Wednesday 14 December 2016

Final Friday

A reminder that school finishes at 12 noon on Friday at the conclusion of our final assembly. You are most welcome to join us for this, starting from 11.15am outside the hall if fine, or inside the hall if wet. Children must be collected from school at 12 noon.

Isabella's Bird House

Inspired by the other Kohara bird houses, Isabella created her own. We love the way Isabella has created different areas for the birds to eat, rest and play. Lucky birds!


Hannah and Ruby's Chocolate Cake

Wow these chocolate cakes look pretty delicious! Hannah and Ruby enjoyed following a recipe, measuring ingredients and then icing their finished cakes. Baking is always lots more fun when you bake with a friend.


Wheels Day

Look who joined us at Monday Meet Up... Hayden Roulston (aka Dad to Moses!). Hayden came along as part of our Wheels Day and we found out about his Olympic medals that he has won for cycling. What a neat connection to share with Waimairi School Moses.


Amelia's Sketch

Kohara kids love to sketch! It's a great way to develop fine motor skills which helps us with our handwriting as well. Look at this amazing sketch Amelia did - it has such great detail.



St Johns Visit

Recently we had St John's visit and teach us all about how to respond in an emergency. We practised ringing 111 on phones and having a turn at answering questions about an emergency situation.

We loved seeing the things inside an ambulance - quite handy for Kohara this year considering all the broken bones we have had!




Rainbow Reading Graduates

We are always really proud to see our Kohara children graduating from Rainbow Reading. Mrs Stoddart really does have the best job in the school (other than teaching Kohara that is!). Congratulations Lucie  and Joshua you have worked really hard on your reading and can be really proud of your efforts.



Lucy's Doll

Lucy showed lots of sewing and cutting skills when she created this amazing doll. She extended her original idea to include clothes for her doll - you can even unbutton the skirt when you want to change her outfit. Lucy - you showed lots of perseverance throughout your project and worked hard to think of lots of interesting details to add. A real quality project!


Pie Face

Ever wanted to play the game Pie Face? Baxter, Isaac and friends decided to create their own version. We loved the idea of using stuffing instead of whipped cream! What a cool project!


Tennis

Here we are at our recent tennis lessons - a great chance to work cooperatively with a buddy and learn some tennis skills. Kohara had great fun and we all agreed that growing your brain by learning a new skill is lots of fun!


Georgia and Shyla's Sundaes

Mmmm making ice cream sundaes has been a popular project choice this year. Shyla and Georgia were able to follow the instructions to make their own and boy do they look tasty. Now they can teach their families how to make them, or better yet - make them for their families!



Amelia and Imogen's Meringues

Check out these tasty looking meringues with fruit salad that Amelia and Imogen made. Apparently they tasted just as good as they looked!


Rest Home Visit

What a fantastic job Kohara did singing so beautifully at the Fitzroy Rest Home on Tuesday afternoon. The feedback from the Rest Home was that the residents loved our singing and our homemade Christmas decorations and especially enjoyed interacting and chatting with the children (even if a couple of the residents did snooze their way through our singing!)
















We were very proud of the wonderful manners and behaviour and the singing was fabulous. It was so lovely to see all our practise had paid off. A special mention and congratulations to Ella who performed a solo of "Here Comes The Sun' - wow Ella, you were a star. Please remember us when you are famous!!
















Thanks also to Ali Harper for her time singing with us throughout the year - the residents loved your songs too. We think some of them brought back special memories for the residents.


Last Chance for Library and Reading Book Returns

Please return any outstanding library books or reading books asap.

Tuesday 13 December 2016

No swimming Wednesday

Lost Hat and Drink Bottle

Kingston has misplaced his black skull drink bottle and his school sunhat. His family would love to find these before the end of term. If you could please check kids bags that would be greatly appreciated in case it's been mixed up by accident.
Thanks

Sunday 11 December 2016

Week 10 (12-16 December)

Wow Week 10 - where has the year gone!! We would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you for your support over the year. We have had a fabulous year teaching your children and have had lots of laughs and memorable moments together and we will miss those who are moving on into Year 3 next year. We hope you all have a relaxing holiday and get to enjoy some magical moments together as a family and we look forward to seeing you around Waimairi School in 2017.

Monday Meet Up
This Monday we say farewell to the wonderful staff who are leaving - we would love you to join us from 8.50am in the hall as we bid them a fond farewell.

Library & Reading Books
These should now all be returned but if you find any strays, please send them back.

2017 Class Placements
Children will bing home their class placement notice for 2017 on Tuesday afternoon. They will get a chance to visit their new room/teachers on Wednesday.

Classroom Release
Both classes have their final classroom release time on Wednesday from 11-12.30am. Room 18 will have Art and Room 19 will have PE.

Swimming
Optional lunchtime swim on Monday.
Class swimming on Tuesday.
Wednesday the children will be at PE or Art instead of swimming.

Rest Home Visit
A reminder that we will be visiting the Fitzroy Rest Home on Tuesday afternoon. The bus leaves at 1.15pm and should be back at school before 3pm. we are looking forward to sharing our singing and gifting the residents a small Christmas decoration.

