End of year and start of year information

 Thank you all for another great year.  I really appreciate the support that you, our community, provide for our wonderful school.  

Without you as a collective supporting our purpose and values the unique nature of our school would not resonate so strongly.    There are not many schools where the staff average so many years in one place (around 15 years on average.)

As I said at our Senior awards, creating a successful school is a team effort.  We have an amazing staff and a brilliant community.  In a world where all of us are time poor, I thank those of you that have managed to prioritise some time for us.  This may be in the form of fundraising, in the form of transport or simply supporting the learning we do in the classroom at home by checking in with your child’s seesaw.  

Without our fundraising we would not have the turf our children play on, the canopy we are lucky to assemble under, the mini basketball court, the pool, the small class sizes, the extra learning support…and the list goes on and on.  The fundraising that you support, makes that much difference and the reality is, everyone benefits.  

I am truly grateful to be able to lead such an incredible staff and belong to an amazing community. 

We have many families for whom this is the end of their journey with us.  As your children move onto intermediate, and you leave us behind, I hope that you remember your time here with fondness and even if we didn’t always get everything right, you know we always did your best.  Thank you for understanding we are human.

Many of our families that end their time with us have made a significant difference to this place and will be remembered in each and every little or large thing we managed to put in place because of their efforts, for this we are grateful.  

To the Year Six students that leave us this year:

When all is said and done and the competition has been run,  the awards have been given and the applause has died down.  There is one thing that matters most, the person you have become.

Compassion and kindness and showing empathy for others will be their own reward.  You’ll be rewarded in the good you do, the friends you are cherished by and the memories you leave others with.

Be the person that is remembered by others with fondness, because at the end of the day it is about who you have become, not what you have won.

Mā te huruhuru ka rere to manu

Let your feathers be ones of kindness.

 Together we are and will continue to make a difference for our children.  

Tangata ako ana i te kāenga, te tūranga ki te marae, tau ana

A person nurtured in the community, contributes strongly to society.

End of Year Info -

Reports will have been posted on seesaw this week.  Please leave a heart on your child's post even if you don't like it, so we know it has been read.  If you need a hard copy and are unable to print it yourself, please ask your child’s teacher.

If you have a year six child, either download their journal or items that you would like to save, before you lose access early next year.

Our last day is Friday the 15th and this ends at 12.00pm.  Friday is used as a day to clean up, sort classes and move any furniture that needs moving.  Send children to school prepared to help with this.  Children need to be picked up by 12.15pm on this day.

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Start of School Info -

All children now know their classes and lists will be sent home via seesaw.  School starts on the 5th of February and the last day of 2024  is the 18th of December.  The office will be open in the week prior to our starting date if you need to get in contact.

Next year there will be a couple of MOE allowed teacher only days.  We will advise you of these days when we have them.  These days have been allocated by the MOE so schools can get to work on developing and refining their curriculum.

The date for the Beach Picnic has been set for Friday the 23rd of February.  We will rely heavily on parent transport and supervision on this day, so set it aside if you can.  This year it had to be cancelled due to water quality, so we have our fingers crossed that next year it will be able to go ahead.

Stationery lists will be popped on seesaw, but can also be accessed online, by searching your child's class.

2024 Stationery

Office Max online myschool.co.nz.

Office Products  online & In store nzschoolshop | Back To School Suppliers | PS Limited | Official Site  21-23 Commerce Street Whangarei. Branch Opening Hours Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm

Qizzle Online: www.schoolpacks.co.nz

These companies have your child's class list, if purchasing online you just need to search the school and then the class.  

New Entrant Room Piwakawaka (RM1) is to be purchased at school if needed. If your child is staying in with Michelle she will let you know what they may need and this can be purchased at school.

We wish you a happy Summer break and we will see most of you back next year.

Leslee Allen

Week Seven News

  

Kaurihohore School Week Seven, Term Four 2023

Manaaki te katoa - be kind to all. 

Respect - Empathy - Kindness 

He aroha whakatō, he aroha ka puta mai

“If kindness is sown, then kindness is what you shall receive”

Kia ora e te whānau,

Time is flying by now and teachers are currently working hard to get assessment reports out to you via seesaw and to complete reports for your children.  

We put a lot of effort into the reporting comments that we send out via seesaw and into the reports, please take the time to read them and let us know you have, by liking the post (even if you are not a fan of what is said.)  

