Kia ora koutou, Kōwhai whanau!
Woo hoo! Look at us getting this notice out on time. Go Kōwhai! Special visitors This week we were visited by Professor Toby Greany (visiting fellow) and Associate Professor Susan Lovett from the University of Canterbury. They were accompanied by three representatives of the Ministry of Education, and other principals from schools in our Kāhui Ako. They all enjoyed the opportunity to look through our Kōwhai learning space and spend some time talking with the children about their learning. They were impressed with the imagination and creativity shown by the Kōwhai learners, and their engagement with their learning. Parent help Further to the comment above - we've had some fascinating discussions this week, and had many children involved in running or organising 'workshops' around their learning and personal investigations. We've had workshops in basketball, rugby, geology, robot making, wood work, composing, making books, and many many more! No wonder we're all a bit pooped by the end of the week! However - there's always room for more. This week we've had some very keen learners wanting to find out about lizards, insects, pendulums, wiring diagrams, pulleys, ramps, calendars and more. If you were able to come and spend some time with these learners helping with their research and discovery, that would be very much appreciated (by us and them!) One of the hardest conversations this week has been having to say "Not right now" to the question "Can you please help me with my lizard research?" NZEI Teacher Strike By now you will have seen or heard about the Teacher Strike set down for Wednesday August 15th. Our BoT has emailed parents with information about this day, and this has also been shared on the school Facebook page. As much as we love our jobs, and love working with you and your children, we have to acknowledge that we need more time, more support, and more numbers (teachers) on the ground. Please note that school will be closed on August 15th, and make alternative arrangements for the care of your children on this day. Illnesses This week we've had a few winter illnesses, tummy bugs, and the odd case of chickenpox to add a bit of 'interest' to the week! We hope you and your whanau keep well and avoid the latest bugs. A gentle reminder to please keep unwell children at home, as this helps to prevent the spread of illness for our children and teachers. If you haven't had chickenpox before, this website might help with the early stages of identification. Bus vest spot check Thank you to all of our students who consistently wear their bus vests when travelling on our school buses. Our bus contract states that bus vests must be worn by children when travelling on our school buses. They are given out at the beginning of the year to keep children safe by making them highly visible to other road users when they get on and off the buses. We will be doing a spot check on Monday afternoon for bus vests. This will give everyone who has misplaced their bus vest an opportunity to find or replace it over the weekend. Hell Pizza reading wheels Last week we gave out pizza wheels as part of book week. If your children has completed their pizza wheel, these can be returned to your pod teacher who will stamp them and then return them to you so you can claim your free pizza! Kōwhai teachers will verify wheels once they are completed (not book by book as some learning communities are doing). Library Our library day is a Thursday, and we visit first thing in the morning. Please ensure your child has their library books in their reading packet on a Thursday so their books can be exchanged. Thanks. Have a great weekend, and we'll see you all Monday! Go the Mighty Crusaders!!! Hei te Rāhina, Thelma, Sonja, Jo, Rachael & Christina kowhai@westmelton,school.nz
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K.I.T. noticesK.I.T. notices are published every second Friday. They contain information that we hope will help to keep you up-to-date with what is happening in our learning community as well as the wider school. Please feel free to comment on each week's post with any news items or community notices of your own, or to ask any questions you may have! Archives
December 2020
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