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KARORI NORMAL SCHOOL
Telephone:
NEWSLETTER
Fax:
476-7209
476-7236
Checkline: 476-7228
Email: office@kns.school.nz
Website: www.kns.school.nz
BOT Email: bot@kns.school.nz
Donald Street, Karori
Newsletter No. 35 – Term 4
19th November 2014 – Week 6
Quick Reminders
2014 Term Dates
Term 4 Monday 13 Oct – Friday 19 Dec
19 Nov
19 Nov
20 Nov
20 Nov
20 Nov
24 Nov 26 Nov
25 Nov
25 Nov
26 Nov 28 Nov
2015 Term Dates
Term 1
Term 2
Term 3
Term 4
Wednesday 4 Feb – Thursday 2 Apr
Monday 20 Apr – Friday 3 Jul
Monday 20 Jul – Friday 25 Sep
Monday 12 Oct – Thursday 17 Dec
2014 TEAMS
Kowhai – Y1 (Team Leader Jacqui Croft)
Rooms 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 & 31
Pohutukawa – Y2 (Team Leaders Wilhelmina
Wooff/ Ali Kotkin/ Michele Mills)
Rooms 7, 8, 11, 30, & 32
Akakura – Y3/4 (Team Leader Kane O’Connell)
Rooms 10, 12, 13, 14, 17, 22, & 23
Kahikatea – Y5/6 (Team Leader David Wong)
Rooms 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21 & 26
Totara – Y7/8 (Team Leader Trish Blacktop)
Rooms 24, 25, 27, 28 & 29
Important Dates
19 Nov
19 Nov
20 Nov
20 Nov
20 Nov
24 Nov 26 Nov
25 Nov
25 Nov
26 Nov 28 Nov
27 Nov
1 Dec
2 Dec
4 Dec
4 Dec
4 Dec
11 Dec
11 Dec
16 Dec
19 Dec
Transition to Year 7 Evening – 7pm – 7:30pm
PTA Meeting – 7:30pm
WZ Athletics Year 4-8 Postponement
New Entrant Class and Individual Photos
Wellington College Y9 Induction Day - 9am3pm
Year 5/6 Camp Rm 15, 16 & 20
Team Kowhai Assembly - 9am
Wellington Athletics
Year 5/6 Camp Rm 18, 19, 21 & 26
Junior Athletics
Pack the Bus-2:15pm
Regional Athletics
Y2015 New Entrant Day 1 Pre-visit
Junior Athletics Postponement
Regional Athletics Postponement
Junior Carol Singalong
Parent Helpers Morning Tea - 10:30am
Year 3/4 Christmas Concert 1:45pm – 3pm
Last Day of School
Any additional or altered dates will be highlighted in
yellow each week
Transition to Year 7 Evening – 7pm – 7:30pm
PTA Meeting – 7:30pm
WZ Athletics Year 4-8 Postponement
New Entrant Class and Individual Photos
Wellington College Y9 Induction Day 9am-3pm
Year 5/6 Camp Rm 15, 16 & 20
Team Kowhai Assembly 9am
Wellington Athletics
Year 5/6 Camp Rm 18, 19, 21 & 26
Welcome to the New Pupils
Welcome to the following new pupils:
From the Principal
Kia Ora Koutou
Tomorrow votes will be counted in the Board of Trustees mid-term
election. I would like to thank all of the five candidates who have put
themselves forward for election to the board. The high number of
candidates is another indication of the level of commitment
parents/caregivers have at our school.
As you may be aware the board is currently reviewing its charter and
strategic direction for the next three years. Kay Webster recently hosted
two focus group meetings and an online survey was sent to all families
last Wednesday. The board is very keen to engage with as many of our
school community as possible so please take the time to complete the
survey, if you have not already done so. The survey will close on Friday
28 November. To complete the survey please follow this link;
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SJNQ5SK
Last Friday our performing arts groups took part in the annual KNS
Cushion Concert. The following groups took part along with a number of
soloists and small groups:
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Year 3/4 Choir
Year 5/6 Choir
Year 7/8 Choir
Chorale
Ukulele group
Orchestra
Four Bands
Kapa Haka
It was great to see the children’s hard work throughout the year pay off, with very confident and polished performances. A
feature of the evening for me was the way the children all supported and encouraged each other, they were a credit to their
school and their families.
