Kōkopu Newsletter

Kia ora whānau,

Welcome back to Term 3! I hope you all managed to catch some of that beautiful, crisp winter sunshine over the holidays and found some time to relax and recharge with your tamariki. It has been absolutely wonderful welcoming everyone back through the gates today, buzzing with energy and ready for a huge term ahead.

A very warm Kokopu School welcome to our newest students, Avalyn and Norah in Room 1. We also extend a big welcome to Jody Reynolds, who will be working part-time across Rooms 5 and 6 this term. It’s fantastic to have your expertise on board, Jody.

Term topic focus: Earth Science & Financial Literacy

Our classrooms are ready to kick off our learning focus for the term. This term, our tamariki are stepping into the shoes of scientists and economists.

• Earth Science & Geology: Students are exploring the forces that shape our world, connecting beautifully with our school vision of fostering curious, lifelong learners who understand their place in the environment.
• Social Sciences (Economic & Financial Literacy): We are building practical, real-world skills as students learn about financial decision-making, aligning directly with the New Zealand curriculum priorities of developing financially capable, confident young people.

Beyond the classroom, we have an incredibly busy term lined up to challenge and grow our students. From the grit and determination needed for the Taniwha Challenge and the School and Interschool Cross Countries, to the communication skills on display during School Speeches and Mathex, our students will have lots of opportunities to live our school values. Our Student Council is already busy planning upcoming events, and we are even beginning our early preparations for the highlight of Term 4: Ag Day!

We also have our reports and parent interviews coming up in the next few weeks.

• Mid-Year Reports: These will be coming home in school bags this Friday.
• Parent Interviews: We will be holding these on Tuesday 28th July.

These conversations are a vital space to celebrate your child's progress, discuss their next steps, and ensure we are all working together to support their growth.

For our Year 8 families, the transition to high school is fast approaching. High School visits, open days, enrolments, and interviews are all coming up quickly. I highly encourage you to attend these open evenings to find the best fit for your child. Transitions can bring up a lot of questions, so please know that Paul Ruddell and I are always available to chat and help guide you through this process.

Property Update: Our Pool is Nearly Ready!

We are very close to the finish line with our school pool project! We are expecting practical completion this week, with just the banisters left to install once they return from the galvaniser.

This facility is going to be a fantastic asset for our school and wider community. Keep an eye out, as we will be posting more information shortly regarding a special mid-winter swim and an open day to celebrate this milestone together.

Community Shout-Out & Reminders

A massive thank you to the team at Mahi Drones for spraying our school roofs over the holidays. Using drone technology made the job incredibly fast, efficient, and safe. We truly appreciate your support in keeping our school looking sharp and well-maintained.

Quick Reminders:

• Please check bags for reports this Friday.
• Book your parent interview slot for Tuesday the 28th on the Skool Loop App.
• With cross country training underway, please ensure students have appropriate footwear and a change of clothes for those muddy days!

Thank you to our incredible teaching and support staff who have spent the holidays preparing for such an action-packed term, and thank you to our community for your ongoing support. Let's make Term 3 a fantastic one!

Ngā mihi nui,
Yaron Overeem

Principal

Kōkopu School

The children will be training for cross country this term. Please send them with a change of clothing each day.

Reports

A reminder that reports will go home this Friday 24th July. In the reports is a short explanation of the report and recent changes made. Please feel free to bring your reports with you to the parent interviews if you have any questions.

Parent interviews

Reports are followed by parent interviews next Tuesday 28th July. School will close early at 2pm to allow us to get through everyone.

Please book your parent interview through the Skoolloop app. If you are unable to make this night please feel free to catch up with your teacher at another time.

The bus and ASC will run as normal from 3pm. Students will be supervised by teacher aids until 3pm.

School photos were taken by PhotoLife on Monday 29th June.

Families will be emailed by PhotoLife with a link for ordering photos.

I made enquiries today to see when the link will be sent to everyone via email and I was told that they will be sending through proofs to the school later this evening. Once we have reviewed and approved them, they will be able to send out the ordering link to families.

For those families who have ordered chickens to show at Ag Day, delivery will be tomorrow between 1pm and 1.30pm here at school.

Lamb and kid day care is a small pen/paddock set up near the front gate so that students can bring their lamb or goat to school and feed them during the day.

This helps build strong bonds between student and animal and releases parents from the responsibility of caring for an animal during the day at home.

This is a great opportunity for other students to see and interact with animals too.

Open from the start of term 3.

How it works

• Families can drop off their animals anytime in the morning and they can be picked up at the end of school or when parents are coming home from work.

