Kauri Whānau Update: Weeks 6 & 7

 In this post:

  • Wainui Camp (and lost property remnants)
  • ASB GetWise
  • Non-uniform day on Friday
  • Christchurch Schools Music Festival
  • YouthTown
  • Winter Sports and Cross Country

Wainui Camp

Teachers, parents, and students all had a wonderful time at Wainui Camp in week 6. The weather was mostly fantastic, the students all found ways to challenge and extend themselves while continually supporting and encouraging one another. It was great to see friendships develop and grow over the course of the week, and to see our learners flourish outside of the usual classroom confines.




Lost Property

We still have a small collection of lost property from our time away. Please encourage students to check carefully to make sure that nothing from our collection of assorted odds and ends belongs to them.

ASB GetWise

On Friday this week, we had Jeff from ASB GetWise come to discuss financial literacy with each homegroup. We will have a second session of this on Friday of Week 8.




Christchurch Schools’ Music Festival

Our Year 5 - 8 school choir is excited to be part of the Christchurch Schools’ Music Festival this year.  The Festival is still looking for more applications to audition for one of the Representative groups.  They are looking for the best singers for the Junior Choir (Yr 5 & 6) and Senior Choir (Yr 7 & 8), and for talented musicians (Grade 3 equivalent and above) to audition for the Orchestra and Concert Band. 

The Representative groups are on stage in the Christchurch Town Hall for every performance of the Festival (4 nights).  With more than a thousand people in the audience and children in the choir stalls watching every night, it is an amazing experience they will never forget.

To find out more information or to register your child click here: https://musicfestival.school.nz/representative-group-information/joining-a-representative-group/

Be quick, registrations close Thu 06 April.

Youthtown

Youthtown is a non-profit organization that offers sports and recreation programs for youth in Christchurch.

Every Wednesday (from 3.30pm to 6pm) they run a program called YouthHub. It is a free after school program designed for youth between 12 and 18 years old.

In April 2023 Youthtown offers a memorable holiday programme in a safe space for young people to make friends and enjoy themselves during the school holidays. Please see the April holidays program flyer via this link (in this breakaway program some days might not be free).

Non-Uniform Day

The student council have planned an animal dress up day on Friday, to raise donations for the SPCA. Donations towards the SPCA could include items such as wet pet food (cans or sachets), old blankets towels or sheets, dishwashing detergent, washing powder, pet toys in good condition, or a gold coin. More information is available to students via the daily notices.

Winter Sports and Cross Country 

Our two main sporting events which require parent help in Term 2 are Cross Country and Winter Sport.

Parent help is a key part to us being able to offer sporting events at kura. If you are able to support us in some way in Term 2, please let us know by filling in this form.

Year 5 - 8 Cross Country - Tuesday 9th of May (Beckenham Park)

We need adults to take on the position of course marshals to ensure there is adequate supervision of the children on the course and to help children know which way to go.

Year 5 - 8 Weekly Winter Sports (starts on Thursday 25th May and runs for 10 weeks at local parks and schools).

We need adults that are comfortable taking a team and managing them during their games. Ideally that adult would also be OK refereeing a game. The number of adult helpers we have directly impacts the number of children we can send to winter sport. It is also beneficial to have additional adults to help supervise children during their game.

Thank you in advance for your support.


Ngā mihi
Thomas

Kauri Whānau Update: Week 4

 In this post:

  • Swimming sports reminder
  • Technology at CSKI
  • Leadership Week
Swimming Sports on Monday

Our school swimming sports will be held at Whārenui Centre on Monday 27th February 12.30 to 2.30pm. Students who are participating will be leaving school by bus at 11.50am. Students have been told to have their swimwear on underneath their clothes, and will need to have their race numbers written on their hands. Please refer back to the Hero post that Sarah sent out on Tuesday for more information.

Technology at Christchurch South Karamata Intermediate School

We've had two fantastic weeks of Technology lessons at CSKI. Here are some photos from the Food & Nutrition class.



Leadership Week

We have spent the last few days developing and putting into action our understanding of the '7 habits of highly effective people' and how these impact us as leaders, and those around us as a result. While the rain did put a damper on things, we were still able to engage with a range of activities. Thanks heaps to the parents who have helped us out this week.

The Year 7s spent time in junior classrooms (Koru, Kahikatea, and Kōwhai teams) and those teachers let us know that the students were all well organised, cheerful, and excellent role models who impressed everyone with their maturity and good manners. One teacher let us know "I think the funniest moment for me was when the students realised that teaching is actually hard work."







The Year 8s spent time participating in smaller and larger group-based activities on Thursday, and had an excellent talk from Tamatea of Attitude Inc. On Friday we began with a design challenge where students were tasked with creating a castle out of newspaper and masking tape. We then watched the movie "Remember the Titans", during which we discussed the connections we could make to the 7 Habits. The kids also all enjoyed Thursday's pizza dinner and Friday's BBQ lunch.

Our guest speaker, Tamatea

Group sit activity: "Begin with the end in mind"


Sinking Islands: Put first things first

Unlock the maze: Synergize


BBQ Lunch: Sharpen the saw



Kauri Whānau Update, Term 1 Week 2

 Kia ora koutou katoa,

In this post:

  • Leadership positions
  • Leadership Week
  • Technology
  • Swimming Sports
  • Wainui camp update

It's been a great start to the year so far. We've had a wonderful time getting to know our learners.

Today we announced the Year 7 and 8 Leadership positions. It was great that everyone signed up for something, and we're really excited to see how the flourish as leaders this year. If any students have concerns, please get them to email their homeroom teacher and/or Thomas.

Leadership Week

Next week we have our highly-anticipated Leadership Week for all Year 7 and 8 students.

For Year 7 students, this will mean spending time in Junior Hubs (Kōwhai, Kahitkatea, and Koru) on either Thursday or Friday. On Wednesday Year 7s will be taking part in a range of activities to put their learning about the 7 Habits into action. On Wednesday, they will be allowed to wear their activewear.

For Year 8 students, they will need to wear their activewear on Thursday and Friday. On Thursday, students have an extra-long day at school with a range of leadership and teamwork activities, which includes a guest speaker, through to 5.30pm at which point we will provide dinner for the Year 8s. They will need their own lunch on this day, however. After dinner, we will head in to Margaret Mahy Playground using public buses, which means they will require $2.50 for the bus fare. We will be back at school and ready to be picked up by 9pm.  On Friday, Year 8 students will head to Spencer Park for the day for their own range of activities unpacking the 7 Habits. We will be providing lunch for the students on this day.

We're really looking forward to this opportunity to get to know our learners better and see them extend themselves in the process!

Technology

Next week we will also have our first technology session with (almost) all learners heading to Christchurch South Karamata Intermediate (CSKI). We will communicate with students on Monday about which group and tech specialisation they will have on Monday. With rebuilding currently taking place at CSKI, only three of the four groups will take the bus - one of the Year 7 groups will be taught at Beckenham by the fabulous fabrics teacher for Term 1. We have also received news today that the canteen is currently not operating. 

Swimming Sports

Sarah has gratefully received all the information sent through by parents for Swimming Sports and is working through the process of collating everything for the event on February 27th. She'll be in touch with more information to those involved next week.

Camp

The Year 7 and 8 camp to Wainui is also just around the corner - Monday March the 6th to 10th. We have sent emails to confirm with parents who have signed up to come along, and will be sending out a gear list, camp cost notification, and health form by the end of next week.

Thanks for a great first few weeks, and have a relaxing weekend ahead of next week's jam-packed schedule!

Ngā mihi
Thomas