Pōwhiri
On Friday, we held a wonderful pōwhiri to welcome our new tamariki, whānau, and staff into our Kapakapanui whānau. Our rangatahi/senior students played a significant role, with our kai karanga (kōtiro/girls) calling our manuhiri in and our tāne/boys speaking with confidence on the pae pae. The entire school joined in with beautiful waiata, creating a warm and inclusive atmosphere. Ngā mihi to Matua Ngatai for his continued leadership and positive role modelling—it was a special and heartfelt welcome that truly reflected the strength of our school community.

"Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi."
"With your food basket and my food basket, the people will thrive."

This whakataukī reminds us of the importance of working together, sharing our strengths, and supporting one another. Our pōwhiri was a perfect reflection of this, as we welcomed our new tamariki, whānau, and staff with warmth, connection, and aroha. It is through whanaungatanga and manaakitanga that our school continues to thrive!

Staff News
Whaea Paula, who has been on maternity leave, has made the difficult decision to resign as she and her whānau prepare to move back to Spain in a few weeks. Paula has been a valued member of our teaching team for the past three years, bringing warmth, dedication, and a love for learning into her classroom. We have truly enjoyed having her as part of our school community and will miss her greatly. We wish Paula, her husband, and their baby all the very best for this next adventure.

Room 24 Teacher-we are still in the recruitment process of appointing a teacher for Room 24. This will be another couple of weeks away. I am very grateful to have Nicole Garrod relieving in the classroom for the next few weeks-ngā mihi Nicole!

Camps
Our upcoming camps are just around the corner! Year 5 & 6 students will be heading to El Rancho, while Year 7 & 8 students will make their way to Mi Camp, just north of Tūrangi. If you need more information, please get in touch with your child’s teacher.

If you would like to discuss a payment plan with us please contact Craig or the office.

Lunches
We’re delighted to continue offering delicious lunches from Bakehouse Waikanae on Fridays. Lunches will begin this Week. Please click the Google Form. Payments should be made directly to Bakehouse (details on the form).

Whānau Kōrero
Mark your calendars, next week Thursday, 20 February! We will close school early at 12:50 to open our classrooms for parents and whānau to meet and connect with our teachers. This isn’t a formal parent-teacher interview but an opportunity to help us get to know your child better and set them up for success this year. The 10 minute slots begin at 2pm and go through to 7:30pm. We will send the booking information out tomorrow via email.

What is CRT (Classroom Release Time)?
Classroom Release Time (CRT) is provided to all schools by the Ministry of Education to support teachers in focusing on important tasks such as planning, assessment, and professional development. From the beginning of 2025, classroom teachers will be released from their teaching duties for five days per term to use this time effectively. During CRT, your child will continue learning under the guidance of a carefully selected relief teachers ensuring their education remains engaging and uninterrupted. This initiative supports teachers in delivering high-quality education and meeting the diverse needs of all learners.

Some of CRT' relief teachers are all well known to our staff and tamariki. They are-Selena Irving, Maria Cassidy, Rachel Liddle, and Rebecca Shelford

Updating Contact Details
A reminder to please let us know if your address or phone number(s) have changed.  

We are also wanting to ensure that our email commuication is getting to our whānau, sometimes we only have an email address for 1 parent and information should be going to both. Please let us know if this is the case for you, and even better double check with the teachers at our whānau kōrero evening. We don't want anyone missing out on school information.

Ngā mihi nui!

Craig

We are seeking 3 or 4 more whānau members to assist the children at the road patrol crossings. You are only required for 20-30mins once a week. Your role is to support the students who are operating the crossing - just to help keep everyone safe - essentially stand there and smile while the children welcome or farewell our tamariki from school. 

We really appreciate the help given by so many already - thank you so much. 

Please contact Emma Swanson - emma.swanson@kks.school.nz if you have any questions, or are available to help.

As part of our setting up of classrooms and expectations at the start of the year, Year 3-8 classes will be looking at our Digital Citizenship/BYOD agreement. This agreement includes what Kapakapanui School does to help make learning online safe, and what students need to do to stay safe.

Classes will be learning about positive online behaviours and ways to keep safe using a variety of resources and ways to keep safe. We also have systems in place to be able to monitor online behaviours during school time.

Today, Tuesday 11th February is also Safer Internet day. Safer Internet Day (SID) is a global day of action that takes place annually in February to promote collaborative efforts to build a safer online world.
 
Each year SID covers a new theme, and in 2025 the theme is "Too Good To Be True? Keeping yourself and others safe from scams online." Their goal is to encourage others to start a conversation about how to spot, respond to and report scams of all types online. Classes will be looking at some resources based around this theme.
 
Some helpful information and advice on keeping your child safe online can be found at Netsafe parents and caregivers information

Hopefully you all have purchased your stationery items by now.  If you have not managed to put it together please see the ladies in the office as they have a small supply of stationery items they can provide and add to your account

More details will be provided over the next week.

The library is now open, your child will visit the library every week with their class.