Kauri Whānau Weekly Update: Term 4 Week 5

 In this post:

• Coming up
• Relationships and Sexuality
• Top Team
• Congratulations

Coming up:

We are down to the last three and a bit weeks of 2021 at school and it feels like the time is racing by! Here is a rundown on what lies ahead in the next few weeks.

Week 6:

• Tuesday, Nov 23 and Thursday, Nov 25: Learning conferences. School will finish at 2pm on these days. See the school newsletter for details on booking a conference and after-school care.

Week 8:

• Tuesday, Dec 7: the last technology session.
• Thursday, Dec 9th: Corsair Bay trip. Many thanks to the parents who have signed up to help with this. If you would like to join us and have yet to fill in the form, click here.

Week 9:

• Monday, December 13th: Year 8 pool and pizza party. Liz May has kindly offered us the use of their pool; we will send address details out the week before. This event runs from 4pm until 6pm.
• Tuesday, Dec 14th: Year 8 Graduation. This year we will be live-streaming graduation as, due to Level 2 restrictions, parents sadly are unable to attend. Year 8s will finish school after lunch that will follow graduation.
• Wednesday, December 15th will be the last morning for Year 1-7.

• We are also organising two high school transition events for our Year 8s. Firstly, a 'high school hacks' session, with a group of Year 9s returning to share their advice. Near the end of the term, the 24/7 youth workers and a couple of ex-Beckenham seniors from Cashmere High will be hosting an afternoon of information and fun. 

Relationships and Sexuality:

Over the past two weeks we have been exploring relationships. Next week we finish this topic off and move on to 'growing and changing'. This topic includes discussing changes at puberty, the reproductive system and conception.

Top Team:

With so much canceled recently, due to Covid, it was exciting to be able to gather on the field to enjoy the fun and team spirit of Top Team. Many thanks to the parents and teens who helped with the running of this event. Check out the end of this post for photos and a movie.

Congratulations:

Well done to our zone athletics team who competed last Monday at Hansen Park. See the newsletter for details about results and the exciting Year 7 relay race.

Over the past two Fridays, we have presented the literacy and drama Year 8 awards at our celebration assemblies. Below are the citations.

The Literacy Cup was jointly awarded to Fergus McMillian and Grace Howard. 

Fergus, any teacher who has ever taught you will know that wherever you are, there will undoubtedly be a book close at hand. There is being an avid reader and then there is being an avid reader to the Fergus Mcmillan degree. As a result, you have a deep understanding of what the reader needs and what makes writing effective. As a writer, you use your extensive vocabulary and creative mind to craft texts with the reader in mind. Your writing is deliberate, controlled and complex. I’m going to miss reading your stories next year. 

Grace, through your love of literature, you have acquired an extensive understanding of what it means to captivate an audience and what makes a truly successful writer. You have the ability to transport your reader to new worlds with your bank of rich vocabulary and your precise use of language features within your crafted texts. With these talents, you have been rewarded with incredible results, most notably through your participation in ‘The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition’ where you have been awarded with both silver and gold merits. Grace, you have a wonderfully sophisticated mind and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for you. 

The  Radcliffe Award for Special Contribution to Drama was jointly awarded to Syesha Mee and Jalori Mathias.

JJ, I have been so impressed with your leadership and maturity in helping lead your Theatre Sports team this year. You are so calm, cool and collected and have the patience of a saint. You have embraced your love for drama and music with your whole heart. You have sought opportunities outside of school to help you gain more skills with something you obviously love doing. You have the confidence and the drive to do great things JJ, so keep nurturing your ‘theatre wings’ and fly!

Syesha, you have been a committed member of Theatre Sports for two years. As a Year 7, you watched, learned all you could and developed your drama skills. As a Year 8, you helped lead a team, stayed 100% committed to our team and made all of us laugh with your offbeat characters. You always stepped up, Syesha, and because of that you will be an important part of any drama/theatre group that you are a part of in the future.  I will miss your leadership skills next year. Congratulations Syesha!