Kia ora koutou

Designed by Year 7 student, Ruby-Grace.

We had our senior speech competition, and I was so proud of everyone for giving it a go. It was tough competition, and we would like to congratulate the following students who placed:

1st - Stanley
2nd - Fergus
3rd - Arlo

Stanley will be receiving the Speech Cup at our prize giving, and as the top year 7/8 student, Fergus qualified for the Hurunui Speech Competition, run by the Lions. Thanks again to Mrs Turnbull and Mrs Pugh for being our judges.

We are really excited about our quiz night on the 11th September. A big thanks to the Glenmark Lions for organising this. Also thank to you the following businesses who have donated to our raffle/auction:

• Pattersons Restaurant (Commodore Hotel)

• Little Vintage

• Markham St Trader

• Ruby Six

• Farmlands, Amberley

• Greta Valley Tavern

• Black Estate

• PGG, Amberley

• North Canterbury Vets

• Porters Pass

• Goldpine, Amberley

• GSI Insurance

• Monteiths, Hanmer Springs

• Hanmer Springs Hot Pools

Ngā mihi
Maree Lucas
Tumuaki/Principal
principal@omihi.school.nz

School Notices

Pie Day Friday
Here is the order form for pies for this Friday. Please have orders in by midday on Wednesday to guarantee a pie for Friday. If we have enough pies in the freezer, we will take orders on Thursday if you email Maree and Bryleigh directly.

School photos
We have school photos on Wednesday 9th September (please note change of date). There will be information sent home today regarding sibling and individual photos. Please send this back to school this week if you would like them.

Kapa haka transport - Thursday 10th September
If you are coming to kapa haka and are able to transport some children, or if your child will meet us there, please let Maree know. Everyone else will go on the school bus. Info about tickets is below.

Answer phone
As we don’t always have someone in the office, when you leave a message on our answer phone it gets emailed to Maree and Bryleigh. So feel free to leave messages, or you can email directly.

Whole school Orana Park trip
We will be visiting Orana Park on Tuesday 13th October for the start of our inquiry next term. We will be leaving school just before 9am and will be back by 3pm. Please let Maree know if you are able to help with transport. We are not able to take preschoolers with us on this trip.

Hurunui Foodbank drive
Please help us support the Hurunui community foodbank drive. Our local foodbanks are currently running low on some everyday pantry staples, and we’re asking those who are able to bring in one non-perishable item by the end of this Friday 4 September for the council food bank to collect. They have indicated their current priority items are:

• Tinned tomatoes

• Tinned fish

• Peanut butter

• Rice

• Pasta

There’s no expectation for all families to contribute, just an opportunity for those who can to help local individuals and families experiencing hardship.

Preschooler morning
We welcome you to our preschooler morning on Wednesday 2nd September from 9am - 10.30am. Please bring along a drink bottle and a snack for your child.

Production logistics
Matinee:
On the 24th September, we have our matinee at 10am. Please make sure your children are on time to school, ideally here by 8.45am with their hair done ready for the production. Please do make up before they come if you are doing this at home, otherwise we will do it at school.

Evening show:
In the afternoon we ask that you please pick your children up at 2.30pm, and the buses will be leaving then as well. They can then get home, have a rest, have some food, and then be at the hall by 4.30pm with their hair already done. If they are doing make up at home, they can arrive at 5pm. Otherwise we will do make up when they arrive. Please send a drink bottle and some small snacks in a named bag - no yoghurt, or messy snacks etc.

Make up
If you can help with make up at either of the shows, please let Maree know.

Production costumes and tickets
Please can you send in all named production costumes by this Friday. Please put them in a bag with your child’s name on them.

You can order tickets here, and Bryleigh will invoice you. Once that has been paid, we will send the tickets home. Adult tickets are $14, and child tickets are $5. Under 5 are free. This covers the cost of our sound and lighting. If you are bringing a preschooler to the matinee, and coming again to the evening event, you will only be charged for one adult ticket.

Production stage and lighting
Thanks to Kate for agreeing to pick up and drop off the stage to Amberley. We have lighting that needs to be picked up and dropped back to Hurunui College in the last week of school. Please let Maree know if you can help with this.

