Author Archives: Nicky Dunlop

Kauri Whānau Weekly Update: Term 3 Week 1

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 In this post:

  • Cantamath home learning underway
  • Relationships and Sexuality meeting
  • Cheese roll success
  • Ski trip
  • Term 3 in Kauri overview
It was fabulous to see everyone back today. The children quickly settled back into routine. We have a busy term ahead and really appreciate you reading these posts and completing any required forms so that planning can happen as smoothly as possible. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any queries. 

Cantamath Home Learning Project

All children should have come home today with a 2-sided sheet outlining their options for a Cantamath project. This is to be worked on at home over the next two and a half weeks. There will be some brainstorming and sharing of ideas at school early this week. These projects are to be the work of the children and adults can help with advice and any skills that the child needs support with. All projects are due at school on Thursday, August 11th. If your child is struggling to get started this week, please email their maths teacher for some support. Every child is expected to complete a project.

Relationships and Sexuality

This term we will be teaching our health unit on sexuality and relationships education. On Wednesday, August 10th, we will be having a parent information afternoon, starting at 3:15pm in our hub. If you would like to attend this session, please fill in this form.

Cheese Roll Fundraiser

All the cheese roll bills have been paid and the money has been counted. We have raised just a smidge under $2500! This money will help pay for upcoming outdoor education trips. Many thanks to everyone who ordered and helped with the production of the cheese rolls. 

Ski Trip

We now have just over half of the ski forms filled out. Many thanks to those who have done this or emailed us. Here is the link for those who still need to.

Term 3 Overview

We shared and discussed this slideshow today.

Kauri Whānau: End of term 2

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 In this post:

  • Cantamath projects
  • Getting ready for ski day
  • Celebrations

Cantamath

We are entering Cantamath season at the start of next term. This includes every child in the hub creating a Cantamath project. In Kauri Google Classroom there is a slideshow that explains each of the math projects and has lots of photos of past projects. This is a project that is done at home. Teachers can help with ideas and materials where needed. It would be great to look through the slideshow (I will put it at the end of this post), with your child over the holidays and start doing some brainstorming. They can even get stuck into the project now if they wish. The finished project is due at school on August 11th, the third Thursday of the term.

Ski Day: Sept 1st

We are excited about taking the children up Mt Hutt on Sept 1st. The parents are sorted, the transport is sorted and we are all booked in. The cost of this trip is covered by your activity donation and our generous PTA who are covering the cost of the buses. As part of the package at Mt Hutt, each child gets a lift pass (for lifts at their level), skis, boots, poles (if needed) and a helmet, as well as a 90-minute lesson. 

Please fill in this form to give us information about your child and to indicate if you need help with suitable clothing. We have built up a collection of clothing that we can lend to children and some children also hire clothing.  

There will be more information about how the day runs closer to the time.

Celebrations

We were enormously proud of our ShowQuest Team who competed at the Canterbury competition recently and took out first place in the junior section, as well as Best Choreography and Best Theme! Fergus Macdonald was also recognised for his superb performance with the Outstanding Rangatahi award. 


Our cheese roll-making day was a huge success. The children worked so well and were full of enthusiasm. We had a small and dedicated group of parents who made a fabulous contribution. Over 500 dozen rolls were created and we will know within the next week how much profit was made to contribute towards our outdoor education experiences this year. 

We have four more weeks of winter sport next term. The children are giving their best and enjoying the competition. 










Kauri Whānau Weekly Update: Term 2 Week 8

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In this post:

  • Cheese roll help is still needed
  • Ski trip helpers still needed
  • Netball
  • Famine
  • Maths at home video 3
  • Matariki
  • Writers workshops 

Cheese Roll: help needed!

Many thanks to all who placed orders. We have almost 500 dozen cheese rolls to make next Wednesday. At this stage we still need:

  • a parent or two to help with the Wednesday morning shift
  • a parent to help with the Wednesday afternoon shift
  • a parent to chop onions on Tuesday evening
  • large pots (jam-making sized)
  • long wooden spoons
  • electric knives
  • large chopping boards
If you can help with any of the above, please fill in this form.

Ski trip: Sept 1st

Many thanks to the 12 people who have offered to join us for our ski day. We need all of you and some more. If you are able to help and have yet to fill in the form, please do so now.

Winter Sport

Weekly winter sport is well underway and is a highlight of the week for many. We are really proud of the way the tamariki represent our kura at competitive games. We will be giving an update on one sport each week.