I am very grateful to all the staff who have worked with these groups, Jacqueline Ward, Kane O’Connell, David Wong,
Mayana Karena, Heidi Stierand and Claire Chittenden as well as Margaret Johanson one of our parents who accompanied
some of the performances on the piano.
Later in the term we will be hosting two Carol Concerts:
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The Year 1 & 2s will perform on Thursday 11 December
The Year 3 & 4s will perform on Tuesday 16 December.
Te Reo (Phrases for the Week)
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Be careful - Kia Tupato
Help - Awhina!
Fire - Ahi!
Stop – Kati!
Travel Safety
Thank you to Suzanne Woodley who will be very kindly taking over the coordination of the Kiss and
Drop roster for 2015.
PTA November Meeting – 7.30pm in the Boardroom
Please remember that the PTA is holding their November meeting at 7:30pm this evening, in the boardroom next to the
staffroom. The PTA is a group which focuses on building a sense of school community, as well as fundraising to provide
resources for the school. Joining the PTA is a great way to meet new people and make a much appreciated contribution to
our school. We have a number of long-standing members of the PTA leaving us in the next year or two, as their youngest
children move on to secondary school, so we are looking to recruit new members.
Wanted – A Couch
Some of you may have noticed that we have a couch in the foyer of the senior block next to Andrea Peetz’s office. This was
an old couch from one of our classrooms however, it has proved very popular with our older children. We would like to
replace it with one which is better condition, it you have an old couch which you would be happy to donate to the school
please contact me, ckelly@kns.school.nz.
A thought to share with your children: “Luck? I don't know anything about luck. I've never banked on it and I'm afraid of
people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work - and realizing what is opportunity and what isn't.” (Lucille Ball)
Conrad Kelly
Principal
BoT News
Points of Interest from the Board Meeting of 9 November 2014:
The following provides a quick overview of the points of interest discussed at our last meeting. Confirmed minutes of
meetings are available from the school office, office@kns.school.nz , and posted on the wall outside the Boardroom.
Meetings of the Board are held in public and we warmly invite members of our school community to attend.
Governance
o
We are sad to say goodbye to Helen Buchan and Darrell Statham from the Board. Both have served the KNS
board, our school and children in many many different ways – but always with enthusiasm, energy and an eye
for the big picture. In particular we thank them for their combined wisdom, vision, grit and tenacity on all
property matters. We are hopeful that the fruits of all this hard work will be more evident in the coming
months!
o
Thank you to all those who voted in our Mid-Term Elections. The votes will be counted on Thursday, and the
new Trustees will take office on Friday.
o
We also encourage you to share your views on the 2015-2017 KNS Charter review by completing the online
survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SJNQ5SK This review will help set the values, aims and strategic
direction of the school for the next three years. Your feedback is sought around the key performance areas of
Student Learning, Effective Teaching, School Culture, Leadership and Management, Governance and Engaging
with Family.
Property
o
We are acutely aware that our school has many pressing property needs. A great deal of work continues at
Board level to progress these. While many of the projects are interconnected, ALL are now pending Ministry
sign-off. Unfortunately this process continues to take much longer than we might have ever anticipated. As
previously noted, some of the bigger projects include:
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Development of new classrooms on the site of the old prefabs and landscaping of this area.
The Hall Upgrade, from the proceeds of the 2013 and 2014 Gala.
Exterior painting and refurbishment of Rooms 1 and 3
Repairs and maintenance to the Playbank.
Architects have also visited the school to consider the needs of the Senior and old Administration
blocks.
