Kia ora koutou 🌿

I continue to be inspired by our students and the way they live out our POWER values — Perseverance, Ownership, Wonder, Excellence, and Respect — every day. Whether in the classroom, on the sports field, or in the playground, these values shine through in their actions and interactions. 💫

🏃‍♂️ Cross Country

Congratulations to all students for showing outstanding perseverance during our school cross country last week. Your determination, effort, and “never give up” attitude were fantastic to see.

Yesterday, around 60 runners represented Kio Kio at the COPS Inter-Schools Cross Country 🏞️ on a very hilly Waitomo farm. Our team gave 100% — powering up the hills and striding strongly downhill, gaining some outstanding results.

A big thank you to Emma Telfer and our staff team for preparing our runners so well and organising such a successful school event.

🎤 Speeches

Each year, students across the school learn how to plan, write, and present a speech. From brainstorming ideas to delivering to their class, they develop confidence and communication skills.

I commend all students for their courage — speaking in front of an audience is no small task! 👏 Our Year 5–8 finalists will present on Monday 18 August at 11am, judged by invited guests. Between speeches, each class will perform an item so every student can shine on stage. 🌟

🥇 Olympic Ambassador – Lucy Spoors

Today we were privileged to welcome Lucy Spoors — Olympic gold medallist in the women’s double scull at Paris 2024 and silver medallist at Tokyo 2020. 🛶 Lucy shared her journey, the Olympic values of Friendship, Respect, and Excellence, and her messages of persistence and resilience.

From discovering rowing at age 15 to representing New Zealand at junior, U23, and elite levels, Lucy’s story showed the power of hard work and teamwork. Our students were lucky to ask her questions and hear first-hand from one of our sporting greats.

📢 Paid Union Meeting

The Teachers’ Collective Agreement is currently under negotiation between NZEI and the Government. Teaching staff will attend a Paid Union Meeting on Friday 29 August. We ask that all students be collected by 1:00pm that day so staff can attend.

Thank you for supporting our teachers — they are the 💛 heart of our school and truly irreplaceable.

🎉 Celebration Assembly

Our next Celebration Assembly is tomorrow at 2:00pm. I look forward to acknowledging our students’ successes and the way they live out our school values.

It has been a joy to celebrate our students’ achievements in the first half of the term, and I look forward to watching more student growth in the weeks ahead. 🌈

Ngā mihi nui,
Pip Were
Principal

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 Kahikatea 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

Our Lost Property rack is OVERFLOWING and some of the items are crying out for help – quite literally!

Please check the Lost Property rack that is on the front deck at the moment and encourage your children to take a look too. Named items will be returned to students, but unnamed gear is piling up fast.

Help reunite our poor hats, jerseys, shoes, and lunchboxes with their rightful homes!