• Families can put their animal in the back seat or boot of their car in a pet crate or large box. Some families use baby nappies to stop any unexpected “leaks”.

• Students will need to bring all the feeding equipment and milk for the day.

• These can be stored in the whanau room fridge and kitchen area.

• Students can heat milk using hot water from the tap or in the microwave.

• We do have senior students available to help younger students or first-timers.

• Children are responsible for the care of their animals and need to work out the best break times to feed them.

• The animals should only be fed by their owner to maintain the feeding bond.

• Animals can be walked around school but this should be done by the owner to maintain the bond.
• Animals are to be on a lead at all times when outside the pen, including before and after school.

Please go to our Ag Day website for more support and ideas. www.kokopu.school.nz/agday

We have jars of Tahi Bee Honey for sale for $8.00 for 400 grams.

If you would like to buy some honey, pop into the school office with $8.00.

Thank you.

Please come into the school to collect your children at the end of the day.

We have noticed children running out into the carpark to their parents cars and this is a cause for concern. No children should be in the carpark unsupervised.

Term 3 2026

Mon 20/07 Term 3 starts

Mon 20/07 Year 7 & 8 Tech catch up

Tue 21/07 Year 7 & 8 Tech catch up

Wed 22/07 Girls High Promotional Visit

Wed 22/07 Kapa Haka starts (every Wednesday this term)

Fri 24/07 Student Reports home

Tue 28/07 Parent Interviews (classes finish at 2pm)

Wed 29/07 Girls High Open Night

Thu 30/07 TAS Open Day

Mon 10/08 BOT meeting

Wed 12/08 Taniwha Cross Country Challenge

Thu 13/08 Mathex

Tue 18/08 Kokopu School Cross Country

Wed 26/08 Girls High Enrolment Interviews (held at Maungatapere School)

Wed 02/09 WPSSA Cross Country

Fri 11/09 Country Meal Kokopu School hosting at the Mangakahia Sports Complex

Mon 14/09 BOT Meeting
Tue 15/09 Kokopu School Speeches

Wed 16/09 Wacky Hair Day

Wed 23/09 Mangakahia Lions Speech Competition

Thu 24/09 House Day Quiz

Fri 25/09 End of term 3

2026 Term Dates

• Term 1: Tuesday 3 February – Thursday, 2 April
• Term 2: Monday, 20 April – Friday, 3 July
• Term 3: Monday, 20 July – Friday, 25 September
• Term 4: Monday, 12 October – Tuesday, 15 December

Don't forget Lunch Orders are available at school

• Pizza Fusion - Tuesday
• West End Sushi - Thursday
• Titoki Store - Friday

Order for the whole term. Order the night before - or even by 9am on the day. Perfect for busy households and bare pantries. Scan the QR code above to order:

Lyn Moase takes guitar and ukelele lessons on Wednesdays. Please phone Lyn on 0212979437 if you would like to book your child/children in for lessons.

We would love to welcome new members to our PTA. Any help with events on the food stalls would be appreciated. i.e. Swimming Sports, Triathlon etc. If you are interested in joining us or helping out please contact Amy Pugh phone 0211729388.

As a parent at Kokopu School you have access to our free Qustodio – Parent Internet Monitoring App and online safety advice. The Qustodio Parent App is a comprehensive parental control and digital wellbeing app designed to help you manage and supervise your child’s online activities. With over 6 million parents and 24,000 schools worldwide using Qustodio, it stands out as one of the most trusted and best-rated apps on Google Play and the Apple App Store.

· You can learn more about how to set it up here: kokopu.onlinesafetyhub.nz/parent/topics/Qustodio

· Make your free account here: https://www.qustodio.com/en/30-days-school-special/?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=OSHub&utm_campaign=kokopu-nz

If parents/caregivers want to visit the website https://kokopu.schooldocs.co.nz/1893.htm to look over our school policies and procedures, please see the following instructions: Enter the username (kokopu) and password (0179). Follow the link to the relevant policy as listed.

Don't forget we are collecting Yummy Stickers. So please collect the Yummy cut-out labels from bags (each cut-out label is worth 10 stickers) and individual Yummy apple stickers. Yummy apples are available from New World, PAK’nSAVE and participating Four Square stores. The more you collect, the more sports gear you get so get going and start collecting your Yummy cut-out labels and stickers now!

Email: office@kokopu.school.nz
Website: www.kokopu.school.nz
Location: 921 Kokopu Road, Kokopu, New Zealand
Phone: 094346765
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kokopuschool