We know there is a lot of information to digest, but we feel that it is important you know how your child is progressing and how you can help them further at home.  We feel very strongly that learning should be a partnership and that school and whānau have a very important role to play in a child’s success.  

Today is our empty classroom day, again we are lucky with the weather.  Sadly I have been stuck in my office completing strategic plans and annual reports, but it has been lovely to listen to all of the excited voices engaging in their own self-directed play.  

Tomorrow children will all have their first short visit to their new class for 2024.  They will visit again on the 28th and then for a final time on the 4th.  We do this to ensure that children have time to get to know their new teacher, their new class and to alleviate any concerns or worries that they may have.  We put a lot of effort into the planning of classes and it is a whole staff effort, the current list has been in place since early in Term Three.  When we make these classes, we consider social and academic needs, we also consider any clashes with other children that may impinge on a child’s learning and wellbeing at school.  We are a small school and in most cases there are only a couple of options.  While we do our best to grant any requests that are made for a valid reason, sometimes it is just not possible.  What is possible is that each and every teacher will do their best to ensure they know, see and understand the children in their class.  It is normal for a child to be anxious about the change and this will settle over time, while their friends may be in another class, these friendships will still continue during break times.

We only have three and a half weeks left of school and this is bound to speed by.  On the 7th of December at 2pm we have our junior awards and on the 11th at 1.30pm we have our senior awards.  We try to keep these as informal and quick as possible as we don’t want anyone to have to sit around for too long.   I will send home more information about these soon.

Our last day of school is on the 15th of December and we finish for the day at 12.00, all children need to be picked up by 12.30pm on this day at the latest.

Don’t forget this Friday (24th) is teacher only day.

Leslee Allen

Using the Crossing

Please don’t walk across the car park or along the driveways.  We have had many near misses, with children not being seen and nearly hit by cars.  We need you to be role models and use the crossing, even when it does not seem like you need to.

Fencing The School

The fencing project has been approved.  This is in response to the need to keep children safe on site.  It is likely the work will start over the holidays.  This will change the aesthetic of our school, however it will give us peace of mind when it comes to our youngest children staying on site.

Using the Pick Up System

Please don’t block the entrance area of the school if at all possible.  People are still wanting to drive in to secure a park.  If your child is slow to get in the car by themselves, it is often easier to park, so that the line is not slowed down. 

Out of Zone Positions

We still have a few positions across the school for out of zone children.  We have a few places for children that will be Year 5, 6 and 2 next year.  If you know of anyone thinking of changing schools, encourage them to email Chelsea kaurienrolments@gmail.com and come for a look around.  Out of zone positions don’t come up often, so this is a great opportunity.  

Sponsorship

We are currently sitting down to work out our budget for 2024.  Unfortunately for us, 2024 and 2025 are going to see us relying very again very heavily on fundraising and sponsorship.  We've predicted this for the last five years with a massive group of Year 6 children leaving.  Schools are funded on their roll, and of course a massive group going out, means a drop in funding.  Technically we should be running eight classrooms next year, but we choose to operate nine, this is where the shortfall comes in.

We have set a target of $35 000 to raise through fundraising, which is a massive ask! 

Currently our budget, even with this fundraising hoped for, is sitting at a $50 000 deficit, and that is being conservative.  We prioritise people over things and so direct the money we raise goes towards learning and wellbeing support inside and outside of classrooms and towards keeping our class rolls as small as possible.

Sponsorship of businesses is something we have considered in the past, but now it is something the school desperately needs to ensure we can keep it running the way it currently is. 

 There are some items in our budget that really work well for sponsorship, so I am putting it out there, in case you know of a business that may currently be thinking about 2024 sponsorship and like something concrete to support. 

If you know a business that may just like to contribute a small amount towards a specific area, then that would also be fabulous!  We will make sure they are acknowledged and promoted.

