Kia ora koutou e nga matua, e nga whānau, Talofa lava, Malo e lelei, Konichiwa!

One week to go! The finish line is not too far away. There is certainly a buzz in the air as the children (and staff) look forward to the Christmas break. We just need to get the weather sorted before we head off. The much anticipated annual Year 8 V Staff water fight is a discussion point in the staffroom. The staff are having to think of new tactics as our coveted position now has a ramp on it! Just a reminder that we finish at 12.00 pm on Thursday 16 December and buses will leave soon after.

Staffing

We have now completed our staffing appointments for the year. We would like to welcome Brad Meads to our Year 7 and 8 community. We are very excited to have Brad in Tōtara joining Anna and Brianna. Brad is an experienced teacher and is joining us from Westburn School.

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to two members of our staff who will not be joining us at the start of next year. Anneka Dalley joined our FAB 4 team in Term 4 and has been facilitating wonderful STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) learning experiences with our ākonga. We have enjoyed and reaped the benefits of her passion in this area! We also thank and farewell Janette Bowen. Janette has been the important fifth teacher that joins the Kōwhai teaching team as our roll grows in the Year 0 area. Janette brings an intensive knowledge of ‘play’ and I know the ākonga have benefited tremendously from this.

You may have noticed in the last newsletter that Thelma Herring has stepped down from her Leader of Learning position. Thelma is looking forward to spending more time with her gorgeous grandson, although she will continue to teach four days a week. We would like to acknowledge Thelma’s dedication and effort to her leadership role.

Congratulations to our graduating teachers. After two years of being provisionally registered, Annalyse Bain, Jane Howden, Brianna Oorthuis and Maddy Walker-Ibadulla are now registered. Well done and a big thank you to their mentor teachers, Mandy Newcombe, Natasha O’Connor, Jo Buckenham and Kathryn Moore.

The start of 2022 - put it in your calendar

We are currently looking at the start of next year and working our creative magic to see if we can organise the following events under the Traffic Light Framework. This is our plan. We will send out more information once we have worked through the logistics.

Monday 31 January

• ‘Connect with the Teachers’ Meeting

  • 3.30 pm or 4.15 pm 

• School Picnic
  

Wednesday 2 February

• Ako Conversations

  • School is open however children only come to school with their parents for their meeting to discuss learning profiles and goal setting (will need to book). We will ensure that Busy Bumbles is available for childcare

• Leadership workshop

  • Ms Riley and Mr Maddren will work with ākonga in key leadership positions

Thursday 3 February

• School as normal for all ākonga

Friday 4 February

• Mihi Whakatau to welcome new staff and ākonga to our school.

Next week …

Year 8 Pool and Pizza. The Year 8 children are now having their graduating dinner at school on Monday night - with a twist. We originally were going to a restaurant in town, but with restrictions we have had to change. A big thank you to Hannah Fifield who has been busy organising the details and ensuring that this will be a celebration to remember.

We have two Celebrations of Learning next week to acknowledge our ākonga. Both will be held on the front court. Unfortunately we are unable to have parents present at either event. Both events will be recorded with links sent out via Hero.

The first is on Monday 13 December. This will be the time to acknowledge and celebrate ākonga who have given service to the school, ICAS recipients (merit and credit), recent sporting achievements, WM Got Talent winners, Children's University projects. We will have our final bus ticket draw and Picnic with the Principal.

Our final end of year Celebration will be held on Tuesday 14 December. This will follow a similar format as in previous years.  However we are combining the junior and senior celebrations to just have the one. This is the time to acknowledge our Year 8 leavers, present cups and hand out certificates to our Year 0 - 8 ākonga. Both our Kapa Haka group and choir will perform and there will be two school wide items.

Enjoy the last week of school.