How's it going, everyone? Welcome back to Term 2; isn't time going by fast?

Again, my name is Ariki, and I'm Twizel Area School's WAKA Leader. I do hope that everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday.

During the last week of the holidays, we celebrated ANZAC Day, which was held at the Twizel RSA (Razza). I was thrilled to march along with the Twizel Voluntary Fire Brigade.  Our School Head Students (Finn Mckinley and Ralph Henderson) had the opportunity to speak, and they prevailed and made our school proud. 

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. We will remember them.”

House competitions last term ended with a Senior School House Kahoot to decide the final house points. Before this Kahoot, the points stood at Pūkaki having 1699 points, Ruataniwha 1706 and Ōhau 1677. After the Kahoot, the Houses had the total points of Ōhau with 1767, and Pukaki and Ruataniwha with 1790. This means that Ruataniwha and Pūkaki won the Term One Twizel House Shield. Some new House Competitions and some old ones could be making a comeback so watch this space!

At the End of Term Assembly, I handed out the first Leading The Waka Award, which was awarded to six people from the whole school. The award is to recognise two people from each House who have shown strong house spirit and the waka values; I'd like to congratulate the following:

• Ōhau - Alakai Fox and House Captain Dave White 
• Pūkaki  - Emma Clark and Steve Fincham-Putter
• Ruataniwha - Cruz Williams and Andre Davis 

Also, this term, I am hoping, along with the Twizel Area School Student Council, to Bring Back SADD, which, for those who don't know, was formally known as Students Against Driving Drunk, but now it is Students Against Dangerous Driving. This will help teach students about safety when driving around in our busy district and help prevent accidents from students making potentially destructive decisions. 

For more information on what SADD is, feel free to check out their website: https://www.sadd.org.nz

Coming up, I am pleased to announce we have our 2024 School Production, which is Seussical Jr. This will be held during the evening from Tuesday, 18th June, to Friday, 21st June. Tickets will become available at the School Office in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for that on the School's Facebook Page.

Also coming up, we will be holding our annual Pink Shirt Day on the 17th of May to spread awareness about Bullying. House Points will be awarded to the house wearing the most pink! And please bring a gold coin donation, which will be donated to the Pink Shirt Day Foundation.

I'm glad to have everyone back. Please enjoy the new term!

Many Thanks, and Stay Safe

Ariki Purton,
WAKA Leader 2024