Newsletter Thursday 22nd June 2023

Mā te huruhuru ka rere te manu

Adorn the bird with feathers so it may fly

Email: office@kereru.school.nz
Website: http://www.kereru.school.nz/
Location: 2306 Kereru Road, Hastings 4171
Phone: 06 876 0923
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084298596659

Kia ora e te whānau,

I can't quite believe that we are almost at the end of June. We have had a massive term, filled with lots of great learning experiences for our tamariki (children). Thank you to everyone who has made these opportunities happen. Next term will be a bit quieter, but we will still have some big events such as Totara Camp and Cross Country. Keep an eye on our Events Calendar (found on our website) to stay up to date with school happenings.

In Week 8, I was lucky enough to attend the Rural Teaching Principals Conference in Queenstown. I found this to be an incredibly valuable trip, having time to connect and network with principals working in similar schools, listening to keynote speakers, and engaging in a range of relevant workshops.

In Week 10, we will be celebrating and acknowledging our amazing support staff as part of Support Staff Week. Sheryn, Carlee, Megan & Jack are the remarkable individuals who are the backbone of our school, working tirelessly behind the scenes to create a nurturing and conducive learning environment. Each member of our support staff brings unique skills and dedication to their role, making our school a better place for learning and growth. We appreciate their dedication, ongoing support, and the care they show to everyone within the school community. Thank you for all that you do – we couldn't do it without you.

Last week, we welcomed the Rees whānau who are new to the Kererū Community, to Kererū School. Isabel is in Year 8, and we are delighted to have her in Totara until the end of the year. At the end of this term, we will be saying farewell to the Nelson whānau. We have loved having Charlie at our Kura since Cyclone Gabrielle and will miss his enthusiasm for mouse trapping! On behalf of Kererū School, Jess and James, we would like to wish your whānau all the very best on your next adventure. Thank you for your contributions to Kererū School, including getting the Mangeton Crew to and from school on the back of the tractor-trailer and helping with school landscaping.

Noho ora mai (Stay well),

Kelsie Allen

Principal

Roll: 25

We would love to have a better understanding of who will potentially come to Kererū School in the (near or distant) future. This is to ensure that you, as parents, receive information such as transition visits and school information before your child's start date.

We would love to hear from you if your child is between 1 and 4 years old. To make sure we have you on our 'potential enrolments' list.

Please email office@kereru.school.nz or follow the link to our enrolment section on our website to find out more information.

If your child is unwell, please keep them at home to prevent the spread of the illness.

Gastro

• "People with gastro should not go to work, school and early childhood centres until they have been well (symptom free) for 48 hours. There will be viruses in your poos for several weeks after you become well. You should continue to wash and dry your hands thoroughly after you have been to the toilet."
• Here is the link for a brochure: https://www.rph.org.nz/public-health-topics/early-childhood-centres/current-illnesses/gastroenteritis/gastro-brochure.pdf

Covid-19

• If you or someone in your whānau tests positive for Covid-19, please let Kelsie know ASAP and then follow the MOH guidelines: https://covid19.govt.nz/testing-and-isolation/if-you-have-covid-19/

A big Happy Birthday to the following ākonga & kaiako:

Hugo 14/06

Ziggy 24/06

This term our specific ADORN focus is going to be around 'Active - Ngangahau'.

ACTIVE means more than being physically active. It has its basis in Confucius: I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I DO and I UNDERSTAND. Active students are engaged; they Participate and Contribute (Key Competency) at school and in their community. It implies curiosity, connection, and collaboration - Thinking (Key Competency).

Week 9:

• Newsletter 3 & Community Newsletter sent out

Week 10:

• Omni Gymnastics/Pool Trip
• Kererū School Matariki Celebrations
• PJ Day

Link to our Google Calendar - This Calendar updates regularly.

In my class Totora we have been learning PE skills. We have been learning how to: Throw and catch.

First we did an overarm throw at the concrete wall and counted how many thoughts we could catch. The method for this Point, L shaped arm, step, twist, throw.

Once we had done that we were focusing on underarm throws instead, for this we got ourselves into pairs and again counted how many we could throw and catch, one of the pairs got 30!! To do this we had to Swing, step, throw.

While we were doing this we also learnt how to catch, if it was a high throw then we would put our thumbs together and if it was a low throw we would put our pinkies together.

After that we learned how to use a frisbee which was probably my favourite. The method for this was to cross your body, step, flick, throw. How we caught it was with crab hands or with crocodile hands.

Once we had done all of that we played some games. The first one was called fire and ice. We played this on the field. There were three people tagging with noodles/ice and 3 people with red bean bags/fire.

The other game we played was monster ball where there was one big ball in the middle of the square and 4 teams that tried to knock the ball over the line of your other team mate. At the start all teams have 5 points. If the ball goes over your team's side you lose

a point, you are not allowed to touch the ball with your hands and must use small balls. It is very fun!! By Thea

In my whānau, I have 7 family members Dad, Mum, Jack, James, Kate, Hugo (Me) and Emmie.

