School Newsletter – 5 June 2018

Term 2, Week 6 — School news, upcoming dates and notices

A Message from Hillary Team

We hope you have been staying warm these past few weeks as the cold weather has descended on Auckland.  We’ve had the heat pump on every morning as we rush into the classroom.  This Term we have been exploring Science during our inquiry time, which includes climate change, human impact, our oceans and space.  It has been interesting to discover and learn more about our inquiry choices.  We have been working hard on writing our speeches to share with the team and are looking forward to hearing everyone’s hard work in Week 7.  We’ve had lots of fun with our learning this term already and are looking forward to what the rest of the term will include.

Dance Term 2
This term for art we have been learning to do a new dance.  We go to the hall with Room 14 and Mr Viggo has the dance on the screen.  First we break it down into small steps and then bigger steps until we have learnt the whole dance.  Some people like to be at the front but some others always move to the back.  We are learning to get better moves so that we can be ready for the school performance next term.  It’s really good fun!

Room 16

Honesty
In term 2 our Kohimarama way is honesty. We can show honesty by telling the truth and owning up when we made a mistake. Kohimarama students believe that honesty is important to people because you could hurt others feelings by not telling the truth. Honesty means telling the truth even if it was a mistake because it’s right and it’s better because you get in less trouble. When we lie, we sometimes feel guilty and bad of ourselves so tell the truth like a honest person, and when you get older people will trust you and you will get a job.

By Theo, Matthew H, Frida, Molly, Isla, Madeleine – Rm 14 

Speeches
This term in Hillary team we have been working on writing speeches  for  the speech competition. There are three types of speeches, persuasive, informative and entertaining. We have been using different language features like rhetorical questions ,exaggeration and statistics.  To write a good speech you need an introduction , 3 main points and a conclusion. In week 7 we are presenting our speeches to the class, and in week 8 the top three people in each class from year 4 and 5 will compete against each other. We have been working very hard and are really excited to present our speeches.

By Mischa, Ava , Nina, Iksimmar – Rm 12

Paul Ewing – Thank you!

Paul Ewing has been part of our staff for over 10 years.  You will know him best as our Rock Band Director, turning up every Monday and Friday morning at 7.45am to lead a group of students practising, what began as Rock songs but, in latter years, turned into Pop song, and at our Final Assembly making the rafters ring at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.

Paul was dedicated to his group of student musicians and they have collectively produced fabulous toe-tapping, sing-a-long performances that so often wowed us with the depth of musical talent in our midst.  It was a lot of hard work and determination for all the groups, but particularly Paul, who had to find the songs – with no swear words (not an easy task), work with individual musicians and singers to form a cohesive group and to make it so worthwhile that the students would keep turning up Monday and Friday each week.  He achieved this year after year and many Rock Band members see this as the highlight of their time with us at Kohimarama. Each year culminated with a Rock Band tour or a CD of songs that the Rock Band produced in Paul’s studio, real memories to take through to adulthood and to look back on with pride and wonder.

What you might not know is that Paul was born and raised in Auckland, the eldest of 5 full siblings and 3 half siblings – all sisters! He was a touring musician for 30 years before settling into the world of teaching.  He routinely had 40 students aged between 7 and 17 that he saw for weekly lessons on drums, rhythm guitar, bass guitar and vocals.  Many of those were our students, and I know of at least two of our Dads that he has taught drums.  We are never too old to learn!

Paul enjoyed cooking, but more importantly sharing his cooking with others.  He would often have dinner parties or organise birthday parties and he always had a great Christmas lunchtime feast for all those in his wide circle of friends that didn’t have families of their own.  He cared about his family, friends and students and was always available to support our kids on their musical journey.  He knew what he was doing, a talented musician with a heart and an appetite to share his knowledge.

Thank you Paul, for sharing your talent and friendship with us at Kohimarama.  You will be truly missed but always loved and appreciated for the legacy that you gave us.

News

Dropping off and Picking Up Children

Please be considerate of our neighbours and do not use private driveways as dropping off or picking up points when you are taking your children to and from school.

SPCA Fundraising  –  this Friday!

As a school we are raising funds for the SPCA on Friday 8th June.  Students who are keen to participate are able to wear mufti for the day and bring $2.  An opportunity to support the charity that works tirelessly to keep animals in our community safe and rehoused.  Would be great if we could all contribute a little.

School App!
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Weekly Results

House Points: Term 2, Week 6

Congratulations to Patteson for being the Week 5 winners!

House Points for the Fortnight:

There was an error in Patteson’s House Points in the Week 4 newsletter.  The points in this newsletter are correct.  I apologise for the error – Hilary Walkinshaw.

Class Certificates

Congratulations to these outstanding students:

Netball Results

Y4 Kohi Lightning, Lost 4-5.  POD – Scarlett W
Y5 Kohi Pulse, Won 14-10. POD – Annabelle W
Y8 Kohi Tactix, Won 19-10. POD – Elani R

Community Notices