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2 0 M a y 2 0 1 6

W r i g h t S t , R o s l y n

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w w w . k a i k o r a i . s c h o o l . n z

Important Dates

23 May - BOTmeeting cancelled23 May - BOTVoting papers areposted24 May - PALLeadership Day

(ST)24 May - Room 2 atOBHS (ST)27 May - Juniorsgoing to ForsythBarr Stadium (ST)31 May - Room 2Aat OBHS (ST)1 June - KaikoraiKiwi’s3 June - BOT

elections close3 June - PizzaLunch6 June - QueensBirthday(SchoolClosed)10 June - NextNewsletter 

KAIKORAI PRIMARY

SCHOOLN e w s l e t t e r

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Dear Parents,

This is the first newsletter for Term 2 and we hope

all the children have had a great start to the term as

we explore the concept of systems.

 As discussed at the Meet the Teacher night, one of our many

research projects being conducted by our teachers this year hasobviously started in Rooms 7 and 9. The wall has been

removed between these two classes as we look into how a more

collaborative approach to learning can be beneficial for

students. Many of our teachers will be traveling locally,

nationally and internationally visiting schools and looking at

best practice throughout the year. The staff greatly appreciatethe support and the opportunities the Board of Trustees are

providing to ensure our teachers are up to date with current

educational theory.

Kind regards,

Simon Clarke

A very special welcome to Gregor y Rowe, Jedd Hil l, Paige Croker,Theo Richards, Bradley Escueta, Sophie Wellington and their families

 to Kaikorai Primary School!

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SYNDICATE NEWS

Middle News 

The term has started well and we have begun learning about systems.Children have shown enthusiasm for learning about what classrooms

around the world look like and how school systems might differ fromour own. Systems of transport has been another interesting point of

discussion as children have been looking at how children get to school.Some modes of transport looked quite fun, while others brought up

lots of discussion about safety and why children might risk their ownsafety to get to school. We look forward to beginning our inquiries into

school systems and using these ideas to create our own school system.A lot of hard work has already been done by children who are trying

to learn their words for our Middles Spelling Bee. Children have beenfinding sponsors and the money raised will go towards our Term 4

overnight stay at Tirohanga. We have been working hard on also

understanding new vocabulary and learning the meanings of ourspelling bee words. Some tricky ones are fiefdom, philately, portcullis,

gaudy, petulant, and dynamic.This term, time will be a focus for our children in mathematics. We are

currently confident in reading digital time but need lots more practiseat reading analogue clocks as many of us do not have these at home!

 Junior News

After 2 weeks of ‘Keeping Ourselves Safe’ we should all know how to stay safe in a variety of situations.

Thank you to Constable Ross Greer for his lessons and support. Your child should be able to recite their fullname, phone number and address by now. Keep practising if they are not confident.Our two-week maths focus is really under way and it is good to see how hard the children are learning theirbasic addition and subtraction facts. We talk about having to recall the facts within 3 seconds using no fingers.Keep up the good work.For the next 3 weeks, we are fully immersed in the story and music of Peter and the Wolf. The children haveresponded well to this focus and no doubt you will hear a lot about it in the coming weeks. There are lots ofYoutube stories to watch about it if you want to share.We are off to the stadium next Friday 27th for a skills based hour of fun activities. Thank you for returning thenotices.Happy learning from the Junior Teachers.

Senior News

The senior classes have all started the term with lots of interest and enthusiasm for learning about our body systems. Wehave all started with finding out what they already know about the digestive system, and have started to extend those

understandings into describing the organs and functions, comparing the jobs they do and creating ways to share theseideas with others. We are all using a learning system called SOLO Taxonomy to share with the children what levels they

are working at, and showing them how to get to the next level. It has been very successful in motivating and clarifyingwhat steps we can take to get even better.

All classes have now started learning about the circulatory system using images, songs and video clips. We have even useda virtual heart app where they have seen the heart at work, including its electrical impulses, changes of heart rate and the

 valves in action.Room 1 has visited Otago Boys High School this week where they performed dissections of chicken hearts and sheep’shearts. In each heart they were able to see the 4 chambers, major arteries and veins and the valves. The teacher who

took the lesson in the laboratory was Mrs Pru Casey. Thank you Mrs Casey. The children were very excited with this visit and learnt a lot. Rooms 2, 2A and 4 look forward to their visits over the next few weeks.

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SCHOOL NEWS

Enrichment Programmes

We have a number of enrichment programmes running in 2016. Our Te Reo extensionprogramme continues to run on a Thursday afternoon and for the next 10 weeks Courtney Dunnwill be working with 10 student artists to create some fantastic pieces of art. Our Flipped Class isoperating again with 10 students. These students were selected based upon teacher observationsand testing. This term they are working at the Hatch studio further developing their creativethinking.