Dad is 53, Mum is 40, Jack is 16, James is 14, Kate is 12,

I am 10 and Emmie is 7. Dad likes motorbikes, Jack and I also like motorbikes, James likes planes, Kate likes animals and motorbikes and Emmie likes Barbies.

Jack dropped out of school, James goes to Napier Boys High School, and Kate goes to Kereru School like Emmie and I. Our house is really creaky but it is warm and cozy. It is quite big. There are 5 and a half rooms because one is a shed.

We have 7 pets, Peety is 28, Puss Puss is 12, Garry is 10, Kate's fish are 6, Orange Volt is 2, Emmie's fish are also two.

We have a Kia Carnival (aka people mover) but it is smelly. We have a massive river. It is not that deep. But it's really wide and extremely loud. You can see it from the house and that is cool.

Kākano have been learning all about fractions. The year ones have been starting with halves and quarters and the year twos and threes have been learning about more complex fractions with more pieces in the whole. On fun Friday we put our pizza making skills to work with the help of Megan to put our knowledge of fractions to a practical and tasty use.

On the 27th May, Hugo travelled to the Rotorua School Motocross competition. This is the first time anyone has represented Kererū School. Hugo was 7th overall in the 8-11-year-old pro 65CC. Considering he was only 9 at the time, we think this is an amazing achievement. Well done, Hugo!

On Thursday 1st of June, our Year 3-8 students travelled to Clifton Station to compete in the Junior Tough Guy/Gal Challenge. We are so proud of all of our athletes for pushing themselves outside of their comfort zone, for showing our values of Active and Determined and for representing our Kura (School) so well. Ka pai tamariki ma! Thank you to our parent helpers and teachers who helped to supervise and transport! Thank you to FOKS for funding this great event.

We are so appreciative of Jayden and Bob who came out to share important messages about safety around electricity with us. Unison offer this fun and interactive safety education programme for all primary schools in our area. You can head to their website for more info: www.unison.co.nz/safesparks

Again, a huge thank you to the Perkins family for donating the cord of firewood for our raffle. It is selling really well. A reminder if you haven't already paid, to please make sure all money is in by Tuesday next week (27th June). No cash please! Please deposit into the FOKS account.

Kereru School PTA account

12-3145-0282292-00

The school works on a subscription basis with SchoolDocs to maintain, update, and review our policies. SchoolDocs provides us with a comprehensive core set of policies that have been well researched and follow the Ministry of Education National Administration Guidelines. The policies and procedures are tailored to our school, and the school supplies specific information such as our charter, and procedures for behaviour management, reporting to parents, etc.

SchoolDocs updates, modifies, or creates policies in response to changes in legislation or Ministry guidelines, significant events, reviews/requests from schools, and regular reviewing from the SchoolDocs team. Our board of trustees has the opportunity to view changes/additions and comment on them before they are implemented. We will advise you when policies are up for review and how you can take part in the review.

http://kereru.schooldocs.co.nz

Username is “kereru”

Password is “kereru1912”

TERM 2:

• Omni Gymnastics - 28/06
• Matariki Celebrations - 29/06
• PJ Day - 30/06
• Last day of Term 2 - 30/06

TERM 3:

• 17/07 - First Day of Term 3
• 25/07 - 28/07 - Totara Camp
• 04/08 - Team Chess Competition
• 08/08 & 09/08 - Rachel from Field Based STEM
• 09/08 - BOT Meeting
• 22/08 - Science Roadshow
• 24/08 - Cross Country
• 25/08 - Daffodil Day
• 08/09 - Y5/6 Mathletics Competition
• 13/09 - BOT Meeting
• 22/09 - Last day of Term 3

These links will give you some ideas on how to help your child's learning at home:

• Ministry of Education Website: https://parents.education.govt.nz/primary-school/learning-and-development-at-home/ideas-to-help-with-reading-writing-and-maths/
• Maths at home: https://nzmaths.co.nz/maths-our-house
  
• Writing prompts and ideas: https://app.pobble.com/auth/
  
• Mindfulness: https://www.smilingmind.com.au/
• Early letter formation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=609NcinTkGI

Hero gives you (parents) the opportunity to send through your child's absence with a click of a button. This is a quick, efficient way and gives our staff a notification and message of the reason your child is away.

This is the way we would like you to let us know if your child won't be here. If there is additional information that the school needs to know, please contact Sheryn directly.

Thank you to all who have paid their invoices so far. We understand that recent events have created some difficult times for some of our families. Please let me know if you would like to set up a payment option for your invoices. This is very easy to do.

If you are having trouble with your payments, please come and see either Sheryn or Kelsie so we can make a plan.