We share your frustrations at the slow pace of this property work.
o
We continue meetings with the Ministry and service provider representatives to progress replacing classrooms
on the site of the old prefabs. Recently our teachers had the opportunity to feed into the design of these
Modern Learning environment (MLE) rooms. We are pleased that Ministry approval for a third classroom on
this site was recently granted, as this will accommodate an increase in our school roll. Again, we remain
hopeful that we will have the green light for this project very soon.
The next meeting of the Board is: 1 December, in the Boardroom at 7.00pm.
KNS BoT: Kay Webster (Chair), Conrad Kelly (Principal), James Appleton (Staff Rep), Helen Buchan, Miett Fear, Darrell
Statham, Glenn Stevenson.
School News
2014 BOT Elections
Returning Officer Information
Board of Trustees Elections
Election Timeline
Votes counted and results declared
Board takes office
20 November 2014
21 November 2014
Vicki Lewington, Returning Officer
vlewington@kns.school.nz
Go Pack the Bus!
Wellingtons Easy Listening Breeze and the Wellington City Mission are Packing The Bus for
Christmas!
They are visiting schools and supermarkets, collecting non-perishable food items and toys to
be distributed around disadvantaged Wellington families this Christmas. The Go Wellington
Bus will be visiting Karori Normal School on Monday 1 December, 2:15pm.
The Wellington City Mission has a special Christmas wish list. We are asking children to bring one of the following items for
Go Pack The Bus. Please take items to the classroom.
Christmas items:
Small Christmas Cakes
Jelly
Christmas Mince Pies (6 packs)
Christmas Puddings
Tinned Fruit
Christmas Crackers
Confectionery
Iollies,
candy
chocolates)
Tinned Meat
canes,
Toys (new toys only please – and
unwrapped)
Lego
Art equipment
Educational books
Beach/picnic/water toys
Puzzles
Outdoor sports gear
Board games
Extras
Toiletries (for mums
and dads & teenagers)
Hair products
We ask for your support in helping make Christmas a happy time for those who may be struggling this year.
Thank You
We would like to acknowledge and thank the Thomas George MaCarthy Trust who have given us a most generous library
donation of $5500 to be used for the purchase of library books. This is very much appreciated and we thank them sincerely.
Chess@KNS
The Karori Normal School chess tournament was held last Wednesday 12th November, run by chess coach Mark van der
Hoorn.
30 students from across the years entered the whole day tournament.
The results were:
Thank you very much to Aparna Paranjpe, Mary Callister and Alice Gilroy for their help during the day.
We need some more parents to help run the lunch-time Chess Club 12.30-1.30pm on a roster basis. (Currently
Wednesdays but could be changed for 2015).
It would be once every 3-4 weeks. If you can assist at all please contact miettfear@gmail.com
School Road Patrols
Each week we will publish the names of the two children who will be on road patrol duties for the week. Please check
and ensure you know when you are on duty. This is very important. Any queries contact Andrea Peetz –
apeetz@kns.school.nz.
Camp News
The Totara Team is back from camp in St Arnaud where we climbed mountains, had snowball fights and leapt off tall poles in
a single bound. Camp would not have been possible without the wonderful parents who went with us to camp and made it
all possible. You were all fantastic and we so appreciate your time and good humour, not to mention your cooking and
dishwashing skills.
On our Year 8 Camp a huge thanks to Phil Conroy, Brian Brown, Hayden Friend, Shane Gibson, Gill Palmer and Andrea
Holmes.
On our Year 7 Camp an equally huge thanks to Kieran Robins, Selwyn Cubis, Max Zeng, Vicky Wood, Cheryl Moon, Nanditha
Ram and Viv Dalrymple
A special thanks goes to Andrea Holmes who organised all our menus and food for camp and who has set us up with systems
for cooking for camp for years to come. Anyone who can whip up a chocolate cake to feed 90 people and not even break
into a sweat deserves a very special pat on the back.