Google Docs

All students have been set up with a google account this year. For junior students this will largely

be controlled by the teacher and as the children progress through the school you will find it beingused as a working space by your child. A number of folders have been set up for your child, oneof them being the WOW folder. We are at stage 1 of replacing the traditional portfolio. The firsttage of development is to share with you a variety of pieces of work that they create throughouthe year. You can login at anytime to see what your child is doing. We have been very lucky to

have Elliot Gill who is volunteering his time to help set the junior classes up with their login namesand passwords. Room 8, 12 and 10 are still to be set up but should be in the near future.

The second stage starting in 2017 will be to have clear, easy to understand next learning steps in

writing and mathematics for parents to see.

Kaupapa Maori and Kapa Haka

During Kaupapa M"ori this term, classes will eachbe working through different activities such asweaving, poi, taonga puoro, string games, andome artworks and looking at the significance to

Matariki. We look forward to learning new skills

and sharing these at the Matariki celebration latern the term on June 24th.

To begin the term the Kapa Haka group had theopportunity to contribute to our community byputting on a performance at the Red RoofsRetirement Home. The children shared someoutstanding waiata. They gave a polished andmoving performance which was very well received

by an enthusiastic audience. The children shouldbe proud of the way they represented our school.

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School Ski TripsSave the date! This year we areorganising two ski trips. These will run asthey have in the past where the school willorganise subsidised lift, lessons and rentalequipment and parents can organise theirown transport, food and accommodation.More information will be available nextmonth.

The dates that we have set aside are Aug 6th & 7th / Sept 17th & 18th.

Snow Days

Although the weather remains mild for this time of year it wont be far until we have our first snow storm.Decisions to close the school or opt for a 10am start aremade by the Otago Primary Principals Association. It

would have to be a very extreme situation before wewould close the school while others remained open.

The best way to get this information is to download theschool app. We will also post a notice on our websiteand cancelations can be heard on Classic Hits. Their

facebook page is also very good for cancelationupdates. Finally you can find out first by going to

@oppasnow on twitter. 

Board of Trustees ElectionOur current Board held their final meeting this week.

 

The staff would like to take this opportunity to thank the Board for their service over the past

three years. During their period in office the Board has overseen the successful completion of our

backfield development, the implementation of the school values and helped the school achieve a

 very positive endorsement by the Education Review Office. All are very significant achievementsand reflect highly on the quality of governance provided. Our sincere thanks to 'Chair' Barb Long

and Dougal McGowan and members: Simon Hornal, Mel Black, Gene Ollerenshaw and

Margaret Galbraith.

Nominations for the Board of Trustees have now closed. We are pleased to announce the

following parents have put their names forward for election.

• Aiden Young, Dougal McGowan, Gene Ollerenshaw, Kelly Macknight, Kristen Townsend,

Malcolm Couling, Neil Gemmell, Ros Allison, Simon Hornal, Todd Gordon

Voting papers will be posted on Monday and your papers need to be back at the school office by

12pm Friday 3rd of June.

Sharon Fitzgerald

Returning Officer

Parent GroupHopefully you have seen the email that was sent out recently from the Parent Group. If you missed it you canclick on this link to see all of the necessary information. https://hail.to/kaikorai-primary-school/publication/HsZPTOc 

The following are some highlights from the newsletter;s

Our first bringing week is the week beginning May 30th. We will be asking for goods for the Tombola and we would like all children to bring a new item with a value ofno more than $10 for this. Tombola ideas: stationary, body lotions, soaps, scented candles, small toys, drinkbottles, mugs, lunchboxes -- no food items at this stage. We will send a reminder notice nearer the time.

Finally the Term 2 pizza lunch is set down for 3 June. Orders will be done online again and the link can be

found in the email this was sent from. Orders close on 31st May.

https://hail.to/kaikorai-primary-school/publication/HsZPTOchttps://hail.to/kaikorai-primary-school/publication/HsZPTOchttps://hail.to/kaikorai-primary-school/publication/HsZPTOchttps://hail.to/kaikorai-primary-school/publication/HsZPTOchttps://hail.to/kaikorai-primary-school/publication/HsZPTOchttps://hail.to/kaikorai-primary-school/publication/HsZPTOchttps://hail.to/kaikorai-primary-school/publication/HsZPTOchttps://hail.to/kaikorai-primary-school/publication/HsZPTOc

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Shona CummingBusiness & Property Lawyer 

03-477-2262

www.downiestewart.co.nz

www.sortedpm.co.nzPh: (03) 467 7204

Mob: 021 277 5554

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

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COMMUNITY NEWS

Karate Club

New fitness class for kids ages 5 and up!Recreational martial arts class taught by twoteenagers (ex Kaikorai Primary students) who havebeen training and competing in karate for 6 years.We travel a lot and compete nationally andinternationally. We would like to fundraise for ourtrips and also share our love of karate with kids in afun, relaxed environment. We will be running onehour a week recreational karate classes at John McGlashan College gym Sundays at 11am. Noexperience or commitment necessary, just comealong and have fun. $5 drop in session, $40 – 10session punch card. All classes will be supervised byour mum who is a registered teacher and karate