Tēnā Koutou Katoa.

By Bev Bell | Posted: Wednesday August 23, 2023

Over the last two days, all Casebrook students have been treated to 30 minute sessions with Te Ahi Ora.

Te Ahi Ora provided all classes with fire performance lessons and a  complimentary fire performance yesterday and today at lunchtime. An evening performance will take place at 4.30 pm this afternoon, where students, who are able to attend, will perform for our community. 

Monday was our Tōtaranui Kāhui Ako Staff Only day which saw a range of culturally responsive workshops. The theme for the day was "He waka eke noa". The day started with an inspiring and thought-provoking keynote from Dr Hana O'Regan who set the wero for the day, raising achievement for Māori ākonga and how what we do makes a difference. There was a range of workshops on offer for our kaiako to attend - Pasifika Education Plan, Destreaming, Māori Langauge for the classroom, Niho Taniwha, Aotearoa New Zealand Histories Curriculum, Pasifika Cultural Capability, Our stories through digital lense, E Tū Tangata, and Whānau engagement, to list a few. A group of our staff also attended a workshop at Tuahiwi Marae which is the local marae for our kura. There was also a hikoi in the city following Ngāi Tahu's story as well as a trip to Tūranga to learn the cultural narrative there. Each element of the day was to engage, promote and advance our teacher's knowledge and understanding of cultural responsiveness and to also celebrate the amazing things we are already doing. I would like to acknowledge all the work that Trina Wilkinson put into organising this day. 

Our ski trips begin next week with the first group of 80 students spending the day at Mt Hutt on Tuesday, followed by two more groups on Thursday and the following Tuesday.  These ski days give students who have never skied before, the opportunity to enjoy this experience and learn to ski with qualified instructors. Special thanks to Char Rennie for her organisation of these days.

A reminder to parents that if you are looking at enrolling your child at Casebrook next year, or know of anyone who intends to enrol their child, enrolments close next Thursday 31st August.

The term calendar is attached and we look forward to working with you over the coming weeks. 

As always, if you have questions or concerns, please contact us.

Nāku iti noa

Bev Bell

Assistant Principal