Ahiahi Marie e te Whanau, 

What a great week it has been with our successful akonga. 

Waitangi Falls Unveiling
It was a very special privilege to be part of the sign unveiling at Waitangi Falls with Franklin Council and Ngati Te Ata iwi. Our senior council and senior kapa haka students represented our kura with mana and mauri. We are super proud of everyone involved. Thanks to Matua Paora and Matua Selwyn for involving our kura in this waahi tapu. Special mention to our rangatahi, Alexandra and Kairos who unveiled the sign and helped lead our waiata tautoko (songs of support). 

Kapa Haka
Next Saturday, 16th March our beautiful Kapa Haka roopu will be performing at the Franklin Cultural Festival. This is being held at Pia Event Centre in Pukekohe. The day starts from 12.30pm and finishes around 6.30pm. All whanau are welcome to come along and support our district event. Our Glenbrook tamariki will be performing around 4pm. There are kai stalls, raffles, bake sales and other fun! We have a waananga this Sunday to practise for our kapa haka roopu this Sunday. Girls need to be at school from 12pm and boys from 1pm. Please bring a plate of kai to share. 

Swimming
We had an extremely successful outcome at Waiuku Group Day swimming. We have ten students representing Waiuku at Group in the Franklin Zone Day for years 7&8 and nine representing Waiuku at Zone day Years 5&6. Miss Thorby will be lead teacher for our Waiuku team. Well done to all our aakonga who competed. We are extremely proud of you all. 

Thank you to all our whanau who came along to support and to Miss Thorby and Coach Sarg for leading our Glenbrook team at Group Day. A special mention to Mr Latu, Mrs Baird and Mr Cox for being our time keepers. We do need parent help at these events and if everyone could help a little it makes the day run more effectively. 

Well done to our youngest swimmers who joined in the Splish Splash Day fun today. Thank you to all our whaanau who came along to tautoko (support). Thank you to our staff for leading and to our Whanau Leaders for looking after our brave swimmers!

Next week will be the last week for class swimming lessons. Students in years 4-8 are able to bring their togs, towel and rash shirt each day as the pool will be open during afternoon Takaro time if the weather is warm. 

The following students will be representing Waiuku Group at Franklin Zone Day: Year 7&8 Sam M, Lakota M, Eva C, Jackson G, Hakuei S, Brody O, Mikayla C, Brydie B, George A,  and Maddison C. Year 5&6 Hunter B, Jonathan C, Kenzie C, Ava L, Nixon C, Riley C, Emilia B, Lennox A and Beauden J.

Polyfest
On Wednesday 20th March, Polyfest 2024 begins. I will be taking a small group of Kapa Haka seniors to Polyfest. Those students will receive a separate notice. 

If whanau would like to take their own children to Polyfest please email the school to let us know. Anyone can attend Polyfest, this is not just for Kapa Haka whanau. 

Polyfest is the Auckland Secondary’s School Maori and Pasifika Islands Cultural Festival. It is from March 20th to 23rd and is held at the Manukau Sports Bowl. 

The ASB Polyfest festival features traditional music, dance, costume and cultural speech competitions, and is one of the most recognised events on the Auckland calendar. It’s a showcase of New Zealand’s diverse cultures and a celebration of youth performance. For more information on this amazing event please check out: https://www.asbpolyfest.co.nz/p/4606-venue

NZEI Union Meeting
Glenbrook School will NOT be closed on Monday 18th March for the NZEI Teachers meeting. We will be open and whanau can collect akonga at the usual time of 2.40pm from the multipurpose shed. 

Finally, a reminder that Team Leaders are sharing their weekly newsletter about what is going on in our classrooms and Teams. We are loving our roll out of the Singapore Maths: Maths No Problem programme. Classes will also begin trialling Writers Toolbox in years 4-8. We can’t wait to share with you how this works in the classroom. Remember to check out our facebook page for photos that capture ako across our kura.

 Have a love weekend Glenbrook Whanau,

Noho ora mai rā,

Ms Lysandra Stuart

Principal: Glenbrook School

Lead Principal: Waiuku Kaahui Ako