Community Notices

Fundraising for the Waipara Valley Vineyard Trail
Construction has started on the Omihi Creek bridge. This is the last piece of the Waipara Valley Trail that will finally get walkers and cyclists off State Highway 1! Phases 1 and 2 are funded and underway with $175,000 raised, but the Hurunui Trails Trust still needs to raise $80,000 for phase 3.

There are sponsorship packages available from $1,500 up to the $45,000 naming rights, or people can pledge whatever they're comfortable with through the Givealittle page - please visit givealittle.co.nz/org/hurunuitrails for more information and to donate.

Help your community to vote in this year’s general election!
There are over 28,000 jobs available for the 2026 General Election. We need people from all over Aotearoa New Zealand with all levels of experience to apply. No experience, no worries! We are recruiting for a variety of roles.

Whether you’re new to the job market or an experienced leader, chances are there is a role to suit you. You’ll be fully trained and get paid to work in the heart of your community.

Election Day is Saturday 7 November, and advance voting begins on Monday 26 October.

Roles vary in length from several weeks to just Election Day, so there are lots of opportunities available.

For those in the Kaikōura Electorate, please visit the following link to view the available roles and apply: Kaikōura Electorate – 2026 General Election recruitment

Kia ora koutou

It’s been so rewarding watching all of the work that is going into the poems for our younger students, and speeches for our senior students. I know it is not in everyone’s comfort zone, so it’s great to see the determination and resilience for this. Tūpari are performing their speeches this afternoon at 1.30pm, we would love to see you there. Thank you to Yo Turnbull and Rebecca Pugh, Principal at Greta Valley School, for being our judges.

We are excited to welcome 30 of our North Canterbury Principals to Omihi tomorrow. They are visiting Kaiapoi High School in the morning, and then coming here for a tour with our students.

We are excited to announce that McKenzie Baker-Flynn will be starting with us in term 4 to teach Tūpari. McKenzie is currently at Kaikoura Primary School, and is moving to the Hurunui with her partner. We are excited to welcome McKenzie to our Omihi whānau.

Finally, a big thanks to Georgie for being part of the North Canterbury Youth Futures Expo. She was on the Ministry of Education stand, promoting ‘Becoming a teacher’. It’s a real pleasure to highlight the rewards of teaching through one of our finest educators. We're so lucky to have Georgie as part of our exceptional team.

Ngā mihi
Maree Lucas
Tumuaki/Principal
principal@omihi.school.nz

School Notices

Attendance letters
During the term, we get an email from Hero when a child moves to another attendance threshold, generally every 5 days of absence. When this happens we are required to let parents know, so you will receive an email from Bryleigh - unfortunately even if we know your child is sick. You can view our Stepped Attendance Response for absences across a term here.

Preschooler morning
We welcome you to our preschooler morning on Wednesday 2nd September from 9am - 10.30am. Please bring along a drink bottle and a snack.

Production costumes and tickets
Please can you send in all named production costumes by the end of week 7 (4th September). Please put them in a bag with your child’s name on them.

Tickets are now available. You can order them on this google form, and Bryleigh will invoice you for them. Once that has been paid, we will send the tickets home. Adult tickets are $14, and child tickets are $5. Under 5 are free. This covers the cost of our sound and lighting. If you are bringing a preschooler to the matinee, and coming again to the evening event, you will only be charged for one adult ticket.

Year 5-8 Canterbury Duathlon
The Canterbury duathlon is on Monday 7th September at Ruapuna Raceway. All of the information is here. Please let Maree know if you would like us to enter your child by Monday 24th August. You will need to organise your own transport.

School photos
We have school photos on Tuesday 8th September. There will be information sent home regarding sibling and individual photos prior to this.

Production stage
We are borrowing a stage from Amberley School for our production. The parts are 2400mm x 1200mm x 450mm. Is there anyone that would be able to pick this up for us in the week before the production? Please let Maree know if you can.

2027 dates
The starting date for 2027 will be Monday 1st February. We are waiting for info about teacher only days, and then we will be able to confirm the finish date. It will be in week 10, starting the 13th December.

