Tēnā koutou katoa, e te whānau o Kio Kio School,

As we move into the second half of Term 2, it has been wonderful to see our students continuing to demonstrate our POWER values in all aspects of school life. Following the King's Birthday weekend, both students and staff returned refreshed, energised, and ready for another busy period of learning and opportunities. The term is moving quickly, and it has been fantastic to see classrooms engaged in rich learning experiences, students embracing new challenges, and our school community continuing to work together to support the success of every child.

One aspect of school life that I am particularly proud of is the positive feedback we have received from visitors to our school over recent weeks. Time and again, visitors have commented on the respectful, welcoming, and friendly manner of our students. Whether greeting guests with a warm smile and hello, offering assistance, asking how their visit is going, or engaging in conversation with confidence and eye contact, our students consistently leave a positive impression.

What makes this feedback especially pleasing is that these behaviours are not isolated incidents. They reflect the values and expectations that we work hard to nurture every day at Kio Kio School. Showing manaakitanga, respect, and genuine care for others is something we want all students to carry with them throughout their lives. We look forward to continuing these positive interactions as we welcome visitors to our school throughout the year.

National Young Leaders Day

Last week, I had the privilege of accompanying our Student Councillors and House Captains to the National Young Leaders Day in Hamilton. The event was held at the ASB Theatre and brought together more than 1,000 student leaders from schools across the region.

The theme of the day was "Leaning Into Fear", encouraging students to embrace challenges, step outside their comfort zones, and recognise that growth often comes from facing difficult situations. Students were inspired by an outstanding line-up of speakers, including:

Graci Kim – Diplomat and New York Times bestselling author
Dr Riley Elliott – "The Shark Man", marine scientist, explorer, and conservation advocate
William Pike – New Zealand adventurer and innovator
Lola Fisher – Youth advocate, magazine publisher, and changemaker
Borderline – One of New Zealand's fastest-rising indie pop and rock bands

A common message shared by all speakers was the importance of perseverance and resilience. They spoke about continuing to move forward despite setbacks, taking on challenges, and understanding that mistakes are valuable learning opportunities. Students were encouraged to focus on their strengths, maintain a positive mindset, and recognise that success is built through consistent effort over time rather than achieved overnight.

Our student leaders represented Kio Kio School exceptionally well and returned inspired by what they had learned. They recently shared their key takeaways and highlights with the school during assembly, encouraging others to embrace challenges and continue striving towards their goals.

Reports and Parent Interviews

Over the past four weeks, teachers have been gathering assessment information to support their understanding of each student's progress and achievement. This has included a range of standardised assessments, classroom observations, formative assessments, learning conversations with students, and day-to-day classroom work.

This year, students in Years 3–8 have also participated in the Ministry of Education's new SMART Assessment Tool. The SMART Tool has been designed to assess student achievement and progress in Reading, Writing, and Mathematics, which will provide teachers with valuable information to support teaching and learning programmes.

As the SMART Tool is being implemented nationally for the first time, the Ministry of Education is currently collating assessment data from schools across New Zealand to establish national benchmarks and norms. This information is expected to become available in approximately six weeks.

In the meantime, teachers will continue using a wide range of evidence to make Overall Teacher Judgements aligned with the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum. These judgements will determine where students are placed against the new curriculum progress descriptors for their year level.

New Reporting Format

You will notice some significant changes to our mid-year reports this year. These changes align with guidance provided by the Ministry of Education and are designed to better reflect student progress within the refreshed curriculum.

Beginning in 2026, schools will use five curriculum progress descriptors:

Emerging
Developing
Consolidating
Proficient
Exceeding

These descriptors provide a clearer picture of where students are currently working in relation to curriculum expectations for their year level.

I will provide further information and examples of these descriptors in our next newsletter to help families better understand the changes.

Reports will be sent home on Friday 26 June, with parent-teacher interviews taking place on Tuesday 30 June and Wednesday 1 July.

To accommodate interviews, we ask that all students are collected from school at 1:00 pm on both interview days. Interviews will commence from 2:00 pm onwards.

Upcoming Events and Activities

We have a number of exciting extracurricular opportunities coming up over the next few weeks for students in Years 3–8. Please keep an eye on your email for SchoolBridge permission forms and information relating to upcoming events.

We also encourage families to regularly check their child's Seesaw page, where teachers share classroom learning, celebrations, and important updates.

Thank you for your ongoing support of our school. Together, we continue to create a positive learning environment where our students can thrive, grow, and achieve success.

Ngā mihi nui,

Pip Were
Principal

START OF THE SCHOOL DAY

The official teaching day begins at 9.00am and ends at 2.55pm . Our bus students arrive at school close to 8.30am. We prefer that students are dropped off from 8.30am onwards as staff are preparing for the day and may not be able to supervise students.
Under special circumstances we will accept students arriving at school earlier than this through consultation with your child's teacher.

STUDENT ABSENCES

If your child is going to be absent from school, please advise the office by phone (078731816), email (admin@kiokio.school.nz) or the absent tab on the @School Parent APP with the reason so the absence can be marked correctly for the Ministry of Education. If the school is not notified, the child is deemed TRUANT and marked accordingly. If your child is late to school, they must come to the office and sign in on the electronic register.

STUDENTS ENTERING & LEAVING SCHOOL

Please make sure that your child/ren are dropped off and collected from the bus shelter each day.
We are enforcing safety rules at school pick-up and drop-off. Children are NOT to open our school gates. Parents are required to drop off inside the gate and come into the school grounds to collect their children. This is a safety measure. Our carpark is very busy at the end of the day and we need to do everything we can to keep everyone safe.

BUS BOOK REMINDER

Please ensure that the school office is informed early if your child won't be on the school bus in the afternoon. We also need to be contacted if your child/ren are getting off at another stop. You can do this by phoning the school office on 07 8731816 or emailing admin@kiokio.school.nz

PEANUT ALLERGY

We have a student in Kauri class with a severe peanut allergy who cannot come into contact with peanuts or products with peanuts in them. We ask that parents do not send peanuts or any peanut related products to school, so that we can keep this student safe. Thank you for your understanding.