Welcome back to Term 4! It's been fantastic this week to see everyone return, ready for what is shaping up to be a busy and exciting final term of the 2024 school year.
Next week, four of our teachers will head to Taupō for three days of Ministry of Education professional learning focused on Structured Literacy. Now in our second year of Structured Literacy PLD, we are seeing significant positive shifts in our students' literacy progress. This Ministry-provided opportunity will allow our teachers to further deepen their knowledge and continue building on the gains we've already made in this important area of learning.
Our staff are also continuing with Mathematics PLD this term, strengthening their teaching skills to ensure alignment with current teaching practises and the revised New Zealand Curriculum.
Welcome to Our New Students This term, we are thrilled to welcome nine new students to our school. It’s been fantastic to meet our new whānau, and we look forward to getting to know you and your child better as they settle into our school community.
Reminder: We have a Teacher Only Day next Friday, 25th October. School will be closed for instruction while staff work together to unpack the new curriculum documents.
Next Wednesday, we’re excited to welcome St John in Schools to Kuratau School. All classes will spend time learning about first aid. Check out the picture below to see what your child will be learning!
On Thursday, 24th October, we’ll be participating in ShakeOut Day to learn how to stay safe during an earthquake.
Athletics: With our school Athletics Day coming up in Week 4, we are full steam ahead with daily training and practicing (weather permitting). We warmly invite, and encourage, whānau to come along and support our tamariki at Athletics Day on Wednesday, 6th November, as they run, jump, and throw their way around the athletics rotations.
Noho Marae Trip: Can you help with the hāngī preparation at our upcoming Noho Marae trip to Pūkawa? If you can offer support on Tuesday, 3rd December, please get in touch with Shirley - shirleyb@kuratau.school.nz . Closer to the time we will send home more details about this whole school trip and ask whānau for vegetable and meat donations for the hangi.
Attendance Matters: School attendance remains a hot topic, both in the media and within the Ministry of Education. Check out our Term 3 attendance statistics below for more details.
As we look forward to the term ahead, with warmer weather and longer days, Kuratau School is certainly a fantastic place to be. We are excited about all the opportunities this term will bring and look forward to seeing you at our upcoming Athletics Day. Make sure you check out the calendar dates at the end of the newsletter to find out more about what's coming up this term.
Ngā mihi,
Shirley
Pet Day - Friday 8th November
Friends of Kuratau School
SAVE THE DATE!
On Friday 8th November we will be holding our annual Pet Day and Flower Show. Flower Art Exhibits will be completed at school on Thursday 7th November and will be on display at the hall during Pet Day. Details around each class's Flower Art will be shared with you in your child's class newsletter.
The Friends of Kuratau School fundraising group will be holding a sausage sizzle and bake sale. Funds raised will be going towards our new swing set. Sausages $2 each + baking treats for sale.
DETAILS:
Pets can arrive at school from 9.30am.
No pets are permitted to travel on school buses.
Judging will start from 10am and finish at approximately 12pm.
Ribbons for each category will be awarded at the ring.
Dogs must be on a leash at all times.
Dogs must be vaccinated.
No bitches on heat please.
You are responsible for cleaning up your pets mess.
Bring along a suitable water bowl for your pet.
All animals are welcome, but must be suitably restrained or caged.
LUNCH from 12-12.30pm
Flower Show Prize Giving - 12.30pm in the hall
FROM 1pm - 2.15pm there will be a games afternoon for all students and whānau
Egg & Spoon
Tug o War
Sack Races
Gumboot Throwing
Obstacle Course
IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY REGISTERED YOUR CHILD'S PET, PLEASE COMPLETE THIS ONLINE FORM TO INDICATE THE TYPE OF PET YOU ARE BRINGING. THIS INFORMATION WILL HELP US WITH JUDGING AND SET UP.
CHILDREN WHO DO NOT BRING A PET ON THE DAY WILL BE ENCOURAGED TO SUPPORT THEIR FRIENDS AND WATCH THE ANIMAL JUDGING.
