E te whānau, tēnā koutou katoa,

Yesterday we held our first mihi whakatau of the year. A mihi whakatau is a special way of welcoming and acknowledging our new students, whānau and staff. This has been developed in collaboration with Te Āti Awa. I’d like to acknowledge the work of Tiana Karaka who organised this wonderful event.

Nowruz (Persian: نوروز [noːˈɾuːz]) is the Iranian or Persian New Year. It is a festival based on the Iranian Solar calendar, on the spring equinox— on or around 21 March on the Gregorian calendar. With roots going back to at least 3,000 years, Nowruz is one of the oldest festivals that is still marked by humans. Nowruz 2024 begins On Wednesday, 20 March at 4:06 pm NZ Time (6:36 am Tehran Time). 

“It’s a tradition for our family. We put things seven different things on a table; including a goldfish, a coin, and grass. They all have a special meaning and represent different things to us. Our family has a special meal, we often eat a dish called Ghormeh sabzi, which is a traditional herb stew” Elijah - Year 8

“What I like about Nowruz is that kids receive money called “Eidi” from their relatives when they gather together at the house of the eldest member of the family. Then, they can buy whatever they like with this money. I’m pretty sure my daughter is impatiently waiting for me to receive her own today!” Mojtaba - Kaiawhina

Karori Normal School would like to invite all parents to our first Whānau time of the year on Thursday 11th April, from 8.50am - 9.30am. This is a chance for whānau and friends to come into our classrooms and celebrate the success of our children. Grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles, everyone is more than welcome. Following this, the school leadership will host a brief information session on Structured Literacy. We will explain what structured literacy is, and how it is taught at Karori Normal School and answer any questions. This session will begin in the staffroom at 9.40am, after the Whānau time.

We also have a Hui o Rōpū Ako (End of Term Celebration) on Friday 12th April, at 10.30am. The whole school will gather on the turf for jump jam, yoga and waiata. We would love to see you there as well.

A reminder that our phone policy is set to start next week. Students have been informed and are aware that they will no longer be able to have mobile phones or smart watches with phone capabilities. The policy can be found here.

Thank you to those families who have paid their school and property donations. The property donation funds projects that are important to the school. One of the exciting projects that we are looking forward to is the redevelopment of the junior playground (pictured below). We look forward to transforming this space.

Reminders

• Parent/Caregiver donations can be paid for the 2024 year
• Board of Trustees Meeting: 26th March 6.30pm
• PTA Meeting: 27th March 7.30pm
• Staff Only Day: 28th March (School will be closed for this day)
• Easter Break: School reopens on 3rd April
• Whānau open morning: 11th April 8.50am - 9.30am
• Structured Literacy Information Morning: 11th April 9.40am
• Hui o Rōpū Ako - KM courts 10.30 - 11.00 12th April
  
• Voting closes for BOT elections on Friday 12th April

Whakatauki of the week

Toia te waka - mahia te mahi

Translation: Be actively involved!

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

• Phil McIntosh pmcintosh@kns.school.nz
• James Appleton jappleton@kns.school.nz
• Laura Brennan lbrennan@kns.school.nz

Ngā mihi nui

Phil McIntosh

Acting Principal