Principal Message
What's Up Mr Puna?
Kia ora e te whānau
Just like that term 3 is locked away in the history books. It has been an awesome term at GMS with lots to be proud of. Our kids have been working extremely hard in class and are making fantastic progress. We also had many teachers from across Otago and Southland come to watch our amazing team of teachers in action. This makes me extremely proud of our team. We have come so far over the last 3-4 years and to have schools ringing us up wanting to visit is a pretty cool feeling.
This week is Te wiki o te reo Māori, Māori language week. As in previous newsletters I have talked about the importance of celebrating the indigenous language and culture of our amazing country. We all hear the negativity that sometimes comes from adults in the media etc, but our kids are the opposite, they love it, and want to soak up as much of it as possible. We won't get to the stage where our tamariki are fluent in the language but they will have an understanding of the culture and the ability to sound out many Māori words. I have heard so many of our parents getting into using te reo Māori and I encourage you to keep going. Have a look through our list in the Reo Rangatira section and give it a go.
Junior Swimming has been awesome this week. The kids have loved it and all look extremely confident in the water. We want to thank all the parents who came down to help out and support our tamariki.
Board elections results were published this week and we welcome our new board who will ensure that GMS keeps moving in the right direction. We welcome back Lisa Grace, James Goodwin, Louise Hughes, Katie Alderton, and welcome Bridget McLeod who is our new member. I want to thank everyone who were nominated and thank everyone who voted. Wendy Blythe stood down from the board this year and I want to thank her for her work and input over the last 3 years. Our new board will meet for their first meeting on the 6th October.
It is nearly term 4 which means camps, fun days, reports and prize giving. The first half of the term will be focused on our structured learning before we start doing assessments. The results from these assessments will go towards the levels you will see on the reports. Over the holidays please encourage your child to do some reading and even give them some basic facts to try. An good maths site for this is Prototec. See the link below, put in their year level and give it a go. https://learning.prototec.co.nz/maths
Prize giving and Graduation for 2025 is going to be at 11am on the 11th December 2025 at the Calvin Church. All year 6 parents will be invited along with parents of children who are receiving Merit and Academic prizes.
Principal Award - Flynn DeGroot
The principal award for this week goes to Flynn for being an awesome example of what being kind is all about. Always looking after and helping so many of his classmates.
Just like that term 3 is locked away in the history books. It has been an awesome term at GMS with lots to be proud of. Our kids have been working extremely hard in class and are making fantastic progress. We also had many teachers from across Otago and Southland come to watch our amazing team of teachers in action. This makes me extremely proud of our team. We have come so far over the last 3-4 years and to have schools ringing us up wanting to visit is a pretty cool feeling.
This week is Te wiki o te reo Māori, Māori language week. As in previous newsletters I have talked about the importance of celebrating the indigenous language and culture of our amazing country. We all hear the negativity that sometimes comes from adults in the media etc, but our kids are the opposite, they love it, and want to soak up as much of it as possible. We won't get to the stage where our tamariki are fluent in the language but they will have an understanding of the culture and the ability to sound out many Māori words. I have heard so many of our parents getting into using te reo Māori and I encourage you to keep going. Have a look through our list in the Reo Rangatira section and give it a go.
Junior Swimming has been awesome this week. The kids have loved it and all look extremely confident in the water. We want to thank all the parents who came down to help out and support our tamariki.
Board elections results were published this week and we welcome our new board who will ensure that GMS keeps moving in the right direction. We welcome back Lisa Grace, James Goodwin, Louise Hughes, Katie Alderton, and welcome Bridget McLeod who is our new member. I want to thank everyone who were nominated and thank everyone who voted. Wendy Blythe stood down from the board this year and I want to thank her for her work and input over the last 3 years. Our new board will meet for their first meeting on the 6th October.
It is nearly term 4 which means camps, fun days, reports and prize giving. The first half of the term will be focused on our structured learning before we start doing assessments. The results from these assessments will go towards the levels you will see on the reports. Over the holidays please encourage your child to do some reading and even give them some basic facts to try. An good maths site for this is Prototec. See the link below, put in their year level and give it a go. https://learning.prototec.co.nz/maths
Prize giving and Graduation for 2025 is going to be at 11am on the 11th December 2025 at the Calvin Church. All year 6 parents will be invited along with parents of children who are receiving Merit and Academic prizes.
Principal Award - Flynn DeGroot
The principal award for this week goes to Flynn for being an awesome example of what being kind is all about. Always looking after and helping so many of his classmates.
That's about it for this week whānau. Please read through the rest of the newsletter as there are some important dates for you to remember. Have a great holiday and see you on the 6th October.
Ngā mihi nui
Glenn Puna
Tumuaki/Principal
Te Kura Matua o Māruawai
Gore Main School
