E te whānau, tēnā koutou katoa,

I hope that you have all managed to avoid any major weather related issues over the past few days. Events like Cyclone Gabrielle and its huge impact on the upper North Island, certainly put a few leaks and minor concerns in perspective. For those of you with whanau in affected areas our thoughts are with you and your family.

Today we will be restarting our school orchestra. We are very fortunate to be working with Liam Boyle (HoD Music at Wellington College). Liam’s involvement with KNS is a result of his and Kane O’Connell’s work in our Kāhui Ako. It is great to see strong connections being developed between us and our secondary schools, this can only be of benefit to our tamariki. Looking forward to hearing the orchestra perform later in the year.

Paid Union Meeting for Teachers – Wednesday 01 March

The teachers union, the NZEI, has called a Paid Union Meeting (PUM) for teacher members, on Wednesday 01 March, commencing at 2.00pm. The majority of our teaching staff will be attending the meeting and I therefore ask that you make arrangements for your child from 1.00pm on Wednesday 01 March. We will have some staff at KNS to supervise children who are unable to be collected or walk home and After School Care providers have been contacted to ask if they can collect and supervise children earlier than usual.

In order for us to plan for supervision of children and to ensure that we know your expectations for your children, can you please complete the google form here.

KNS PTA Picnic – Friday 17 February (TBA)

The KNS PTA will make the decision tomorrow if they will go ahead with the picnic.  Please look out for the community feed on Hero for the update.

COVID

We have been notified of two current cases of COVID at KNS and two cases where children have had COVID and returned to school after the required isolation period. Please keep your child at home if they are unwell and test for COVID if they have symptoms. If your child tests positive for COVID they must isolate for seven days.

Hero is our Main Communication Tool in 2023

This year we will continue to use the Hero App as our main source of whole school communication. Early in the year we will also use email, however, email will be phased out once we are sure all our new families are using Hero.

If you need support with Hero please contact Jacqueline Wee, jwee@kns.school.nz or 04 4767209.

Please remember that if you have any questions or concerns, to get in touch with us. If you haven’t been able to meet your child’s teacher, please feel free to make contact, it’s important that we work together to make 2023 a year in which our tamariki, ‘be the best they can be’. (Waiho i te toipoto, kaua i te toiroa - Let us keep close together, not wide apart). 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

• He manga wai koia kia kore e whitikia – It is a big river that cannot be crossed (This whakataukī promotes the concept that difficulties can be surmounted.)

A thought to share with your children:

• “Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely.” (Roy T. Bennett)

Ngā Mihi

Conrad Kelly

Principal