Te Tai Whanake - Porritt School

30/08/2026

Kia ora e te Whānau

Please find attached the latest edition of Te Tai Whanake - Porritt School Press.

We’ve had loads of awesome things happening at kura recently, and lots more coming up so make sure you take the time to scroll through to keep yourself up to date.

Kia pai tō koutou Rātapu!

Porritt School Press

27/08/2026

HE PĀNUI: WHĀNAU HUI REFLECTIONS & KŌKIRI BILINGUAL LEARNING PATHWAY 2027 - EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Kia ora e te whānau!

At the end of Term 2, we hosted a whānau hui here at kura. Our hui was very well attended. It was a great chance to kōrero together! Mauri ora!

As part of the hui, we heard from whānau members James, Puhiwahine and Kane about the process of gathering mauri taonga for our kura last year during the unveiling of our cultural narrative.

We heard from tamariki in Kōkiri - our bilingual learning space, and from Whaea Leah, Whaea Sharron and Whaea Jorja, our kaiako and kaiawhina in the space, about the learning that takes place here.

We also learned more about the thoughts and reflections of our whānau, and received some invaluable feed forward moving forward around;

- Meaningful learning experiences
- Kōkiri: Bilingual education in our kura
- Our physical environment
- Bicultural and multicultural partnerships in our kura: Te Tiriti o Waitangi in action

These whakaaro, these thoughts and ideas shared here, shape our next steps in these areas. He taonga ēnei whakaaro!

Ngā mihi nunui to those that were in attendance.

KŌKIRI 2027 - EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Here is the opportunity for whānau members to express interest in a place for your child in Kōkiri in 2027.

We would like to hear from any interested whānau members from any part of the kura - New Entrant to Year 6.

If you'd like to express interest in Reo Rua/Bilingual learning for your child in 2027, please hit the link below and complete the survey.

We would like all Expressions of Interest to be completed by Friday 4th September

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Kookiri27

26/08/2026

As promised, here’s the Cross Country video from Monday.

A look at some of the running, cheering and House spirit from the day. 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

Ka pai to all our tamariki for getting out there and giving it a go!

25/08/2026

Our Year 4–6 Mininballers have been lucky enough to take part in some special in-school coaching sessions with Matua Jamie!

Jamie brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from coaching high-level teams and has been sharing his skills, tips and expertise with our tamariki.

And last week, he brought along two very special guests from the Hawke’s Bay Hawks 🏀

What an awesome opportunity for our tamariki to learn from some of the best! A huge ngā mihi to Matua Jamie and the Hawks for giving our tamariki this experience.

24/08/2026

What a cool day we had for our 2026 Te Tai Whanake - Porritt School Cross Country ! ☀️ The weather couldn’t have been better, and our tamariki were absolutely amazing!

There was loads of House spirit throughout the day. Plenty of cheering, encouragement, determination and support for one another.

A huge ka pai to all our tamariki for getting out there, giving it their best and showing such awesome Porritt spirit!

Results: The top 3 place-getters for each year group, boys and girls, will be announced at our assembly on Friday.

We’ll also have a video of all the running from today to share with whānau via Facebook, so keep an eye out for that!

A massive thank you to our Home & School for organising all the kai for our tamariki. We really appreciate the time and effort that went into making sure everyone was well-fed after all that running!

Also a big shout-out to our whānau for coming along, supporting and helping make the day such a success.

What a way to spend a Monday!

13/08/2026

Te Tai Whanake has been an absolute hive of activity over the past couple of weeks! 🖤💛

Our tamariki have been out and about, making the most of some fantastic opportunities to learn, explore and connect beyond the classroom. We’ve had groups heading to Fish & Game, taking part in Spooner Shield, visiting Waiaroha, and enjoying time exploring the environment at Cornwall Park in Hastings. 🌿🏽🏆

It has been so awesome seeing our tamariki out amongst te taiao, building connections with our community, giving things a go and learning through real-life experiences. These are the moments that make kura life so special! A huge thank you to our whānau helpers who joined us on these trips, we couldn’t do it without your support! 💛

And the fun doesn’t stop there! Over the next few weeks, all of our classes will be taking part in squash sessions. So far, these have been a real hit, with lots of smiles, energy and plenty of new skills being developed! 🎾🙌

What a busy and exciting time it has been in Te Tai Whanake! 🖤💛

07/08/2026

Spooner Shield 2026 Champions !

What an incredible day! We couldn’t be prouder of our amazing tamariki, coaches, staff, and whānau. Every single student represented Porritt School with determination, teamwork, resilience, and outstanding sportsmanship.

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that Te Tai Whanake – Porritt School are the 2026 Spooner Shield Champions! 🏆

Our teams achieved some outstanding results:

* Rugby – Tournament Champions, successfully defending the Rugby Trophy after another dominant campaign.
* Netball – Tournament Champions, reclaiming the prestigious Hazel Gillies Netball Shield.
* Hockey – Finished equal second, with a series of outstanding performances throughout the day.
* Boys’ Football – Claimed a well-deserved 3rd place, competing brilliantly in a number of closely fought matches.
* Girls’ Football – Showed incredible determination, teamwork, and skill, playing some fantastic football against tough opposition.

There were incredibly close contests across every sporting code, making this one of the most exciting Spooner Shield tournaments in recent years. Every one of our teams played their part in helping Porritt claim the overall title.

A huge thank you to Bledisloe School for hosting and running such a fantastic event, and to Tamatea Intermediate for hosting the hockey competition. It was exceptionally well organised, and we truly appreciate all the hard work that went into making the day such a success.

To our incredible coaches, thank you for the countless training sessions you’ve dedicated to preparing our teams. Your passion, time, and commitment have been invaluable.

And to our amazing whānau, thank you for your support, transport, and enthusiastic cheering from the sidelines. We couldn’t have done it without you.

Most importantly, congratulations to our tamariki. You represented our kura with pride, humility, and heart. We couldn’t be more proud of you all.

29/07/2026

💛🖤 Tumuaki Appreciation Day 🖤💛

Today we celebrated Tumuaki Appreciation Day by recognising our amazing Tumuaki Tuarua, Mrs Keesom.

With Mr Papuni away this term, Mrs Keesom has stepped into the role of Tumuaki (Principal) of Te Tai Whanake for Term 3.

Today we took the opportunity to say thank you for all she does for our tamariki, kaiako, kaimahi, and our wider school community, both in her current Acting Principal role and within her ongoing Deputy Principal role.

Throughout the day, tamariki were in and out of her office sharing thoughtful cards and saying lots of lovely thank yous! It was very special to see the kindness and gratitude flowing.

Mrs Keesom, from us all, thank you for your inspiring leadership, and unwavering commitment to our kura. We are so grateful to have you at Te Tai Whanake - Porritt School 🖤💛🖤💛

29/07/2026

Congratulations to the nominated players for the Napier West Wakely Shield Team Trials for 2026.

Check out all the Te Tai Whanake - Porritt School past and present tamariki names on the list! Tu meke! 🏉 💛🖤

26/07/2026

Mōrena e te Whānau

Quick reminders for today;

- We finish today at 1pm!

- Your tamaiti will have an early lunch before coming home today.

- Conference bookings officially close at 10am today so if you need to make a last minute booking or make a change to your booking please reach out to your child's teacher or the school office.

We're looking forward to having you join us over the next two day to celebrate all our incredible tamariki.

Ngā mihi

Te Tai Whanake - Porritt School Team