Parent Helpers
To all of you that have generously given your time for parent help, supervision on trips, putting reading books away, helping with baking, projects or singing - we extend a heartfelt thanks to you all. We have really appreciated all your help and support over the year so thank you so much!

Final Assembly
The last assembly for the year will start at 11.15am on Friday, finishing by 12 noon. School finishes at 12 noon at the conclusion of the assembly and children will need to be collected from school at this time. You are welcome to join us for this - on the courts outside the hall if fine, or else in the hall.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!





Monday 5 December 2016

Library Books & Reading Books

Keep these coming back... thank you to everyone who has returned books so far.
Don't forget to look under beds, in wardrobes, even on books shelves!!

Tuesday Swimming Day

Pack the togs for swimming on Tuesday!

Learning Te Reo Maori in 2017

Learning te reo Māori in 2017

Are you interested in learning te reo Māori in 2017?  We are looking at setting up a class through the Te Wananga o Aotearoa at Waimairi School for teachers and parents. This will most likely be a class held from 4pm until 7pm once a week at school.  

If you are interested, please fill out the the following form https://goo.gl/forms/f9xwDSjgj0FSCgNn2 or email katie.lord@waimairi.school.nz.

Akīna te reo!  Give te reo Māori a go!

Sunday 4 December 2016

Week 9 (5-9 December)

Welcome to Week 9!!
Not sure where the year has gone but gosh the end of the term is fast approaching!

Reading and Library Books
ALL library books and class reading books were due back last week but we still have a large number outstanding. Please encourage children to continue to return these to us asap so they can be re-shelved before the end of term.
Our usual reading programme has stopped now but there will still be plenty of opportunities in class for reading especially reading and practising our song lyrics for our visit next week.

Rest Home Visit
A reminder that permission slips for this trip were also due last week. Any late returns to class teachers asap please.

We will be working hard this week on our singing - families might like to find the songs online and have a sing along at home!

Swimming
Monday - optional lunchtime swim for Year 1/2 children
Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday - Kohara swimming days
Please bring named togs and towels on these days.

Kapa Haka
This has now finished for the year.

Congratulations
We would like to congratulate the children for a fantastic effort at our Junior Athletics and also to all those who participated in the triathlon in the afternoon. You gave it your all, persevered with activities and did yourselves proud! There were some pretty tired children the following day!

Upcoming Events
Next week  on Tuesday children will bring home information about their class for 2017. Children will have a chance to meet their teachers in their 2017 class space on Wednesday 14th at 10am.

Tuesday 13th Bus Trip to Fitzroy Rest Home
Leaving school at 1.15pm and returning by 3pm.

Have a great week :)




Friday 2 December 2016

Waimairi Recipe Book

We have a Waimairi Centennial Recipe Book floating around Kohara. None of the children have claimed it, but if you think you may have sent it along to school at some stage for a baking project, please let us know so we can return it to the right home!

Lost Togs

Brock has lost his blue swimming shorts with red trim, and a red/white striped towel. If anyone has taken it home by mistake, he'd love it returned.
Thanks.

Wednesday 30 November 2016

Reading Book Returns

Can ALL class reading books also be returned please by Friday. Children can place these in the grey reading container at the front of the class (R18 end).

Thanks.

Library Books Due Friday

ALL library books to be returned for our last library day on Friday please.

Children with long overdue books would have had a notice with the outstanding books, to be returned or the replacement cost if you are unable to find them. Thanks.

Triathlon

The Triathlon takes place on Thursday afternoon. For those children who have indicated they are taking part, they will need to remember their togs and towel, and either a bike or scooter plus a bike helmet.

Please make sure items of uniform and togs etc are named as we have 9 classes of children taking part.

For those not taking part, they are in the supporters crew!! GO KOHARA!!

Sausage Sizzle Orders

If you forgot to pre-order your sausage sizzle for Athletics Day, you can still do this on Thursday morning. $2 each.

Athletics Day Reminders

Junior children to wear sports mufti on Thursday. 
If they have a top in the colour of their team that would be even better but not compulsory. Teams are either red, blue, yellow or green and the children should know what colour team they are in from our practice on Monday.

Sunhat must be worn.

Drink bottle.

Sunscreen applied before coming to school if possible please.

Suitable shoes/sneakers for running, throwing and jumping in.

Athletics starts at 11am on the back field at school. Children will rotate around a variety of stations with their class group. Parents are welcome to come and watch - we'd love to see you there.

Following the conclusion of the Athletics, there is a community lunch. If you forgot to pre-order your sausages for the sausage sizzle and still wish to order, you can do this before school on Thursday. Feel free to stay and enjoy lunch with the children.

Tuesday 29 November 2016

ATHLETICS DAY LUNCH - REMINDER

If you are wanting a sausage for your lunch on Thursday please order outside the hall tomorrow morning (Wednesday) $2.00 each.

Monday 28 November 2016

No Tuesday Swimming

No class swimming Tuesday. The pool is fixed but needs a day to heat up.
Class swimming will resume Wednesday and Friday.

Sunday 27 November 2016

Week 8 (28 Nov-2 Dec)

Welcome to Week 8!