BAKING & HELPERS NEEDED for Pet Day Bake Sale
Friends of Kuratau School
Help us fundraise for our new swing set!
The Friends of Kuratau School will be hosting a Sausage Sizzle and Bake Sale during the upcoming Pet Day! To make this event a success, we’re looking for some extra helping hands on the day. If you can spare some time to assist, we would greatly appreciate your support.
Please email us if you’re able to lend a hand! shirleyb@kuratau.school.nz
Baking Needed:
Room 1 = muffins / cupcakes
Room 2 = cakes
Room 3 = Biscuits
Room 4 = Slices
Please deliver baking to the school staffroom on Thursday 7th or Friday 8th November. Thank you for your support.
Term 4 = HATS
Shirley Bailey
Time to dust off our wide brimmed hats!
As we head into Term 4, a reminder that all students must wear a wide-brimmed hat during outdoor activities. This is part of our sun safety policy to ensure everyone stays protected while enjoying the warmer weather. Please ensure your child brings their hat to school every day.
Bus Fees - Term 4
Rachel Mackey
Bus Fees for Term 4 have been emailed.
We are now in our last Term for 2024. Final fees for this years bus service have now been emailed home.
Please, if you have not yet paid your fees from Term 3, kindly arrange to do so. The Turangi Bus is a chartered service and is charged at $7.50/day irrespective of absence or illness.
Total cost for Term 4 is $360. We have a long list of students awaiting the use of this bus and unfortunately we cannot keep spaces open for overdue accounts.
Trophy Returns
Rachel Mackey
Please can we have all trophies received last year returned for this years prizegiving
It won't be long and the end of the year will be upon us, as will be our much anticipated day of prizegiving.
Please can you return any trophies that were received last year so we are able to have them engraved for this years recipients.
Thank you.
Attendance Matters
Shirley Bailey
Term 3 Attendance Data.
Congratulations to the 42 students who attended school regularly during Term 3. This means these students attended school 90% of the time, which means they had less than 5 days absent during the term. These students enjoyed a hot chocolate, chocolate fish and cookie with me at the end of Term 3. In term 2 we had 39 students attending regularly, so yahoo a slight improvement in Term 3. Well done!
Lets continue to work together to raise our 'regular' attendance rates.
Reminders:
Did you know ... if a student misses one day of school every two weeks, they miss more than a whole year of school by 16 years of age. As a parent or caregiver, you, alongside our school, play a key role in building strong habits of regular school attendance.
All students are legally required to attend school every day and it is a shared responsibility to make sure students attend and engage in learning from when they first start school.
You must let the school know if your child is going to be absent or intends to be absent for a portion of the school term for whatever reason, like a tangi or medical procedure. Family holidays, or taking time off for extracurricular activities (not organised by school), are not acceptable reasons for being absent. While we understand that family holidays during term time are a popular choice due to reduced costs and availability etc. we encourage you to keep these to a minimum where possible.
If you do not notify us of your child's absences, and we cannot get hold of you to check the whereabouts of your child, we record your child as Truant. Please ensure you either ring school, or use the Edge App to record your child's absence. Repeated unjustified absences, truancy or recurring medical absences may result in us taking further action - eg. sending attendance letters home, or informing our local attendance officers.
The Ministry of Education's goal is to have 80% of all tamariki attending school 90% of the time. This means missing fewer than 5 days across a term. Below is a screenshot of our Term 3 attendance summary.
Join with us and help our tamariki Go Five For Five!
As you can see, we currently only have 44% of our tamariki regularly attending school (90% of the time). Let's improve this together. If we can get our whole school (Year to Date) data to 70% of our students attending regularly by the end of the year we will organise a celebration day at school in Term 4. School will shout a delicious lunch, and provide some awesome fun activities to celebrate meeting our target.
If your child reaches 90% regular attendance at the end of each term (Term 2, 3 & 4), they will be invited to a special morning tea with me (Shirley). I'll put my baking skills to the test (or visit the supermarket) and shout our kids that GO FIVE FOR FIVE a hot chocolate and a morning tea treat.
Teeth Tips
Zenda Johns - Oral Health Educator Taupo
Did you know?
Dental care for children is free until their 18th birthday. Regular visits to the Dental Therapist is recommended. Please ring 0800 Lakesteeth 0800 525 378 to book an appointment for your child.
Interesting Fact Plaque (that sticky substance) forms from the gum down/up. So….
Brush in small circles including the gum line Give top teeth downward flicks and bottom teeth upward flicks after brushing in little circles
Jase Williams - Building Connected Whānau
Shirley Bailey
An awesome opportunity to find out more about Building Connected Whānau. Jase has been working with many Taupō Kāhui Ako schools this year. He is an excellent speaker and has some inspiring messages. Well worth adding to your calendar!
Important Dates
First Aid - St Johns Education
All Day
Shake Out Day
-
Earthquake Awareness
TEACHER ONLY DAY
All Day
Teachers will be working onsite. School will be closed for instruction.
Labour Day
All Day
No School
Year 7-8 Immunisations
All Day
Scooter Safety
-
Scooter Safety - Rooms 3, 4 & 5 (Year 0-3)
School Athletics Day
All Day
Kuratau School
Inter-School Athletics
All Day
Taupō
Board Meeting
-
Noho Marae - Pūkawa Marae
All Day
2nd December - Room 1
3rd December - Whole School
Pūkawa Marae
Year 8 Dinner @ Oreti Village Resort
-
End of Year Prizegiving
-
Join us for our end of year prize giving celebration
Kuratau School Hall
End of Term 4
All Day
Last Day Fun Day!
Kuratau School
REMINDERS
School Docs - Policies & Procedures for Kuratau School
Shirley Bailey on Behalf of the Kuratau School Board
You can find links to our School Policies and Procedures at School Docs.
Visit: Kuratau.schooldocs.co.nz User Name: Kuratau Password: Respect
If you would like to add a community notice to our fortnightly newsletters please get in touch with Rachel or Shirley - (07) 386 5801
Interested? Please call..
Elvie - 0210316149 Kim - 0278119963
Meeting other Mums and making friends
Cooking International Dishes
Zumba Classes/Yoga and Meditation
Picnics/Joining other groups activities
Mother's Day/Baby Showers
Mum's and Children's Birthdays
Holiday Parties (Christmas, Easter and more)
Guest Speakers
Free Morning Tea provided for mums and children
Our community is open to all ladies, from here and everywhere.
WELCOME TO JOIN FREE
Want to learn new skills, get outdoors, and have fun? The skills you learn in athletics are the perfect foundation for almost any sport.
Every student can give athletics a go. Our local athletics club Taupo Athletics is welcoming new members now and we encourage students to get involved and get active.
Contact details for all athletics clubs nationwide are available here. Become a member today!
Edventure Holiday Programmes and Camp
These holidays we are running 2 different holiday programmes and a camp.
- Edventure Everyday. $55/day Sports, games, arts and crafts a different theme everyday, 5-13 yr olds.
- Dungeons and Dragons. $80/day A half day board game experience with special guest Lewis. 8-13 yr olds
- Advanced Outdoors Camp @Ngamuwahine. $675, Kayaks, Rock climbing, Awesome outdoor activities. 8-13 yr olds
Grab the kids and head along to this fun run/walk/skip/hop or jump!! Guaranteed to be a fun-filled day for the whole family with food trucks, spot prizes and of course loads of colour!
Your participation isn't only about having fun but also making a difference in the lives of kids in need all over the Waikato.
Register now.
Dancing for Life Education Central Plateau hits Taupō on Saturday 19 October 2024. Get dressed up and get ready for a night to remember as 10 local couples hit the dance floor to fundraise for Life Education Trust! These local community heroes have no previous dance experience and have been tutored by local dance teachers and have sacrificed 5 months of their personal time, training to perfect their performances. This extremely ambitious, successful ‘one night only’ production, loosely based on recent televised celebrity dance shows, will be supported by fantastic live entertainment, auctions, delicious food and beverage - this is a night not to be missed!
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