Welcome to the end of Week 8. It's hard to believe we only have 1 and a half weeks left of Term 1.
Since our last newsletter our tamariki have been enjoying some fantastic sporting opportunities. Last week our Year 1-3 students in Tui and Pīwakawaka enjoyed a fantastic football session with the Sport Waikato team. This week the same group of students had a go at learning some hockey skills. On Wednesday 27th March, 25 of our older students, in Ruru and Karearea, participated in the Ki-o-Rahi Festival in Taupō.
Last Friday the whole school enjoyed a fabulous day at the Kuratau Boat Ramp. Our annual school duathlon & triathlon was a fantastic day. The new course layout was a big success and the weather was perfect - not too hot and not too cold! Our tamariki showed resilience, determination and excellent sportsmanship. See a full list of results below. Big thanks to Cath from Taupō District Council for supplying our bikes. Huge appreciation to all the parent volunteers who helped out on the day. We cannot run these events without your support. Thank you also to Belinda Pyman and the rest of our staff for mucking in and making the day happen. There is A LOT of behind the scenes organisation by staff to make these events successful and safe for your tamariki.
In this week's newsletter you will see that we are due to 'consult with our community' about our school's Health Education programmes. It is a requirement for all school to consult with their community, every two years, about the delivery of their Health Curriculum. Our last consultation was in May 2022. Please see more details below.
Last Thursday, all teachers enjoyed another professional learning session with Kirsty Tatere. Kirsty spent time in each class either observing or modelling writing or reading lessons. Our teachers are doing a fantastic job at taking on board Kirsty's advice and adapting their literacy programmes to ensure we are meeting the needs of all our learners.
On Thursday (28th March), we will be holding our traditional school EGG HUNT. This involves hiding 'coloured in eggs' around the school. As each child finds a paper egg, they swap it out for a chocolate marshmallow egg. This is a fun event that our tamariki look forward to each year.
I wish you all a fantastic Easter break with your friends and whānau. Remember, school will be closed Easter Friday (29th March), Easter Monday and Tuesday (1st & 2nd April). We look forward to seeing our tamariki back at school next Wednesday, 3rd April. The last day of term 1 is Friday 12th April.
Mā te wā
Shirley Bailey PRINCIPAL
Congratulations on our Improved Attendance Rates
Shirley Bailey
Thank You!
At our recent Board meeting I was excited to share that our attendance rates have continued to improve this term.
Whilst we have almost hit the Ministry of Education's target of 70% of students attending school regularly (over 90% attendance), we encourage those students sitting in our 'irregular attendance category' to come to school just a little more often to help us reach our 70% target.
This year's positive shifts and latest data is shared below:
Chronic Attendance Category (less than 70%). We have shifted from 11 students to 5 students (5%)
Moderate Attendance Category (between 70-80% attendance). We have shifted from 6 to 8 students (9%).
Irregular Attendance Category (between 80-90% attendance). We have shifted from 16 to 20 students (22%).
Regular Attendance Category (over 90% attendance). This has not changed (64%).
Whilst our 'regular attendance' category hasn't improved, we have more than halved the number of students who were in the 'chronic attendance' category.
As mentioned in the last newsletter - statistics and research reports that ATTENDANCE DOES MATTER.
Keep it up whānau - we love having your tamariki at school every day!
Below is an image detailing the Ministry of Education's Target for attendance rates. This information comes from the MOE's Attendance and Engagement Strategy (June, 2022).
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION: ATTENDANCE & ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY, JUNE 2022
Health Education @ Kuratau School
Shirley Bailey on Behalf of the Kuratau School Board
The Ministry of Education requires all schools to consult with their community on the school’s delivery of the Health Curriculum every two years. Health education is learning that is based around hauora (wellbeing), attitudes and values, relationships, body development and health promotion. Where possible this learning is integrated across all areas of the curriculum. We invite our community to share their thoughts about our current Health Education Statement via our Health Education Survey. Your feedback will help us to gather your thoughts and ideas about our Health Curriculum and help us to further develop our programmes.
