Wednesday, 25th September 2024

Kia ora koutou,

And just like that the end of the term is upon us! With daylight savings coming up this weekend, hopefully this signals a long warm Summer ahead of us. An end to the rain will be welcome!

No doubt you will have heard about the 'Be Bright, Eat Right' show we had last week that focused on healthy eating through a really fun and entertaining method... magic! We generally hold at least one show like this per term. We are not funded for these shows / experiences, so payment is made possible via the $60.00 contribution that you make each year. Next term, we have Footsteps Dance coming in to work with students for 4 weeks.

As per the email last week that was sent to all families, Nikki Willis our Deputy Principal is sadly no longer working at Te Kōwhai School. Nikki has been with us for 9 years and has had an incredible contribution over the years, particularly over the last 7 years where she has been our Deputy Principal. Nikki has been instrumental in overseeing curriculum implementation, providing support to staff in teaching and learning, and a myriad of other roles across the school. She has left an indelible mark on Te Kōwhai School and we wish her every success for her future endeavours. Our Board is underway with the appointment process for selecting a new Deputy Principal. Due to the importance of this role, we have enlisted the support of an external consultant to work with the Board throughout this process. The role has been advertised and we will be looking to conclude the process by the middle of next term. Our new Deputy Principal will start at the beginning of 2025. We will update you once this process has been finalised. In the meantime, we will be releasing members of the leadership team to move into the Acting Deputy Principal role for Term 4. Naomi Fisher will be supporting from week 1-4, and Clare Tammik from Week 5 until the end of the term.

Another big thank you needs to go to the Friends of Te Kōwhai School and helpers at our annual Quiz Night. They raised an incredible $15,000 for our school. The Friday 13th themed costumes were amazing and it was pretty clear that everyone had a fantastic night!

Included in this newsletter, is a link to a survey about Camps, experiences and payment processes. The Board are currently reviewing this and we would love as many people to respond to as possible. You will find further details below.

Tomorrow, we are hosting our termly Open Afternoon from 2:15. This is a chance for you to pop into classes and take a look at the great learning everyone has been doing over the last 10 weeks. This includes our Inquiry focus; More than Medals, and the Literacy and Numeracy learning.

Enjoy the holiday break with your children.

Juliet Dickinson
Principal

Kia ora e te whānau,

The School Board met on the 11th September with a focus on three particular areas:

Te Reo Māori learning and implementation (Marieke Nation and Clare Tammik presented)
School camps
Review of our strategic goals.

Poutama Reo: Enhancing Te Reo Māori Learning

A review of our Te Reo Māori implementation has been carried out utilising a resource from the Education Review Office (ERO). This focusses on improving Te Reo Māori through four different progression levels. We surveyed four small, random groups to gather insights as part of this self-assessment process.

The output of that is that we have developed a strategic plan for teaching and learning Te Reo Māori. As part of this plan, Marieke has been leading Te Reo sessions alongside staff on topics linked to our inquiry where appropriate, delivering the learning through such things as games, reading, whakataukī and waiata. Tamariki participating in these sessions get to unpack the words, understand their meanings, and learn correct pronunciation.

This term, our focus is on feelings and emotions in Te Reo Māori. Both teachers and students are increasing their knowledge together. Our goal is to have teachers proficient in Te Reo Māori and children actively engaging in conversations, thereby enacting our strategy further. A massive thank you to Clare and Marieke for all of their work towards this great initiative.

School camps: we need your feedback

As part of our ongoing review, we are seeking your input on Camps, experiences and the costs that are passed on to families. Your feedback will help shape our plans for 2025 and beyond. We are particularly interested in your thoughts on:

School Camps and Day Trips
Additional Opportunities and Experiences offered at school

Please note that all camps, day trips, and additional activities rely on your financial support, as we do not receive any funding from the Ministry of Education for these.

The survey linked in this newsletter will guide the board's decisions regarding payments and camps moving forward. Your participation is greatly appreciated.

Strategic goals: update on how we are tracking year to date - click the link

Just like every year, time flies by and even after what has seemed like a never-ending winter, we are already at the end of Term Three. As we head toward the last term and hopefully some warmer weather (roll around summer), I wanted to take the opportunity on behalf of the Te Kōwhai School Board to reflect on our teaching team and support staff.

As you will be aware, there are currently enormous changes taking place in the Education Sector, particularly in relation to curriculum content and delivery. Through strategic planning, targeted resourcing, and the drive of the leadership team, our whole team have been engaging in up-to-date and relevant professional development. This means what we are currently delivering in the classroom, and how we are delivering it, meets or exceeds the updated Ministry directives. While the rate of change is exceptionally fast, putting pressure on our team, resources, and students, we are well-placed to keep up with further changes when they occur.

