Koru Team News Term 3 Week 10 (25/09/2026)

 Kia ora, e te whānau,

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori 
Last week we had been celebrating Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori with a daily wero o te rā – our challenge of the day! One of our challenges was to learn the sign language to Six60’s waiata ‘Pepeha’. The tamariki had so much fun learning the signs and putting them together with the waiata!

Maths: In Maths, Nicola and Kendall's home groups made sandwiches, cut them into halves and quarters to share with their learning buddies. The children showed great problem solving skills in making sure their sandwiches were cut carefully, so both buddies had the same amount and the halves and quarters were fair!

Term 4 Koru Team:

Next term, we are starting up our fourth homegroup, which will be taught by Laura and Stacey. We welcome Laura to Koru!

Stacey will be with this homegroup on Monday, Tuesday and Friday, while Laura will be with them on Wednesday and Thursday. Laura will also be working in Nicola and Kendall’s homegroups on Tuesdays to provide their non-contact time.

'Kia ora, my name is Laura Morrison. After working in various other year levels at our kura, I'm excited to be joining the Koru team next term. I'm a mum to two boys - 3 years old Max and 1 year old Ollie. We love getting outside, exploring our playgrounds and the beach as a family. I can't wait to get to know all the tamariki and their whānau.'

Laura

We also warmly welcome Jo to Koru! Jo will be working every Wednesday with Elizabeth’s home group and will also provide Elizabeth’s non-contact time.

'Hi, I'm Jo Gilbert and I'm excited to join Koru for Term 4. I'm a mum to 2, six foot teenager boys and a boisterous 10 month old puppy. My favourite things to do are getting into the outdoors, hiking, swimming and mountain biking. I also love a good book and eating sushi!'

Jo

Term 4 reminders:

Sunhats: All children need to wear a red or black sunhat (not a cap) when playing outside during Term 4. If your child forgets their sunhat, they will need to play in the shade of the Hall foyer, as we do not have spare hats available. We will provide a tub/bucket or a designated space in each homegroup for children to keep their hats during the day. Please make sure your child’s hat is clearly named with their first and last name. Red and black school sun hats can be purchased from The Warehouse, Kmart or Mainland Uniforms.

 

A few items of note:

• Literacy folders - are coming home today for the holidays, they should have a reading book and your sound pack of letters and heart words in them. Here are some ways to support your literacy learning over the holidays:  Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 4+, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7.1 & How to Help at Home

• Kiss and Drop - as our Koru Team grows, our hub can get pretty busy in the mornings, and this can feel a little overwhelming for some tamariki. To help everyone have a calm start to the day, we’d really appreciate it if you could “kiss and drop” your child at the door, rather than coming into the hub with them. This gives tamariki a chance to come in, find their friends, unpack and settle into their morning independently. Thanks so much for your support with this — it really helps us keep the mornings calm, happy and settled for everyone! Please note that if your child is new to school and may well need extra support with the drop off, that is absolutely fine.

• Toys at school - we are trialling, with the tamariki, that if/when toys come into school, the toys then spend the day in the teachers' office, where they are able to sit up high enough to be able to see out through the window and each keep an eye on their child. We hope that this means that no toys end up out in the playground where they might inadvertently be lost or damaged, and also that they don't become a distraction during learning times. It would be really helpful if you could talk about this with your child, please. We do prefer that toys remain at home.

We hope you all have a wonderful break and we look forward to a fun Term 4 in Koru!

Stacey, Elizabeth, Nicola and Kendall