Pōhutukawa Speech Finals on Thursday 14 November at 1:45pm

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Pōhutukawa Speech Finals on Thursday 14 November at 1:45pm

What a wonderful week of speech presentations we have had. The teachers all commented today about the fabulous content in the speeches. The students have worked really hard at pitching their speech to engage their audience, and have impressed us immensely. 

It was a very difficult decision for each homegroup teacher to choose only two finalists, and we discussed at length those students who presented well. Along with engaging and relevant content, we were looking for great eye contact, clear and audible speech, expression of voice and face and use of gestures and body language. 

Congratulations to these students who have been selected as speech finalists:
Fergus Macdonald
Quinn Clarke
Vida Gerard
Freya Braun
Olive Morel
Zoe Clarke
Zoe Winsor
George Smith
Layla Wallbanks
France Daniels-Maxwell

Our speech finals will be held in the hall at 1:45pm tomorrow, and extend an invitation to whānau and friends to attend. 

Term 4 Week 4

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Kia ora Whānau,

Athletics

Our Athletics Day on Monday was fantastic! The sun was shining, our tamariki were smiling, and it was so lovely to see the whole school out on the field showing, 'We Love Challenge' together by participating in all of the athletics events.

A massive 'thank you' to all the parents, caregivers, grandparents, whānau, and friends, who came to cheer on and support the children while they were participating in the athletics events. In our Koru team, the children got to have a go at running races, bean bag throw, high jump, and the gumboot throw.

It was wonderful to see the children demonstrating 'We Get There Together', by supporting and encouraging each other.

Aiming and throwing bean bags

 On your marks! Get set! GO!!


Ready to jump over the high jump!


One! Two! Three! Throw those gumboots!

 We even got to sit and relax in the shade, at the end of the day, to support and cheer on the children, teachers, and parents in the sprint finals and House Team relays.


Ngā mihi mahana kia koutou
Elizabeth, Jo, Kristika, Noelene and Stacey

Kahikatea News Term 4, Week 4

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A huge thank you for all your support...
As ever, we really appreciate all of the whanau support we are receiving. We are especially grateful to those dedicated parents who kindly put away books each week, and to those who volunteer for reading time. 

Trip to see the Symphony Orchestra at the Town Hall -  Wednesday 13th Nov, leaving at 9.15
In preparation, we are learning about classical music. We have loved listening to Peter & the Wolf, Peer Gynt and other popular pieces, and finding out about the parts of the orchestra.
On the day, please do make sure your child has their school uniform, a jumper and sensible shoes (no gumboots) on Wednesday.

Digital Learning 
We have a digital literacies expert coming to show us new Apps for learning. We have used Scratch Jnr for programming, and Draw & Tell to share our learning. 







Athletics 
The children really enjoyed participating and trying new skills


Shot Put



6 Year Old Sprints Winners


6 Year Old Sprints Winners


Watching races

Discovery This Week 

Self-directed play 

Salt dough creations


Beebots


Technology challenges



Self-directed play



More Beebots



Kauri Whānau Weekly Update: Term 4 Week 5

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What an active week we had last week! We were so impressed by the way the House Captains and Sports Leaders took leadership during our athletic sports on Monday. They were confident, organised and caring. After a false start on Wednesday, summer tournament proved to be an enjoyable learning experience for many on Thursday. Special congratulations go to the orienteering groups who were placed. Those remaining back at school made a good start on backdrops for our production. On Friday afternoon we had the first glimpse at all of the production items. While there is still a lot of work to do, from what we saw, this promises to be a highly entertaining show. What a talented bunch of performers we have in the Intermediate Hub!

Sexuality Education:

This week our sexuality education lessons begin. Remember that our parent information night is this evening (Monday),  between 7 and 8pm. If you are planning to attend, please make sure you have indicated on this form. 

Leadership Positions for 2020:

We have made a start on our leadership appointments for 2020, so that a group can attend the 'Be Inspired' leadership training this coming Wednesday afternoon.
House Captains: Henry H, Ruby M, Thomas, Isla, Mia, Ben N, Lucky, Tom
Deputy House Captains: Amelia, Riley, Erik, Devina, Eddie, Grace, Devina and Jack K
Student Council Executive: Eva, Emma and Abby

Leavers' Book

This week we will be starting to put all the memories and photos together for our Leavers' Book. If you have yet to send in your Year 8 child's photo of when they were 5, please do this ASAP.






T4 W4 in Pōhutukawa

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Cool Curriculum Classes this term

Art

Katie is taking sketching classes. The children have been learning how to shade and make shadows. They have been sketching realistic images, and took advantage of the weather to work outside today.






Te Reo Māori

Rae has been teaching about New Zealand place names and the stories behind the names. Some places are named after people and some are named after landscapes.


Coding

Steve has been overseeing the coding programme. The students are using code.org to learn how to code. Everyone works at their own pace and are on different levels. Some people do pair programming.


NZ Sign Language

Gayle has been teaching the students all sorts of things in NZ Sign Language. They have been learning how to say and spell their names, the alphabet and simple phrases.


Cultural

Every student has chosen a country to research and has been working on a slideshow of information on that country/culture. Tracy has been overseeing the slideshows.


Sun hats and water bottles

With the increase in temperatures, it is incredibly important that every student has their wide-brimmed sunhat and water bottle at school every day. Being hydrated helps keep the body and brain functioning well. It would also be great to see the drink bottles go home regularly to be washed.
Taking advantage of the balmy temperature today, so children elected to silent read outside.



Athletics

What a fabulous day it was for athletics yesterday. It was a day for showing 'We love challenge' and for trying your best. It was lovely to see the whole school on the park, having fun and partaking in a number of sporting activities, along with many whānau members encouraging athletes and taking photos. Congratulations to everyone for having a go, and well done to those students who excelled in their events, coming in the top four. Jenny will finalise the list of students representing our kura in the zones athletics over the next couple of days. This event is being held at Hansens Park on Monday 18 November. 

Music Festival

All the very best to the 45 children and Katie who are performing in the Music Festival on Thursday night at the Town Hall. The choir will be having a final practice on Thursday morning at the Town Hall. The choir has been practising for a long time for this special performance, and we know that they will be fantastic.

String and Ukelele Concert

On Thursday there will be a string and ukelele concert at 2:20pm. The concert will go to 2:55pm. The concert is about promoting the option of string and ukulele of 2020.

Whānau Rōpū Hui

Whānau Rōpū Hui this coming Friday, 8th November, 5 pm - 7:30 pm
For our Whānau Rōpū Hui this term we are excited to be having a shared kai/ potluck picnic at school from 5:00pm to 7:30pm on Friday 8th November.  We are looking forward to getting together again to celebrate Te Ao Māori, share some kai and enjoy some games - including the exciting sport of Ki o Rahi. Nau mai haere mai, welcome. These hui, get-togethers, are a great opportunity to get to know other tamariki, children and whānau, families in the school community.