Kia ora e te whānau,

It’s awesome to be back at school, and we’re all excited and looking forward to the 2026 school year. It has been great reconnecting with your children – there’s a really lovely vibe around the school, both in classrooms and in the playground. It has also be great to see the sunshine-a little late however much apprecaited! 🌞

Nau mai, haere mai to all of our new tamariki, whānau and staff. You can check out our staff profiles on our website by clicking here. We held a beautiful pōwhiri last week; the sun was shining and, as always, it was a special way to begin the school year and welcome new people into our kura. Ngā mihi to our senior rangatahi who led the proceedings with the karanga, whaikōrero, haka and waiata – you did us proud.

"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!

New staff-Eloise Adams (Rm 7), Kitty Lewin (Kōwhai pod) and Kate Sands Office
New tamariki-Joshua, Ginny, Eva, William, Benjamin, Sienna, Harmanjeet, Harper, Zaci, Bellamy, Gus, Max, Harlem, Willow, Hudson, Mason, Joseph, Micah, Theo, Charlie, Zion, Mathew, Ilaisa, Finn 

Mark your calendars, next week Thursday, 19 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 7:00pm. Click here to book a timeslot. The code is mqdb4

Throughout the year, please stay in touch with your child’s teacher(s). We welcome parents and caregivers dropping in before or after school for a quick catch-up, or making a time for a longer meeting if needed. Our teachers are also contactable via email.

The more open our lines of communication are, the greater the success your children are likely to have. We are really looking forward to working together to ensure our school is a safe, happy and stimulating place for your children and tamariki.

Together, we can achieve great things!

We also send out a weekly newsletter each Wednesday afternoon and please check us out on facebook and instagram.

The bus has been advised.

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.

At our staff-only day last week, we presented special badges to acknowledge the years of service our staff have given as kaiako, kaiāwhina and support staff at Kapakapanui School.

The service categories are: 5–9, 10–14, 15–19, 20–24, 25–29 and 30+ years.

Badges for 20+ years feature a gold background to recognise this exceptional commitment. Our OGs are Lynnie Gilmore and Whaea Rosie, with other gold badge recipients being Lesley Millns , Barb Higgot, Carol McCaffrey, Rochelle McKenzie, Diane Richards, Kerri Davey and Thea Van der Meulen. We are incredibly grateful for the dedication and mahi of all our staff. 

Mrs Swanson is once again organising our Road Patrol roster. We’re lucky to have many wonderful parents and whānau who have already offered to help; however, we still need another 2–3 volunteers.

Do you have 15–20 minutes spare one morning or afternoon a week? If so, please contact Emma on emma.swanson@kks.school.nz – we’d love to hear from you.

The Government has been very clear in its education messaging about the importance of attendance, with a national target that by 2030, 80% of students attend school for at least 90% of the time. This means being at school for 9 out of every 10 school days.

Regular attendance matters. Absence from school has a direct impact on achievement, and across all year levels we see that students who attend well consistently achieve better outcomes than those with high absence rates. While missing a day here or there might not seem significant, the cumulative impact over time is substantial. Missing just one day a week (or arriving late on a regular basis) adds up to two weeks of learning lost each term, and by the end of the year this equates to almost a full term of missed schooling. This is very difficult to make up in terms of learning opportunities, not to mention missed social interactions which are super important.

We are proud that the vast majority of our students have excellent attendance, including many who can proudly boast 90-100% attendance. Our team will continue to work hard to support all tamariki to be at school every day, and we will follow up with parents and caregivers when students are absent.

Your support in working alongside us to ensure your children attend school regularly is greatly appreciated. If you are experiencing challenges around attendance, please reach out — we are here to help.👍

Tō Whakapapa emails have been sent to all Māori whānau in Years 5-8, if you have not recevied this email please let us know. Tō Whakapapa begin in pōhutukawa pod with Matua Ngatai tomorrow- 9-10:10am

This year we have reinstated our Whānau system.  This runs the same as house groups.  Each Whānau has year 8 student leaders that were chosen at the end of 2025.  The Whānau are broken in to Whānau classes and then into Whānau groups which will have one or two students from each Syndicate across the school.   The senior students support and help their younger buddies.  The Whānau groups will meet fortnightly for a short session of activities and then we will have a full Whānau day once a term.  The Whānau leaders met with the staff on Monday this week to start planning the activities and they take a large role in teaching and leading the activities during the sessions.  

These are our 2026 Whānau leaders in their new Whānau shirts.  

This is an excellent radio interview which I inluded in some of last years newsletters. Child psychologist Dr Camilo Ortiz advises parents to relax and do less. His Independence Therapy approach helps children become more resilient by encouraging them to face challenges themselves, even if it means parents sometimes need to step back rather than step in.