Wheels Day
Monday the 28 November (this Monday) is Wheels Day. Bike or scooter to school and be in to win spot prizes. Plus watch out for some wheelie good fun at Monday Meet Up!
Kohara also has a Wheels session during the day as well as visiting the Truck Time session.
No usual reading programme today.

Athletics Day
This Thursday 1 December is our Athletics Day. Come join us from 11am until 12.30pm on the school field. Come in sports mufti on the day and make sure you have a sunhat and sunscreen on.

Athletics Day Sausage Sizzle Orders
Place your orders on Wednesday morning outside the hall. $2 a sausage. Don't forget you can order for the whole family. The coffee shop will also be open. Community lunch will be between 12.30-1.30pm on Thursday. All welcome.

Triathlon
Thank you to all the children who have returned their notice and are having a go in the triathlon on Thursday afternoon. We look forward to cheering you all on. The triathlon starts at 1.30pm on the back field, then to the courts for the bike/scooter course, finishing in the pool.
Children participating MUST have a helmet please.

Swimming
The pool filter is still awaiting repairs so no lunchtime swim on Monday. Class swimming on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday if the pool is open. Bring your togs just in case!

Classroom Release
On Wednesday Room 19 have PE with Mr Lukes from 11-12.30pm.

Final Library Returns
Please have ALL library books back at school by this Friday please as it is our final library session.

Spelling
Our weekly spelling programme is now finished but keep up the practise of previous words. We will be re-testing children on their current and previous spelling lists between now and the end of the year.

Reading Books
Can you please send ALL reading books back to school at the end of the week as these are being collected in for reshelving. If you have some spare time and would be able to help return these to the reading room, we would be most grateful.

Maths Games
As the year draws to an end and our usual reading/spelling programme ceases, why not play a boardgame for homework instead. There is loads of maths related learning in board games - counting, adding dice, recognising dice or number patterns, shapes, colours and lots of social skills as well (taking turns, good sportsmanship etc). Cards are another great way to practise maths - why not draw two cards each and practise adding or subtracting the numbers. or get clever and try it with three cards. You could also order cards, make number patterns, look at odd and even numbers... the possibilities are endless.

Have a great week :)

Saturday 26 November 2016

Wheels Day Monday

Remember to bring wheels on Monday (either a scooter or bike) as it is our Wheels Day.
There are spot prizes at the end of the day for the children who wheel to school.

We will also be having a Wheels Time session during the day - children will need their scooters or bikes and helmets for this please.

We will also be visiting the Truck Time session.

Because of our Wheels Day and Athletics Practise in the afternoon there will be no school reading being sent home for homework on Monday. Feel free to share a favourite story or read library books instead.

A huge thanks to Mr Lukes for organising this on behalf of the school.

Pool Still Closed Monday

Just to let you know the school pool is still not fixed so no lunchtime swim on Monday. We will update you regarding Tuesday class swimming once we know more.

Thursday 24 November 2016

NO Friday Swimming - Pool Closed

Sorry Kohara! No swimming on Friday as the pool is awaiting repairs to the filter.

Pack them on Monday if you'd like a lunchtime swim though.

INVITATION TO ATHLETICS DAY

Waimairi School
Community Lunch and Sausage Sizzle
at the
Junior Athletics Day
Thursday 1st December 2016
(pp Friday 2nd December)
12.45pm - 1.30pm
School Field

You are invited to come and have lunch with the whole school.
 There will be a Sausage Sizzle for lunch, the coffee shop will be open or bring your own packed lunch.
 Please send $2 per sausage to school on WEDNESDAY 30th November, if you would like a sausage or two. Orders will be taken outside the coffee shop. Don’t forget to order for the whole family. Some orders may also be taken on the morning of the sports.

Wednesday 23 November 2016

Chewing Gum

We have spoken to the class several times this week regarding chewing gum/bubble gum. Some children have been bringing gum along and sharing it throughout the day. We have said that gum is NOT to be brought to school. We would really appreciate your help reinforcing this as well please.

Reminders for end of the Week

Library day on Friday 
Some children have notices in their bags today if they have long overdue library books. Sue, our librarian would appreciate either the books being returned or the outstanding amount to replace them paid please.

Swimming
Our next class swimming session is on Friday.

We have noticed that as our swim times are in between other classes using the pool, that the changing sheds are very busy with classes overlapping, and we are already finding misplaced and unnamed clothing items being left behind. Please make sure items are named - it makes it much easier to return items.


Athletics Practice on Thursday

Please pack the sunhat for Thursday as we have an athletics practice scheduled in preparation for next week's Athletics Day.

Thank you also to all the children bringing back their Triathlon return slips - great to see so many children prepared to have a go. Ka pai Kohara!

Important 2017 Music Lesson Update

Music Lessons 2017

Thank you to those who have already signed up for music lessons next year.  Unfortunately, the last form had some technical issues and the form needed to be recreated.  Please fill out the form again if you want your child to learn an instrument next year. A reminder that Year 2 children (in 2017) can learn recorder only, unless you have made arrangements through Miss Lord.