So a million thanks from the bottom of our hearts,
Team Totara Teachers
PTA News
Kids Art Works
The calendars, cards and diaries have been delivered to your children over the past few days. Don’t they look fantastic!
There are a few photo orders that came back with no names so we are unable to deliver these. If you have not received
your order please check at the school office for these.
We will be doing a quick turnaround reprint and if you would like to order more calendars, cards or diaries, please complete
st
the attached order form, or pick one up from the office, and return to the school office with payment by FRIDAY 21
NOVEMBER 3pm. There will be no late orders accepted. If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact me,
trudydalziel@clear.net.nz or 021 499 625.
Community News
Clinical Psychology Clinic - open in the Karori Village Health Centre, 146 Karori Road. Specialise in child, adolescent,
adult and family issues. Please contact Dr Rachel Irwin at rachel@rachelirwin.co.nz. Phone: 0274-722-960 or
www.rachelirwin.co.nz for more information.
Karori West Scout Hall Rebuild Pre-Christmas Fundraisers. - As our Scout Hall was severely damaged in an
arson attack we are hoping to raise funds towards the rebuild. So, treat yourself and help rebuild our Scout Hall, by heading
down to our HUGE CHRISTMAS CAKE & CRAFTS STALL at Karori Mall Saturday 6th December, or by placing an order for some
wonderful SILENI WINE by the 20 November. All information and order forms can be found at
http://www.karoriwestscoutgroup.org.nz. But if you would just like to donate you can give a little at
http://www.givealittle.co.nz/org/KWScout.
Lifestyle Sitting and Christmas card Offer from Photography by Woolf:
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Treat your family this Christmas with a one-hour photography session at a Wellington location of your choice
Digital viewing
Two 20x25cm Prints
One 32x47cm Velvet Fine Art Print
Six Files for website with Logo
20 Christmas Cards with envelopes (from your favourite photograph)- all for $495.
This is a fantastic offer, with a saving of over $500, so get in quick to ensure your cards are ready before Christmas. Offer
valid until 20th November 2014. Vouchers available.
Family of five looking for house to house-sit/rent - Our family of five is looking for a home for a few weeks next
year while we do up our house. We’ll probably need to be out of our place for eight weeks from mid-February to midApril. We have three beautifully behaved kids (12, 8 and 4) who will all be at Kelburn Normal School so we are keen to be
fairly close by. If you are heading away and need a responsible family to look after your house or you know of a short-term
rental in western Wellington please contact John and Ravithri at ravi.john@paradise.net.nz or text John on 027 275 2390.
Karori Junior Hockey - Save the Date - The five pre-season training sessions for juniors will begin on Sun 8th
February 2015, followed by trials during March. Save the date now and visit www.kjhc.org.nz/2015-season-information/ for
full details. Registrations open in January.
KELLY CLUB January 2015 Holiday Programmes - We will be operating for 4 weeks during the January
school holidays from 5 January 2015 at the Wests Rugby club rooms, Wilton. For full details and to enrol on
all our programmes visit www.kellyclub.co.nz or email adminwgtn@kellysports.co.nz or call 04 972 7201.
Artageouskids Pre Xmas Holiday Programme – Monday 15th Dec – Friday 19th Dec and Monday 22nd and Tuesday
rd
23 Dec. Please book through our website www.artageouskids.co.nz.
Ohariu Valley Riding School – Summer Holiday Programme - Places are limited and we have a limited number
of spots available for beginners each week. To book please call 477 3888 or email us at ridingschool@ovec.co.nz
Easy and Cheap Garden Work – Contact Easy Garden 022 128 4507 or email Eazy-Gardens@outlook.com
DELIVERERS WANTED - Deliverers wanted (for starting November) in your local area, to deliver community newspapers to
letterboxes. Must be 10yrs old or older. Please contact: Michelle McGuire (Manager) Ph: 970 0439
Email:michelle@genxbuilders.co.nz