We were very excited on Friday to have Te Taumata o Tuahiwi at our school to bless our new Paneke block and officially open the space!! The children, teachers and parents are excited to see the building all but completed, on Friday we should be in the space!

As we gear into term 4 there are many events to look forward to. One of these is the Year 5-8 3 Peaks opportunity. This started in 2014 where our former DP Mr Jack Oldridge set up a challenge for the children to opt into tramping 3 local peaks during term 4. We started with around 30 children and adults achieving this. We now have over 130 children opting into this annual 3 Peaks challenge! Our first peak for 2020 was walking the Bridle Path from Heathcote to Lyttleton and back again. Well done to all the children and adults that completed this tramp - a terrific achievement! Thank you to Mr Brayden Johnson and Miss Olivia Hurley who are the current organisers of this experience and to all parents who support this by walking and transporting our children. 

Well done to all of our Year 5-8 students who strived for their personal best at our KNS Athletic Sports during week 1. It was a very windy day however all students did a great job and we had amazing support from our parents! We will now have a large team of athletes competing in the Pegasus Zone Athletics next week!

We are at the point of the year where we start planning for 2021. Part of this is appointing staff - I am excited to confirm our teaching team line-ups for 2021, it is wonderful to be welcoming Ms Adelma Mathews back to our teaching staff!

I am sharing this information at the moment to inform you of our present team make-up for 2021 - in a few weeks time I will offer you the opportunity to share information with me regarding class placements for 2021. Remember this will not be "pick a teacher" but an opportunity for you to share genuine information for us to consider as we place children for 2021 - we will not be starting this process for a few more weeks. Most children in 2020 Year's 3, 5, and 7 will retain their current home class teacher for 2021 unless there are circumstances that warrant a change. 

Raupo - Year 0-2

Mel Poynter (team leader),  Kerryn Archer, Lee-Anne Warren and Lisa Keenan, Chantelle Roome, Danae Morris, Karen Wright.

Akeake - Year 2-4

Belinda Gifford (team leader), Amanda Blackwell, Deena Bayliss, 

Libby McDonnell, Gemma Welsh, Janine Rust

Hinau - Year 5-6

Brayden Johnson (team leader), Adelma Matthews, Celeste Lamond, Sam Coleman

Totara - Year 7-8

Steph Hunter (team leader) and Amy Taulava, Olivia Hurley, Olivia McCarthy, Hamish Dale, Megan Gilmore

We thank Victoria Hurley and Ashley Pearce for your contribution to our teaching team in 2020. Caitlin Turner has been given leave from her full-time position to teach part-time in Totara in 2021. Jill Brown (Hinau) and Nicole Duxfield (Akeake) will also fill part-time roles with Nicole continuing in an art specialist role, and Claire Osgood continuing in her music specialist role. Phil Henderson's leave and Megan Timblick's maternity leave both continue to the end of 2021. 

Any questions about this staffing information for 2021 please contact me.

Nga mihi

Jason Miles - principal