Principal Message
What's Up Mr Puna?
Kia ora e te whānau
It’s been a fantastic week at GMS, topped off with our Year 5 camp! Our tamariki had an absolute blast at Dolamore Park with Mrs McKenzie and Mrs Bensemann. This camp is always full of fun activities, and the children get to experience spending a night in a tent — something many of them have never done before. It’s awesome that they get to share this adventure with their classmates. A huge thank you to all our parents for your support with food, supplies, and organisation — you’ve helped create lasting memories for our kids.
It’s been a fantastic week at GMS, topped off with our Year 5 camp! Our tamariki had an absolute blast at Dolamore Park with Mrs McKenzie and Mrs Bensemann. This camp is always full of fun activities, and the children get to experience spending a night in a tent — something many of them have never done before. It’s awesome that they get to share this adventure with their classmates. A huge thank you to all our parents for your support with food, supplies, and organisation — you’ve helped create lasting memories for our kids.
It’s hard to believe there are only four weeks left in 2025! The year may be winding down, but it’s still packed with exciting activities for our tamariki. Next week, our senior students will finally have their swimming lessons, which they missed in Term 3, and we’ll finish the week with our very first Ice Cream Day on Friday.
Education has been in the media a lot lately, with many new announcements from the Minister of Education. The changes to the literacy and numeracy curriculum have created quite a bit of stress for schools nationwide. Implementing a whole new curriculum takes time and significant professional development for teachers to ensure they fully understand what and how to teach.
At GMS, we are fortunate to already be in a strong position. We made changes three years ago with the introduction of the iDeal literacy platform, and last year we added the Numicon Maths Programme — both approved by the Ministry. Our staff have invested countless hours building deep understanding of these programmes, and we are proud to say that we have been fully up and running throughout 2025.
The direction the Minister is taking with these changes is putting unnecessary pressure on many schools, but GMS continues to thrive. Our data clearly shows that what we are doing works. Our approach is grounded in the science of learning, and our teachers are becoming expert practitioners. For that reason, we won’t be making any major changes — what we have built here at GMS is working, and consistency is key to continued success.
Our Board of Trustees will be meeting on 24 November to discuss the Minister’s plans and to begin shaping what 2026 will look like for our school.
That’s about it for this week, whānau. Please take a moment to read through the rest of the newsletter for some important dates and reminders. Have a fantastic weekend!
Ngā mihi nui
Glenn Puna
Tumuaki/Principal
Te Kura Matua o Māruawai
Gore Main School
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