The Health and Physical Education Curriculum is divided into four strands:
Personal Health and Physical Development - in which students develop the knowledge, understandings, skills, and attitudes that they need in order to maintain and enhance their personal well-being and physical development.
Movement Concepts and Motor Skills - in which students develop motor skills, knowledge and understandings about movement, and positive attitudes towards physical education.
Relationships with Other People - in which students develop understandings, skills and attitudes that enhance their interactions and relationships with others.
Healthy Communities and Environments - in which students contribute to healthy communities and environments by taking responsible and critical action.
Through these strands our teachers plan and teach various topics as a unit or by integrating concepts with other areas of the curriculum. There are seven key areas of learning in the Health Physical Education Curriculum:
Mental health
Sexuality education
Food and nutrition
Body care and physical safety
Physical activity
Sport studies
Outdoor education
In some instances we work with outside agencies to add value to our programmes.
Kuratau School’s Health Statement:
Curriculum Statement: In Health and Physical Education the focus is on students recognising the importance of their well-being, their whānau, and the wider community, through the contexts of learning about health and physical movement.
Essence Statement: Health and Physical Education helps students develop a lifelong commitment towards maintaining a healthy and positive attitude towards their physical, emotional and mental wellbeing.
Please see the attached document for more information about the programmes and services we use at Kuratau School to promote Health Education.
Please complete this google form to share your thoughts about our Health Education Statement.
Well done and congratulations to all our participants in the annual Kuratau School Tryathlon. What a fantastic day! The weather held out and the water remained warm(ish).
Thank you to all our support crew. Parents, teachers, support staff and even some siblings. Without the many that help out these events would not go ahead. We really do appreciate your involvement and its always awesome to see so many parents pop along in support of these events.
To all that participated and our place getters - what a fantastic effort and CONGRATULATIONS.
We are pleased to announce our 2024 Whānau Group Leaders. Congratulations to the following students:
KŌWHAI - Tirama Rewiti & Payton Fairhurst
TOTARA - Azariah Corfield & Rosa Hoebers
MANUKA - Maata Donaldson & Tori Clark
RIMU - Zara Phillips & Misheel Rothe
We look forward to seeing their leadership skills develop throughout the year as they organise and lead various Whānau Group activities.
Important Dates
Good Friday - NO SCHOOL
All Day
NO SCHOOL - EASTER WEEKEND
EASTER MONDAY & TUESDAY - NO SCHOOL
All Day
No School Easter Monday and No School on Tuesday. Enjoy a long Easter Break.
Year 7-8 First Immunisation
-
Kuratau School
Last Day of Term 1
All Day
Enjoy your holiday break with your whānau.
Kuratau School
Term 2 Starts
All Day
Welcome back to Term 2.
T-Ball Tournament
All Day
Crown Park, Taupō
NZ Sign Language Week
All Day
Junior Bikes in Schools
All Day
Kuratau School
School Photos
Kuratau School
Board Meeting
-
Pink Shirt Day
All Day
Kuratau School
Teacher Only Day - No School
All Day
Kings Birthday - No School
All Day
School Speech Competition
All Day
Time to be confirmed
Kuratau School
Bike Day - Annual Fundraiser
All Day
Kuratau School
Tackle 5 Festival
All Day
Details yet to be confirmed
Te Kuiti
Life Education
All Day
Kuratau School
Fancy Dress Dance + Matariki Cultural Feast
-
Kuratau School
Matariki Holiday - No School
All Day
End of Term 2
All Day
Last day of Term 2
REMINDERS
Bus Fees - Due Friday 12th April
Rachel Mackey
End of term Bus Fees are now due.
Statements for all students have been sent out this week. If you have money owing for your child's bus fees please ensure this is paid by the end of Term 1 to ensure you retain your child's seat on the bus.
We have a growing waitlist for the bus and unfortunately cannot hold spaces for unpaid users.
Community Notices
If you would like to add a community notice to our fortnightly newsletters please get in touch with Rachel or Shirley - (07) 386 5801