Principal's Patch
Kia ora koutou
Staffing Update
Our congratulations go out to Jules May who has won a leadership position (Junior Team Leader) at Te Kōmanawa Rowley School, starting at the beginning of next year. Whilst we will miss Jules' energy and commitment to our tamariki, we certainly wish her well in her new position and celebrate that, once again, the success of our staff in winning new positions of leadership and furthering their careers.
The Year 5/6 Team Leader position which will be vacated by Anne Batchelor at the end of the year has been won by Steve Cooke. We are very excited to be welcoming Steve into our Leadership Team for 2021.
Both of the above staffing changes result in us needing two more permanent teachers for our staff for 2021. We have these positions advertised and will let you know as soon as we have confirmed them.
Cycle Safety Pōhutukawa
Our Year 6 students have been very busy this week (with one more group to participate next week), with the Christchurch City Council Cycle Safety programme. Many children, who already considered themselves to be road confident cyclists, have been very surprised about the number of important road rules that they didn't know about, and have been learning over this two day programme.
As caregivers, please remember that, whilst this will have improved their confidence, nothing beats being out on bikes with your child and demonstrating good cycle safety with them.
Kōwhai Museum Visit
Our Kōwhai Team have had trips to the Canterbury Museum this week to explore and develop their understanding of both The Moon, and Māori traditional tools and living. When learning about the Moon, as part of the Science curriculum, they
Part of their learning in the Te Ao Māori area was to learn about the legend of "
Kupe and Te Wheke". You can click on the link and read this story for yourself - and talk with your children about it.
Thank you to the staff, and whānau, who made this trip possible with their support.
Pōhutukawa Marae visit
This week all tamariki and kaiako in the Pōhutukawa team experienced a wonderful day at Rāpaki Marae, over two days of visits. We all enjoyed taking part in a powhiri ceremony, sharing our pepeha and learning about the local history and tikanga, as well as exploring the surrounding environment.
Noho ora mai
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Outside the Rapaki marae
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Matua Maui
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Year 7/8 Camp Dunedin
This week our Year 7/8 team have been in Dunedin on camp. They have been having an amazing time with so many varied and challenging experiences. These include Moeraki boulders, Oamaru SteamPunk Playground, Baldwin Street climb, 'Hair-raiser' tour of Dunedin by night, campfire, Albatross colony visit, sports and learning exchange with Carisbrook School, Otago Early Settlers Museum, Otago Museum Butterfly Room, and a day of physical challenges at the Waihola Campground where they have been staying!
The bus is due back to school around 5:30pm tonight - we will email and put a message on FB when we have a more detailed ETA.
A huge thank you to the staff and whānau who have supported this camp, through fundraising, baking and attending, to make it possible.
We Get There Together
During the holidays, one of our wonderful New Entrant students and his dad spent half a day sweeping and tidying the court area outside Kōmanawa, all ready for his friends to enjoy when they returned at the start of Term 4.
Thank-you Max and Gerard!
Have a wonderful weekend
Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal
Important Dates
Upcoming Events
Mon 26 Oct: LABOUR DAY School Closed
Tue 27, Wed 28, Thu 29 Oct: Kahikatea & Kōwhai SwimSafe programme - Pioneer Pool
Wed 28 Oct: 6:45pm Christchurch Arena, Christchurch Schools Cultural Festival - Te Whānau Mahi Tahi performing
Thu 29 Oct: BOT meeting POSTPONED
Fri 30 Oct: Whole School Athletics - Beckenham Park
Mon 2 Nov: Year 7/8 Technology (bus leaves at 8:30am) Note change of date for this week!
Mon 9th Nov: Zone Athletics, Hansen Park. 9am - 3pm
Thu 12 Nov: Celebration Assembly (our first for this term!)
Fri 13th Nov: Canterbury Anniversary Day - school closed.
Term Dates
Click here to view 2020 and 2021 term dates.
Citizen of the Week
Holly McIntosh - Year 4
Holly, you are a delightful member of the Kowhai hub. You are kind, thoughtful and always strive to ensure others are included. You consistently follow the school values "We Care" and "We Get There Together" by always being willing to take on extra responsibilities.
School Notices
Mana Ake “Drop-Ins” are continuing…
A number of whānau have already made great use of the Mana Ake “drop-ins” that are available on Wednesday mornings from 8:30 – 9:30am. These drop-in sessions are here to provide parents with an opportunity to have a private, informal conversation around the well being of their child with one of our Mana Ake workers (kaimahi). If you feel like you would like to attend a drop-in session, please book in a time via the link here:
Mana Ake booking The code to use is
88t39. Alternatively, you can contact Jacky in the office (337 1404) and she will make a booking for you.
Head Lice are around... again!
We are noticing increasing numbers of children with head lice again. Anyone can get head lice, and it is important that they are treated before children return to school. You can find out more about
head lice and their treatment here.
Children who have long hair should have it tied up. This is especially important for the prevention of the spread of head lice, and of course, a requirement for those children who are swimming next week.
Tight plaits, with some hairspray for more barrier, can sometimes help to raise the protection against headlice, as can a drop of tea tree oil on the hands and smoothed over hair.
Congratulations to...
Keanna Hakeagaiki who competed in the primary schools' competition for gymnastics. After some good routines in vault, uneven bars, floor and beam she ended up coming 4th overall. Well done Keanna!
BOT Mid-Term Elections 2020
Nominations for Mid Term positions for our Board of Trustees are now open. You will have received an email with nomination details and how you nominate. Nomination forms are available from the school office if you haven’t received them. Please note nominations close on Sunday 1st November. We look forward to your interest.
Wayne Jamieson
Returning Officer
Community Notices
(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)
Tell us what you want for 2050 - The Greater Christchurch Partnership
We want to hear from everyone that has an interest in Greater Christchurch as we develop this exciting plan for our sub-region’s future. Greater Christchurch 2050 will describe the kind of place we want for our future generations, and the actions we need to take over the next 30 years to make it happen.
Hell Pizza Reading challenge
The HELL Reading Challenge is a well-established programme, now in its seventh year, which has been hugely successful in getting kids reading and enjoying the pleasures of stories — with the bonus of free pizza rewards.
We are very excited to be continuing our partnership with HELL Pizza. Their enthusiasm for children’s reading and generous ongoing commitment is awesome.
Teachers, librarians and parents have been telling us how the HELL Reading Challenge has hooked so many reluctant readers into books. In 2020 we want even more young readers to discover the thrill of a great book.
The HELL Reading Challenge is free, and it is so easy! Children receive a stamp on their pizza wheel for each book they read. Once they have read seven books, children can exchange their completed pizza wheel for a free 333 kids’ pizza at HELL.
To find out more use the following link:
