Our Blog

Fun at the Coast to Coast finish line

11/2/2018

Here we are 'live' at the Coast to Coast finish-line on Saturday 10th February. Another fantastic day selling nachos, pulled pork rolls and BBQed sausages and bacon to the lovely community of New Brighton and all the supporters, competitors and spectators of the Coast to Coast.

Thanks to all the amazing volunteers who gave up their time to help us out. Our food was very well received and we were able to keep serving until well into the evening.

We are lucky to have this opportunity to fundraise for the school but also to be a part of one of New Brighton's iconic summer beach events.

Christmas Raffle Time

1/12/2017

Only one week to go till our annual Christmas raffle is drawn! We've got all the hampers ready to go. All sheets and money must be handed in my 9am Friday 8th December. There will be prizes for the children too, given out at the last assembly. Good luck!

PARENT & CHILD MINDFULNESS SESSIONs

23/11/2017

There are still a few spots left for our FREE Parent and Child Mindfulness sessions on Monday and Tuesday morning next week.

These are for one parent and one child and run from 9-10am in the school hall. It's an amazing way to connect with your child and just a chance to pause and check-in at this busy, busy time of year.

Please email pta@rawhiti.school.nz if you'd like to come along. Thanks!

Learn more about Mindfulness...

THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS of our quiz

1/11/2017

We had another successful fundraising quiz night on Sunday night with a great number of raffle and auction prizes up for offer. This is due to the great support we've had from local businesses in New Brighton and throughout Christchurch. Your support really does make a difference to us.

If you'd like to learn more about our awesome business supporters please go to Our Supporters page and make sure you mention our name when you go to visit them.

It's KInDNESS WEEK!

23/10/2017

This week is Kindness Week at Rawhiti School due to the efforts of Mindful Mover - the lovely Erica & Johanna. They have thought up lots of activities to teach the kids about kindness & at 2pm on Friday the school will have a Celebration of Kindness, which everyone is invited to.

There will be kindness rocks to view, a whole school dance routine (!) and of course it's superhero mufti day too! You may bring along a small plate of food to share as well if you wish but you may also like to have a free sausage sizzle on us, the PTA.

We LOVE VOLUNTEERS

21/9/2017

Volunteers are the best, aren't they? We would like to thank everyone who volunteered their time and services to making Boogie Wonderland such a success. Instead of naming everyone here I would like highlight all the many, many tasks that were undertaken by our wonderful team of volunteers. All these jobs completed - pat yourself on the back please!

(And if you look carefully you might find a surprising task hidden in there...)

Boogie Wonderland was a blast!

17/9/2017

The glitter was everywhere, the lights were pulsing and the beats were funky.
Our Boogie Wonderland 70s Night was a total blast from the past and our 200 guests all had a great time.
We had prizes for best costumes and best moves on the dancefloor and our 1970s smorgasboard supper was extremely popular. Who doesn't like an asparagus roll?

Thanks to the D'N'D SHowband

We need to acknowledge the amazing DnD Showband who provided a phenomenal show for us on Saturday night. They performed three sets of the best music from the 1970s, including ABBA, Blondie, Fleetwood Mac, Sister Sledge, Village People and much much more. And each with full costume changes. You MADE the night, thank you so much!!
(PS. Be sure to go to their Facebook page and follow them to see when their next gig is on.)

The PTA committee kicked off the fun by doing a funky dance number to the Jackson Five's Blame it on the Boogie.
Check it out in the video on the left.

ANother great mindfulness Session

31/8/2017

Johanna and Erica from Mindful Mover did another great parent & child mindfulness session, this time with older kids. Check out the photos below to see how much fun and enjoyment these guys had and if you want more information on doing mindfulness at home with your kids, visit our Mindfulness Page.

Boogie Wonderland - ONE MONTH TO GO!

