Spectrum Art Trip

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We all had a wonderful time on our trip yesterday to the city to check out the Spectrum Art Exhibition at the YMCA. The trip gave us all an opportunity to discuss street art and the message the artist is trying to send to the public. We are very lucky in Christchurch to have numerous amounts of beautiful street art in our city, which seems to have multiplied since the earthquakes begun. My personal favourite is the ballerina on the back of the Isaac Theatre Royal!

A big, huge, massive, gigantic thank you to all the parents who supported us on the day :)

Check out some awesome photography one of our incredibly talented students, Sam, took of the exhibition below.

Caitlyn






Tuesday on the Otago Peninsula

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We are just back at camp after a fabulous day on the peninsular. Through Juliette being transformed into an albatross, we learnt about this mighty bird, before heading off to the observatory to see three chicks in their nests, waiting for their parents to return with a meal. We also saw and learnt about the disappearing gun and the Maori heritage of this beautiful place. Next stop was Larnach's Castle, where we were wowed by the majesty and interesting history of this awesome place. We were thrilled to bump into a special friend there. We are now having some down time before an early dinner, then it's back on the buses, with the Year 7s heading off to see the little blue penguins and the Year 8s into the Octagon for a hair raising tour!

Dressing up as an albatross.

We got to see three chicks.




The disappearing gun.

To the top of the castle!

Mountains selfie time.

Look who we found!


The beautiful hanging staircase.

Group 3 striking a posh pose.

And of course 'the dab'.





Showing that we care with pristine bunk-rooms. 

Preparing a yummy dessert.



Day 1 in Dunedin

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As we approached Otago, the sun peeped out from behind the grey Canterbury clouds, matching the enthusiasm and energy of the Kauri campers. Leaving behind damp Ashburton and drizzly Timaru, the team raced down the steps to the magical Moeraki boulders, leaping and posing. Hitting Dunedin Holiday Camp at 5pm, we unpacked and headed off to St Kilda's Beach where we rolled, dug, raced and cartwheeled. After a scrummy dinner, it was off to wash, spin a few yarns and relax. Bring on day two!




















Koru Newsletter, Term 1 Wk 8, 2016

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A wonderful quote from Paul Jennings
"Reading to your children is one of the most valuable things you can do for them. If you can possibly do it, try to fit some story-reading into your busy schedule. The benefits are enormous."





'Jewel Jar' celebration of learning afternoon
The jewel jars in hub 10 and 11 have been filled up! Students have been working together to earn jewels to show they care about our classroom environment, showing they are self managers and working together to share resources and focus on learning tasks. This celebration afternoon will be on Friday the 1st of April. We will have mask making, funny video clips, popcorn, fairy bread making, parachute games and other fun activities the children choose.

End of term lunch
We would like to invite whanau in on Thursday the 14th of April at 12noon for a  picnic down by the ponds/ senior adventure playground situated in the park. Please let us know if you are able to make it.

Parent Helpers
We are looking for parents who would be willing to help out by putting reading books away in our resource room, make word packs, make number packs and make games. If you are interested in helping out please talk to Rowe, Charlotte or Amanda.

Hub Rabbit
Next term Amanda is going to bring her pet rabbit 'Peach' into school for a visit. If the visit goes well for Peach and the children she could stay on as a hub pet. If you have any concerns or questions about this please talk with Amanda. 

8th April Assembly 
On the 8th of April Team Koru will be leading our schools Celebration of Learning Assembly. If you are free it would be great having whanau join us for this event. We hope to see many of you there!
We will be performing a musical item which could be highly entertaining ! Grandparents are more
than welcome to attend too. 

School Photos
Everyone had there wonderful smiles on and their eyes were sparkling when we had our hub photos taken on Monday. Information for these photo orders will be out next term. 

Lost Jumper
Can all parents please check jumpers at home? Asra's red school jumper has been misplaced. Thanks!

Literacy
We will be spending lots of time revising and checking we know all our letter sounds next week. Here is what you can do at home to practise letter sounds:
* Make a letter poster e.g. create a 'g' page with cut out pictures / drawings of things that start with g
* Point to a word in your child's home reading book. Ask them, 'what is this sound? What is the letter name'?
* Have fun with our phonics song. Kiwi Kids Phonics Song
* Using junk mail or magazines, practise finding letters. Ask your child, 'what sound does this letter make?'
* Play eye spy
* See our 'home learning' page on this blog for more ideas
NOTE: we talk with the children about some letters making more than one sound.
e.g. c makes 'cat' and 'city';    g makes 'goat' and 'giant'




Welcome to new starters




Problem solving 

Wonderful Writers in Hub 10-11
Look what we can do! 


Come and see our published writing in class. You can leave us a comment on our work!




Week 8 Update

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Duathlon: Due to a wet weather forecast tomorrow, the Year 5 - 8 duathlon will be postponed until next Thursday at the same time. That means more chance for training over the Easter break!

Passion Friday Food Group: Next Friday, 1 April, for Passion Friday our food group has decided to have an appliance day. We are meeting this week to organise exactly which appliances will be brought in to school, and what ingredients we will need. I would love extra support for this session, to ensure that all appliances are safely operated. If you are able to help us out between 11 - 12:30 next Friday, please send me an email Many thanks in advance.

Home-learning: Maths home-learning went home on Monday and is due on the Friday after Easter. This will be the last maths home-learning sheet for this term. 'Fear' writing is due tomorrow. It would be great if you could look over your child's writing with them tonight, giving encouragement and advice.

Naming Jackets: Please check that your child has their name on their senior jacket. This is an expensive item to get lost and we have noticed a number of un-named jackets.

Swimming Lessons: We would like to give you advance notice of the swimming programme that will take place in term 3 for Year 5 - 8 students. Each child will have eight 30 minute lessons over a two week period from August 29th. These lessons will be tailored to the ability level of each child, thus being relevant and beneficial to all children.

Dunedin Camp: 

  • We are still waiting to hear if our funding application has been successful. Apparently that is a good thing, as it means we still have a chance. The cost of camp, taking fundraising into account, is $265. This will be added to your account. You are welcome to pay a little each week, if that works better for you.  
  • Thanks to those of you who have returned the tech permission form for camp, which was on the last camp newsletter. Please get the rest of these in before the end of next week.
  • A reminder to camp parents that we are having a meeting next Wednesday at 5:30 in our hub.
  • If your child does not have a waterproof jacket to use in Dunedin, please let us know, so that we can match them up with one.

Top Team Leaders: Nine of our children took the opportunity to put their leadership into action at Top Team last Saturday. The Top Team crew were full of praise for their efforts.