Term 2, Week 7

Adorn the bird with feathers so it may fly

Email: office@kereru.school.nz
Website: http://www.kereru.school.nz/
Location: 2306 Kereru Road, RD 1, Hastings 4171

Office Hours: Monday - Thursday - 8:30 am - 3 pm
Phone: 06 876 0923
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084298596659

Kia ora e te whānau,

We are nearing the end of Week 7 of an 11-week term. At the beginning of the term, that felt a little daunting, but with so much happening at the moment, I am actually quite grateful for the couple of extra weeks up our sleeves!

We are absolutely loving our wool production inquiry this term and have been able to provide our students with lots of authentic, hands-on learning opportunities along the way. Over the past few weeks, students have visited the PGG Wool Store and NZ Wool Testing Agency, and we also enjoyed a visit from Annabelle from Natural Hound. We are very lucky to have some wonderful experts within our own school whānau too. George’s Oma brought in her loom to share with the students, and Ashley and Emily are bringing in their spinning wheels tomorrow. This morning, we had an amazing knitting morning with our students and friends of the school. We are thrilled that, through our combined efforts, we have been able to donate over 110 Peggy Squares! We are also looking forward to a large 20-foot wool container arriving at school for two weeks, which will give our students even more opportunities to explore and learn about all things wool.

Alongside our wool inquiry, our afternoon focus this term has been winter sports as we prepare for the upcoming 5 Aside Tournament. We have been very fortunate to have experts coming in to share their skills and knowledge with our students, and the children have been loving the opportunity to learn from them. A big thank you especially to Emily Gaddum who has been passing on her hockey skills and knowledge to our students.

As we head into winter, we are also starting to see the usual coughs, colds, and bugs making their way around our community. We appreciate families doing their best to balance keeping unwell children at home while also supporting regular attendance at school. The Ministry of Education's expectation is that students attend school regularly, with regular attendance defined as being at school more than 90% of the time.

If you are ever unsure whether your child is well enough to attend school, Health New Zealand has some excellent guidance for parents and caregivers. In many cases, children with mild cold symptoms can still attend school if they are otherwise well and able to participate in learning. However, children who are unwell, have a fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, or an illness that could easily spread to others should remain at home until they have recovered. We encourage all whānau to familiarise themselves with the Health New Zealand guidance. This resources provide helpful information about when children should stay home or come to school.

This term has also been a very big one behind the scenes for our teaching team as we prepare for mid-year assessments and reporting. As you have likely seen in the media, there have been significant changes across the Year 0-8 curriculum, including updates to curriculum content, expectations, assessments, and reporting requirements. Much of this information has been released quite recently (some still yet to be released), which has meant schools across New Zealand are working hard to get systems and processes in place within very tight timeframes.

You can expect to receive your child’s mid-year report online via Hero during the last week of this term. You will notice that the report looks different from previous years as we begin aligning with the new requirements. We are planning to hold our Collaborative Connect meetings with whānau in Week 2 of Term 3 (Tuesday and Wednesday). We hope you can join us for these.

Noho ora mai,

Kelsie Allen
Principal

Roll: 28

• 24/06 Ziggy
• 01/07 Autumn
• 12/07 Immy
• 27/07 Mrs Charteris

Term 1 Dates: 02/02 > 11/04 (includes Waitangi Day & Good Friday)

Term 2 Dates: 20/04 > 03/07 (includes ANZAC Day Holiday & King's Birthday)

Term 3 Dates: 20/07 > 25/09

Term 4 Dates: 12/10 > 15/12 (includes HB Anniversary & Labour Day)

Teacher Only Days:

• Term 3 - Thursday 22nd October

This link (below) takes you to our school website. Our events calendar is updated regularly with key dates for all upcoming school events.

This year, Daffodil Day is on the 28th of August. We are hoping to raise $200 for the cause. Students can come dressed in their best yellow outfits and bring a gold coin donation. Alternatively, you can donate more through our link School Donation Portal.

This term, our Assemblies will be on a Friday morning at 9 am. We will have 3 Assemblies in Term 2. You are more than welcome to join us:

• Week 9, Friday 19th June

We had an excellent day of learning outside the classroom. This term, our inquiry focus is all about wool production and the wool industry.

