Tena Koutou Kio Kio Primary School Community
Greetings to you all

School roll : 143 Students

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa – Greetings to you all.

At Kio Kio School, we are delighted to witness the energy, enthusiasm, and joy of our students as they engage in their learning. Each day brings new opportunities for growth, connection, and exploration. School camps are always a highlight of the year, requiring careful planning, coordination, and effort. I am grateful to our staff for the thought and care put into ensuring our students have the best experiences, both in the classroom and beyond.

We value Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) and are committed to providing our students with rich, hands-on learning opportunities each year. This week, Tōtara and Rimu students have been involved in a wide variety of activities at their Ōhope Beach Camp, including:

Beach activities
Paradise Valley in Rotorua
Kiwi Tracker
History Hunt
Kayaking
Observatory Visit
Ōtarawairere Bay activities
Beach Education
And so much more!

Thank you to Larna Culpan and Helen Twentyman for organising such an incredible week of experiences for our students. Also, a massive thank you to the parent/grandparent helpers who gave up their time to support our students and staff during the week. The memories and conversations sparked by this experience will stay with our students for a long time.

I would also like to share some exciting news. As you may know, Rosie Jones, our Learning Support Coordinator, has resigned & will finish up her role at the end of the term. We are incredibly grateful for her dedication and service. Following a recent interview process with a panel of four principals from the Ngā Awa ki te Moana Kāhui Ako, I am thrilled to announce that Emma Telfer, our Year 7 & 8 teacher, has been appointed as our new Learning Support Coordinator. Congratulations to Emma on this well-deserved role! While we will be starting the search for a new classroom teacher for Year 7 & 8 students, I am confident that we will find another wonderful educator to join our fantastic team at Kio Kio School.

Our new car park opening was a wonderful success! It was lovely to see past and present Board of Trustees members, staff, and our school community coming together to celebrate this milestone. This long-awaited project has finally come to fruition, and we are excited about the positive impact it will have on the school and the safety of our students.

In other exciting news, last week, Kio Kio School, led by Emma Telfer, organised the COPS Swimming Sports for local schools. The event was a fantastic success, with students from across the district showcasing their swimming skills. The competition was fierce, with nail-biting finishes, and the relay race was a standout moment. The crowd cheered, and the swimmers gave their all! A huge thank you to our supporters committee for the fundraising BBQ that was sold during the event. There were a lot of sausages, drinks and other delicious items sold to raise money for our school.

Last week our school had a scheduled N4L (Network for Learning) upgrade which provides faster, safer internet access for our Kura. It has a web filtering system that is one of the online safety tools that we use to help block inappropriate websites and applications for ākonga/students.

This week, I travelled to Auckland to attend the Education Law Summit, an insightful conference featuring presentations from twelve expert lawyers. Throughout the day, they covered a wide range of crucial topics that are fundamental to the field of education.

Looking ahead, we are gearing up for the Kio Kio Triathlon on April 2nd. Our students have been practising their running and swimming skills daily in preparation for the event. Please see the Triathlon article in this newsletter for details.

Finally, I would like to express my thanks for your continued support in ensuring that your children are at school each day. This year, we’ve seen an increase in student attendance, and we couldn’t be more grateful for your commitment to your child’s education.

As we move forward together, let us remember the words of the whakataukī:
“He waka eke noa” – We are all in this together.

Thank you for being part of the Kio Kio School whānau. We are excited about all the wonderful things ahead for the rest of the term!

Ngā mihi nui,
Pip Were

STUDENT INFORMATION UPDATE FORM 2025

This form has been sent home to all families two weeks ago for each student. The form is requesting that you check that we have the current information on file and permissions. Can we please have them returned to the school office as soon as possible.

SUNSMART - HATS

All students have to wear a hat when playing outside. No Hat, No Play. Those students without a hat are asked to play on the deck undercover. Please name your child/ren's hats.

STUDENT ABSENCES

If your child is going to be absent from school, please advise the office by phone (078731816), email (admin@kiokio.school.nz) or the absent tab on the Parent APP with the reason so the absence can be marked correctly for the Ministry of Education. If the school is not notified, the child is deemed TRUANT and marked accordingly. If your child is late to school, they must come to the office and sign in on the electronic register.

STUDENTS ENTERING & LEAVING SCHOOL

Please make sure that your child/ren are dropped off and collected from the bus shelter each day.
We are enforcing safety rules at school pick-up and drop-off. Children are NOT to open our school gates. Parents are required to drop off inside the gate and come into the school grounds to collect their children. This is a safety measure. Our carpark is very busy at the end of the day and we need to do everything we can to keep everyone safe.

BUS BOOK REMINDER

Please ensure that the school office is informed early if your child won't be on the school bus in the afternoon. We also need to be contacted if your child/ren are getting off at another stop. You can do this by phoning the school office on 07 8731816 or emailing admin@kiokio.school.nz

PEANUT ALLERGY

We have a student in Kahikatea class with a severe peanut allergy who cannot come into contact with peanuts or products with peanuts in them. We ask that parents do not send peanuts or any peanut related products to school, so that we can keep this student safe. Thank you for your understanding.

LOST PROPERTY

Our lost property stand is gaining some momentum with stock. We have shorts, sweat shirts, t-shirts, track pants, hats, shoes and a towel already. Come and check it out so we can return the clothing to your children.
Please ensure that your child's name or initials are placed on their belongings, so they can be returned to them immediately.