Netball

Our 7/8 netball teams have had an amazing start to the season! For many, this is the first time they have taken to the court and the improvement in ball skills, and communication has been outstanding. A huge thank you to all those involved who demonstrate our school values in everything they do both inside and outside of school! 



40 Hour Famine

It is fabulous to see so much interest in World Visions's 40-hour Famine this year. This link explains the different 'Famines' and how to get started. Children are discouraged from doing a food famine. Please remind your child to keep going with their sponsorship gathering. There is just one more week until the famine weekend. 

Maths

Here is our third video on how to learn and practice basic facts at home. When we asked maths teachers from Cashmere High what their one wish was for children to have mastered by the end of Year 8, they said it was the instant recall of multiplication and division facts to 10x. This is worked on at school and for many, a regular work-on at home would be beneficial.


Preparing the Hangi

Ten of our seniors helped to prepare the food trays for the hangi on Wednesday night. They did a fabulous job and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. A big thanks to all of the performers, demonstrators and helpers at our Matariki evening. This was a great opportunity for our Year 7 & 8s to step up as leaders.











Write On School for Young Writers

The School for Young Writers have the following opportunities coming up in terms 3 and 4.  All info here.

Friday  August 5th AND 19th at Kaiapoi Library:  Write On Speak Out: Podcasting with Plains FM   
* Please note this is a two day workshop

Friday August 26th at Rangiora Town Hall : Poetry Takes You Places * plus optional evening open mic at Rangiora Library

Friday September 16th at Rangiora Town Hall:  It's Only Natural : Creative NonfictionTues Oct 18th, or Weds Oct 19th, or Friday Oct 21st at Tūranga Heritage Festival 2022: Moments and Milestones
* pick one day

Friday October 28th at Kaiapoi Library: Oh, Horror! Horror Writing for Halloween

Kauri Whānau Weekly Update: Term 2 Week 6

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 In this post:

  • Basic facts
  • Cheese rolls
  • Parent help for term 3 ski day
  • Theatre sports
  • Reports for high school applications
  • Good luck!

Basic Facts

Each week the children complete a basic facts challenge in their maths class. As they meet targets they are assigned new challenges to move through the basic facts progression. Last term we sent home a list of the basic facts progression. Let us know if you need a copy. The more the children work on their basic facts at home, the more speedy their progress. It would be great to have a conversation at home about what their current 4 challenges are. The video clip below is a suggestion of a regular basic facts activity that should support your child with their learning at home. 




Cheese Rolls

Yesterday the cheese roll order form went out via Hero. You can access it through this link.  We will also send paper forms home, as these are particularly handy when you are gathering multiple orders. We would love you to gather multiple orders if possible. Ask family, friends, neighbours, work colleagues. The more orders we get, the more money we make and the more money we have, the greater our scope for outdoor opportunities this year. 

Thanks to the four people who have offered to help by lending equipment or giving some time on our production day. We need some more helpers, please. Fill in this form if you can help. I am particularly looking for someone to contact Pak'n'Save and Couplands to source ingredients. 

Ski Day Parent Help

Thanks to the seven parents who have so far offered to help on our ski day next term, on September 1st. In order for the day to go ahead, we need around 15 parents. Please fill in this form if you can help. You do not need to be a skier.

Theatre Sports

Congratulations to the 2022 Theatre Sports teams! We are raring to go with our practices to get ready for the competition in November. The team members are:
Competitive Team: Zoe Winsor, Oliver Mclachlan, Cleo Hopkinson, Lachy Mcleod, Stella English and Ashlyn Taffs
Competitive Team: Emma Reedy, Katya Atlas, Lauren Maule, Niamh Wolt, Haile Harmer-Campbell and Charlie Price
Non-Competitive Team: Willow Day, Grace English, Ella Coleman, Rose Bethwaite, Mia Taylor and Aine Smyth
Congratulations everyone!

Reports for high school applications

We are into high school application season. While some open days have been cancelled, a few are going ahead. Please check the website of the high school your child is planning to attend in 2023 for open day and application details. Some applications require copies of the latest school report. We are in the midst of report writing at the moment. These will be available to you via Hero on Friday, July 1st. If you need a copy before then, you should use the report from the end of 2021. Please contact Jacky or Reihana in the office, if you need a printed copy of your child's end of 2021 report.

Best of luck!

Next week we have 2 events, out of school, for groups of our tamariki. On Wednesday two basketball teams are competing in the zone basketball competition at Hillview. On Friday our ShowQuest passion group takes to the stage to record their dance performance. We wish both groups all the best in their respective competitions.