School Newsletter – 17 March 2020

Term 1, Week 7 — School news, upcoming dates and notices

A Message from Snell Team Team

In Week 6 we visited the Auckland Museum in order to extend our knowledge of Myths and Legends. We learned about New Zealand myths and attended interactive group sessions. This was a fun and educational day.

Year 7 and 8

The year 7 and 8 learning hub has been filled with great learning to start the year. This learning has been supported by two amazing trips. 

For our New Zealand history study we had the opportunity to explore the Auckland Maritime Museum. This trip involved a classroom session led by the knowledgeable Museum teachers where we learnt about migration and how the early explorers found their way. This was followed by an exciting trip out onto the water on the Ted Ashby boat. Finally we had the chance to explore the museum at our own speed to further research the information we found most interesting. 

In week 4 our learning hub concluded our Romeo and Juliet study by attending the Pop up Globes schools performance of Romeo and Juliet. Our kids were thrilled with the costumes, jokes and fight scenes. Our students had great discussion about the reason behind the costumes and the scenes they found most interesting. This experience was one that will be remembered for the rest of the year!

In addition to these trips, 11 of our students had the opportunity to help the Ōrākei Local Board set their strategic direction for the next three years. The students took part in an activator led by Local Board staff and were joined by Sarah Powrie, the Deputy Chair of the Board. They had the opportunity to share their thoughts on what they enjoyed in our local area and where they saw areas for improvement. The Board was impressed with the thoughtful and considered answers and will return later in the year to share with the students their strategic plan.

Questions and Answers

Q: What will happen to the students learning if the school closes?

A: It is the Ministry of Health who makes the decision to close a school in a Pandemic.  This decision could be made for all schools or just a cluster of schools. You will most likely hear about this through the media.

If Kohimarama School was required to close, then we would inform all families via email through etap, would put a notice on our website, and a notification through Flexi-buzz.  Notices would be put up on the school gates. It is important that we have the correct contact information for parents so you receive information in a timely manner.

Because Kohimarama School uses Schooltalk, our teachers and students are all in a position to be able to work from home using your home internet. The students will be able to continue learning using the learner design, goals, resources and submit their work for teachers to feedback on and set the next learning steps. We are discussing this with the teaching staff. The Ministry of Education is asking schools to prepare to operate in an online learning environment. 

The Ministry of Health, through the Medical Officer for Health,  would make the decision on how long the school would be closed for.

We suggest all families make plans for caring for your child/ren either if they are sick, required to self isolate or if a school closure were to happen.

The Kohimarama Way – Commitment

News

Children Feeling Unwell

If you have a child who is feeling unwell in any manner, please keep them home.

Kiri Picnic

The Kiri Picnic which was dated for Thursday 19th March has been postponed. Parents will be notified once change of date or cancellation has been decided.

Student Fundraiser  –  Hilarious Hat Day Friday 28th March

Our Student Council has organised a Hilarious Hat Day fundraiser for our World Vision child, Nurnobi.  Students are encouraged to wear mufti (their usual weekend clothes), bring $2 and wear a hat.  There will be House Points in each class awarded to the Tallest, Most Creative and Wackiest hat.

Assemblies

Assemblies will be cancelled until further notice. The school is taking a proactive approach to large gatherings. Children will still be awarded certificates in front of their class. Greenies will also still be awarded fortnightly.

ICAS Assessments

Kohimarama School will no longer be offering ICAS assessments for our students.  These assessments were ‘extra’ for students and the results from these were not used for future learning with our students.  We believe that PAT (Progress and Achievement tests)  give valuable and more useable information about our students.  These tests are nationally normed and specific for New Zealand students.  Kohimarama students sit these tests from Year 3 to Year 8 twice a year, from this data we are able to see where our students’ knowledge is now, and where the gaps are and at the end of the year we are able to see if students have improved.  The information from these tests are used by our teachers in their class programmes, specifically for students learning.

Phone Permission

We do not recommend that students bring cellphones to school. Cellphones are not necessary to have during the day. However, we understand that some parents like their children to have a phone to communicate with them after school. Cell phones may be confiscated if a child does not have permission to have the device at school or if they are not following the school guidelines. To complete the phone permission form, please click here.

Student Achievement Discussions

Sports Results

Flippa Ball Results

Community Notices