It has been fantastic to see all our tamariki back at school this week.  We trust you had a fabulous 2 week break from school.  The weather was great and it almost felt like summer! 

We warmly welcome our new families to Kuratau School and look forward to getting to know you and your child this year.

We have a busy term lined up with lots of sporting opportunities in store for our Year 4-8 students. 

Kirsty Tatere, our Professional Learning Provider for 2023, will be working with us again this term as we continue to implement a Structured Literacy Approach towards teaching literacy at Kuratau School.  Our teachers are thoroughly enjoying the Professional Learning and we are noticing some definite improvements in students spelling, reading & writing progress. 

We are planning on holding a Fancy Dress Dance towards the end of term and hope to tie this event in with a Matariki Cultural Feast.  The date and location of this event is still to be confirmed, but will likely be in Week 9 or 10 of the term. and will run from 6-8pm.  This term each class will learn a dance to share with whānau and we will be learning some whole school 'social dances' to showcase as well as some fun Jump Jam Dances for everyone to join in with.  All whānau will be encouraged to come along and have a fun night out.

On the 19th of May we will be celebrating Pink Shirt Day.  We encourage everyone to wear pink and bring along a gold coin donation to support this organisation.  "Pink Shirt Day is an antibullying campaign that celebrates diversity and creates environments where all people can feel safe, valued and respected. Each year, workplaces, schools, organisations and individuals join the movement to make a stand against bullying."  Any monies raised will be sent to the Pink Shirt Day organsiation to help them continue to supply fantastic Anti Buillying resources to our communities.  "By fundraising for Pink Shirt Day you're helping create a kinder, more inclusive Aotearoa, where everyone feels safe, valued and unafraid to be themselves."  For more information on Pink Shirt Day we encourage you to visit their website.  

Our annual Bike Day fundraiser is pencilled in for Sunday 2nd July.  More information about this will be available in our next newsletter.  Please keep the day free if possible as we require lots of helpers on the day.  This is our major fundraiser for 2023 and all money raised goes to providing your children with amazing learning resources or opportunities that we simply could not do without this event. 

Check out the calendar below (Reminders section) for a full run down on what else is coming up this term.

As always, if you have any questions or queries about your child's learning, please don't hesitate to get in contact with your child's teacher.  

HAVE A SUPER DUPER WEEKEND.

Ngā mihi

Shirley Bailey
PRINCIPAL

We have been doing research on the vehicles, guns, poppies and how war started.  We designed a 3D model of what we have been learning. We are doing it because we need to remember people that fought in war.  

By Jayden

We have been doing research about Anzac day in groups and every group had a different topic .

My group's topic was on how war started and we all had different videos to watch.  

We were doing it so we would know more about Anzac day.

Then we designed a 3D model and made it to show something we learnt about the war.

By Kahureremoa

This week we have been learning about ANZAC day we've been making poppies,  tanks, mini guns, cannons and heaps of army stuff made out of  popsicle sticks, stones, fabric, glue guns, all sorts.

Before all of this stuff we had to make a drawing of what we were going to make.

We  did a lot of research about ANZAC day before all of this so we knew the meaning.

Also we made shadow art, so we made a sunset out of  pastels then cut out a soldier and stuck it on the sunset.

On Wednesday 10th May, 2023 Taupō KiwiSport are hosting a Year 4-8 T-Ball Tournament for regional schools.  Any interested children will be bringing home information about this tournament today (Friday). If your child is interested in playing please ensure the form is returned by Monday 1st May.  Our School registration details will be sent to Taupō KiwiSport by Wednesday 3rd May so it is essential completed forms are returned on Monday.

Due to the cost of a charter bus we would prefer to transport students by car.  We therefore require parent support with transportation.  Please indicate on the form provided if you can help with transport on the day.

Event Details: 

Bus fees for Term 2 have now been added to your child's account.  If you use this service please be aware that there is now a wait list for the bus and any unpaid fees for each term may jeopardise your child's position on the bus.  

The bus fee per child for Term 2 is $330 and is due by Friday 30th June.  This amount can be paid in full or by setting up regular automatic payments to the school account:  Kuratau School 06-0471-0055454-00. 

We thank you for your prompt payment.

Kia ora whanau,

 

Thank you once again for attending our recent “Kai and Kōrero” evening. It was a great opportunity to meet whānau. At this event and through our parent representatives, we have received feedback from whanau regarding the possible implementation of a uniform at Kuratau School. We heard you ...

As such, we would like to gain further insight and feedback and ensure that all our parents and caregivers are able to share their thoughts and whakaaro on this kaupapa. We have created an online survey to be able to capture this in order to consider whether or not, from your feedback, we progress further with uniforms.

If you want to have your say on this topic we urge you to please complete the short online survey. 

 

Nga mihi,

Kuratau School Board  

Last term we held our Kai and Kōrero (Meet the Teacher) evening at school.  During this event we asked our parents and caregivers to consider some questions and provide us with feedback.  

For those of you who were unable to attend this evening we would like to extend to you the opportunity to share your whakaaro (thoughts) with us via this Google Form.

Your feedback is valuable and as a Board we want to work together with our community to make Kuratau School a fantastic place to learn and thrive.  

Shirley Bailey

on Behalf of the Kuratau School Board

Although we are still waiting to hear final confirmation from RAL regarding the School Package for 2023 we remain hopeful that we will be able to provide this awesome opportunity again this year.

The future of the mountain is once again up for debate in the media and we will have to wait and see what the outcome is.

We do however want to ensure we are prepared to go if/when the booking system goes live. 

If you haven't yet registered your child's interest to participate in this year's SNOW SQUAD please complete this online form.