School News

 

Kaurihohore School Week Three, Term Four News 

Manaaki te katoa - be kind to all. 

Respect - Empathy - Kindness 

He whakatauki. Ehara tāku toa i te toa takitahi. Engari, he toa takitini.

Success is not the work of one but the work of many.

Kia ora koutou,  

Wow...what a strange time we live in right now.  I don’t know about all of you, but the last few months have felt like a never ending rollercoaster with many twists and turns.  COVID has certainly changed the landscape of what we call normal, and certainly has fueled many emotions for everyone.  Everyone has different perspectives and opinions on our current situation, and we are all entitled to these varying perspectives.  As a school right now, it is our job to find the middle ground, to do the best for our children and to communicate clearly to you the information as we have it.  

Often the advice we are getting is not as clear or concise as we would like, it also often changes and it is up to us to interpret what it means for us and our school whānau.  We are doing our best and will continue to do our best.  

It is important that we think about the messaging we are giving to children at this time.  At school, we don’t talk about COVID, we just get on with making our place as normal as possible...at home please think about the messaging you also give to children, children overhear our conversations, they see and feel our stress and they do take it on board.  We all must tread carefully.  While there will continue to be mandates and recommendations that as a school we need to work our way through, we will continue to do this in a careful and thoughtful manner.  Please know that there is a lot of behind the scenes work and questioning that is going on right now.

Hats-Toys

We are now in Summer term, children must wear hats with a brim or a flap...they are not to bring caps to school over Term 4 and 1.  Please name these hats and try to help children be responsible for bringing them each day.

Please also note that toys are not to be brought along to school, these get lost, broken and cause great upset.  If children do bring items to school, we can’t take responsibility for looking after these items.

Level Two Guidelines

Thank you for adhering to level two guidelines, please continue to do so.  Please remember children must have their own bottle at school filled with water, no juice or sugary drinks please.  Please remember that you need to wear a mask as a precaution when outside picking up or dropping off children, if you come into classrooms you must wear a mask, just like any other indoor location right now.  We however do ask that you avoid coming into the office or classrooms at all right now.

School Athletics

Year 0/1 tabloid event will be held on Friday the 12th of November after lunch.  You are welcome to come along to watch, we ask that you maintain distance from those not in your bubble, sign in, do not come if you are sick or have been in a location of interest and we highly recommend mask use.

Year 2-6 events will be held on the 17th of November.  More details will be sent home in a separate notice.  You are again welcome to come along to watch...please sign in, distance from those not in your bubble, mask use is highly recommended and we ask that you not come if you are sick, or have been in a location of interest.

Messaging Teachers

We have noticed an increase in the amount of parents using facebook messenger to communicate with teachers about their child.  Please do not do this.  A teacher’s facebook page is their personal account and shouldn’t be used as a regular means of contact.  You are welcome to contact teachers via seesaw, email or by phoning the office.

Sponsored Run

This will take place on the 2nd of December...if you have lost your sponsorship sheet, please come in and get another one, we understand things are very tight for many families, so any little bit that can be fundraised would be so gratefully received.  Due to the current situation as a school we are down thousands in our budget.  The sponsored run is a small chance to raise some of this back.  We do really appreciate any small amount that children can raise.

We are going to endeavor to make this day a bit of a celebration, a bit of fun and will also add a bit of a market day twist to it, with some items for children to purchase on the day (this money will go to the PSG as it will be items that would have been sold at the gala.)  We also invite you to bring along kai on the day, a picnic blanket and sit down and share food with your bubble. We will spread ourselves out on the field, it could be hot, so umbrellas or other shelters would be a great idea.  We will have music playing and try to make it as festive as possible.

More information about this event will come home about this closer to the time.  

As this event is outside and distancing can be maintained you are welcome to come along or even take part.  We do however need everyone to comply to this mandate:

Everyone must dress up, something weird and wacky to celebrate a weird and wacky year, normal attire will not be tolerated!

 We simply ask you sign in, distance where appropriate and don’t come if you are sick, or could have been at any locations of interest.  We highly advise mask use, however this could be incorporated into your dress up for the day.  Keep in mind with dress ups that it is likely to be quite warm.

Agricultural and Flower Day

 We were so happy to be able to make this event possible at level two and in the pouring rain even! 

 Massive thanks to Dianne Wyatt who brings all of this together for our children.

A massive shout out to our sponsors for Ag day today. 

LIC, FARMLANDS & FMG.

Thank you for your ongoing support of our school.

Also to our amazing Judges.  You all came out in this terrible weather and made this happen for our children who have put so much effort in this year.

SAM MOSCRIP, BOB WOOD, LINDA HENWOOD, JILL MOSCRIP.

 

 

 

 

Community Support/Environmental Action

It was so lovely for Rūma Huia to have the opportunity to take part in some community work yesterday.  This combined some aroha for our local place and some great environmental action.  It was just by chance that we heard about this opportunity to get out into our community, if you know of any local groups, or local places that we could get involved with, let us know, we are always keen to help our children think and act beyond themselves for the place that they stand whilst they attend our school.  Tūrangawaewae is one of the most well-known and powerful Māori concepts. It literally means standing place (tūranga) and feet (waewae); and is often translated as ‘a place to stand’.

Tūrangawaewae are places where we feel empowered and connected. They are our foundation, our place in the world, our home.  Through projects like this we can help children develop this concept.

 

 

Prize-giving

This was supposed to happen on the 10th of December.  However we have been told that under level two conditions with the amount of people and the inability to maintain distance, that this should not go ahead as it has in the past.  

We are currently working through how this may look, but it is likely we will go ahead with the children and video/photograph the awards to share with you.  We will also video a school item we have been working on to share with you.  

For our Year 6 children we plan to organise a leavers assembly, so they can receive their awards, leaving certificates and be acknowledged in a formal way. Parents of Year 6 children will be welcome to attend this event as we can ensure distancing between bubbles in the space we have outside.  We will send home more information as and when we have it.

 

Vaccination Mandate

Yesterday I sent home information on this mandate and implications for our school whānau.  As I am sure you are aware this is an emotive issue and everyone has their own opinion.  As a school we are doing our best to navigate this and communicate information to you as we have it.  For now if you are volunteering in a way that involves interacting closely with a group of children, you will need to provide us with proof that you have had your first vaccination by the 15th of November.  We plan to ask for this evidence as and when school trips take place, so there is no need to do anything now if you will not be volunteering to be part of these.  

We are receiving new information every day, but the information I have for now means that if you are simply carrying out normal parent duties...school events, coming into class, talking to your child’s teacher, coming into the office, interacting as you normally would, supervising or transporting your own child we do not need to know your vaccination status.   We only need this evidence if you are volunteering in a way that sees you needing to interact with a group of children that are not your own.

Be reassured I am in daily contact with the Ministry to clarify any questions in this evolving situation.  I will continue to communicate with you in a timely manner when I have any information that you need to know.

For now however level two guidelines do continue to apply.

 

Term Four - Known Dates

17th of November - School Athletics

2nd of December - Sponsored Run

30th November - 7th of December - Life Education Visit

3rd of December - Teachers Only Day (school closed to children)

Ends 12.00 December 14th

2022 - Return to School 2nd of February

Food for thought... 

Noho ora mai - stay well, look after yourself and look out for others!

Leslee Allen