*Learning support - this includes the purchase of the Nessy application children currently work on $2000

*Wellbeing support - ensuring we can provide wrap around services for our children that need it. $2000

*Seesaw - the way we communicate and celebrate learning $2500

*Life Education - $850

*Kindo - the app that makes online payments possible $500

*Bike repairs to ensure children can make use of the bikes - $1000

*PE equipment to ensure what we have is up to day and in working order - $1500

*Art supplies - ensuring our classrooms can continue to be creative places, helping to fund murals that reflect our school identity. $2000

*Environmental learning - ensuring children have access to resources that help them be active participants in helping make our environment healthier. $1000

*Chapter books for classrooms to use as whole class readers. $500

*Donations of chrome books for class use

We will of course keep applying for grants, but if you do know of any business interested in sponsorship, please let us know.  We know that many already support Halloween and the raffles and don’t expect them to be giving again unless in the position to do so.

We are very grateful for the support of our school community and we will work together to get through the next couple of lean financial years.

Contacting Us

You can find all staff emails on our blog page under the tab  ‘our staff,’ however the best way to contact your child’s teacher is via seesaw message.  Teachers will endeavour to answer when they have  time during the day, however please don’t expect replies to messages or emails after 5pm.  We will respond the next day as soon as we can.  Please refrain from using Facebook messenger, or our personal phone numbers to contact us.

Our school blog is kaurihohoreschool.blogspot.com

Office emails are: 

Chrissie - admin@kaurihohoreschool.co.nz

Dianne - reception@kaurihohoreschool.co.nz

Chelsea/Enrolments - kaurienrolments@gmail.com

Leslee - principal@kaurihohoreschool.co.nz

Reporting Absence - kauriabsences@gmail.com

Raffle

Please sell your tickets that have been sent home, there are some awesome prizes!  If you are unable to sell the tickets, please return these as we have families that may be able to sell more.  Donations of grocery items would be awesome!

Dates For 2024

School starts back on the 5th of February and the year will end on the 18th of December.

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Term Four - Known Dates

23rd of November - Class swap 9am-9.30 (children visit their class for 2024)

24th of November - Teacher only day

28th of November - Class swap 9am-9.30am (children to visit their class for 2024)

4th of December -  Class swap 11.30-12.30 (children visit their class for 2024)

7th of December - Junior Award Picnic 2pm Year 1-3

11th of December - Year 4-6 Senior prizegiving 1.30pm

15th of December - Last Day (12.00pm finish)

First Day Back 2024 - 5th of February 

School Bank Account Details - 

All payments now go through the one account.

Account 12-3093-0200709-00

Kaurihohore school board of Trustees

Food for thought… 

Noho ora mai -

Leslee Allen

Week Five News

  

Kaurihohore School Week Five, Term Four 2023

Manaaki te katoa - be kind to all. 

Respect - Empathy - Kindness 

He aroha whakatō, he aroha ka puta mai

“If kindness is sown, then kindness is what you shall receive”

Kia ora e te whānau,

Well in true Kaurihohore fashion, we coped with the rain this morning to get our athletics events done.  Events were hotly contested and it was great to see enjoyment being had through sport.  Special shout out to Mack Hammond who today cleared 1.38m in the high jump!  We are unsure if that is a school record, but fairly confident that it must at least be very close to it.

Athletics isn’t everyone’s thing, but it is great to see children turning up and just giving it their best.  Nothing makes me prouder than to see our children just giving their absolute best and being good sports along the way.  

Last week saw a second fabulous Halloween Event.  We had an incredibly dedicated (but small) team of parents that made this possible, led very ably by Kim Christensen and supported on the night by many hard working volunteers.  The feedback we have had about this event has been outstanding and we are grateful to everyone that made it possible.  It was certainly a very long day and night, but well worth it.

The event, even in the rain, raised $12 796.84, which is an outstanding effort!  That effort with our compost fundraiser (Thank you Vikki and Sean Tuckey) which raised $2400 our total for fundraising is a whopping $38 537.75.  This has blown our target of $26 000 out of the water, which we are exceptionally grateful for.  

It is a sad reality that schools have to fight tooth and nail for  learning support funding, it is really sad that to keep our classes small (which is vital for our children and teachers) that we have to fundraise to such an extent.  I know it feels like we are always asking for money, but it is our children that are benefiting and so to keep giving them the best and meeting their diverse needs, we must keep plugging away.    I would love to promise that next year will be better, but sadly it is not.  I am very grateful to anyone who has helped us knock this goal out of the park this year, please know that because of this, children get extra help when they need it and smaller roll numbers in classrooms, both these areas directly assist learning and wellbeing.  You are helping to keep Kaurihohore the awesome place that it is!

