Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Tonight I am writing this newsletter from Wellington where I have been for the past two days, attending the New Zealand Principals' Federation National Executive monthly meeting. This is the third year that I have had the honour of being on the executive. The vision of the Federation is to provide a professional voice and support for principals as they lead New Zealand Schools. One of our key discussions today was around the key priority areas we believe that the political parties should be considering when building their education manifestos leading up to the general election, including better access to funding and support for students with identified learning needs, providing professional supervision and ongoing leadership coaching for principals, and for the funding and staffing of primary schools to be equitable to that of secondary schools. It is a real privilege to sit at this table with other principals from around Aotearoa and try to have a positive influence on the future of education in our country.

Being in Wellington,  I sadly missed the excitement and fun that was clearly had by those who participated in the Mid-Winter-Breakfast and/or wore their PJs to school today! A huge 'Thank You' to our PTA and Student Council who collaborated to make this event happen.




Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumaki - Principal

Important Dates

Citizen of the Week

Riley Hughes - Year 8

Riley, it's been awesome to see your growth over your two years in the Kauri team. You bring a sense of fun to all you do and also know when to knuckle down and get the learning done. Your deep thinking contributions enrich learning conversations. We really appreciate your willingness to lend a hand and the way you show 'We get there together.' Tino pai!

Ngā kupu o te wiki (words of the week)

"Nau mai te wero" - Bring on the challenge!

School Notices

Reminder: Learning Conferences - last week of Term 2

During the last week of Term 2, we will be having Learning Conferences. This will provide an opportunity for you to talk with your child and their home group teacher about their learning and wellbeing at school.
If you haven't yet done this, please book a learning conference time for each child you have at school.
The learning conference bookings are for 15 minutes each (NOTE that in Year 7/8, even though you will be booking for 15mins, the conference will take 30 mins as your child has a bigger role in the discussion at the intermediate year level.) If you have more than one child to book for, please do not book back to back time slots, as you will lose some of your time in moving from one conference to the other.

The conferences can be booked by going to www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and entering the code yseec

Cross Country

Due to much of the planning for Cross Country having been done whilst we were still at Level 2, the original decision made was for it to just be a Year 5-8 event. When we suddenly shifted to Level 1, the Year 3/4 students were given the option of participating, and we are aware that there may have been some confusion from both students and whānau about who could or should participate, which we do apologise for. Usually the event is a full school event, and we expect to return to that again next year.
The sun was out for the event on Tuesday afternoon and the day was warm and balmy. Spirits were high and cries of ‘Nau mai te wero’ were shouted from the start line. Lots of talk had been done in the lead up to the race about running your own best race and we were impressed by the way the children embraced this mindset.


There were a number of very tight finishes, with many children working hard to secure their placing right to the last step. We know that for many, the cross country course is a big challenge and we are so proud of how many children pushed through the hard yards to complete the course. A huge congratulation goes to all of our competitors. Champions at each year level will be in the next newsletter.

PTA News

Disco! Disco! Disco! Disco! Disco! Disco! Disco!

The annual school PTA disco is ON!  FRIDAY 26th June!

4:30 - 5:30pm NE - Year 3 (Year 3 students can choose which Disco they want to attend so they can be with their friends)

6:00 - 7:00pm Year 3 - Year 6 (Year 3 students can choose which Disco they want to attend so they can be with their friends)

7:30 - 8:30pm - Year 7/8

Bring a gold coin for entry, your water bottle, and more gold coins if you want to buy popcorn or other snacks.
Rainbow Theme - Be Bright, Be Bold, Be a Rainbow!

Starfish Swim School

Bookings for the July Holiday Programme are now open!

Week One: Monday 6 th – Friday 10 th July
Email: info@starfishswimschool.co.nz
Or phone us at: 03 3381795
2 Nash Road, Aidanfield
$49 per child for 5 x 30min lessons

Come swim in our intensive week to refresh your skills!

Motivationz Netball Holiday programme

14/15/16 July
Years 5/6 and 7/8 12pm-2pm
Years 9/10 2.30-4.30pm
Where: Graham Condon Centre , Sissons Drive
Cost: $100

Come and join our popular netball holiday programme, learn new skills and meet new mates but most of all have fun !
Book now , send an email to rebecca@motivationz.co.nz with name, DOB, school year group,  address and contact phone number.

Elements Nature Based Play 

Are you looking to give your children a different experience in the July school holidays? Have your children active and imaginative in the great outdoors. Think huts, ropes, tools, paint with space & trees! We have a great mix of planned experiences and play throughout our programmes. A great counter balance to all any additional screen time this year! Multi-day and short events offered for children aged 3-7rs and 5-13yrs.
Titles like ‘Knights & Castles’, ‘Wild Adventures’, ‘Farm & Fire’ and ‘Magic &Spells’ in a range of Canterbury locations.
See our website elements website  or facebook page elements facebook page  to see what we get up to.
Bookings are through Element bookings.
For more info email elementsprogrammes@gmail.com.

