School Newsletter – 6 November 2018

Term 4, Week 4 — School news, upcoming dates and notices

A Message from Kiri Team

Tena Koutou Katoa

It was an exciting and busy start to Term Four to have our wonderful Greats and Grans visit our school on the first Friday of the term.  Kiri Team started off the morning with Jump Jam followed by lots of fun activities with Grandparents.  We had a great turnout and it was lovely to see all the interactions between generations.  We weren’t quite sure who was teaching who on the I-Pad!

Week 1 also saw many dirty fingers and smudged faces.  This is the result of our hands-on Calendar Art which Kiri Team have now put on display in the library.  We used indian ink, printing, pastel and dye, and collage to produce our calendars.  The children worked hard and are very proud of their artwork.

As our Kohi Way value this term, Room 4 is performing a role-play on Friendliness and how we can be a friend.  There have been some lovely examples of this seen in the playground, with children sharing sports equipment and imaginary play with the dress-ups.  All of this play during break times helps in developing a child’s self esteem and confidence.

You will find Kiri Team swimming at Swimtastic during Weeks 3 and 4.  We are having great fun catching the buses Monday to Thursday and splish splashing about with expert instructors.  We have been working on our floating, kicking, stroking, rolling, and breathing.  Already within one week we have seen super improvements and big smiles on the children’s faces.  This is a very important two weeks as it helps to build and reinforce water confidence and safety around water before our summer starts.

Summer is nearly here and we hope you enjoy some longer days and sunshine.  Thank you parents for your support over the year.  It has been very much appreciated.

Haere Ra, Kiri Team

News

Strike Action –  Monday 12 November 2018 – SCHOOL CLOSED

Dear Parents and Caregivers

The NZEI has again called its members to strike due to the lack of progress against the Primary Principal and Primary Teacher Collective Contracts. As a teacher and Principal, I know that strike action is a very difficult decision for our profession and it is not taken lightly. The strike action is to be held on Monday 12 November and the Board of Trustees has informed you that Kohimarama School will be closed for instruction on that day.

I have mentioned in previous newsletters about my fears regarding the retention and recruitment of the highest level of candidates to be the teachers of our students. The desirability to enter the teaching profession has been diminishing over recent times. In the last 10 years there has been a reduction of 40% intake into the Faculties of Education. The resulting loss of academic staff is also a concern. Currently New Zealand is suffering an employment crisis in education.  Therefore the ability to fill positions with highly competent, New Zealand teaching professionals is uncertain. Addressing the complex needs of modern learners, including those with additional learning needs, are just some of the issues that affect us at Kohimarama School.

The government is beginning to address some areas. Recently an announcement was made with respect to special learning needs, however this will take time to plan, implement and address the disparities. In the meantime, we continue to act diligently as a profession in a challenging environment. Your support is appreciated for the great work that the staff at Kohimarama School undertake daily. I would like to see the Principal and Teacher Collective Contracts resolved as soon as practicable. Please feel free to email c.hipkins@ministers.govt.nz with your comments.

Paul Engles, Principal

SchoolDocs

Our school has been working with SchoolDocs to create a website for our Policies and Procedures. We are excited to announce that the site is now live and available to our school community.

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 which 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.

We invite you to visit the site at http://kohimarama.schooldocs.co.nz/ (note that there’s no “www”!). Our username is kohimarama and password kohi.

Sailing Achievements