Kauri Team Weekly Update: Term 4 Week 6

Just a few quick messages this week.

We need your waste!

Over the weekend, if you are visiting a takeaway food outlet, can you please put aside any packaging, cups etc and send these to school on Tuesday. Chip packets and other plastic throw-aways would also be appreciated. We need this waste for our production props.

No school Monday:

A reminder that we are having a staff only day on Monday.

Canteen closed at South on Tuesday:

Please pack morning tea for Tuesday, not money, as the canteen at South will be closed this week.

Production dates:

A reminder about our production dates, Monday, Dec 10th and Wednesday, Dec 12th. We need all children at both shows. Start time is 7pm and we should be all done by 7:40pm.

Painting progress:

We have been making the most of the fine weather to work on our mural...

Mandy, our local park ranger, joined us on Thursday.

Kauri Whānau Weekly Update: Term 4 Week 5

Week 5 already! Yes, we are halfway through the term. We have been involved in a flurry of events lately, which you can read about below. We are looking forward to settling back into a normal daily routine again next week.

We need your trash!

Our production props team have been very busy with their construction and creativity lately. We urgently need some non-recyclable waste for our 'junk bonfire': chip packets, chocolate wrappers, old shoes, computer pieces, broken toys etc. There is a collection box in our hub. We would love it if everyone could bring something in tomorrow.

Mural Progress

You may have noticed that painting has begun on the back of the toilet block at Beckenham ponds. Research and planning have gone smoothly, under Ira's guidance. The Christchurch City Council has approved our application for a community grant to cover the paint costs. We are all very excited to be up to the painting stage.

Debating

Since the start of term, our debating teams have been researching and writing to prepare for their competition against St Martins School. The first round of debates took place on Monday. The topic: Social media's ability to replace the need for face to face communication is of great benefit to society. Three debates took place and were judged by senior students from Cashmere High School's debating club. Our teams won all three debates! The feedback given praised our teams' structure and rebuttal. Now it is back to unpacking, researching and writing for the next round which will take place early in December. The topic: There is never an excuse or reason good enough to declare war.

Summer Tournament

Last Wednesday, children from Kauri participated in the Summer Tournament at Hagley Park and Wilding Tennis Centre. For some, the day was a lesson in perseverance, especially the tennis players, who were up against some very polished players. For others, it was about giving a new sport a go. Many thanks to the parents who managed a team for the day and/or transported children. Congratulations to the orienteering team who came second in both the rogaine and the orienteering.

Zone Athletics

Monday was our Zone Athletics event at Hansen Park. Zone level competition is always a big step up from our school level event and our tamariki rose to the challenge. Congratulations to all the competitors. I am yet to receive finalised results and will pass these on once I have them. The top two from each event now go on to Canterburys on the 5th of December, held at the new stadium, Ngā Puna Wai.

Top Team

On Tuesday we had a glorious afternoon participating in a range of fun team initiatives with Top Team. The children were purposefully put into groups that differ from their usual social circles and it was great to see them ‘Get there together’ and embrace the varying challenges. The water initiatives proved very popular! Thank you to the parents who ran stations.

Top Team tomorrow

Just a quick reminder that all children need a change of clothes (shorts and T-shirt) that are suitable for getting wet tomorrow. A towel, sunscreen and sunhat are also required. If you are helping, we look forward to seeing you at 1:15 in the park. 

Kauri Whānau Weekly Update: Term 4 Week 4

We had a fabulous day in town on Monday. It was so good to be able to contribute to a practical action, which will benefit our community. We continue to be all action in the Intermediate Hub. Read on for important messages.

Summer Tournament Tomorrow

There are 37 children competing in a day-long tournament at Hagley Park and Wilding Park tomorrow. It is essential that every child going to the tournament has a sun hat and water bottle with them tomorrow, as well as their lunch, snacks and sports uniform. Tomorrow is forecast to be very hot and so any child without their sun hat or water bottle will need to stay at school. We are meeting in the hub at 8.15 for a gear check and then boarding the buses at 8.30. Tennis players may arrive at school at 8.30 as we are traveling by car to Wilding Park and have a later meet time. 

