you for your donations for our Easter raffle. Between our school disco and Easter raffle we fundraised just under $6,000.00. This will be going towards extending and upgrading our playground on the field.

WBOP Swimming Championship

Finally, Congratulations to our tamariki that represented our school at the Western Bay of Plenty Swimming Championships yesterday at Baywave. You were awesome!

Have a great school holiday break. We will see everyone back at school on Monday 20th April.

Nga mihi nui, Vicki

 

 

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Dates for the Diary

Click here for  2026 Term Dates

 

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In this issue:

  • News and Events
  • From the Sports Desk
  • Arataki Friends of the School
  • ATK here Everyday
  • After School Care/Programmes
  • Community Notices
  • Extra Curriculars at Arataki

 

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NEWS AND EVENTS

 

 

Looking Ahead:

Our School Production!

'Tales of the Deep Blue Sea' 

The highlight of our term is undoubtedly our upcoming school production, "Poseidon: Tales of the Deep Blue Sea." This is such an exciting opportunity for our tamariki to experience the magic of performing on a professional stage at Baycourt! Every child in Year 2-6 classes has a special part to play, whether they are in a lead role or performing as part of our vibrant ensemble.

To ensure we are "stage-ready," we would love your support with some holiday practice:

Singing Success: Please spend some time over the break practising our choir songs. Remember, for the final performance, we will be singing without lyrics on a screen—just the backing music!

Fishy Choir and Solos: You are sounding incredible! Keep those wonderful voices going so we can fill the theater with sound. 

Main Characters: A friendly reminder that "practice makes perfect." Now is the time to really nail those lines and stage movements so you feel confident and ready for opening night.

We can’t wait to see it all come together. It is going to be a truly memorable experience for the children and their whānau!

Save the Dates: Keep an eye out next term for news regarding ticket information and performance schedules at Baycourt for May 13th, and 14th.

 

ATK Kapa Haka at the BOP Ballance Farm Environment Awards

 

On Friday, 27 March our Kapa Haka rōpu stood with pride at the BOP Ballane Farm Enviroment Awards held at Trinity Wharf. Honoring the recipients of the awards as well as their tupuna, whānau, kura and themselves.  Ka mau te wehi!

 

 

 

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FROM THE 

SPORTS DESK

 

 

WBOP Swimming Champs

 

A huge shoutout to our amazing tamariki - Grace Naera, Lily Cuff, and Nixon Manion - who represented our kura at the WBOP Swimming Champs! 

We are so incredibly proud of the way they stepped up and competed, especially versing swimmers from kura all across the Bay of Plenty. That’s a big stage, and they carried themselves with confidence, determination, and awesome sportsmanship.

Each of them gave it their all in every race and represented Arataki with pride - ka mau te wehi! 

We are still waiting on the official results to come through, but no matter what, we already know they did outstanding and gave it everything they had.

Tino proud of you all, you should be proud of yourselves too!

 

Top Schools

On the 20th of March our kura headed over to Ōmokoroa No.1 School for Top Schools and honestly, it was such a cool day! Our tamariki got stuck into all the activities, showed awesome teamwork and backed each other the whole way through. So good to see the energy and vibes out there. 

Big mihi to all our whānau who came along to support, help out, and transport, we really appreciate you all. It makes these days run so much smoother.

To our tamariki you were amazing, we’re super proud of you all!

 

 

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Friends of the School

 

Arataki Friends of School: Easter Wrap-Up!

A massive thank you to our incredible Arataki community for supporting our recent Easter fundraisers! Your generosity is directly helping us level up our playspace upgrades, and the results are officially in.

 The Easter Disco

Despite the weather’s best efforts to dampen the mood (leading to our senior postponement), the vibes were anything but grey! The kids had an absolute blast getting creative with Easter tattoos and face paint, fueling up on delicious treats, and showing off their best moves on the dance floor.

Total Raised: $2,034.39

 The Easter Raffle

We were blown away by the donations we received this year. Thanks to your kindness, we were able to put together 10 massive hampers to raffle off to some very lucky winners!

Total Raised: $3,858.10

      Total fundraising for Term 1:              $5,892.49

Every dollar goes straight toward making our school play areas even better for our tamariki. Keep an eye on the Fund-o-Meter to watch our progress grow as we get closer to our goal. We couldn't do it without you! If you're keen to jump onboard we will be having our AGM on Thursday 23rd April at 6pm in the staffroom.

Have a safe and happy easter break from the Arataki Friends of School Team!

 

AGM: Save the date!

The AGM will take place next month, all details in the pic below.

This is a very informal evening and by coming along it absolutely doesn't mean you have to commit to being involved.

Come and find out who we are, what we do, and if there is anything you could do to help our school community

Anyone is welcome. Save the date! Or reach out to find out more.

 

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ATK here Everyday

 

Ka mau te wehi e hoa mā! Loved celebrating our 140 tamariki who have been to school everyday in term 1.  So good to spend some time playing and having an iceblock in the sun.

 

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AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

 

Our Friends at Fun First Football are filling fast for their most popular sunny Term 2 Programme! 

Simply go to https://funfirstfootball.co.nz/ to Book your Spot and to receive your kids Free FFF Tshirt! :) 

 

 

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COMMUNITY NOTICES

Hire the Tauranga Moana Cook Islands Culture Group for your next event!
We provide vibrant, authentic Cook Islands entertainment for birthdays, weddings, corporate functions, and community events.

Bringing the Cook Islands to you — with the graceful swaying of the hips, the sharp knocking of the knees and the beats of the drum.

Experience the beauty of our culture — from the graceful swaying of the hips and the sharp knocking of the knees to the beautiful tunes and beating of the drums.

 

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Play Time @ Arataki

 

 

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EXTRA CURRICULARS 

@ ARATAKI

 

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SCHOOL LUNCH MENU

 

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PRE LOVED UNIFORMS

 

Have your tamariki grown out of their uniforms? 

Please consider donating them back to the kura.  These uniform donations are:

  • sold to our whanau for donations of $5. The money raised is used for resources for our classrooms. 
  • used for our tamariki who may need them.

These donations are gratefully received at the school office.

We are especially in need of Polo Shirts please if you have any spare.

 

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Please remember to enrol your preschoolers as early as you can. This helps us to get prepared for their arrival.

To enrol you can click this link to the online application form or come into the office for an application pack.

For more information on enrolment check out our website www.arataki.school.nz

 

 

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