Kauri Team Newsletter - Week 8 Term 1

 Kauri Week 8 Blog

Kia ora koutou, 

We have been very engaged and working diligently in the Kauri hub for the last two weeks! We’ve been focused on our Literacy/Inquiry tasks on Leadership, have had hockey sessions to amp up our skills, Tuakana Teina time with our Year 1 and 2s from Kahikatea, and started cross-country training for the competition in Term 2. The Year 5-8 teachers have also been collaborating about our Winter Sports programme, which starts in Term 2 as well! 

Upcoming Dates:

Term 1
Week 9:            

Wednesday - Huxster Mountain Biking Event at McLean's Island

Thursday - Last day of school for Term 1 (have a restful break!)

Term 2

Week 1:

Wednesday - Ngā Puna Wai Tournament (Year 5-8)

Week 2:

Monday - School closed (Anzac Day)

Wednesday - PSC Aquathon Swim and Run Event

Wednesday - World Vision Junior Youth Conference 2026 (for World Challenge Leaders)

Friday - BTKOP Cross Country Event

Tuakana Teina with Kahikatea students

Every other Friday (non-assembly days), Kauri is buddying with the Year 1 and 2 students for some shared reading and inquiry time. Last week, they paired up one-to-one and completed a Nature Scavenger Hunt and read books together. We love seeing our school values ‘We Care’ and ‘We Get There Together’, during this time. Looking forward to next time!

Canterbury Hockey Sessions 

Each Home Group had a jam-packed 45-minute session with a Canterbury Hockey representative. The students learned about push passing, how to hold a stick correctly, had a few competitions and played a game at the end. Everyone showed ‘We Love Learning’ during their session!

Literacy/Inquiry Biographies

The past few weeks, the students have been researching a leader of their choice and writing a biography essay about that person. The students will also create a static image of their leader. This is a visual representation of their leader with a quote and symbol to depict a strong image portrayal. We look forward to completing our projects and sharing them with whānau and each other.

Year 7/8 Mountain Biking Relay

The South Island Schools MTB Champs are currently underway, and the boys have already had an awesome start. Our Year 7/8 team of Zach G, Ben S, and Daniel M took out 1st place, finishing four minutes ahead of the next team. They also placed 10th overall, racing against mostly high school riders.

In the U14 Cross Country race, Zach G placed 1st, winning by three minutes. Daniel M finished 6th, and Ben S came in 11th.

Such a great effort so far—we’re excited to see how they get on over the rest of the event!

PSC Canterbury Swimming:

A huge congratulations to all the Year 7/8 students who participated in the zone swimming competition. Fun was had by all, especially when they got their ice cream! The participants displayed grit and our school value, ‘We Love Challenge’. Well done tamariki!

Welcome to Nate, our 24/7 Youth Worker!

Nate, a 24/7 Youth Worker, will join the Kauri team in Term 2, working 2 days a week. He comes with fantastic listening skills and a passion to support all tamariki. We look forward to working with him on our team!

Have a fantastic weekend with your tamariki,
Hugo, Kate McG, Megan C, Sarah A, Megan H & Nicky

Kauri Team Newsletter - Term 1, Week 6

Kia ora koutou,

What a jam-packed two weeks we’ve had in Kauri! Week 5 featured the South Zone Swimming Sports, round two of our Whare Kotahitanga, Walk or Wheel Week, and plenty of learning packed in between.

Week 6 is already shaping up to be a highlight for the yearbook as we enjoyed a range of activities during Leadership Week. From discovering what type of leader we are to putting those qualities into practice, it has been fantastic to see students stepping up and embracing new challenges.

Upcoming Dates:
Week 7:            Wednesday - Whare Kotahitanga (Rotation 3)
                          Thursday - School Based Immunisation Programme

Week 8:             Monday - Canterbury Hockey Skills Sessions
                          Thursday & Friday - SISS Mountain Biking Event
                          Friday - Celebration Assembly & Kauri Sausage Sizzle

Week 9:             Wednesday - Huxster Mountain Biking Event at McLean's Island

Have a fantastic weekend with your tamariki,
Hugo, Kate McG, Megan C, Sarah A, Megan H & Nicky

Thank you to Megan Harris
Over the last three weeks, we have been incredibly lucky to have Megan Harris covering Megan C’s homegroup while she has been away. Megan has stepped in seamlessly and has been a wonderful part of Kauri during this time.

Thank you, Megan, for all the support, care, and enthusiasm you have brought over the past few weeks — we have truly loved having you in Kauri!

South Zone Swimming Sports (& Swimming Cups)
In week 5, our BTKOP representatives headed off to the South Zone Swimming Sports to compete for a chance to advance to the Canterbury event on Thursday the 26th of March. We want to congratulate all of our swimmers for the determination, grit and speed they showed through their races and a further congratulations to those who progressed to the Canterbury event. 

We have also presented our first cups for 2026 and wanted to share our congratulations to Sarah W and Sebastian B who were our 2026 recipients. What an incredible achievement for you both!

Whare Kotahitanga

Our house captains, deputy house captains, and sports leaders have been showing off their fantastic leadership skills by running our Whare Kotahitanga sessions over the past two weeks, with two more to go. During this time, we have been taking part in activities within our house groups, involving all tamariki across the school. Students have rotated through four different stations: rautaki (sport), tūhono (connection), auaha (creation), and hononga (team building). Tamariki across the school have been loving this time to connect, and our kaiako (teachers) have been raving about the leadership shown by our student leaders — tino pai!

Week 6 - Leadership Week

Leadership Week has been a highlight for our class. We were lucky to hear from three inspiring speakers — Craig Saunders, Lucy Gray, and Andy Thompson — who shared their experiences and insights about leadership. Through their talks, students learned about different leadership styles and what it means to lead in positive and meaningful ways.

Throughout the week, we had plenty of opportunities to put these ideas into practice. Students planned a tuakana–teina buddy session and spent time on Friday connecting with our Kahikatea buddies. We also walked to Mount Vernon and then on to Hansen Park, where we took part in leadership and team-building challenges.

Each afternoon, students participated in a variety of fun team-building activities, including blindfolded mazes, tug of war, the electric fence challenge, and the classic game of Zip Zap. On Thursday afternoon, we also enjoyed a swim at Waltham Pool, and we returned to school on Friday morning for a team breakfast together.

It has been fantastic to see students stepping up, supporting one another, and growing their leadership skills throughout the week. Please enjoy these photos from Leadership Week!