Glenmark Lions Quiz - Friday 11th September
There are two slots left for teams in the quiz night. Please email Bryleigh if you would like to enter a team - office@omihi.school.nz.

Year 4-8 Kapahaka performance
This year’s kapahaka performance, with Greta Valley School, will be on Thursday 10th September at the Ōhoka Hall. We will be performing at approximately 10.30am. Information about ticket sales is below.

Our Mayor, Marie Black reading a book to our school.

Kia ora koutou,

It was lovely to have letters from our students and a morning tea with staff and our BOT last week for Te Rā o Tumeke Tumuaki - Principal Appreciation Day. I really appreciate this community, and love that I am still passionate and excited about our school after 9 years of being here. One of my favourite comments was how I look after the rats at school! Cluster flies and rats have been particularly bad this year and I am pleased I have a BOT that can help me with this part of my job! It’s also always interesting to see what children think my job is….even my own daughter asked me after writing her card for me…what do you actually do Mum?

We were thrilled to have our Hurunui Mayor, Marie Black read to our school today. It was a great chance to hear about what she does in her job, and also for 3 of our students to share their ideas for what they would do if they were Mayor for the day.

As we have a big term of performing, with our production, kapahaka, performing for our visiting Principals, and poems/speeches, we have decided not to have an assembly this term. We will give our certificates out during class on a Friday afternoon, invite those parents in, and mention them in the newsletter. Tūpari parents are invited to watch their speech competition on Monday 17th August at 1.30pm.

Please note a flyer below of a Youth Expo in North Canterbury on the 11th August. We are proud to have Georgie attending that, and she will be flying the flag for teachers in the Ministry of Education exhibition.

We look forward to seeing Grandparents tomorrow. A reminder to please send along a plate to share for morning tea with our grandparents.

Ngā mihi
Maree Lucas
principal@omihi.school.nz

School Notices

Production stage
We are borrowing a stage from Amberley School for our production. They parts are 2400mm x 1200mm x 450mm. Is there anyone that would be able to pick this up for us in the week before the production? Please let Maree know if you can.

New timetable
We are trialling a new timetable this term.  The order of our morning is the same - maths, writing, reading, but we have our morning tea at 11am, instead of 10.10am.  It means we get a decent block of learning before we break.  Instead of whole school fitness, the teachers will all run their own brain break at 10am, (inside or outside), and there will be a chance to have a piece of fruit as well. Please talk to your children about managing their food throughout the day, or having a bigger breakfast if they are hungry before 11am.  On Fridays we will have whole school fitness.

2027 Dates
The starting date for 2027 will be Monday 1st February. We are waiting for info about teacher only days, and then we will be able to confirm the finish date. It will be in week 10, starting the 13th December.

Production Costumes
We will be talking to students about costumes this week. We ask that parents please organise the costumes, and we will give you guidelines for this. We don’t expect anyone to spend a lot of money on these, so please talk to your child’s teacher if you need ideas or help to find items.

Attendance letters
Parents with a child whose attendance was below 90% in Term 2 will be receiving a courtesy letter alerting them to this from Maree this week. There was a noticeable improvement in many students’ attendance rates last term, which was great to see. You can view our Stepped Attendance Response for absences across a term here. During the term, we get an email from Hero when a child moves to another attendance threshold. When this happens, we are required to let parents know, so you will receive an email from Bryleigh.

Glenmark Lions Quiz - Friday 11th September
There are a two slots left for teams in the quiz night. Please email Bryleigh if you would like to enter a team - office@omihi.school.nz. The Lions are also still looking for prizes and items for raffles. If you have any items to donate, or can ask any suppliers or companies you deal with, please let Maree or Bryleigh know.

North Canterbury Principals Group
A group of North Canterbury Principals will be visiting Omihi School as part of a school tour, on Tuesday 18th August. We are excited for our students to show them around.

Ski free days
In past years we have organised two ski trips a year. A few years ago the BOT made the decision to not run these anymore, but instead to offer ‘ski free days’. This is where we have two days in the calendar available for you to take your child skiing if you wish. School will be running as usual for everyone else. The dates for this year are Friday 21st and 28th August. If you would like to organise a group to go to the same field and would like any help finding out who is going please chat to Maree, and let us know if you are going skiing.

