Kia ora e te whānau,

It is hard to believe that we are already nearing the end of Week 7, with only two weeks remaining in Term 1. The term has certainly flown by, and it has been wonderful to see the incredible progress our students have made both in their learning and in living out our POWER values each day.

Across the school, we continue to see students demonstrating Perseverance, Ownership, Wonder, Excellence, and Respect in the classroom, on the sports field, and through the many opportunities they have had to challenge themselves this term. Experiences like these play an important role in building confident and capable learners. When students are given opportunities to try new things and step outside their comfort zones, they develop resilience and self-belief. These experiences help build confident learners who are willing to embrace challenges and keep pushing themselves to new heights.

👣 Staff Team Building Challenge

As many of you know, our staff have taken on a virtual walking challenge, aiming to walk the length of New Zealand from the top of the North Island to the very bottom of the South Island.

While our steps during a normal school day can be somewhat limited, the staff have been enthusiastic participants. After just three weeks, we have already reached Taupō, which is a fantastic effort!

With two weeks left in the term, we are hoping to make it to Wellington, although we may need to increase our step counts to get there. Fortunately, we have two teachers currently away on camp, so we are looking forward to adding their daily step totals to our challenge!

It has been a fun way for staff to build wellbeing, connection, and a little healthy competition along the way.

🌿 Kauri Class Camp – Papamoa

This week, our Kauri Class students have been enjoying their camp in Papamoa, taking part in a wide range of outdoor and experiential learning opportunities.

The purpose of this camp is to provide students with experiences that support personal growth, teamwork, and well-being. Through these activities, students develop confidence, resilience, independence, and the ability to work collaboratively with others.

Camp experiences like this strongly reflect our POWER values, particularly Perseverance, Ownership, and Wonder as students challenge themselves, support their peers, learn from new experiences and step outside their comfort zones.

Students have been enjoying a fantastic programme of activities, including:

Adrenaline Forest
Beach Education
Waimarino Water Park
Te Puna Quarry Walk & Education
Papamoa Hills Walk
McLaren Falls

A huge thank you must go to Mrs Paige Kelly for the incredible amount of work that has gone into organising this camp. Camps of this size require a great deal of planning, coordination, and attention to detail, and we are extremely grateful for her dedication.

Thank you also to Mrs Emma Telfer, our Learning Support Coordinator, for supporting students during the camp and ensuring that all students are able to participate and enjoy the experience.

Finally, a very sincere thank you to our parent volunteers who have generously given their time and stepped away from work and family commitments to support our students while at camp. Opportunities like this simply would not be possible without your support, and we truly appreciate everything you do for our school.

🏊 COPS Swimming Sports

What an incredible day our COPS Swimming Sports turned out to be!

A big thank you to Mrs Emma Telfer for organising and running the event, supported by the Kio Kio staff team and our wonderful Supporters Committee, who once again did a fantastic job running the BBQ and raising valuable funds for the school.

We were incredibly proud of the way our students represented Kio Kio School. Many of our swimmers achieved top placings and race wins, demonstrating excellent swimming technique, determination, and perseverance in the pool.

What stood out most was the growing strength of swimming across our school, with many confident and capable swimmers coming through the ranks. It was fantastic to see students encouraging one another, celebrating successes, and showing great sportsmanship throughout the day.

Congratulations to all of our swimmers — keep training hard and keep striving for excellence!

🏕 Upcoming Camp – Year 4 Raglan

We are also looking forward to our Year 4 students heading off to Raglan for their two-night camp during week 9.

A big thank you to Mrs Larna Culpan, who has been spending a great deal of time planning and preparing for this experience. The programme looks exciting and full of opportunities for learning, adventure, and building friendships.

I know our students are very much looking forward to the experience.

⭐ Celebration Assembly

Our Celebration Assembly will take place on Thursday, 2 April at 9:15 am.

This assembly will run earlier than usual to allow classes time to pack up and prepare for the upcoming term break. We look forward to celebrating the many achievements and successes from across the term.

Thank you all for your continued support of our school. The partnership between school and home plays such an important role in helping our students succeed, and we are grateful for the support of our wonderful Kio Kio community.

Ngā mihi nui,

Pip Were

SUN SMART- HATS

All students are to wear a hat when playing outstide. NO HAT- NO PLAY! Those students without a hat are asked to sit under the large tree on our Cobham Lawn. Please name your child/ren's hats.

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.

LOST PROPERTY

Lost property racks and bins are piling up once again. Check out the lost property on the front deck and encourage your child/ren to have a look too. Named items will be returned to students, so please name your child's clothing and gear.