He says that kids need lots of practice with what he call's the four Ds: 

Click here for the interview or alternatively read this article by Dr Otiz

Even though my own kids are mostly grown up, I still found it really interesting — lots of useful parenting tips!

We’re delighted to continue offering delicious lunches from Bakehouse Waikanae on Fridays and Sushimi Sushi on Wednesdays. Lunches will begin Week 4. 

Mountains to Sea Wellington are running this awesome FREE event on the weekend-click here for more information

Ngā mihi nui!

Craig

Continuing on from 2025 every couple of weeks our Cultural Leaders group help someone from our school share their culture with us. This is done at hui or over the P.A. system into the classes. Look out for our next one coming next week. 

At Kapakapanui School we are using this Structured Literacy approach for our teaching developed by the University of Canterbury.

Professor Gail Gillon and Professor Brigid McNeill from the University of Canterbury are leading a study on the Better Start Literacy Approach. The full research team is listed here: https://betterstartapproach.com/about/our-team.

Your child’s teacher will use an online tool to check their progress in language and reading. The results will be used in a research database to see if the program is working. No names or personal details will be shared. Only general information like test scores, school area, age, gender, ethnicity, if English is their second language, and if they get extra learning support will be included.

No one will be able to trace the information back to your child. All students' anonymous data will be used in the study unless you choose to opt out.

If you do not want your child’s data included, you have two options:
1. tell your child’s teacher
2. email the research team at askbsla@canterbury.ac.nz

Your child will still do the tests, but their results won’t be part of the research.
The Ministry of Education has approved this opt-out process. Saying no will not affect you or your child’s relationship with the school or the Ministry of Education.
The anonymous data will be securely stored for 10 years before being deleted.
It will be used for reports to the Ministry of Education and in research publications and presentations on the program’s impact.
This project has been reviewed and approved by the University of Canterbury Human Ethics Committee, and any complaints should be sent to The Chair, Human Ethics Committee, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch (human-ethics@canterbury.ac.nz).

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Professor Gillon or Professor McNeill for further information.

Professor Gail Gillon
Professor Brigid McNeill
askbsla@canterbury.ac.nz

These are available to purchase from the school office or via myKINDO for $20.  
If you are unsure of which whānau your child is in please check with the office.

Te Whenua - Green

Te Awa - Navy

Te Waka - Red

Ngā Manu - Yellow

Te Moana - Light Blue

We’re delighted to share a collection of delicious, good old-fashioned recipes kindly provided by the Kāpiti Food Poverty Project. These are simple, family-friendly meals that don’t cost a lot to make but taste great. A link has been added to our school website – perfect if you’re looking for some fresh inspiration for dinners at home

Check them out

With the rising cost of living and increasingly busy lifestyles, it's understandable that pre-packaged snacks on supermarket shelves can seem like a convenient option for lunchboxes. However, these convenient choices often come at a cost—both financially and nutritionally. Individually packaged biscuits, chips, and other lunchbox fillers are typically more expensive and often lack the essential nutrients children need.

At the Heart Foundation, we're here to support you with nutritious, cost-effective lunchbox ideas. Our recipes and tips are designed to help you create balanced meals that keep children nourished, focused, energised, and satisfied throughout the school day.

Our lunchbox guide poster provides a simple framework for building a healthy school lunch, including recommended food groups and nutritious snack options. Over the coming weeks, we'll be sharing easy-to-make recipes that offer a healthier homemade alternative to common lunchbox treats.

All of the projects in term 4 and over the holidays have been completed and we're back to a 'normal' school witout scaffold or safety fences. Thank you for your patience! 🙏

Please help us keep our tamariki—especially our younger children—safe by making sure our school gates are closed. From time to time, gates can be left open when classes head out on trips. If you happen to notice a gate open during the school day as you pass through, we’d really appreciate you closing it. Ngā mihi.

Please let the office know asap if your contact details have changed. You can do this online-click here

Thank you to all the Whānau who use the crossings safely. This includes waiting for the signal to cross now and walking across the crossing with small children. 

Please remember that children are always watching our behaviour as adults, so use the crossing, even if it is just you crossing.  Also, to continue respecting the children who are working hard on the patrols to keep all our tamariki safe, such as waiting patiently, not pushing past etc.  

We really value and appreciate the support we get from parents and whānau as coaches and supporters and Kapakapanui School has an excellent reputation for playing hard while being great sports-on and off the field/turf/court.

Click here to read our school sport code of conduct

2026 Stationery Packs
These are now live and ready to purchase.  Qizzle School Packs

Stationery Items on your account
If your childs teacher has sent them to the office last year or this year for additional items (eg, book, pen ruler etc) these have been added to your account.  This billing/invoice will show as '2025 Stationery or 2026 Stationery', where possible we will itemise what the item/s is.

Weekly trips are made to the library with your childs class where they can browse or loan books.