Kaikorai Primary School: N e W S L e T T e R

24 November 2015
KA IK OR A I P R I MA R Y
SCHO O L
N
A very special welcome to Greer Holland, Jomana Moharram, Lojien

Moharram, Grace Lee and their families to Kaikorai Primary School!
PRINCIPALS MESSAGE
Dear Parents,
The Education Act is the driving legislation that all
schools must work within. The National Party are
wanting to update the Act and in conjunction with
the Ministry of Education, they are consulting with
the community on what should be contained in the Act. This is
a very important topic as the future prosperity of the country
will be dependent on having well educated, future focused, life
long learners leaving our schools. The consultation period is
very small (closes Dec 14) and at a busy time of year, but you
can have your say at http://bit.ly/1N5P9Kd
Many of you will be aware that this is the
term when teachers collect data on the children to show their
progress and achievement. Reports will be sent home with your
child on the 7 December.
We are looking forward to seeing the progress made by
our children. Having such wonderful teachers and the support
of all the families makes a big difference for childrens learning.
Kind regards,
Simon Clarke
Principal
Wright St, Roslyn

4640065
www.kaikorai.school.nz
Important Dates
25 Nov - School Disco
27 Nov - Orange Parade
2 Dec - Whanau Hui
4 Dec - Nativity Play at
St Johns Church
7 Dec - Reports and
Portfolios issued
9 Dec - Year 6 leavers
assembly
11 Dec - Last Day of
School
1 Feb - First day of
school 2016
SYN D ICA TE N EWS

Junior News
What fun we have had building and learning about different structures over the last few weeks. Our class trips
to the Art Gallery this week fitted really well into our inquiry where we saw amazing art works, built structures
with blocks and made amazing art to bring back to school. Thank you to the parents who came with us.
Teachers have spent many hours writing your childs report, which will be sent out in a few weeks along with
their completed portfolios. We hope you enjoy reading, sharing and reminiscing.
Fun Friday has two more weeks to run and we would really appreciate your continued parent help for the last
two sessions.
PMP continues for the next 2 weeks and we still need at least two parents per class to make the stations work
effectively. Please let your class teacher know when you can help.
Dates coming up for the Juniors are...
Junior Christmas sing- along with the local kindergartens and play centres Friday 27th in the school hall.
1st December Junior picnic at the Botanical Gardens. A notice is coming soon.
All children need a named SCHOOL sunhat in their tote tray. Please check that they have one for those sunny
days that we are longing for.
Middle News
Its hard to believe we are nearly at the end of the year, and Term 4 is nearly ending. Our Tirohanga trip was a
great success, and something our children are still talking about. Thank you to all of the families who donated
food for our hangi and all of our parent helpers. We couldnt have done it without you. A special thanks must go
to Harlem Irwin, Reihana Haggie and Simon Clarke who braved the wet and cold weather to get up at 4 am,
light the fire, and then prepare and cook our hangi. The children loved the whole experience!
Swimming ability is so important in New Zealand, we have 11,000 kilometres of coastline and beaches;
425,000km of rivers and streams jam packed with swimming holes; 3,820 good sized lakes where we can take a
dip, and it is so important that all children learn and practice their swimming skills. We have had great results
from our swimming assessments this year with four children swimming 100m and 19 children swimming 200m.
Over the last few weeks classes have really delved deeper into their class inquiries about structure, we have asked
questions, planned our boats (and sailed), produced slide shows and now we are learning about concept cartoons.
These cartoons help the children to explain their understanding of the scientific concepts we have been learning
which can be a little tricky otherwise.
Senior News
The senior classes have all been fully immersed in investigating strong structures within the school,
around Dunedin and around the world. Our reading and writing programmes have also been
centered on this concept. We have participated in Science / Technology challenges where we have
needed to build towers or bridges using a limited range of given resources and a set list of criteria for
success.
All students are now busy with individual and group Inquiries, where they are pursuing areas that
particularly interest them.
We have been impressed with the range of skills they are demonstrating: asking deeper questions to
guide their inquiries, seeking information from varied sources, and presenting their information for
others to learn from as well. Some presentations have included using Prezi, Google Slides, using
Sketchup to create a 2D model and then relaying their design to a 3D printer to create a 3D model,
making booklets, delivering talks with visual aids, creating models and more... We have been having a
lot of fun and keeping very busy!
SCHO O L N EWS
Outstanding Accounts
Invoices for outstanding