Year 4-8 Kapahaka performance
This year’s kapahaka performance, with Greta Valley School, will be on Thursday 10th September at the Ōhoka Hall. We will be performing at approximately 10.30am. We will have more details and tickets for sale nearer the time. Information for the tickets are below.

School Docs policies to review
We work on a 3 year cycle, and each term we review a number of our policies. These are open for review from our community as well. Please review the following by going to http://omihi.schooldocs.co.nz. Username: omihi Password: glenmark

• School community engagement policy

• Inclusive school culture

• Enrolment

• Student attendance

• Student uniform/student dress expectations

• Concerns and complaints policy

Te Rā o Tumeke Tumuaki - Principal Appreciation Day
Last Wednesday we celebrated Te Rā o Tumeke Tumuaki - a day to honour and acknowledge the contributions of principals. We are incredibly privileged to have such an incredible principal leading our school. Our school wouldn't be the place that it is without the dedication and support from Maree.

The children wrote to Maree about what she means to them. Here is a wee insight into what some of the children said:

"Mrs Lucas my favourite thing about you is your kindness." - Isla 

"Dear Mrs Lucas, you inspire me with your passionate attitude." - Freya

"You are a great principal because you take us on your farm for walks." - Theo

"I love Omihi School because you let us choose what we wanted on the playground. You inspire me because you are a magnificent leader". - Noah

"Mrs Lucas, thank you for getting new sports equipment. I love Omihi School because everybody knows everybody. My favourite thing about you is that you take students out for hot chocolates and you gave us a say in the playground." - Michael

"Dear Mrs Lucas, I like Omihi School because you let us decide on what we would like for the school instead of you choosing which is really nice considering most schools don't do that. You inspire me because you always cheer us on at sport and you do everything you can for this school." - Theo 

Basketball
Please let Bryleigh know by 7 August if your student is interested in playing basketball at Mainpower Stadium in Terms 3 and 4. They are 10-week competitions, with no games held during the school holidays or on public holidays.

Year 5/6 - Thursday night 3x3 competition, starts 10th September. Team fee is $390+gst, split evenly between players.
Year 7/8 - Friday night 5x5 competition, starts 11th September. Team fee is $690+gst, split evenly between players.

Community Notices

Kia ora koutou,

One of the Curiosity Company’s slides around Wellness.

“Matariki ahunga mai, Matariki ahunga atu" - "Matariki of coming harvests, Matariki of ongoing bounty". It honours this time as a busy period. It is when people work together to gather and share food.

It was lovely to celebrate Matariki as a school at the end of last term, and go into the holidays where we could all spend time with whānau. A time to remember those that have past, acknowledge the present, and look ahead to the future.

It was so nice to see everyone excited to be back at school this morning, and hear all about their holidays. The teachers are I are all refreshed, and ready to go for another exciting term, especially with our production coming up!

We are excited to welcome Allie and Bessie, who will both be joining our Paemoana class this term.

Last term, as part of a North Canterbury Principal Group event, I attended a workshop with Carl Davidson from The Curiosity Company about Wellness. There were so many great points that he talked about to take away for me personally, but also as a leader, as a teacher, and to share with our staff and students, and continue our journey at Omihi around Positive Education, focusing on physical, emotional and social wellbeing. I have attached a few of the slides for you to see, and am happy to share more or discuss it with anyone that is interested.

I have added our attendance report for term 2 below. Thank you for being conscious of when your children have days off. We understand there is a lot of sickness around this time of year, and that can’t be helped, but it’s great to hear from parents that when they are booking appointments or events they try as best they can to do it outside of school time.

Our doors are always open, so if you would like to chat to the teachers or me, feel free to pop in or make an appointment for a longer time.

Ngā mihi
Maree Lucas
Tumuaki
principal@omihi.school.nz

School Notices

Glenmark Lions Quiz - Friday 11th September
There are a few slots left for teams in the quiz night. Please email Bryleigh if you would like to enter a team - office@omihi.school.nz. The Lions are also still looking for prizes for their auction. If you have any items to donate, please let Maree or Bryleigh know.

