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Welcome to Week 7 Term 4 2021 and our final newsletter for the 2021 school year. We’d like to thank everyone for their support over this challenging year which has disrupted our teaching and learning but has strengthened the special place that Karāpiro School is for us all. 

Welcome to our 4 new students who have started school with us at Karāpiro!

Welcome Joanna, Terence, Dre’zhana and Serenity who have all joined Kōwhai Class. We hope you enjoy the final few weeks of the school year making new friends and finding your way around our lovely little school. Welcome to your whānau too. 

What’s Happening...

* We are aware that Wednesday 15 December is the day the Auckland border is set to open and this may impact on our families and community. Please let us know if you children will be leaving school early so we can organise their gear to take home. 

To book your Student Led Conference: 

• You can book your Student Led Conference now at www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and use the event code st46f  OR

• Go directly to the site click here https://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/code/st46f  OR

• Scan the QR code below 

Year 6 Leavers

A special Karāpiro School tradition is for our Year 6 students to meet with past Karāpiro students ahead of their move to Cambridge Middle School.

We would like to say a special thank you to Lola, Seb and Gab who popped in with Mrs Watkins & Mr Martin to speak with our Year 6 leavers. It was so lovely to spend time with you - and to see how much you have grown! We are very proud of you and appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts on how to make a successful transition to CMS. Thank you for coming - we wish you all the best as you prepare to move on to your next schooling adventure!

Reney, Abbey and Maraea: Karāpiro School staff and students are going to miss you! It has been a pleasure to watch you grow and learn with us. We are so very proud of the stunning young women each of you are. We send you off to your next learning steps with a full ‘toolkit’ that will stand you in good stead for your future endeavours. Keep in touch with us - we will be thinking of you. Go well. 

Trees for Survival

Karāpiro students spent a day in the garden planting more than 240 seedlings and another 300 today! A special thank you to Katharine from Trees for Survival for sharing her planting tips and tricks with us. Thank you to Pohutukawa students who got stuck into tidying up the garden shed and the nursery with Miss Thatcher - great teamwork!

School Maintenance

We rely on our fabulous school community to help keep our school grounds looking great. We have decided to hold our next Working Bee in Term 1 but we still would really appreciate any time you are able to give to us over the holiday break. Here are some of the main things we need done, that you and your family could help with, anytime, over the break:

• Car park gardens weeding

• Driveway hedge trimming

• School vege garden weeding

• Water blast deckings and cobblestones

• Soft wash of exterior school buildings

• Move the mud kitchen onto the sandpit concrete area

• We need our swimming pool steps repaired - please see pic below:

Pool Keys

Pool keys are now available from the school office. They are $50 for the school community and $70 for the wider community (including a $10 bond which is refunded when the key is returned. If you would like a pool key please contact Lynda on 07 827 7642 or office@karapiro.school.nz

Thank You

Thank you to those who have contributed to and supported our school this year. Thank you: John (Rocket Wonder Man), Pam and John Robinson for caring for our gardens, Indy (Cambridge Cricket), Jenni (RTLB), Angela (SLT), June Mackenzie for music lessons, Michelle Bennett for volunteering at school, Chanel Bateman for looking after our gardens, Kirsten (Volvo Sailing), Katharine (Trees for Survival), Alex Daniel (Enviroschools), Rob Naumann, Wendy (Swimsafe), Bunnings Warehouse (for supplying us with Year 6 leavers gifts), Sharon, Kathryn (Ko Take Reo). Wayne Naylor (making our Mud Kitchen), Phill Duffell (‘Fix-It-Phil’).

Thank you to our PTA: Willy Kanis, Michelle Bennett, Bruce Hopkins, Manuela & Bruno Epp and all the parents who have stepped up to support the PTA and to help us out with working bees.

Thank you also to our Board of Trustees: Marilynn Jones, Lisa Stoneham, Chanel Bateman, Ayesha Newport & Silvana Ferreira. 

This year the students have decorated school cards to go out to all the people who have helped us over the year - see below. 

PTA Fundraising Report

Thank you to those who took part in the Oxford Pie fundraiser. We sold 160 pies and made $320 for our school. The PTA have raised $1937.32 this year through school lunches, fundraisers and raffles. Thank you to Willy Kanis and Michelle Bennett for all the effort you put into the PTA this year. We really appreciate it.

School Calendar

Keep an eye on our School Calendar which has been updated with new times and dates of school events due to the recent lockdown and Alert Level changes. 

School dates for 2022:

Term 1: 3 February - 14 April

Term 2: 2 May - 8 July

Term 3: 25 July - 30 September

Term 4: 17 October - 14 December

Do you have a family member (grandparent? Aunty or uncle? A relative overseas?) that would like to receive email notification of our school newsletters? Please email Lynda Smith at office@karapiro.school.nz if you would like to add them to our mailing list. 

Car Park Safety

Thank you parents for using the rear carpark for students drop offs and pick ups. You are able to use the bus bay for parking (bus times are 8.00am and 3.40pm). If you are using the drop off zone it is important to use this effectively. If you are the first car into the space please drive as far forward as you can go to enable other vehicles to park in behind you. We have noticed parents trying to parallel park into the zone which is not what it is designed for. Please help us to use it effectively and please come out of your vehicle to collect your child if you are parked in the car park.  Thank you for remembering to wear a mask and considering your social distance outside the school gate. Thank you. 

Lost Property

From time to time we have lost property at school and it is collected into the Lost Property Box which lives on the deck outside the Whānau Room. We encourage students to check the box regularly - and parents are also welcome to have a look! 

Concerns and Complaints

We have an open-door policy at Karāpiro School which means we want to make ourselves available to speak with you if there are problems or issues you wish to discuss. Please make a time to meet with us if you want to talk. You can find more information on our concerns and complaints procedures at the end of this newsletter. 

Your Contact Information & Enrolment Information 

Please remember to update us with any changes to your contact details. If you have a preschooler who is not yet enrolled with us please complete an online enrolment form now to assist us with our future planning. Thank you.

Thank you to each and every one of you for your support of our school staff, board, students and families over the course of 2021. We wish happy holidays to you and your whānau. We look forward to seeing you back in the new year. Merry Christmas! 

Ngā mihi

Tina-Maree and the Karāpiro Staff team 

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