Message From the Principal

Kia Ora Koutou Katoa

Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro, nōna te ngahere Ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga, nōna te ao.

The bird that partakes of the miro berry owns the forest; the bird that partakes of education owns the world.

We are looking forward to another great year at Ōpunake Primary. I would like to extend a warm welcome to all students and whanau at the beginning of this academic year. Teachers have worked very hard prior to school starting to put exciting plans in place as we embark on this year's journey with you and your family. Many events have already been planned to welcome students back into school. Our goal for the year is to continue to provide a positive and safe learning environment for our students.

Communication is the key to a successful partnership between parents, principal and teachers, so do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns during the year. We are here to support your child in any way that we can.

We have some key goals and targets that we have set ourselves for the year. A copy of our 2023 Charter and Annual Plan will be uploaded after the 1st March. One of our key goals this year is to acknowledge our responsibilities in relation to The Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi). With the introduction of the new Aotearoa Histories Curriculum, we are keen to explore our local history and local stories. I would be interested in talking to anyone with knowledge of early Maori settlement in Opunake. European settlement is well documented and we will be sharing that with our students during the year, but we have huge gaps in our knowledge of local Maori settlement other than what we can glean from books or articles. This does not always tell those stories that particularly relate to Ōpunake. My email is principal@opunakeprimary.school.nz if you would like to meet or share some information.

Our Annual Goals for this year will also focus on developing our Local Curriculum. Local Curriculum is a way for the school to….

• be responsive to the needs, identity, language, culture, interests, strengths and aspirations of your learners and their families 

• have a clear focus on what supports the progress of all learners 

• integrate Te Tiriti o Waitangi into classroom learning 

• help learners engage with the knowledge, values, and competencies so they can go on and be confident and connected lifelong learners. 

Our School Learning Targets for 2023

To focus on students who made lease that expected progress in reading, writing and maths. (Full targets can be found within the Annual Plan)

We are also focussing on improving our delivery of Te Reo and Tikanga in the school. We are using an online resource called Te Reo Tutahi to support students and teachers.

Noho Ora Mai

Lorraine

2023