Do you want your child to learn an instrument in 2017?  Please sign up using the following link: https://goo.gl/forms/0l5Ll9DCXZNRDJsI3 or fill out a paper form which is available at the office.  If you have any queries, please contact katie.lord@waimairi.school.nz

COMMUNITY WHEELS DAY MONDAY 28 NOVEMBER

Community Wheels Day Monday 28th November

You are all warmly invited into school on Monday 28th November to share in our Wheels focused day.

Come and be entertained at Monday Meet Up and check our exciting displays here at school. The CCC will be here with the NZ Truck Association to educate and entertain.

Please encourage your child to bring wheels to school; bikes especially. We'll have rewards at the school gate...

Waimairi School has a proud history of supporting our biking, scootering and rip-sticking children and community.

Wheels are spun at play and lunch on our court area. We provide the annual Cycle Safe programme to our Year 6's.

We love seeing parents riding to school to reduce carbon emissions and car traffic in our community. It's great to see children improve and maintain fitness in a non competitive and fun environment.

Monday 21 November 2016

Look in the school bag..this notice should be there!

2016 ParentJunior Athletics Day.pdf

Tuesday is Swimming Day

Pack the togs - Tuesday is our first class swimming day.
Please remember to name uniform items, togs, towels and goggles... basically name everything!!

Music Lessons in 2017

Music Lessons in 2017

Do you want your child to learn an instrument in 2017?  

Please sign up using the following link: http://tinyurl.com/waimusic2017 or fill out a paper form which is available at the office.  If you have any queries, please contact katie.lord@waimairi.school.nz

Please note most instruments are for year 3 up. 

Sunday 20 November 2016

Week 7 (21-25 November)

Welcome to Week 7 :)

Staffing
Welcome back to Ms Jill Kelk on Monday as Mrs O is away looking after Jack who is still not quite recovered from his bout of chicken pox.

Ms Kelk will also be in on Tuesday morning while Mrs Campbell is on River Leader Release.

Classroom Release
Room 19 children have PE with Mr Lukes on Thursday morning from 9-10.30am.

Spelling
This week the children need to revisit and practise previous list words in their spelling notebooks. We will soon be re-testing the children on their current spelling list so it's a great time to revisit words from earlier in the term.

Swimming
Our class swimming days are Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Please ensure swimming togs, towels etc are at school on these days. It is our expectation that ALL children will participate unless there is a medical reason for not swimming. Please let us know asap if your child is unable to participate due to a medical reason.

The juniors can also have a lunchtime swim on Mondays if they wish (optional).

Athletics
We will be practising for our upcoming junior athletic sports on Monday and Thursday afternoon this week. Please make sure children have suitable shoes for running, throwing and jumping.

Next week, on Thursday is our actual Athletics Day - you are most welcome to come down to school on Thursday 1 December to support the children and enjoy a shared lunch afterwards with us. In the afternoon we will also be having our optional triathlon. This is loads of fun - if you're not sure what's involved, feel free to have a chat to class teachers about it.

Sunhats
With athletics practice, class fitness and PE, it is really important all children have their school sunhat at school every day. These should be hung up on their bag hooks for easy access during the day or kept in their school bags. We have done away with the sunhat box inside the classroom - as you can imagine when 55 children are all trying to find their hats out of the same container at the same time, things get a bit chaotic!

Library Day
Please send library books back for our visit on Friday.

French Club
At this stage French club is no longer running on Wednesday lunchtimes, We will advise you if this restarts again before the end of the year.

Have a great week :)




Swimming Starts This Week!

Please remember to pack the swimming togs, goggles and towels as this week is the start of our class swimming programme.

Monday: Year 1/2 optional lunchtime swim
Tuesday: Kohara class swimming
Wednesday: Kohara class swimming
Friday: Kohara class swimming

It is also helpful if swimming gear, school uniform items and even underwear are named as often clothes seem to get muddled up in the changing rooms. This makes it a lot easier when trying to return items to children.

Children not swimming for medical reasons: please let us know if there is a medical reason why your child is unable to participate.

Tuesday 15 November 2016

Headlice

Headline are doing the rounds again - please check your child's hair :)

Reminder

Just a reminder that children should not be arriving at school earlier than 8.30am. This is particularly important given the recent earthquakes as often teaching staff are out of the classroom before this time and unable to safely supervise children in the case of an emergency. If you need help with before school supervision, please come and talk to us and we can help sort something out.


Rest Home Visit


Rest Home Visit

On Tuesday 13 December Kohara are visiting The Fitzroy Rest Home in Merivale to sing songs and interact with the residents. We have been practising our singing at school and we know that some of the song books have gone home too. Mrs Campbell's mother is a resident at the rest home and we wanted to reach out to a part of our community at Xmas time. If for any reason your child does not come you will be reimbursed the money paid for the bus which will be added to this terms school activity fees.
If you have any questions please come and see Tracy or Monique.

Week 6 (14-18 November)

Welcome to Week 6 :)

Staffing
This week Mrs O is home with her youngest son as he has the chicken pox. Kohara welcomes Mr Richard Guise (Monday), Ms Jill Kelk (Tuesday and Thursday) and Mrs Bindy O'Callaghan (Wednesday plus Tuesday morning for Mrs Campbell's River Leader release). Mrs O will be back in on Friday for a change of scenery!!