Talk Together - July School Holiday Programmes

1 WEEK LEFT TO ENROL!
Talk Together Social Skills & Anxiety Management Groups
July School Holiday Programmes

2 LOCATIONS! Rangiora & On-Line (Attend from anywhere! Even if you are away!). Limited spaces. Come and join us!

Reserve a space HERE https://zfrmz.com/AhEPYUF1zKRN2T9ML7X2
5-10 & 11-16 year old groups.
4 day programmes on-line in the first week of the holidays.
3 day programmes in Rangiora in the second week of the holidays.
Reserve a space in one of the groups- Click on the link HERE https://zfrmz.com/AhEPYUF1zKRN2T9ML7X2

Pricing
All of Talk Together's specialist groups are run AT COST!
Online 4 day programme $80 per child
Rangiora 3 day programme $99 per child
Sibling discounts available.
Please have a chat to us about our payment plans.
Currently we have a subsidy available thanks to the amazing work of the Selwyn Parenting Network for families that need it in Selwyn. This can be accessed for our on-line programmers for eligible families.

How do I enroll my child/ren?!
Spaces are limited in each group!
Reserve a space now by clicking on this link https://zfrmz.com/AhEPYUF1zKRN2T9ML7X2
Still have some questions? Please reach out to us info@talktogether.co.nz or 0273009368
Why are we still running some groups ON-LINE?!
We have received lots of positive feedback from those involved in our term 2 online groups. We want to continue to provide this alternative to families.
Attend from anywhere in New Zealand!
More convenient for busy families. We often have kids attending from the car or another sibling's after school activity.
Shorter sessions means the programme is even more cost effective for families.
Tele-Intervention is JUST AS GOOD!
Everything else stays the same! Two professional facilitators with a maximum of 10 students, delivering a real-time, interactive (the children are involved the whole session- very different to your online meetings!) & fun programme tailored to the children attending.
More information about Talk Together and our Social Skills & Anxiety Management Groups

Check out our Facebook Live to hear more about our Social Skills & Anxiety Management Groups
https://www.facebook.com/talktogetherspeechtherapy/videos/623826954873905/

The benefits of Talk Together
Talk Together has made the commitment to provide this specialist service at cost, within communities & on-line, to be as accessible to families as possible.
Small supportive groups with two professional facilitators. Find out more about the facilitators here: https://www.talktogether.co.nz/about-us
Groups tailored to the children attending so individual goals can be focused on- no standard 'one size fits all' programme.
Personalised summaries for each child at the conclusion of the programme with follow up ideas. These are great to share with your child's wider team to help generalise skills.
Perfect for returning and new students- activities are always changing.
The overarching areas we focus on include:
Theory of mind development
Emotional intelligence
Conflict resolution
Communication skills
Strategies for managing anxious feelings & 'big' emotions
Emotional regulation
How to form friendships and maintain them.
All while having lots of fun!

You can find out more about Talk Together here: www.talktogether.co.nz or like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/talktogetherspeechtherapy

We can't wait to see you soon!
Talk Together
0273009368

New Zealand Garden Bird Survey

Tēnā koe,
At the end of June, we begin our 14th national Garden Bird Survey, New Zealand's longest running citizen science project, and we’d like your help!
The New Zealand Garden Bird Survey is an annual citizen science project organised by Manaaki Whenua –Landcare Research. It takes place over nine days between June 27 and July 5. People count the birds they see in their backyards. Here is a quick video for more information.
Last year, more than 4,000 people took part nationwide. Our goal this year is for substantially more people to share what birds they can see, so we would love the support of our country’s school communities.
Here's how people can get involved:

Visit the NZ Garden Bird Survey website to get started.
Select a garden, or a local park or school grounds.
Choose any ONE day between June 27 and July 5, 2020.
Look and listen for birds on that day for ONE hour.
For each species, record the HIGHEST number seen or heard at one time.
Submit the results online at the NZ Garden Bird Survey website (a link to the survey form will go live on the home page, June 27th)
Why the survey is important

Garden birds are important to study as they act as an environmental indicator for the health of our ecosystems, so every sighting matters. The information we gather from this survey helps inform conservation decisions and further research, not just in New Zealand but worldwide.

Available on the NZ Garden Bird Survey website: garden bird survey

Frequently Asked Questions
Bird identification tips
Other resources
Follow us and join the conversation on social media
Activity will start to ramp up from mid June.

Join the Facebook group: NZ Garden Bird Survey
Contribute to the conversation #NZGardenBirdSurvey

And finally, in case anyone asks ...why do we do this in winter?
It may seem odd – but in fact it makes sense. We are more likely to see birds in our gardens in winter, because they’re attracted in when there’s less food for them in the wider environment. This means that we get better results, showing the true state of our garden birds.