100% of our team (including Learning Assistants) are fully engaging in professional learning in literacy and numeracy, led by school experts and external educational leaders. This learning is evidence-based and backed by the Science of Learning. This has meant that there have been several developments in terms of “what we teach” and “how we teach it”, therefore we are seeing steady gains year on year in terms of student outcomes. This is something the Board and all our teaching team are very proud of.

Alongside these policy and curriculum changes, the art and skill of teaching has become increasingly complex over the last few years. Student needs are a lot more varied, and our team work hard to meet all of these individual needs. Not all children learn and mature the same way, something that our team must be able to adapt to on a daily basis.

Te Kōwhai School has a dedicated and committed team who care for your children deeply, and want the best for them academically, socially and emotionally. Within all our Learning Communities, teachers aim to connect with each child, learning about them individually to understand what makes them tick in order to support them.

We understand that there are times when you will have questions and concerns around your children or wish to discuss specific incidents with their teachers. When this occurs, the best outcomes are achieved through positive communication and mutual understanding. We would ask that when you have any comments, questions or concerns to raise with our team, that you please raise them in a respectful and constructive way. As a school we want to work with you and your family to resolve any issues, and supporting your children is more effective if we are all working together.

The Board is very proud of the leadership, teaching, and administrative team we have in place at Te Kōwhai School. While it would be easy to use the phrase that we are “lucky to have them” (which we are), it is more down to the hard work and dedication of numerous people over several years in building the culture and team that we have in place. The Board greatly appreciates the work of our team, and if as parents you feel the same, please don’t be afraid to let them know this and show your support. A few nice words can go a long way.

To change tact to another team-related matter, as was announced last week, our amazing Deputy Principal, Nikki Willis has resigned from her position with the school. On behalf of the Board, I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge and thank Nikki for her outstanding contribution to our school. Over nine years with the school, seven of those as Deputy Principal, Nikki was totally dedicated and committed to the school and its students, placing their educational opportunities, learning outcomes, and wellbeing at the forefront of everything she did. She was greatly respected and liked by her work colleagues (friends) and worked in unison with Juliet, playing an instrumental role in our leadership team. She will be greatly missed by us all, but her outstanding contribution to our school means that she will always be a part of the Te Kōwhai School story.

The Board has started the process of employing and appointing a new Deputy Principal, who will be in place for the start of Term One in 2025. Due to the importance of this pivotal role, and as was done the last time this role was vacant, we have enlisted on outside consultant to support us in the employment process. We are in no doubt that given the great reputation that the school has in the wider education community, we will have some outstanding candidates applying for this role. The role is currently being advertised and we are aiming to have the employment process completed early in November.

I hope that you and your families enjoy some well-earned down time over the holidays before coming back refreshed for a busy Term Four.

Craig Scott

Presiding Member, Te Kōwhai School Board

If you are completely new to Splash Polo, it presents a new and exciting opportunity for students to get in the pool during the warmer school months and play a thrilling game with their friends, while also learning how to be safe around the water!

If your child/ren played in Term 1 or is a first time player, it is great to have this offered again.

Year 3/4 - calling for your interest so that this team can be formed. The Y5/6 team is full.
Click the link to register your child for Splash Polo. Please note, we do not have full information as yet.

Game overview

Splash Ball is like a water version of Football. Players are required to use their hands to pass a ball around within their team with the ultimate goal of being able to score by throwing the ball into a floating net.
It is played in waist-deep water, which allows players to be able to stand confidently on the bottom of the pool, whilst also being able to allow for effective swimming.
The game can at times be physical, so is slightly better suited for students who are confident in and around water, but we also cater to those who are less confident and want to learn a bit about water safety.
See the attached flyer for further info / for promotional use at your school.

Who can play

Following a successful year 3/4 only league for the last few seasons, Splash Polo have chosen to continue this arrangement and have the season open to all year 3/4/5/6 players. These will be split into an 'Open Grade' and a 'Junior Grade' (year 3/4 only).
Students, especially the younger age groups, need to be confident in and around the water, with participation at the school's discretion, based on water confidence/ability.

Location

We will be playing at Hillcrest Normal School between the hours of 9am and 6pm on a Sunday, starting 3rd November. Pending the number of teams entered, we may also run a second location to allow for more games.

Fees

Fees are yet to be set, but likely to be around $50. Once teams are formed this will be set.

Year 7/8 students are invited to get involved too - contact Kyla Kerby knkerby@gmail.com as these players will join the Rotokauri School team. Please communicate your interest with Kyla promptly. Will play at Waterworld on Sundays between 12pm and 5pm, 7 weeks starting 20th October. If Waterworld is not available for any reason, we will notify you on the new venue which will be either St Peters Cambridge or Hamilton Boys High School pool.