Classroom Release
Room 18 will have Art with Mrs McHaffie on Wednesday afternoon.
Room 19's PE this week has been rescheduled until next week.

Swimming
Our class swimming will start next week and we will be swimming every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Children are expected to have their togs and towel at school for our class lessons. If there is a medical reason why your child cannot participate, please advise us as soon as possible.

Farewell
This week we say farewell to Miss Michele Walker who is finishing up her seven week teaching placement with us. Michele has been an absolute star and the children have loved working with her during her time with us. We wish Michele all the very best for her future teaching career.

Shared Lunch
On Friday 18th November we will be having a shared lunch for Miss Walker. Can all children please bring a plate of food suitable to share for lunch to school on Friday (can be left on the bench in Room 18 in the morning).

Showtime Performance
On Friday afternoon the children will be watching a special performance of the Showtime 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. We are really looking forward to watching this. For families who would like to attend, you can purchase tickets for the evening shows from the school office.

Library
Please send library books along to school for our library visit on Friday. Our last issue date is Friday 2 December and then ALL books will be due back by Wednesday 7 December at the latest. A good time to start hunting out books that are overdue.

PTA
PTA Meeting Tuesday 15th at 7.30pm in the library - this month we are looking at fundraising ideas for next year. All new members welcome - pop along and you'll see lots of familiar faces from Kohara there!

Health & PE Inquiry
The children have recently finished their designs for their cooperative dioramas. Each pair of children  designed a part of our school outdoor environment with some very cool suggestions for our rebuild. We particularly like the mud slide in the forest, the roller coaster out to the lunch area and the fabulous looking sandpit and bike track designs! These are on display in class - feel free to pop in and check them out!

Have a great week :)

Tuesday 8 November 2016

Tuesday Trip

Kohara will be off to St James Park today leaving at 12 and returning by 2pm at the latest. 

Sunday 6 November 2016

Week 5 (7-10 November)

Welcome to Week 5.

Canterbury Anniversary Day
School is closed this Friday due to Canterbury Anniversary Day (Show Day).
Enjoy the long weekend.

Classroom Release
Room 18 have Art with Mrs McHaffie on Wednesday afternoon 1.30-3pm.

Library
Change of time this week due to Show Day - Kohara will have library on Thursday 11-11.30am instead. Please remember to pack the library books.

Change to Normal Programme
Becasue this is a short week we are going to have an Inquiry Week. This means our usual reading, writing and mathematics programme will not be running as usual. The children will have two poems to read during the week - on the other nights, please choose a book at home to enjoy together.

We will be starting to make dioramas, working in buddies, based around what we would like our school's outside environment to look like after the rebuild. We hope to present our models to Ms Hudson and Mrs Coleman when finished so they can consider our ideas. We have been making lots of connections about what things in nature help nurture us and the kinds of things people enjoy doing in our outside environment.

We are also hoping to fit in a walk down to St James Park since the weather meant we had to postpone our trip last Friday. Depending on weather conditions we will aim to walk to St James Park either on Tuesday (or Wednesday if weather is not suitable) leaving school around 12 noon, taking our lunch down there for a picnic and then returning to school by 2pm at the latest. We will update on the blog later in the week to confirm day.

PTA News
Don't forget cook books are on sale via the office - a great Christmas present idea!
Also tickets for Ali Harper's Christmas Show.

Have a great week :)

Tuesday 1 November 2016

Wednesday Lunchtime Clubs

Optional lunch time clubs on Wednesday lunchtime...

* French Club (for those with some basic french) in He Tangata (R16/17)

* Chess Club in R21 from 12.45pm, all ages and abilities welcome.

Low Sugar Cook Books

The PTA are selling a Low Sugar Cook Book at the moment - it's a gorgeous looking book with family friendly, low sugar recipes. If you're interested you can view one at the office. They are $40 each - might be a great Christmas present idea for someone special!

Ali Harper Christmas Show

For those of you who have heard Ali Harper (Thomas's mum) sing you will know how amazing she is! Just ask the Kohara parents who went along to the Big Event at school on Saturday and heard her - simply stunning.

Ali has an upcoming 'Christmas Joy' Show on Sunday 18 December at either 2pm or 7.30pm at The Piano venue on Armagh Street. Ali has once again generously given Waimairi the opportunity to sell tickets for this, with a percentage of all ticket sales coming back to the school. If you are interested tickets are available for $34 adults or $20 children. You can order these at the school office.

Wednesday Tennis

Fingers crossed the weather is fine for our tennis session tomorrow (Wednesday) 12-12.30pm.

Monday 31 October 2016

New Arrival

Noah arrived with very special news today... and his brand new, two day old baby brother Connor. Kohara thought he was just scrumptious! Congratulations to Noah's family and we look forward to more visits over the coming weeks!

Sunday 30 October 2016

Week 4 (31 - 4 Nov)

Welcome to Week 4.

