Kia ora, Mālō e lelei, Talofa lava, Sawubona, Magandang araw, Ayubowan, Namaste, Goedendag, Konnichiwa, Hola, Assalamu alaikum, hello and g’day to our school families,

It is hard to believe we are already halfway through Term 1. The weather has certainly shifted, and we are beginning to feel the crisp mornings and cooler autumn evenings.

This term we have been focusing on our school value of perseverance — carrying on when things feel challenging, learning from mistakes, and making changes to improve.

We have seen perseverance in action across the school:

In learning — students reworking their writing, trying different maths' strategies, reading one more page, and not giving up when learning feels tricky.

In swimming — pushing themselves to swim the full length of the pool, refining breathing techniques, entering races they felt nervous about, and even stepping bravely into the chilly water!

Socially — working through friendship challenges, including others in games, showing patience, resolving conflict respectfully, and having another go at building positive relationships.

Perseverance is not about getting everything right the first time — it is about continuing to grow.

Last Friday our junior classes put on a wonderful display of developing swimming skills. Our teachers have worked hard to build water confidence, stroke technique, floating skills, and stamina. It was fantastic to see the progress — and the smiles.

Thank you to the many parents and whānau who came along to support our tamariki. Your presence reflects the strong sense of community and pride we share in our school.

The autumn weather certainly delivered a chilly day for our senior swimming sports! Students wrapped up between races to keep warm and ready. It was impressive to see so many competing in all events — especially the length and cup races.

The improvement in swimming technique and fitness across the season was noticeable. Congratulations to every student who showed up and gave their very best effort.

A very special thank you to Mrs Emma Telfer for her impeccable organisation. The day ran seamlessly thanks to her careful planning and commitment.

Thank you to our amazing Supporters Committee — particularly Selena Pratt for organising the BBQ, and to all committee members who helped cook and sell on the day.

Your dedication to fundraising directly benefits our students. The additional resources and opportunities you provide go beyond what our Government operational funding can cover, and we are extremely grateful.

What a highlight to finish the day! A big shout-out to the awesome staff and parents who bravely put on their togs in the cold for the staff/parent vs student relay.

Our students swam their hearts out in an attempt to outswim their opponents. The parents were lightning-fast with their transitions and powered through to take the win! It was a fantastic finale filled with laughter, pride, and great sportsmanship. Thank you for helping create such a memorable end to the day.

Thank you to our students and parents for being so supportive and adaptable regarding the recent changes to the Mangaoronga bus.

As you know, students from Ōtewā School have been travelling on our bus due to access challenges following flooding, which required them to take a much longer route to reach school. I am pleased to share that the Ministry of Education has now arranged a dedicated bus service for Ōtewā students.

The new Ōtewā bus run will begin on Monday. The Ōtewā community has expressed sincere thanks for your support and patience during this time.

As you are aware, we are incorporating the “Mitey” programme into our school practices. Part of this programme focuses on staff wellbeing and positive mental health.

We are currently on a journey to walk the length of New Zealand! Staff are counting their steps during working hours and tracking them through a watch or phone app. At the end of each day, we record our combined steps with the goal of reaching the bottom of the country. Our target is to reach the bottom of the North Island by the end of the term.

After our first week, our combined total took us from Cape Reinga to Whangārei — a fantastic start! I will keep you posted on our progress.

Tomorrow we hold our first Celebration Assembly for Term 1, beginning at 2:00pm. All families are warmly invited to attend.

If your child has a school polo shirt, we would appreciate them wearing it. I look forward to celebrating our students’ successes with you.

A reminder that Friday 13 March is a Teacher Only Day.

We will be working alongside staff from Ōtewā School to further develop our understanding of our mathematics programme, Maths — No Problem!

During the week, expert mathematics teachers will be modelling lessons in our classrooms. The following day, our teachers will deliver maths lessons with expert support and feedback. This professional learning ensures we continue strengthening our teaching practice and providing the very best learning experiences for our students.

Thank you for your ongoing support, positive communication, and partnership. It is a privilege to work alongside such a supportive and wonderful community. I look forward to continuing our journey together.

Kind regards,

Pip Were

Term 1 - Monday 2nd February - Thursday 2nd April
Term 2 - Monday 20th April - Friday 3rd July
Term 3 - Monday 20th July -  Friday 25th September 
Term 4 - Monday 12th October - Monday 14th December  

6th Mar - Celebration Assembly
11th Mar - COPS Swimming
13th Mar - Teacher Only Day (No school)
16-19th Mar - Kauri Class Camp - Papamoa
23rd Mar - Board of Trustees Meeting 5.30pm
25th Mar - Triathlon
30th Mar - 1st Apr - Rimu Class Camp - Raglan

2nd April - Celebration Assembly
2nd April - End of Term 1
20th April - Start of Term 2

Last Wednesday I represented Kio Kio School at the Secondary Schools
Show Jumping Champs. This event is where riders compete in teams with
their school. There are four people in a team, but if your school doesn’t have
enough riders you can team up with students from other schools. In my
case, my team included riders from Te Awamutu Intermediate School and
Rotorangi School.
The first event was a round where, if you went clear with no faults, you went
into a jump-off. A jump-off is a smaller course of jumps that you complete
as fast as you can to decide the winner. I placed 6th in this event.
The second event was called the Accumulator. In this round you earn points
for each jump, for example 2 points for jump two and 5 points for jump
five. At the end of the round you can choose to jump number eight for eight
points, or attempt the joker, which is bigger and harder. I attempted the
joker and made it over, earning 20 points, which put me into 5th place.
The final round was called the Jigsaw. Two riders are paired up and
complete a round of five jumps each as fast as possible without crashing
into each other. I was paired with a very nice rider called Emma. There was
also a girl from my pony club called Olivia whose partner scratched from
the competition, so I offered to ride twice with her. Emma and I placed 3rd,
and Olivia and I placed 1st.
After all the events, all the schools gathered in the club rooms to hear the
final results. My team placed 6th overall! I am very grateful to my mum for
helping me and also to Mrs Were for being such a supportive principal.

.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 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. 

At Kio Kio School, our school policies are provided by SchoolDocs. SchoolDocs is an independent service that provides core policies that meet legislative and regulatory requirements and good practice, incorporating relevant school-specific information.
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