A warm welcome to our new students:  Neil Ahn, Celine Noh, Shawn Jang, Alex Dunn- Murfitt and Kayla O'neill.

We’ve had a run of wet weather over the last couple of days, which has brought with it the dreaded inside lunchtimes. While some children enjoy staying indoors, many miss the chance to run freely and burn off energy. Term Three can be a bit more challenging overall as there tends to be more illness around, more wet breaks, and sometimes a bit less patience to go around. We noticed this pattern a few years ago and now make a conscious effort to prepare for it.

At this time of year, we take the opportunity to revisit our school and classroom expectations around behaviour, both through our school Hui and in everyday teaching. These reminders help keep everyone safe, happy, and ready to learn. A key focus alongside this is developing our students’ emotional intelligence.

One important concept we teach is understanding the “size of the problem.” This social-emotional skill helps students pause, reflect, and choose how to respond. Children can sometimes have big, emotional reactions to small issues. For instance, being spoken to in a rude tone might trigger thoughts like “they don’t like me” or “they’re always mean,” when in fact, the other person might have just been frustrated in the moment.

We help our tamariki understand that all emotions are valid but we also have tools to manage our thoughts and responses. One simple strategy we use is pause, breathe, and smile. This short reset helps children assess the real size of the problem and respond in a way that reduces unnecessary stress.

Here’s how we guide students to think about the scale of everyday problems:

Small problems are brief and minor, such as losing a pencil or not being chosen in a game. These can usually be solved independently.

Medium problems might involve stronger emotions or more people and often need some adult support, like ongoing friendship issues or feeling unwell.

Big problems are emergencies or serious situations that require immediate adult help, such as someone getting hurt or a family crisis.

Over the past two Monday morning Hui, we’ve been exploring the idea of conflict and teaching students some practical strategies to manage it. A key message is that when conflict arises, we must first calm ourselves so we can respond reasonably. We encourage students to take a break before trying to solve the problem. One strategy we modelled, complete with some impromptu acting, was how to talk it out in a respectful and constructive way.

We have also touched on other strategies to deal with conflict, so it doesn’t escalate into a larger problem. 

Teaching social skills is a proven and effective behaviour management strategy. Research shows that explicitly teaching cooperation, emotional regulation, and problem-solving leads to improved behaviour, stronger peer relationships, and greater engagement in learning. When children learn how to interact positively with others, they’re better equipped to manage themselves and thrive both in the classroom and beyond.

Thank you all for your high level of engagement with our Student-Led Conferences and the 1:1 Report Follow-Ups for those who opted in. It looks like we were able to meet face-to-face with close to 85% of our families to celebrate and discuss learning.

Have a lovely rest of your week!
Ngaa mihi,
Nyree Olliver

Playground
Temporary fencing is now up, and construction has started. Installation is predicted to take a couple of weeks, weather dependent, followed by the addition of softfall bark before the space is officially opened for use.

PAC / Kaakano Rebuild
The Ministry of Education (MOE) Property Team has submitted a building proposal to their Head Office in Wellington. They are proposing a PAC/ Multipurpose design that has already been successfully used at another school in Papamoa and meets the MOE’s 'value for money' criteria.

The proposed design would offer a more functional space than a large off-site manufactured (OSM) classroom, which was one of the alternative solutions considered for replacing our multipurpose space. Primary schools don’t automatically qualify for purpose-built halls, so we are hopeful that this design they are proposing will be accepted. While the roof height would not be as high as our previous building, it could still accommodate a stage and serve as a flexible space for school events and performances.

We expect to hear back soon from MOE Head Office regarding whether the design has been approved and a budget allocated, or if they require further information from the Hamilton Property Team.

The Puketaha School Board has determined that there will be a Single pre-enrolment period for applications for 2026; however, if required, an additional enrolment period will be set for March.

Applications are to be received at the school by  Monday, 15th September, with the ballot to be drawn on Wednesday, 17th September

The board has determined that there will be separate ballots held for different year levels:

16 spaces for Year 0 (Terms 2,3 & 4), 9 spaces for Year 1 (Term 1), 1 space for Year 2, 3 spaces for Year 3, 1 space for Year 4.

There are no spaces available in the following year levels -  5,6,7, & 8

Siblings of children who already attend Puketaha but live outside our school zone need to be in the ballot.

The school would also like to confirm numbers of in zone children for 2026 so please get in touch if you have a potential enrolment for next year. 

Puketaha School will hold its annual Agricultural day on Tuesday 14th October. 

If you have a lamb, kid goat or calf that you would like to enter please complete the Puketaha School Agricultural Day entry

You can also check out the information on the Waikato A & P show website Waikato Show Children's competition

Sports Team Photo Day – Friday 15th August
Masterpiece Photography will be taking sports team photos on Friday 15th August. Photos will be available to order online once they have been taken.

All students who are part of a sports team must arrive in their current team uniform, including shoes and socks.
If a student no longer has their uniform, one will be provided for the photo. However, they must still bring their own shorts and shoes and socks.

Thank You!
A huge thank you to everyone who shared and placed orders through our pie and samosa “Fill the Freezer” fundraiser. We raised just under $2,000 for the school—an amazing result!

Orders will be ready for collection from Puketaha Community Hall on Thursday, August 7th. We’ll send out a notice once everything is sorted and available for pick-up.

Quiz Night 2025 – Just a Few Sleeps to Go!
Quiz Night at The Keg is nearly here! We’ve got some incredible raffle and auction prizes, along with awards for best dressed and other surprise categories. A big thank you to all our generous sponsors.

Doors open at 6:30 PM, and the quiz starts at 7:30 PM. There are still a few team tickets available on KINDO—so if you’re not already in a team, gather a few friends and join us. The more, the merrier!

Upcoming Events

September 1–21: “Pepper & Me” Promotion
Love “Pepper & Me” products? Hold off re-ordering until this promotion period—we’ll provide a special code that helps raise funds for the school with every purchase.

September 13: Monster Garage Sale
Where: Puketaha Community Hall . Time: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM  Come along, grab some bargains, and support the school community!

Kind regards,

Merynn Connors

Puketaha PTA Chairperson

M: 027 629 6820  E: pta@puketaha.school.nz

Quiz night supporters