Tennis Coaching
This week Kohara have 3 tennis coaching sessions on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 12-12.30pm. The $3 cost will be added to term accounts. All our sessions will be held at school as the coaches from Waimairi Tennis Club will be coming to us. All equipment is supplied but if children have their own tennis racquet that they would like to bring, they are more than welcome.

Classroom Release
Room 19 have PE with Mr Lukes on Wednesday morning from 9-10.30am.

Halloween Disco
Monday 31 October from 6-7pm for juniors (seniors is 7.15-8.15pm). Entry is $5 which includes a glow product and lollies at the end of the night. Come along in Halloween fancy dress if you wish.

The Big Event
A huge thank you to all our Kohara parents who supported the Big Event on Saturday night. It was so lovely to see such a great turn out of parents from our class and gosh what a fantastic evening of entertainment. The singing was absolutely amazing, the band had everyone up dancing and everyone was in awe of the special guest appearances of Darren, our very talented caretaker, and Mrs Coleman! If you are able to make it to Monday Meet Up you might even get to watch Darren's encore performance!

Shoe Boxes
We are needing shoe boxes for an activity next week as part of our Health & PE Inquiry. If you have any spare show boxes lying around at home, we'd love them!

Park Visit
This week on Friday we are visiting St James Park leaving school at 10.45 and returning by 12.30pm. We had a great time last week at Edgar MacIntosh Park and this week we are going to compare it to St James Park. We are finding lots of things in our outdoor environment that contribute to our personal health and wellbeing and we have noticed that many people use our local parks for lots of different activities. Last week we saw people walking dogs, exercising, meeting friends and family, eating, playing and enjoying the playground, relaxing under trees and enjoying nature. We are also thinking about the things at each park that add to our enjoyment and use of the different outdoor spaces.

Sunhats
Thank you to all those who are remembering their sunhats each day. It is really important that all children have one at school especially with our walks out and about during the day.

Book Returns
Please continue to encourage your child to return their reading books from the previous week on a Monday. This keeps our books in circulation so that other classes can use them and we appreciate those that remember to pop them in the box on a Monday morning. Thanks also to Mandy once again for continuing to shelve our books for us. If you ever have a few spare minutes and there are books in the container, you are welcome to grab them and pop them away in the reading room. Many hands make light work!

Have a fabulous week :)


Monday 24 October 2016

Week 3 (25-28 October)

Welcome to Week 3 :)

Welcome
Welcome to Mrs Bindy O'Callaghan who is relieving on Tuesday morning while Mrs Campbell is on River Leader Release.

Tuesday Meet Up
See you all at Meet Up in the hall first thing on Tuesday morning.

Classroom Release
Room 18 and Room 19 have classroom release on Tuesday afternoon - Art for Room 18 and PE for Room 19. Can Room 19 please ensure they have a sunhat at school to wear whilst outside for PE.

St Johns - Responding in an Emergency
As part of our PE and Health term, Kohara will have a session with St Johns this Wednesday covering how to respond in an emergency. There is a small charge of $2 per child which will be added to this terms school accounts. A great time to check that children know their address and a contact phone number in case of emergencies. Some simple first aid will also be covered.

Photo Orders
These are due in to the office by Thursday 27 October (this Thursday). Please ensure order forms are returned by 3pm Thursday if you wish to order class or individual photos. For those with older siblings, sports and cultural photos are on display in the hall foyer.

The Big Event
This is on this Saturday 29 October - have you got your ticket yet? Don't miss out on a wonderful evening. Grab a group of friends and come enjoy a great night out while supporting the PTA with their major fundraiser for the year.

Halloween Disco
This will be held on Monday 31 October in the school hall. Juniors from 6-7pm, seniors from 7.15-8.15pm. Dress up in your favourite Halloween themed costume. Children must be collected from inside the hall at the end of the disco.

Class Swimming
It's nearly that time of year! The school pool will be open for class swimming after Show Weekend. Families will also be able to purchase a school pool key for $70 for those who are able to help on the roster (usually 2-3 nights putting the cover on over the season) or $100 for those unable to help. These will be available to purchase from the office soon.

Friday - spelling day (bring your notebooks)
            - library day (pack the library books)
            - and kapa haka.

Have a great week!





Friday 21 October 2016

The Big Event - Saturday 29 October

It's nearly here!!! The Big Event - our main fundraiser for the year. This is the event that helps fund all the extras around Waimairi School so it would be fabulous if you could help support this great night out.

Tickets are $30 each and are available at the office NOW!

A fabulous line up of musical and dancing entertainment - you get to sit back and watch the show for the first half of the evening, enjoy some yummy catering for supper, and then in the second half of the evening it's time to mingle, enjoy the band, have a dance or just relax and have a few drinks. The bar is open all night and there are also some great auctions on the night.

If you can't make the night, raffle tickets for the amazing raffle prizes will be on sale at school next week so look out for the PTA helpers selling these before or after school. You don't have to be there on the night to win the raffles - and there are some super prizes to win for both adults and the kids!

We hope to see you all there :)

School Photo Orders

School photo orders are due by next Thursday 27 October. Please make sure these are returned to the school office by Thursday at the latest if you wish to order.