With the help of local PGG stock agent Roo Holt, we organised a trip to the PGG Wrightson Wool Store and NZ Wool Testing Authority lab. At the wool store, we learned all about where our wool bales go once they leave the shearing sheds. We gained an understanding of what happens to the bales once they arrive at PGG, and learned about wool sampling and the auction process. Thank you to Carley, Matthew and Norris for showing us around!

We enjoyed the sunshine while having lunch at Spriggs Park before heading to NZWTA. David showed us right through the wool testing lab. We saw wool samples being spun, washed and even burned at 700 degrees. We also met a very clever robot called Lisa! Thank you to David for showing us around the lab and for letting us touch lots of cool buttons!

Both places were super interesting to visit and gave us a real insight into the journey of wool from farm to market. A huge thank you to everyone involved in making this experience possible for our students.

Continuing on with our Wool themed learning, we had a visit from Annabelle, her twins & Mum from the Natural Hound. Annabelle and her husband Billy started Natural Hound during Covid with a dream to create warm, durable dog beds and coats made from wool. What started small from their house has now grown into a big warehouse based in Waipukurau, with their wool products now heading not only around New Zealand, but overseas as well.

It was awesome for our students to make connections with the learning we have been doing around the wool industry. Last week, we visited the PGG wool store and learned about where wool goes after it leaves the shearing shed. Today helped bring that learning full circle, as students could see how wool can then head to another factory and eventually be turned into a finished product that people use every day.

Annabelle shared with our students the importance of giving ideas a go, testing things out, and not being afraid to start small. She truly showed our school values of perseverance and curiosity in action.

Earlier in the term, we had a special celebration for Support Staff Day to acknowledge the amazing work Sheryn, Celine, Jo and Rochelle do within our school.

These ladies are instrumental to the success of Kererū School, often working quietly behind the scenes getting all of the little (and big… and sometimes pretty gross!) jobs done. As teachers, we couldn’t do our jobs without them. They are so appreciated.

We are so proud of the effort, perseverance at positive attitudes demonstrated by our Tōtara students at this year's Ki o Rahi tournament held at Bridge Pa School. Kī-o-rahi is a fast-paced, traditional Māori ball sport played on a circular field. Combining elements of tag rugby, netball, and handball, it features two teams (Kīoma and Taniwha) who rotate roles across four quarters to score points by hitting a central target and touching boundary markers. A big thank you to Michaela and Jeremy for helping our students get ready for this event.

Kākano made some gorgeous stick men out of sticks found from around our grounds and wool.

Proud of our Assembly certificate recipients from our Week 3 Assembly!

Proud of our Assembly certificate recipients from our Week 6 Assembly!

We have an abundance of spinach growing in our garden at the moment, so for lunch last week, Sheryn and Violet whipped up a big pot of delicious popeye pasta! Yum!

Our School Knitting Day was a wonderful success, and we are so proud of what our students and community have achieved together. As part of our wool inquiry learning, students of all ages have been busy learning to knit and creating Peggy Squares for the Premmie Knitting Club's Stitching Together Aotearoa project.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped make this possible. We are incredibly grateful to the community members who generously gave up their time to support our students, share their knitting knowledge, untangle wool, cast on stitches, and patiently encourage our budding knitters. We also appreciate everyone who donated wool, needles, and completed Peggy Squares.

Thanks to this collective effort, we are thrilled to be able to donate over 110 Peggy Squares to the Premmie Knitting Club. These squares will be stitched together with others from around Aotearoa to create beautiful blankets for premature babies in Neonatal Intensive Care Units.

One of the highlights has been seeing students of all ages sitting together, helping one another, showing perseverance, and taking great pride in learning a new skill. It has been a fantastic example of our school and wider community working together for a meaningful cause.

The 2026 Board structure is:

• Presiding Member: Kate Gaddum
• Parent Representative: Stuart Spall
• Staff Representative: Sheryn Slavin
• Principal: Kelsie Allen
• Secretary: Mary-Anne Bevin

This term, the Board and Staff will review specific policies and procedures on SchoolDocs. You can access these documents at any time. Instructions for viewing our policies and procedures are available on our website and below in this newsletter.

Topics:

• Daily School Bus
• School Swimming Pool/ Swimming offsite
• Education outside the classroom (EOTC)
• EOTC Governance Roles & EOTC
• EOTC Risk Assessment & Management

The role of the Board:

The board is the group of people that make the big decisions and set the overall direction of the school. Every state, state-integrated school or kura has a board.

