Monday 3rd August, 2026
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.
