Monday 4th May, 2026
Kia ora koutou
A game of dodgeball at fitness.
Last week our Year 7/8 debating team hosted a debate against Cheviot Area School. The moot was - Success is more valuable than failure. It was a great learning experience for both teams, and a very close debate, with Omihi winning by 5 points! Congratulations to Ze’ev, Hugo and Noah. The team will now head into the next round of the competition, going against Sefton next week. We also have a Year 5/6 team who will be in their first debate in week 6.
We also had Firewise last week. What an amazing resource this is. It was wonderful to have local firefighters to teach our children, and resources they could take home to talk to their whānau about.
Last week, Kelly, Bella and I went to see Gilbert Enoka speak with the North Canterbury Principals Group. He is such an inspiring and engaging speaker. Gilbert was a Mental Skills Coach for 23 years with the All Blacks, and has just been called up again with them. He has also worked with numerous sports teams, CEO’s and businesses in NZ and across the world. Some of my key takeaways were:
You will never rise above the opinion you have of yourself.
When the leader gets better, everyone improves.
Don’t forget the power of a kind word.
Choices, not chances, determine your destiny.
What familiar habits am I doing that no longer serve me well?
Pressure is a lifestyle. It’s not your enemy, it’s your arena.
Culture eats strategy for breakfast.
Vent your joy.
People come because they feel welcome, and stay because they feel valued.
I honestly could go on and on about the great insights, experience and wisdom Gilbert shared. It is a great opportunity for self reflection, and also to come back and share with our team, and discuss what this looks like for our students.
Ngā mihi
Maree Lucas
Tumuaki/Principal
principal@omihi.school.nz
School Notices
Swimming pool
A big thanks to Kurt who has been managing our swimming pool for the last 5 years. We are looking for someone to take this over from next summer. Kurt would help you set it up at the end of this year. Please let Maree know if you are able to help. Feel free to talk to Kurt if you would like to find out more about the role.
Reporting
You may have seen in the media that school’s reporting is going to be changing. Hero is working on updating their reporting system as fast as they can, now that the curriculum and requirements have changed, and they are aiming for this to be ready this term. So please be aware that reporting this term may look a little bit different. As we receive more information we will keep you informed so you know what to expect by the end of this term, and then what will come later in the year.
Trail ride
We would love help to promote our trail ride. If you have a work place or a community area where you could put up an A4 poster, please let me know and I will send them home with your child.
Teacher only day
A reminder it is a teacher only day this Friday, where we have a focus on our new Maths curriculum with local schools, held at Oxford Area School.
Preschooler morning
This term our preschooler morning is on Wednesday 3rd June. We welcome all preschoolers from 9am - 10.30am. Please bring along their morning tea and drink bottle.
School Docs 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
Daily School Bus
School Swimming Pool
Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC)
EOTC Governance Roles and Responsibilities
EOTC Risk Assessment and Management
Maths Update from Kelly, Leader of Maths
The refreshed Mathematics and Statistics curriculum, which became mandatory for all state schools in Term 1, 2026, marks a significant shift toward a more structured and knowledge-rich approach. This updated curriculum moves away from the previous levels and into distinct Phases of Learning, providing year-by-year expectations to ensure no gaps are left in a child’s development. There is an emphasis on explicit teaching with a requirement of one hour a day of lesson time, a renewed focus on fluency in basic facts, times tables and place value and a change in mandatory assessment and reporting tools.
As a staff we continue to attend maths based professional development throughout the term as well as running professional learning, with a focus on the maths curriculum, twice a term during staff meetings.
Sexuality Education
For the last three weeks of this term the teachers will be teaching Sexuality Education. Mrs Stackhouse will teach all Year 0-2, Miss C Year 3-4, and Miss Fletcher will take Year 5/6 and Year 7/8 separately. We will be using some of ‘Navigating the Journey’, and ensuring we align with the curriculum, which you can see on the MOE parent portal. Our teachers know our students well, so they will be carefully reading through the planning and ensuring it is appropriate before teaching. Please have a look at the programme so you know what your children will be talking about, and how you can follow up at home. If you would like to talk to your child’s teacher or clarify anything prior to the lessons, please get in touch with them directly. If you would like to talk to Maree about any of the programmes, please email her to make a time.
Attendance letters
Parents with a child whose attendance was below 90% in Term 1 have received a courtesy letter alerting them to this. 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.
Small Schools Cross Country
The Small Schools Cross Country event is coming up at Broomfield School on the 19th May for Years 1-8. Please see here for all the details.
