Kia ora koutou - we're halfway through the term and there is a lot going on. Our relocation to the new building is now in sight - new furniture has been ordered and things are progressing nicely.

Athletics & Sunhats

While summer may have passed us by, we are still enjoying some nice weather. The front field is now out of action but we are trying to utilise the court and backfield space when we can.  We have just hired some athletic equipment from Sport Otago.  Our aim is to work on our balancing, running, jumping, catching, throwing, leaping, and agility.  It has been great to see students making connections such as weaving through the slalom poles being a useful skill when dodging players in touch rugby.  Hopefully, the weather will be kind to us and we'll be able to get as much use out of the equipment as possible.

Please remember that during term 1, students are expected to be wearing their school hats outside during break and fitness times.  While regular reminders are given lots of encouragement is given for demonstrating our KAIK value of independence, we still have a number of students who have not got a hat to wear at school.  Please check with your child to make sure that they have their hat at school.  

Walk and Wheel Week (and beyond)

It was great to see so many students getting involved in Walk and Wheel Week this year.  Using active transport is a great way to get in some exercise both to and from school (and it also eases up traffic around our school gates).  A Walking School Bus operates every school morning from the corner of Highgate and Belgrave Crescent (at the top of Ross St, just along from Roslyn Kindergarten) to Kaikorai Primary School. Children can also join the bus along the way. The Walking Bus allows children to walk to school in the company of other children with parent volunteers to ensure safety. The Walking Bus leaves at 8.20 am and all are welcome.

Zones of Regulation

Having a shared understanding within our school is certainly giving students more confidence in talking about frustrations and finding ways to manage them in positive ways.  You may notice that your child talks about the different zones through our Seesaw posts, or through conversations at home.  Book and movie characters are another great way to address different emotions and give students the opportunity to reflect on what somebody is feeling and how they were able to overcome challenges or frustrations.

Parent Interviews & Learning Goals

Thank you for taking the time to talk with us about your child's learning over the phone or on Zoom.  Student learning goals discussed at interviews should now all be showing up on Seesaw.  As students work through activities related to these goals, photos or videos of their progress will be added to their Learning Goal Post.  Some students may work through this process more quickly if their goal was revision or consolidation of previous learning, while others may take more time and support to achieve their goal. 

Project Based Learning

I orea te tuatara ka puta ki waho (A problem is solved by continuing to find solutions)

Discussions at the school gate, and during interviews have highlighted how much many of you are missing being able to pop into the classroom to look at the things your child has been working on.  While we are able to share some of this on Seesaw, our project based learning will be to try and find a solution to this problem.  For the rest of this term, we will be trying to find a way to share all of the great things happening at our school with our parent community and beyond.  We'll be getting our thinking caps on, coming up with a range of solutions, and then use different skills and tools to help create something amazing to share with you.

Noho ora mai,

Amy McBeath, Jill Kumar, and Harriet Kinnaird