Kauri Whānau Weekly Update; Term 3 Week 9

A big thanks to all the parents who have supported our learning this week. It has been quite a week, with lots of highlights.

Volleyball at Koru Games:

A spark of enthusiasm for volleyball was ignited when we were playing against Carisbrook School in Dunedin at the end of term 1. Our team was well and truly beaten, but really enjoyed the friendly mixed session that followed the game. Jenny kept that enthusiasm going by running a volleyball passion group in term 2. With more skill and experience under their belts, the children were keen for another challenge. That came in the form of the Koru Games, a South Island multi-sport tournament for Year 7 & 8s. We sent two volleyball teams to the three day tournament this week. They had a great time and thrived on the competition. Our B team won four games and lost three, finishing in 10th place. Our A team won 6 and only lost the final, finishing in second place overall! Thanks to Carisbrook for selecting volleyball as one of our tournament games and starting us on this road to success.

'People must act to sustain what is valued'

... is our key conceptual understanding for inquiry this year. We are in the midst of a focus on sustainability around food. This week that took the form of visits to the supermarket to undertake research and the making of re-useable beeswax food wraps.

Next week's programme:

Touch Canterbury will be working with us Monday - Thursday next week to teach and play Turbo Touch. Each group will have a half hour session each day.
On Thursday we will be having a passion day, so that we can complete passion projects that are looking to take more than 90 minutes to wrap up.
Technology will be on Friday next week. This means that Tuesday is a normal start time and on Friday children will need to be at school by 8:30am.
We wrap up the term with the school talent quest on Friday afternoon.

Kauri Whānau: Weekly Update Term 3 Week 8

This week creative juices have been flowing in the Intermediate Hub, as we have been busy creating calendar artwork. We continue to be very impressed by Te Whānau Mahi Tahi. This week they performed for the group of Chilean students who visited as part of our language programme on Monday, and welcomed a large group of teachers who were meeting in our hall on Wednesday.

Parent help needed:

Next week we are planning on visits to New World supermarket for each home-group, as part of our inquiry into sustainability issues around food.  We will also be making wax food wraps at school. For each of these activities we require some parent help. If you are free and willing to help out on either Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon, please fill in this form. 

Congratulations:

We were super proud of our representatives at the zone speech competition on Tuesday evening. Both delivered highly entertaining speeches and both were placed third!

Kauri Whānau Weekly Update: Term 3 Week 7

Te Whānau Mahi Tahi

Those of us sitting in the audience of Horncastle arena on Monday night were filled with pride as we watched our senior kapa haka group, Te Whānau Mahi Tahi, perform. Their confidence, purity of sound, skill and professionalism, resulted in a stunning performance.

Sustainability

This afternoon we welcomed Peter Wells into our hub. He talked with us about the Food Resilience Network in Christchurch, and more specifically the Ōtākaro Orchard in the centre of town. Hearing about what is being developed and how this will flourish and provide sustenance in the near future, was very exciting. We feel a field trip coming on ... more details on this soon.

Sports News

Kiwi Volleyball Year 7/8 League:

To continue our new found love of volleyball, we have entered a school team into the Kiwi Volleyball League in Term 4. Sessions are held on Wednesdays between 4 and 6pm at Hillview Christian School and contain a coaching and game component. Children will have the chance to express their interest from tomorrow at school and a team of 6 will be selected. This will run very similar to the Pioneer Basketball League in that families will need to arrange their own transport to and from Hillview. If this is something that your child is interested in, please have a conversation about how it fits with any other after school commitments they have. A condition of this team entry is that we have a parent who can act as manager and accompany the team. Please email Jenny if you are able to act as manager.

The two teams that are competing in the Koru Games in week 9 are underway with their training and very excited for the upcoming challenge of a three day tournament.

Winter Sport Results:

Congratulations to the following teams

• Football
• Beckenham Bandits - A Grade - 3rd Place
• Netball
• Beckenham Bluebirds - B Grade - 3rd Place
• Beckenham Bullets - G grade - 3rd equal

Mountain Biking Passion:

We are still looking for more adult help to support us with running a mountain bike passion in Term 4. Please email Jenny if you would like to know more or if you can offer assistance about this.

Basketball:

Our basketball season has come to a close this week. The children have had a ball and developed in skill and confidence throughout the season. It was always great to have a good turnout of parent support at each game. A special thanks to Cory for his coaching of the Friday team. 

Cantamath Results:

We received the official Cantamath display competition results today. Certificates and badges will be presented later in the week.

Highly Commended: Paolo, Connor, Nadia, Frankie, Charlotte Grey, Helena, Olivia K, Vienna, Tilly, Hannah, Jordan, Bonnie, Jenny's class project and Nicky's class project

Excellence: Morvern, Maddi M, Daniel S, Jack, Lucy, Ben, Charlotte T, Santiago, Marlonique, Kaden, Arran and Hannah's class project
That is one pretty impressive haul of awards! Well done everyone.

Art Week:

Next week we will be having a focus on visual art, with an hour of art each day. Children will choose from three options, with pictures being created for calendars etc. We will be explaining options and taking choices on Friday.

Readathon:

The Readathon is now over and it is time to collect sponsorship money. Please get this in to the school office, ASAP.

Those who love to dress up, relished the opportunity during book character day last Friday.