Production - Down the Rabbit Hole
Our production will be on the evening of Thursday 24th September. There will also be a matinee in the daytime, and we have a couple of local schools attending. This is also open to preschoolers to come and watch as well. We will have more details nearer the time for you. Here is a link to the script, but please be aware that as we start rehearsing there may be small adjustments to the script along the way, which you will see on this Google doc. We will keep the printed scripts at school.

3 Way Learning Conferences
These will be on Monday 27th and Wednesday 29th July after school (Bella will also have some times on Tuesday 28th). It is a time to talk to your child and their teacher about their learning. We would love to see every family attend if possible. Here is the booking form.

Red Nose Day
On Friday 31st July, it is Red Nose Day. We ask that children wear some red, and bring a gold coin donation for Cure Kids.

Grandparents or Special Person Day
On Tuesday 4th August, between 9am - 10.30am, we invite Grandparents, or another special person in your child’s life, to school. We ask that every family please bring a plate to share for morning tea.

Parent reporting session
On Tuesday 4th August we invite you to a session on the new reports. You would have received your child’s report by then, so this will be a good chance to come and ask any questions, and have a look through the report structure. It will be from 3.15pm - 4pm. Here is a sign up sheet.

Litter Free Lunches
Thank you for the support for this in Term 2. We have noticed the difference in the amount of litter around the school. We will be continuing Litter Free Lunches for the foreseeable future.

Teacher only day
It is a teacher only day on Friday 7th August. This will be our second curriculum day, focusing on the new maths curriculum.

Amuri Cantamaths
We have entered a Year 5/6 and Year 7/8 team in the Amuri Cantamaths competition on Friday 14th August. Maree will take them there on the bus, and will be in touch with the parents with more information once the teams have been organised.

North Canterbury Principals Group
A group of North Canterbury Principals will be visiting Omihi School as part of a school tour, on Tuesday 18th August. We are excited for our students to show them around.

Ski free days
In past years we have organised two ski trips a year. A few years ago the BOT made the decision to not run these anymore, but instead to offer ‘Ski free days’. This is where we have two days in the calendar available for you to take your child skiing if you wish. School will be running as usual for everyone else. The dates for this year are Friday 21st and 28th August. If you would like to organise a group to go to the same field and would like any help finding out who is going please chat to Maree, and let us know if you are going skiing.

Year 4-8 Kapahaka performance
This year’s kapahaka performance, with Greta Valley School, will be on Thursday 10th September at the Ōhoka Hall. We will be performing at approximately 10.30am. We will have more details and tickets for sale nearer the time.

Subway lunches
Unfortunately we no longer have anyone who can collect the Subway orders from Rangiora for us each fortnight, so the option of ordering lunches via EzLunch is no longer available.

If anyone is able to volunteer to collect the order and bring to school once per fortnight, we can look at restarting this. Please let us know if this could work for you.

Basketball
Please let Bryleigh know by 7 August if your student is interested in playing basketball at Mainpower Stadium in Terms 3 and 4. They are 10-week competitions, with no games held during the school holidays or on public holidays.

Year 5/6 - Thursday night 3x3 competition, starts 10th September. Team fee is $390+gst, split evenly between players.
Year 7/8 - Friday night 5x5 competition, starts 11th September. Team fee is $690+gst, split evenly between players.

A few slides from The Curiosity Company presentation on Wellness:

Term 2 attendance data

Community Notices

How the Teen Brain is Wired for Addiction parent workshop
Registrations are open for the Waimakariri District Councils parent talk, ‘How the Teen Brain is Wired for Addiction’.

7.00pm, Monday 27th of July at Mainpower Stadium (second week of Term 3).

Smartphones. Vaping. Gaming. Social Media. Alcohol and other drugs. Why do some young people seem drawn to unhealthy habits and addictive behaviours?

In this practical workshop you’ll learn why teens are more likely to take risks, how to spot early signs of unhealthy habits, and evidence-based way to respond confidently. You’ll leave with practical communication tools and strategies to help your teenager build healthy habits that support their wellbeing now and into adulthood.

This is a free event, but registrations are essential. Please register at: https://events.humanitix.com/teen-brain-wired-for-addiction