School Newsletter – 29 November 2022

Term 4, Week 7

A Message from Hillary Team

Hillary Team has had a VERY exciting week, with Year 5 Camp and our Year 4 Sleepover at school. We had some amazing activities, delicious food, great team-building, a little bit of sleep and some incredible parent helpers to whom we are very grateful!

“The sleepover was terrific because we got to play games with our friends” – Ethan, Room 10. 

“Dinner was really good because we ate a lot of yummy food” – Bill, Room 12

“I thought the sleepover was phenomenal because we got to have three servings of food” – Rosie, Room 12

“The sleepover was extremely cool because we got to use our spotlights for the scavenger hunt” – Jonny, Room 10

“The sleepover was exhilarating because we got to adventure around the school by ourselves” – Ollie, Room 12

“It was awesome because we got to go out in the dark” – Evie, Room 12

“The scavenger hunt was really fun because we got to find lots of clues and solve riddles” – Agnes, Room 10. 

“Camp was incredible. We went to Camp Raglan and it had great views of the ocean. We were pretty lucky with the weather because the forecast was thunderstorms but we could do most of the activities. It was really fun doing the waterslide, it was enormous so we went super fast. The water was freezing cold but it was still very fun. Pedro was the first to find out that going down on your knees made you go faster because there was a puddle at the bottom that slowed you down. I went on it 3 times and you could get points for getting to the end. I liked the food – we had hot dogs and hamburgers. My favourite activities were archery and air rifles because they were really fun and I could hit the target. Plus I’ve always wanted to do archery. It was really cool having our own dorms, even though lots of people were snoring. Overall, camp was amazing and I was so lucky to go.” 

Sam L, Room 10

The Kohimarama Way – Respect

“Respect is how to treat everyone.”  Richard Branson.  The respect you show others (or lack thereof) is an immediate reflection of your self-respect.  “Never respect another merely for their riches, but rather for their philanthropy.  We do not value the sun for its height, but for its use.”  Gamaliel Bailey

If you have a question for Senior Management feel free to email them at questions@kohimarama.school.nz

News

COVID cases increasing at Kohimarama School

We are seeing the number of cases of COVID rising across the school. All teams are now recording new cases daily. Today we have five staff down with COVID which is placing pressure on our ability to cover the classes with relieving teachers.

This wave of COVID is impacting the school and community more quickly than in previous times. We are following the advice of the Ministry of Health and instigating the health practices that we have had in the previous waves namely;

• Washing hands and using hand sanitiser often throughout the day
• Cough or sneeze into your elbow
• Clean or disinfect shared surfaces regularly throughout the day.
• Making sure classrooms and all other indoor spaces are well ventilated as is recommended for all settings of the COVID-19 Protection Framework (CPF)

It is most important that if your child is unwell that they stay away from school. This will slow the spread of the disease.

 Please watch for the signs of COVID. The most common things people who become ill with COVID-19 have include:

• Fever or chills
• A dry cough and shortness of breath
• Feeling very tired
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• A loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

These symptoms are similar to influenza and the common cold. Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) is the best way to check.

Nikki Beedie, Year 4 Teacher and Acting Team Leader

Nikki started at Kohimarama in 2020 as a reliever and not long after became a teacher on staff. She later became the curriculum leader for Social Science focused on the NZ Histories Curriculum implementation. Following this she has been the co-team leader for Hillary Team.  Nikki has been very dedicated to the school and we thank her for all her hard work and efforts.  Nikki will be moving to Queenstown to take up a teaching position and be closer to her family.  We wish you well Nikki in everything that you do.

Final School Assembly Thursday 15th December

This is an important occasion for our school when we celebrate our students’ achievements for 2022 and we look forward to sharing it with you.  Our expectation is that all students attend this special event as it is the last day of school.  Kiri students sit with their parents in the audience.  Cowley, Hillary and Snell Teams students will sit in their classes.  Students are asked to arrive no later than 10.15 am and meet with their classroom teacher outside so that their names can be marked off the roll.

• Where: Sacred Heart College Auditorium, 250 West Tamaki Road, Glendowie
• Time:  10.30 am start
• Finish:  12 noon

Our Year 8 students and families are invited to stay for a final farewell and nibbles in the foyer at the conclusion of the Assembly.

Supergenerous

Due to a change in IRD rules, Tax Gift is ceasing and will no longer be available for parents to donate their tax rebate to the school. 

However, we will be moving to Supergenerous which is similar to Tax Gift and is an easy online platform that can be used via Kindo. For information on this please see the following link – https://www.supergenerous.co.nz/

More details will follow in due course.

Kohimarama’s Got Talent

We have concluded all 5 sections of our Talent for 2022 and I would like to thank the Student Councillors who put in the hard yards of being MCs for each section, judging and having sound sorted.  A great bunch of leaders in our school who can be counted on for their reliability and commitment to their roles.  Our last section was today when we enjoyed the creativity of students who performed in Dance.  Congratulations to all students who participated, ‘giving it a go’ and putting yourselves out there, I am very proud of you and thank you.

Junior Dance 

• 1st – Scarlett E
• 2nd – Estée V
• 3rd  –  Bien Y

Senior Dance 

• 1st – Kaley P
• 2nd – Ivy H and Emma S
• 3rd  –  Lucia M,  Allie S, Stephanie G, Demi C and Esmay O

LIBRARY BOOKS, LIBRARY BOOKS – PLEASE RETURN THEM THIS FRIDAY

Our Library is a valuable resource and we want to ensure that books stay here for all our students to enjoy.  We need all Kohimarama School Library books returned this Friday 2nd December, please.  If you would have a hunt around at home and bring them to school on Friday this week, each returned book will earn students 100 house points.  A reminder that we are still looking for a school Librarian so if you are interested please contact Meegan at mhill@kohimarama.school.nz  thanking you in anticipation.

Homestay Families Needed

Our school will be expecting visiting students from Korea arriving 9th January and departing 25th February 2023.  

To facilitate these students we are looking for homestay families to host them.  

Although they arrive before the start of Term One, these students will attend school each weekday in January 2023.

Host’s will be paid $300 per student, per week – usually placing two students per home.  

Students can share a room but must have their own bed.  

If you would like more information or an application pack, please contact Debbie from Student-Care NZ Limited on debbie@nzstudentcare.com or 09 390 7838 Mobile 027 285 7838

Certificates & Awards

Class Certificates

Congratulations to these outstanding students from Hillary Team and Snell Team:

• Room 9 – Isabella R, Mia-Rose K
• Room 10 – Orlaith S, Pedro TR
• Room 11 – Imogen W, Jamie C
• Room 12 – Spencer K, Adele L
• Room 14 – Leo M, Ashley J, Grace P, Grayson G
• Room 15 – Savannah C, Juliet Q

• Room 18 – Aura H, Ella R, Hugh K
• Room 19 –
• Room 20 – Alyssa R
• Room 21 – Daniel J
• Room 22 – Benjamin E, Harley S
• Room 23 – Joshua C, Ethan F

Community Notices