Monday 2nd March, 2026
Paemoana visiting the Amberley Library.
Kia ora koutou
Next week I am heading up to Wellington for my second meeting of the term in my New Zealand Principal’s Federation (NZPF) role. It’s been a great learning curve so far, and I was excited to be a part of the Rural Education Reference Group (RERG) meeting as part of my role. This is an opportunity for rural representatives from across NZ to meet termly and discuss the wins and struggles in our sector. We have a variety of politicians that join us to listen to our concerns and questions. In my first meeting we had Tom Haig, Policy and Research Director for the Green Party and Thomas Corser, Office for Rural Communities | Ministry for Primary Industries - Manatū Ahu Matua. Some of the topics we discussed in this meeting were around rural school buses, the new curriculum in multi-level classrooms, staffing in rural schools, youth mental health and attendance. If you are interested, I’m always happy to have a chat about any of these meetings, and would love to hear if you have any ideas or thoughts to share as well.
We have our Year 4-8 swimming sports tomorrow. Please note, if I haven’t heard from you to let me know your child needs a ride to swimming sports, then we will expect to see them there at 9.15am. Please have a chat with your child so you know which races they are entered in. We aim to have every child enter at least 2 races, with a few exceptions who will be doing one race. The races should be finished by around 12pm.
Ngā mihi
Maree Lucas
Tumuaki/Principal
principal@omihi.school.nz
School Notices
Lunch orders
We are unfortunately no longer able to get sushi on Wednesdays. Subway will continue to be a fortnightly option to order via EZLunch. The next date for Subway is this Wednesday, 4 March.
Year 4-8 Kowai Swimming Sports
The children that qualify from the Small School Swimming Sports will participate in the Kowai Swimming Sports on Friday 6th March at 1.30pm at the Amberley Pool. We will let parents know who has qualified by Wednesday.
Author visit
As part of our ‘Belonging to our Community’ inquiry, we have a local author visiting on Wednesday 4th March. We are excited to welcome Emma Francis who wrote Rocco and Delilah Bee - The Magic of Kindness.
3 Way Learning Conferences
We have our 3 Way Learnings Conferences on Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th March. This is an opportunity for parents, students and their teacher to talk about goals for the year. Please register here.
Own clothes day - Friday 20th March
On Friday 20th March we have an ‘own clothes day’ and will be raising money for Ronald McDonald House. Our senior leaders choose our charities for each of these days. Please send along a gold coin donation.
Food Truck Friday
The weather is looking amazing for this Friday! We can’t wait to see you at our Food Truck Friday, this Friday 6th March across the road from school. Please tell your friends and spread the word. The following food trucks are confirmed:
Big B’s Tucka
Sabaya - Israeli Cuisine
One scoop or two - ice cream truck
Beans and Berries - coffee, sweet treats and real fruit ice cream
Homestead Harvest - Delicious seasonal treats from the farm kitchen to your belly
Os's Kitchen - Indian and Pakistani Cuisine
The Faraway Tree movie - Thursday 2nd April
After reading The Faraway Tree with the whole school, we will be going to see the movie on the last day of term at Town Hall Cinemas in Rangiora at 10am. If you are available to take transport to this, please let Maree know.