accounts have been sent out.
Many thanks to all families
who have paid their account
in full.
A final account will be sent
out on November 27 and
the school accounts will be
closed after this date.
Any sports or camp related
fees mustbe paid. Please
contact our school's office or
our Principal, Simon
Clarke, if this is a significant
issue for your family.
Student Success
Our students continue to find success in the many

areas of interest that they pursue.
Congratulations to all of our athletes who have
recently competed at the North Zone and Otago
Athletics sports. A special well done to Gemma
Rowcroft who ran fantastically well to come second in
the 800m final at the Otago Champs.
Well done also to all of the students who have sat the
ICAS exams. Congratulations to Elloise Cameron,
Holly Mein, Oliver Rohtmets, Oliver Bamford and
Jenny de la Harpe who achieved a Distinction, which
means they are in the top 10% in Australasia of
people who sat the test.
The Walking Bus
The end of the school year is drawing near so I want to take this opportunity to
congratulate all those children who have taken part in the walking bus this year. By
participating in the walking bus not only have they started the day with lots of fresh air
and exercise but theyve also had lots of fun doing it chatting, laughing and even
singing with their school friends as they make their way to school safely together.
The walking bus is supervised by a fantastic group of helpers who have been so reliable
and cheerful despite the occasional challenging weather conditions. Thank you so much
to: Anna Baker, Anna Ollerenshaw, Mel Black, Stacey Woods, Seibo Naito, Tamu
Oberlin- Brown, Amanda Dyer, Lee Anne Milburn, Richelle Byers, Sharon Leitch, Amy
McBeath and Shane de la Harpe.
We are always looking for more helpers and next year
will be no exception so if you think you could help one
morning per week or would just like to know a bit more
about whats involved then I would love to hear from you.
Sara de la Harpe
saradelaharpe70@gmail.com
Health and Safety

The new Health and Safety Act will be coming into law in April, 2016 and this may
have an impact on some of the things schools currently do. We have been reviewing
and will continue to review the hazards within our school and we have identified that
cars driving through the school is an unnecessary hazard. Please do not move the cones
over the driveway entrance unless you have received permission to drive into the school
from the office.
You may have also noticed an article on the Stuff website regarding schools hours of
operations. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/73766156/parents-are-dropping-kids-atschool-early-so-they-can-get-to-work-on-time
Kaikorai School follows the guidelines mentioned in the story of active supervision
between 8:30 and 3:15. Parents are encouraged to enrol their child in Kelly Club
outside of these times as teachers will be busy preparing for the day or attending
meetings outside of these hours.
Parent Reading
Each term selected children get the

opportunity to participate in the Parent
Reading Programme. The children
read four days a week to a parent in a
friendly positive atmosphere. This year
sees the departure of 3 parents who
have volunteered their time to provide
this programme. The school would like
to thank Nicky Ward, Donna Harris
and Kelly Medder for their time, effort
and enthusiasm for the past years. If
any friend of the school thinks they
would like to participate in this
programme please contact Dale Blackie
in R11. dblackie@kaikorai.school.nz
Parent Group
Thank you to all those parents who

offered to help at the School Disco.
The Disco is being held on
Wednesday 25th November at the
School Hall. Junior Disco is at 5pm 6.15pm and Senior Disco is at 6.30pm
- 8.00pm. Entry is $3 and children are
able to purchase Glow Sticks (50c)
Fizzy Drinks ($1),andBBQ Sausages
($1).
Whanau Hui
Kaikorai Primary School will be holding the
annual Whanau Hui on Wednesday the 2nd of
December at 5.45pm in the hall.
This will be the last chance to enjoy our Kapa
Haka group performing and we will be putting on
a BBQ.
We would like to provide an update from our last
Whanau Hui. We are also interested in your
feedback on what is currently happening in our
school and our plan going forward.
Please RSVP if you will be attending to
principal@kaikorai.school.nz by Monday the 30th of Nov.
Partnership with Cutlers Reality
PLEA SE SUPPO RT O UR SPO N SO RS
www.sortedpm.co.nz
Ph: (03) 467 7204
Mob: 021 277 5554
Shona Cumming
Business & Property Lawyer
03-477-2262
www.downiestewart.co.nz
CO MMUN ITY N EWS

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24 November 2015

A very special welcome to Greer Holland, Jomana Moharram, Lojien

Wright St, Roslyn

SYN D ICA TE N EWS

Invoices for outstanding

Our students continue to find success in the many

The Walking Bus

Health and Safety

Each term selected children get the

Thank you to all those parents who

Partnership with Cutlers Reality

PLEA SE SUPPO RT O UR SPO N SO RS

CO MMUN ITY N EWS

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