Thursday 20 October 2016

Labour Day Monday

Remember school is closed on Monday as it is Labour Day.
See you all on Tuesday - enjoy the long weekend.

Spelling Day Friday

Please pack the spelling notebooks for testing on Friday.

Remember no library session today as we went on Wednesday.

Tuesday 18 October 2016

Change of Library Day

The library is closed on Friday this week so Kohara will go tomorrow (Wednesday).
Please pack the library books!

Sunday 16 October 2016

Week 2 (17-21 October)

Welcome to Week 2!

Sunhats
Hopefully all children now have their school sunhats at school, named and ready for the term. From now on children without hats will be required to play in the shade under the trees - this can get rather boring so please check they have their hats!

Classroom Release
This week Room 19 children have PE with Mr Lukes on Tuesday from 11-12.30pm.

The Big Event ~ Saturday 29 October 7.30pm
This is coming up really quickly - tickets are on sale now from the school office at $30pp. This is our major school fundraiser for the year so if you can support it, we'd love to see you there. There will be a musical retro themed showcase by some amazing talents which you can sit back and enjoy watching before ending the evening with a great band and some dancing.
Supper provided. Cash bar. Great raffles (and even if you're not going you can support the school by pre-purchasing some raffle tickets). Retro dress up optional. Adults only event.

Halloween Disco
This year our school Halloween themed disco is on Monday 31 October in the school hall. Want to give the neighbourhood trick or treating a miss? Then get the kids dressed up and come for a fun night out at the disco instead. Entry is $5 each and includes a glow product and Halloween lollies.
Juniors (Years 0-3) 6-7pm and Seniors (Year 3-6) 7.15-8.15pm.

Health & PE Inquiry
This term we are looking at 'Using Nature to Nurture' and we will be making connections with parks and the outdoors in our community and how they contribute to our wellbeing and enjoyment. From time to time we will be out visiting the Edgar MacIntosh Park on Condell Ave and we will advise you of times as they arise.

Kapa Haka on Friday

Library day on Friday.
Remember to return library books anytime this week in readiness for our class visit on Friday.

Spelling
Bring your notebooks for Friday testing please.

Senior Athletics Day
Congratulations to our Kohara children who represented us at the Senior Athletic Day relay races. How fabulous to see Kohara win on the day!
Thanks also to our parent helpers who walked down or back with us - always lovely to have some extra help when out walking. What a great afternoon down there and a lovely community feel.

Labour Day
Remember that next Monday 24 October is Labour Day and school is closed.

Have a great week :)

Wednesday 12 October 2016

Athletics Day Thursday

Tomorrow Thursday is senior Athletics day. We will be walking down to St James Park at 12 noon to watch the last rotation of the senior sports. At 1pm we have a community lunch and for those who have ordered sausages, they will be available down there at this time. After lunch we will be watching the sprint finals and some of our children will be representing Kohara in the Year group relay race. Due to the wet weather today, we will finalise our relay teams tomorrow as to who is representing our class.

What to bring:
Uniform as usual.
Please bring your sunhat and a warm named jacket.
Sneakers (in case you're in the relay team!)

Following the conclusion of athletics, we will walk back to school as a class, at approximately 2.30pm.

Tuesday 11 October 2016

Sausage Sizzle Orders

Remember that orders for Thursday's sausage sizzle at athletics day need to be made tomorrow Wednesday. $2 per sausage and remember if other family members would like one on the day to preorder those as well. Orders will be taken outside the hall before school on Wednesday. 

Sunday 9 October 2016

Week 1 (10-14 October)

Hi all and a warm welcome back to school for a busy and hopefully sunny Term 4!

Sunhats
Term 4 is a sunhat term so please ensure your child has a well named navy wide brimmed sunhat at school. The children may either hang these on their bag hooks or keep them in their tote trays. The children will need these every day please.

Athletics and Junior Relays
This Thursday 13 October we will be joining the seniors down at St James Park to watch their final athletic rotations and have lunch, and will then cheer them on for their sprint finals before our junior relays. We will be picking our Kohara relay teams during the week so be sure to send the children to school in their running shoes this week.

There will also be a sausage sizzle down at the park - these will be pre-ordered at school.
Postponement day is the following Thursday 20 October.

We will be leaving school at 11.55am to walk down there - if you would like to walk down with us please feel free to meet us outside the classroom and join us on our walk or you might like to meet us down there at 1pm for the community lunch. Children will take their lunch boxes with them and for those getting sausages they will be given out down at the park.

Staffing
Miss Michele Walker continues her seven week teaching placement with us this term and will be working in Kohara over the next six weeks. The children were enjoying getting to know her at the end of last term and we look forward to having her back with us.

This term Mrs Campbell is taking over as Rakaia River Leader while Kiri is helping out at Aranui School. Tracy will be having River Leader release each Tuesday morning and Ms Jill Kelk will be working in Kohara on these mornings. Jill is one of our regular relievers in Kohara and knows our routines and children really well so we look forward to seeing more of Jill over the term.

ThisTuesday Mr Joe Allert will also be relieving in Kohara as Monique is away at Woodend Camp for the day.