Top Team

Next Tuesday afternoon we have our Top Team event. Children need to bring a change of clothes: shorts and a t-shirt. They will get wet. If it is a cooler day, a polypro is a great idea.  Wearing togs, with a rash top, works really well. Children should also pack a towel. At the moment we have 8 confirmed helpers and we need 9. Confirmed are: Mary, Leigh, Kate, Nicola, Anne, Tim, Jack and Ellie. We need one more. Rory, Philippa and Peter were down as maybes. Can you please confirm if you can come.

Canterbury Triathlon

If you have a child who can swim, bike and run, has great endurance and loves a challenge, they may like to enter the Canterbury Triathlon.  Click here for more information and to sign up.

Long Jump

If the weather is cooperative, a group of our students will be walking to Hillview to compete in long jump on Friday afternoon. We need two parents to walk with this group. Please email Jenny if you are able to help.

Zone Athletics

Next Monday is Zone athletics at Hansen Park. The 30 children heading to zones will meet at school at 8.30 for a gear check and then catch the bus to Hansen Park. Sun hats and water bottles are again essential items. The day can be long and so a book, sketch pad, travel game or similar is recommended to help pass the time between events. Balls of any kind are not permitted. If you are able to help supervise children during the day, (even if it is just for part of the day), please email Jenny.

We made a difference!

Many thanks to Simon, Peter and Anne for accompanying us on our trip to Ōtākaro Orchard, Tūranga and Margaret Mahy playground on Monday. The day was a huge success. 'I never knew a library could be so much fun!' was the quote of the morning. The competition for the longest root system was a great way to keep the troops motivated while weeding at the orchard. Peter was very thankful for our 90 children who spent a total of 2 hours weeding. They made quite an impact. We were the first school group to work at the orchard in this way.

Longest weed winners in the afternoon.

An orchard for our city in the heart of Christchurch.

Impressive root systems were uncovered.

2019 House Captains and Student Council Exec

Over the past week, we have been interviewing Year 7 students who have applied for House Captain and Student Council Exec positions for 2019. We had 30 people applying and the group interviews saw fabulous attitudes and ideas. Actually, the whole year has been a bit of an 'extended interview', as we have watched how the children responded in a wide range of situations.

Our current Year 7 cohort has an interesting gender distribution, with 18 boys and 41 girls. 3/4 of the people applying for positions were girls. This year we have decided to move away from our traditional approach of having one boy and one girl as captains/deputies of each house. Our appointments reflect the gender distribution of this year group.

Being selected as a House Captain means that you may need to change house for your Year 8 year. As yet we have not looked at houses and will sort this later.

House Captains for 2019:

Freddie
Ben
Emily E
Vienna
Maddi M
Gemma
Sophia B
Meg

Deputy House Captains for 2019:

Jack
Arran
Dom
Ella C
Roxy
Morvern
Samantha
Matilda

Student Council Exec:

Chairperson: Lucy
Secretary: Paolo
Treasurer: Helena

Te Reo Champion (new role): 

Maia Davis
One area our school will be giving more attention to in 2019 is the use of Te Reo Māori in a simple and integrated way, so that whānau, staff and students can learn and use it together.  Our Te reo Champion will play a pivotal role in supporting us all to make this happen.


Part of the interview asked the children to reflect on our Year 8s: who they had been impressed by and for what reasons. It was heartening to hear such positive reflections about a wide range of our Year 8 students. We realise that being a house captain or on the council exec has been a long time ambition for many students. Those who have not been appointed will feel disappointed. Disappointments can be an opportunity to develop resilience and set new goals. There will be many more leadership opportunities available at the start of next year. Listening to the children at their interviews, we could see lots of potential School Ambassadors.

The house captains, council exec and Te Reo champion will attend 'Be Inspired', a leadership afternoon at Christ College on Wednesday, Nov 14. This is the proposed strike day. We will need parent support with transport and accompanying the children during the afternoon.

Kauri Whānau: Trip to Town Tomorrow (Monday Nov 5th)

Key reminders for our trip to Ōtākaro Orchard and Tūranga (library) on Monday Nov 5th:

• Leaving school at 11am and returning by 3pm
• Bring lunch and water bottle
• All children must have a sunhat and sunscreen
• School uniform is to be worn, including a jacket
• Children are encouraged to bring a trowel and gardening gloves if they have these
• Children may bring their library card if they would like to issue a book from Tūranga