Attachments area

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Now that we are at Alert Level 1, we are seeing the return of much more normality in the events that we are used to having at school and as part of our curriculum. It was with great excitement today, that we held our first full school Celebration Assembly since Friday 13th March. This week also saw the start of a different and more localised winter sport programme between our sports zone schools for our Year 5-8 students.  Next week we have more events back on the calendar.

The first of these events will be the school Cross Country which will be held on Beckenham Park this coming Tuesday, 16th June from 2-3pm.
The order of running will start with Year 8s and conclude with Year 3s.
All children in Years 5-8 are expected to participate unless there has been a prior notification to their teacher. Year 3/4 participation is optional.
Children are encouraged to wear their house shirt if they have one, otherwise wear their school polo shirt. Trainers are essential.
Adults who are available to help out - please meet Jenny on the field at 1:45pm.

Also,  next Friday will be the Mid-Winter Bring-A-Can Breakfast, and the following Friday will be the annual school Disco! Please scroll down for further information about both of these exciting events!

We had exciting news today that the Cultural Festival has not been cancelled, as was originally thought might happen. This year will be the final year of the Cultural Festival, so we are thrilled that it will happen, in the third week of Term 4 (27-30 October). Hannah Elliott will be sending important information home next week to the whānau of our Senior Kapa Haka group, Te Whānau Mahi Tahi, about this event. We will be asking for a commitment from you to ensure your tamariki attending the extra practices that they will need to commit to so that they can perform with confidence and pride.

Potentially Concerning Behaviour

We were advised by the Ministry of Education that there was an incident in Christchurch this week where school students were approached by a stranger asking for help to find his dog. See the Stuff article. There was also an incident yesterday where a man was behaving in an inappropriate way at the Beckenham Ponds, prior to school finishing at 3pm. Police arrested him, and anyone who has any information about that incident should contact the police.
Please do regularly speak to your children about staying safe on the way to school and remind them of stranger danger rules. It is also a good idea to organise for children to walk to and from school in pairs or groups whenever possible.

Reminder: Learning Conferences - last week of Term 2

During the last week of Term 2, we will be having Learning Conferences. This will provide an opportunity for you to talk with your child and their home group teacher about their learning and wellbeing at school.
If you haven't yet done this, please book a learning conference time for each child you have at school.
The learning conference bookings are for 15 minutes each (NOTE that in Year 7/8, even though you will be booking for 15mins, the conference will take 30 mins as your child has a bigger role in the discussion at the intermediate year level.) If you have more than one child to book for, please do not book back to back time slots, as you will lose some of your time in moving from one conference to the other.

The conferences can be booked by going to www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and entering the code yseec

Ngā mihi nui

Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

Citizen of the Week

Emma Elphick - Year 6

Emma, your enthusiastic and positive approach to everything you do is contagious! All activities are confidently given a go and you persist until they are your very best work. You bring a bright smile and warm friendliness to our hub every day which is appreciated by everyone around you. We love having you in our team! Tino pai.

Kate Breitmeyer - Year 6

Kate, you are a joy to be around. Your enthusiasm for learning is second to none and indeed, you are a student who shows all of our kete values on a daily basis. Your creativity is an inspiration to many others, as is your desire to continue to add to your knowledge and skills. This will stand you in good stead for your future.

PTA News

Disco!

The annual school PTA disco is also ON!

Friday 26th June

4:30 - 5:30pm NE - Year 3 (Year 3 students can choose which Disco they want to attend so they can be with their friends)

6:00 - 7:00pm Year 3 - Year 6 (Year 3 students can choose which Disco they want to attend so they can be with their friends)

7:30 - 8:30pm - Year 7/8

Bring a gold coin for entry, your water bottle, and a more gold coins if you want to buy popcorn or other snacks.

Rainbow Theme - Be Bright, Be Bold, Be a Rainbow!

Christchurch Bird Club Bird Sale and Show

93 Orbell Street, Sydenham 11th July 12:30 - 4pm  Admission $2 per person or $10 for a family pass.

Cook up a Storm This Winter School Holiday

Give your budding chef the confidence to learn new skills and grow
their love of all things culinary with our Winter School Holiday or
Baking & Cooking Programme. A fun and interactive way to get
cooking from home, using common ingredients, and everyday
kitchen equipment. Submit your finished products online to get
feedback from our Chef Instructor.

International Culinary Studio 

Winter School Holiday Programme
Normally $49 now $30
https://www.internationalculinarystudio.com/product/junior-chef-
winter-holiday-programme/

To enrol, simply click on the link above, add to cart and use Coupon
Code Schoolswinter2020

Baking & Cooking Programme
Normally $80 now $40

https://www.internationalculinarystudio.com/product/junior-chef-
combo/

To enrol, simply click on the link above, add to cart and use Coupon
Code Schoolsb&c2020
We have been blown away with the level of skill on our
Facebook Kids Creative Cooking page during lockdown
and invite you to post your holiday programme results
here – at the end of the school holidays one lucky winner
will receive 2 x movie passes!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/KidsCreativeCooking/