E te whānau, tēnā koutou katoa,

We have had a number of recent visits from ex-KNS students who are now in Year 9 at Wellington College, Wellington Girls’ College and Wellington High School. These have been informal ‘drop-ins’, often after school or coinciding with times when the colleges are closed. It’s great to hear about their successes and challenges and to know that they still feel a strong connection to KNS, particularly their teachers.

We carried out a fire evacuation practice on Friday. We do this practice termly to ensure that our children and staff are familiar with our procedures. Everyone on site; evacuated the buildings, assembled on the astro-turf and were accounted for, in just over 7 minutes. Next term we will also be practicing our lockdown plan. The lockdown practice will take place on Friday 26 May, with support from Harrison Tew Ltd.

Our board met last night, a summary of the meeting will be included in next week’s newsletter.

Please look out for information in this newsletter regarding the PTA’s annual Wētā Workshop Creativity Competition. Please encourage your child to take part. Each year I am amazed by the number and quality of the entries.

New Zealand Curriculum Refresh Implementation Teacher only Day – Monday 24 April

The Ministry of Education has confirmed two additional Teacher only Days (ToDs) in 2023. These days will focus on implementation of the New Zealand Curriculum refresh. The ministry has informed us that the first of these days is to be taken between Monday 24 April and Friday 5 May 2023.

We have decided to hold a Teacher only Day on, Monday 24 April, the day before ANZAC Day. We hope this day causes the least disruption for you. A number of local schools, including Wellington College and Wellington Girls’ College have chosen the same day as KNS.

Evacuation Plan – Are Your Details Up-to-Date

In case of a major emergency we need to ensure that children are safely collected from school. Our plan for the safe collection of children is called our ‘family reunification plan’. Key points from this plan are:

• If we decide to implement the family reunification plan we will try to inform parents/caregivers of the decision to release children from school using the school’s normal communication channels where possible.
• Children will remain at school until they have been collected by one of the people authorised to collect them i.e. no child will be released from school unless they are accompanied by an authorised person.
• Parents/caregivers are to provide the school with the names of at least two other people who are authorised to collect their children in case of an emergency.
• The release of children with an authorised person will take place in an orderly and controlled manner from the astro-turf.

If you are unsure, or you’ve forgotten, who you have authorised to collect your children or if your contact details have changed recently, please contact Vicki Lewington, our Enrolment and Attendance Officer, vlewington@kns.school.nz or 4767209.

As always if you need any support or have any questions, please contact one of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT):

• Conrad Kelly ckelly@kns.school.nz
• James Appleton jappleton@kns.school.nz
• Phil McIntosh pmcintosh@kns.school.nz

Whakataukī o te wiki (Proverb of the Week)

• Paitū pai hinga nāwai rā ka oti – Good to stand, good to fall, continue on and eventually the work is completed.

A thought to share with your children:

• “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” (Maria Robinson)

Ngā Mihi

Conrad Kelly

Principal