16/8/2017

We're dusting off the mirror balls, getting out the glitter and practising the dance steps - Boogie Wonderland 70s Night is happening very soon!
Saturday 16th September is the night, 7pm is when doors open and the venue is the North New Brighton War Memorial Hall, just down the road from Rawhiti School.
The amazing D'n'D Showband will be bringing ALL the hit from the 1970s and will be doing not just one, but two, full costume tribute acts for us - Disco AND Abba.
And did I mention beautiful curly parsley adorning a plate of asparagus rolls or hot sausage rolls from the oven? And did I mention the chocolate wheel? Yes, you can dig it, we are pulling out all the stops this year.
Anyway don't delay ticket sales are picking up and we are anticipating a sell-out event. You can order your $20 tickets here right now.
Remember all funds will be going towards our 2017 goal of contributing towards new playgrounds at Rawhiti School. It's worth it.

THE JOURNEY OF THE PODS

24/7/2017

Rawhiti School has been lucky enough to have won a beautiful new garden, which is now in place outside the school library on the north side of the school building.
POD OASIS is an award-winning garden created lovingly by the team at Greening the Rubble and for a number of years it was located in at Re:Start Mall in the centre of Christchurch. However with the future of that mall uncertain Greening the Rubble decided to give away the garden to a community group that could make use and love this garden for many years to come.
It is our honour that Rawhiti School was chosen as the recipient for this amazing garden and after many hours of work and labour from the Greening the Rubble team, the teachers, the students, the PTA and families from the school the garden is in place.
Now we have a garden to treasure, a space for the children at the school to have a haven, a quiet place within the chaos and clutter of the playground to just sit and contemplate. Somewhere to chill out and read a book or somewhere to sit with friends and have a quiet chat.
We believe our children deserve inspiring and beautiful spaces too.

THE JOURNEY OF THE PODS

Thanks People of Brighton!

7/6/2017

Today the PTA were invited to the Christchurch Football Club rooms for a morning tea to celebrate all the charities that took part in Z's Good in the Hood promotion over May.

We were able to meet with the other deserving local groups who were also part of the promotion in New Brighton and we also received our cheque which is our share of the $4000.

Based on your votes, we came a close second in the race and were given an amazing $1280.00. This is really going to help in our fundraising efforts this year to get some new playground equipment for the kids.

Thanks so much Z and to all the people that voted for us.

Psychological First Aid Training at the school

8/5/2017

In conjunction with the local Christchurch branch of the NZ Red Cross we were able to host two free 7 hour training sessions in the Rawhiti School Hall on the subject of Psychological First Aid (PFA) training.

According to Red Cross Secretary General Tony Paine says, “At its core, PFA is about providing a safe, supportive response to someone who has just been through a sudden disaster and in need of support. PFA helps people feel safe, connected to others, calm and hopeful, able to access physical, emotional, cultural and social support, and feel able to help themselves.”

Our participants from the school community now have the knowledge to provide practical and emotional short-term support for individuals, reduce distress and foster the ability to adapt following a disaster or emergency situation, such as an earthquake or traumatic event. What an amazing opportunity for us. Thank you Red Cross New Zealand.

We're Good in the Hood!

1/5/2017

We're excited to announce that Rawhiti PTA has been selected to be supported by Z as part of this year’s Good in the Hood programme. That means we will receive a share of $5,000 from the Z New Brighton service station.

Any money raised from this campaign will be going towards our 2017 goal of creating new play areas at the school, especially for our Junior children. You can read more about our Z fundraising goal on the Good in the Hood website.

And don't forget for the month of May to buy your petrol from Z New Brighton and vote for us! Thanks!

Family Fun Night - fun for all ages!

13/4/2017

The Court Jesters from the Court Theatre put on a great, laughter-filled show for us to enjoy last night to liven up a wet and cold evening. With hot food (our famous nachos and sausage sizzle) from 5pm, a photo booth to remember the night and lots of fun and games to try it was a successful and fun way to end the term.

POD OASIS is coming to Rawhiti School!

9/4/2017

The wonderful crew at Greening the Rubble decided to run a competition to giveaway the POD OASIS outdoor spaces to a community group in Christchurch. The PTA at Rawhiti decided to enter the competition to try and win these amazing pod gardens and seating for our school children as an outdoor classroom and reading space, and to also be used by our local community on weekends.
Last week we found out that we were shortlisted in the top 3 for this competition and last night at ReStart Mall we were thrilled to learn that Rawhiti School was the winner!!! POD OASIS will be making their way to our school sometime in Term 2 and we look forward to making a beautiful garden around this space. We are so lucky to have won these. Thank you Greening the Rubble!!