Classroom Release
This week Room 19 have PE with Mr Lukes on Wednesday 11-12.30pm and Room 18 have Art with Mrs McHaffie on Wednesday from 1.30-3pm.

Stationery
Can all children please bring 2 whiteboard pens to school for the start of the term. Please hand them in to us and we will distribute them throughout the term as needed.

Spelling
Weekly spelling resumes this week. Please ensure spelling books are at school each Friday as otherwise the children miss out on being tested and getting their new words glued in. As you can appreciate this is a time consuming job and our life is made easier when everyone has their books at school.

Most children handed their books in before the end of last term but we are still missing a few notebooks - if your child still has theirs at home or in their bags can you please remind them to hand them in so they can get this weeks words.

Reading
Our reading programme this week will be a mix of either reading books or poems due to classroom release and athletic sports. Children are also welcome to read their own books or library books over the week.

Library day is Friday - please have books at school for returning.
Kapa Haka on Friday.

Have a great week :)

Thursday 22 September 2016

Stationery for Term 4

Stationery for Term 4

Can all children please bring 2 whiteboard pens to school at the start of Term 4.
Many Thanks :)


End of Term

Please make sure ALL library books and reading books are returned to school today (Friday).

Have a happy, healthy and safe holiday break. Look forward to seeing you all back on Monday 10 October.

Wednesday 21 September 2016

Noah's Teddy

Noah has been working hard on his teddy project with some help from Edward. He has been thinking hard about how to add details and has learnt to use the hot glue gun to add the clothes and eyes.


Games Day Thursday

The children are welcome to bring along a favourite game, puzzle or jigsaw on Thursday for our Kohara games day. It needs to be something the children are happy to play/share with others. 

Sunday 18 September 2016

Week 9 (19-23 September)

Welcome to Week 9. Hard to believe this is the last week of term although we are noticing the children are getting a little tired and in need of a break especially given all the sickness over the term.

Welcome
This week we welcome Michele Walker to Kohara. Michele is with us for the next 7 school weeks on a teaching placement. She would love to say hi, so please introduce yourself if you're popping into class this week.

Farewell
This week we say farewell to Tilly who is shifting house and will be returning to Marshland School where she went previously. We have loved having Tilly at Waimairi but are sure her old friends and classmates will enjoy having her back!

We are also saying farewell to Kiri Anngow from our buddy class Kahukura on Friday as she has been seconded to teach at Aranui Primary for Term 4 this year. Lucky Aranui kids!! Our Rakaia River team will miss her and her infectious enthusiasm around the school.

Classroom Release
This week Room 18 have PE with Mr Lukes on Wednesday morning from 9-10.30am.

Reading Book Returns
Time to have a good hunt for school reading books this week. Please can we have ALL reading books returned by Thursday as these need to be shelved so other classes can use them next term. If you have any spare time over the week (maybe first thing in the morning or at home time) we would love some help returning these to the reading room. A huge thank you to Mandy who has been returning our class books almost every week this term - it is certainly appreciated.

Spelling
We are taking a break from spelling this week. Spelling will resume in Week 1 next term.

Library
Please ensure your child has their books at school in time for our class visit on Friday. Books can be returned at any time during the week to the containers in class. A number of children also have overdue books so please have a hunt for these if your child has had them out longer than two weeks.

Thank You
A big thank you to our fabulous parent helpers who have helped over the term. We have appreciated the extra pairs of hands with projects and extra learning opportunities for the children. We are extremely grateful for the time you give us each week.

Happy Holidays
School finishes for the term this Friday at 3pm and resumes for Term 4 on Monday 10 October.
Have a safe and happy holiday.




Thursday 15 September 2016

Isabella's Turtle

Isabella created this turtle using leaves, flowers and PVA glue. The trickiest part was finding the right leaves because they had to be different sizes. Isabella got the idea from a book about leaf art.



Wednesday 14 September 2016

Calendar Art

Don't forget that orders for calendar art close on Friday this week (16 September).

You can view these in class in our green folder but here's a few photos of us at the Neil Shaskey art workshop creating our art for the calendars. We have since added dye to add a finishing touch.











Block Challenge

Some recent block challenge creations...



Star Wars Fans

Mrs O thought Kohara might like to see who she met at the supermarket recently! What a surprise 😀

Hannah's Horse

Look at the detail on Hannah's project. Not only did she see the horse but she also created a stable and outdoor area for it. We think the horse will enjoy his water trough and apples!



Paddy's Ghost

BOO! Watch out in Kohara for Paddy's ghost! Paddy did an awesome job of seeing him and adding details to make him look even spookier!


Connell's Sea Sketch

Check out the detail in Connell's sea sketch. Connell persevered and thought really hard about his sketching techniques to make his sea creatures look very realistic.



Finn's Playground

Finn created a very detailed playground on the block challenge. It has a climbing wall, slide and frame. If you look carefully you might even see the person playing on it!


Animal Cupcakes

Wow, how cute are these cupcakes that Brock, Lucy and Amy made. Look at the detail on the faces and the creative things they used to decorate them. Great teamwork too!