Leslee Allen

Teacher Only Day - Friday the 24th of November

A reminder that we have set this down as our Ministry allocated TOD to work on curriculum delivery as a staff.  No children at school on this day please, staff only.

Empty Classroom Day - 22nd of November

On this day children will be self-directing their own play.  They are allowed to bring along items they would like to use on the day, but please make sure you are happy for them to bring these items along.  We have our fingers crossed for a fine day.  Please no phones or digital devices on this day!

Sponsorship

We are currently sitting down to work out our budget for 2024.  Unfortunately for us, 2024 and 2025 are going to see us relying very again very heavily on fundraising and sponsorship.  We've predicted this for the last five years with a massive group of Year 6 children leaving.  Schools are funded on their roll, and of course a massive group going out, means a drop in funding.  Technically we should be running eight classrooms next year, but we choose to operate nine, this is where the shortfall comes in.

We have set a target of $35 000 to raise through fundraising, which is a massive ask! 

Currently our budget, even with this fundraising hoped for, is sitting at a $50 000 deficit, and that is being conservative.  We prioritise people over things and so direct the money we raise goes towards learning and wellbeing support inside and outside of classrooms and towards keeping our class rolls as small as possible.

Sponsorship of businesses is something we have considered in the past, but now it is something the school desperately needs to ensure we can keep it running the way it currently is. 

 There are some items in our budget that really work well for sponsorship, so I am putting it out there, in case you know of a business that may currently be thinking about 2024 sponsorship and like something concrete to support. 

If you know a business that may just like to contribute a small amount towards a specific area, then that would also be fabulous!  We will make sure they are acknowledged and promoted.

*Learning support - this includes the purchase of the Nessy application children currently work on $2000

*Wellbeing support - ensuring we can provide wrap around services for our children that need it. $2000

*Seesaw - the way we communicate and celebrate learning $2500

*Life Education - $850

*Kindo - the app that makes online payments possible $500

*Bike repairs to ensure children can make use of the bikes - $1000

*PE equipment to ensure what we have is up to day and in working order - $1500

*Art supplies - ensuring our classrooms can continue to be creative places, helping to fund murals that reflect our school identity. $2000

*Environmental learning - ensuring children have access to resources that help them be active participants in helping make our environment healthier. $1000

*Chapter books for classrooms to use as whole class readers. $500

*Donations of chrome books for class use

We will of course keep applying for grants, but if you do know of any business interested in sponsorship, please let us know.  We know that many already support Halloween and the raffles and don’t expect them to be giving again unless in the position to do so.

We are very grateful for the support of our school community and we will work together to get through the next couple of lean financial years.

Contacting Us

You can find all staff emails on our blog page under the tab  ‘our staff,’ however the best way to contact your child’s teacher is via seesaw message.  Teachers will endeavour to answer when they have  time during the day, however please don’t expect replies to messages or emails after 5pm.  We will respond the next day as soon as we can.  Please refrain from using Facebook messenger, or our personal phone numbers to contact us.

Our school blog is kaurihohoreschool.blogspot.com

Office emails are: 

Chrissie - admin@kaurihohoreschool.co.nz

Dianne - reception@kaurihohoreschool.co.nz

Chelsea/Enrolments - kaurienrolments@gmail.com

Leslee - principal@kaurihohoreschool.co.nz

Reporting Absence - kauriabsences@gmail.com

Raffle

Please sell your tickets that have been sent home, there are some awesome prizes!  If you are unable to sell the tickets, please return these as we have families that may be able to sell more.

Cookie Time 

We sent home order forms for these yesterday, in case there is anyone that would like to order and pick up through school.  

—---------

Term Four - Known Dates

22nd of November - Empty Classroom Day

23rd of November - Class swap 9am-9.30 (children visit their class for 2024)

24th of November - Teacher only day

28th of November - Class swap 9am-9.30am (children to visit their class for 2024)

4th of December -  Class swap 11.30-12.30 (children visit their class for 2024)

7th of December - Junior Award Picnic 2pm Year 1-3

11th of December - Year 4-6 Senior prizegiving 1.30pm

15th of December - Last Day (12.00pm finish)

First Day Back 2024 - 5th of February 

School Bank Account Details - 

All payments now go through the one account.

Account 12-3093-0200709-00

Kaurihohore school board of Trustees

Food for thought… 

Noho ora mai -

Leslee Allen