Meri Kirihimete (Merry Christmas!) As we edge closer to Christmas and look back at what the year has bought us and what this holiday season will involve, I’d like to commend you all on your resilience. You have pushed through some of the most challenging times and...
Kia ora koutou katoa, Christmas is next month!? I feel like my mother when I say, “Where has the time gone?”. Lockdowns have certainly tested our resilience if not our patience. As we speed towards Christmas, there is apprehension before making plans with loved ones...
Kia ora koutou katoa,I hope this month sees the beginning of the end of lockdowns for us, don’t you? This lockdown has been particularly hard on some parents and now with the start of the school holidays, you could be forgiven for feeling “over” having your kids home....
Kia ora Koutou, Ehara tāku toa I te toa takitahi, Engari he toa takitini. My strength is not as an individual, but as a collective.This last month has certainly proved to be a test of our resilience and determination. Our role, once again, has been to attempt to make...
Kia ora Koutou, This month, in 1987, the Māori Language Act came into force making Te Reo Māori an official language of New Zealand. In 1985, the Waitangi Tribunal heard the Te Reo Māori claim. This asserted that Te Reo was a taonga (treasure), that the Government was...
Kia ora Koutou, With the school holidays around the corner, I’m sure there will be a lot of caregivers looking for winter school holiday activities. Now is the time to get searching for activities out there. I’ve had a little look around and found a few things that...
Kia ora Koutou katoa, I don’t know if it is just me, or the weather, or no daylight savings, but there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day now. Sometimes I catch myself walking into a room and for the life of me I can’t remember what I was going in there...
Kia ora koutou, May is upon us and for many of us, it would feel like this year is moving so fast. This time last year we were well into our National lock-down and getting so good at Zooming. If someone had told me that one day, I wouldn't know what Zooming is and I...
Happy Easter koutou katoa, So many things to think about this month with Easter upon us. It’s been a bit of a tradition in our whānau to practice Lent leading up to Easter and this year has been no different. All the kids choose something they don’t really need and go...
Kia ora koutou katoa, Well the sun has been sticking around a little longer than usual, so little master 3 and I have been needing to water the vegetables a bit more, but the results have been wonderful. We’ve had our first harvest of figs from the new tree and...
Tena Koutou, Malo I le lei, Talofa lava, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Kia ora everyone! We start our year with the world looking very different from what it did last year. If you have whānau abroad, I truly hope they are safe and well, whichever country they may be...
Kia Ora Koutou Katoa, Gosh it feels like we’ve lived a lifetime this year and many people I know will be happy to see the end of 2020. While I want to acknowledge the absolute hardship a lot of people have endured this year, I also want to express my gratitude for...
Kia ora Koutou Katoa, I love November! You can pretend that Christmas is not around the corner and maintain some of your sanity for four more weeks before Yuletide reality slaps you in the face. Little Master Two will be turning three this month and we have been busy...
Kia ora Koutou Katoa, Ten months down with only two to go! Wow, where did 2020 go… actually, I think we all know where those months have gone! It’s been a funny old time with COVID-19 gatecrashing what was supposed to be a good year. Now with Spring upon us, little...
Kia ora koutou / Hello everyone, As we have experienced the various faces of winter in our region over August, so to have we experienced the ever-changing faces of the Covid-19 situation. I do hope you’ve managed to get the support you’ve needed to get by. Please do...
Tēnā koutou katoa / Greetings to all, August is traditionally a month of wet and wild weather and many believe that weather affects the behaviour of our children. Couple that with still so much uncertainty in the world, things can start to feel a little overwhelming....
Tēnā koutou katoa / Greetings to all, Well the cold weather has well and truly made itself at home around my part of the world! Now the end of Term 2 is upon us we prepare for children to be home for the next school holidays! These holidays will certainly be different...
Tena koutou katoa! On March 25 as the country headed into lock down, Caring Families Aotearoa was designated an essential service. So, after several scheduled and non-scheduled Teams’ meetings each Regional Coordinator was tasked with calling each of our caregiver...
Tena koutou katoa! Caregivers save lives in their own form of isolation every day. You show resilience, love and healing to those who have experienced trauma and insecurity AND you do this while juggling the same personal / whānau / family and work struggles as the...
Tena koutou katoa! These are such interesting times we are living in. Take care everyone. Stay safe, stay home and lets unite to eradicate COVID-19. Kia kaha, be strong! I know it can be challenging not being able to use those things around us to get our tamariki...