The school board is responsible for:

• policies and procedures
• planning for the future
• employing all school staff
• complying with the law
• managing budgets.

The board doesn't get involved in operational issues. The principal is responsible for the day-to-day running of the school.

Board meetings:

Board meeting dates can be found on our shared Google Calendar and on our school website.

Meetings are held in public, but are not public meetings. Members of the public have the right to attend and request speaking rights - however the board does not have to grant them.

A big thank you to all of the community members and businesses who contribute to our school through Fern Fuels points. We are grateful for your support.

Thank you to;

• Allen Farming Company Limited
• Beeline Limited
• Corson Farming Limited
• Forest Road Farm - NZ Red Deer Ltd
• Freethlands Limited
• Hilltop Spraying Ltd
• HWS Agri Limited
• MD & KA Hinton Partnership
• Ohara Farming Company Limited
• Olrig Limited
• R Haselsteiner T/A Matangi Station
• Rangimoe Farming Limited
• Semloh Farm
• SH Harper
• Simmons Contracting Ltd
• Stephen J Averill
• Summerhill Partnership
• Te Whana Farm Family Trust
• Topaki Limited
• Tuapae Farm Limited
• Tuturo Farm Limited
• Universal Livestock Limited
• Wakarara Farms
• Whenuapapa Limited

The Kereru Tots & Dots Quiz Night & Auction is back for 2026 - and it’s going to be such a fun night!

Gather your friends, family, neighbours or workmates and come along for an evening full of laughs, friendly competition, great auction items, and community fun - all while supporting our local kindy.

Important details:

• Kereru Community Hall
• 25th July 2026
• Doors open: 6:30PM
• Quiz night starts: 7PM
• Auction Night
• BYO drinks
• Platters available $30
• Tables are $120, up to 6 per table

Get your team together early as tables are limited!

To book your table email: totstreasurer@gmail.com

The school works on a subscription basis with SchoolDocs to maintain, update, and review our policies. SchoolDocs provides us with a comprehensive core set of policies that have been well researched and follow the Ministry of Education National Administration Guidelines. The policies and procedures are tailored to our school, and the school supplies specific information such as our charter, and procedures for behaviour management, reporting to parents, etc.

SchoolDocs updates, modifies, or creates policies in response to changes in legislation or Ministry guidelines, significant events, reviews/requests from schools, and regular reviewing from the SchoolDocs team. Our board of trustees has the opportunity to view changes/additions and comment on them before they are implemented.

Policies are up for review each term. You can access, view & review our policies and procedures anytime.

http://kereru.schooldocs.co.nz

Username is “kereru”

Password is “kereru1912”

If you ever find the need to raise a concern or file a complaint with a member of our staff, we value open communication and encourage you to follow our concerns and complaints process.

We recognise that we can't always please everyone. We appreciate your understanding that we are committed to doing our best. We value diverse perspectives and acknowledge that opinions may differ.

We encourage you to reach out to your child's classroom teacher, who is your first point of contact for any concerns. They play a crucial role in addressing issues promptly and effectively.

These links will give you some ideas on how to help your child's learning at home:

• MOE Parent Portal: https://www.education.govt.nz/parents-and-caregivers/schools-year-0-13/parent-portal
• Maths at home: https://nzmaths.co.nz/maths-our-house
  
• Writing prompts and ideas: https://app.pobble.com/auth/
  
• Mindfulness: https://www.smilingmind.com.au/
• Early letter formation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=609NcinTkGI

If your child is unwell, please keep them at home to prevent the spread of the illness.

Gastro

• "People with gastro should not go to work, school and early childhood centres until they have been well (symptom free) for 48 hours. There will be viruses in your poos for several weeks after you become well. You should continue to wash and dry your hands thoroughly after you have been to the toilet."
• Here is the link for a brochure: https://www.rph.org.nz/public-health-topics/early-childhood-centres/current-illnesses/gastroenteritis/gastro-brochure.pdf

Covid-19

• If you or someone in your whānau tests positive for Covid-19, please let Kelsie know ASAP and then follow the MOH guidelines: https://covid19.govt.nz/testing-and-isolation/if-you-have-covid-19/

School is open for students to arrive from 8:15 am - 3:15 pm.

Our staff sometimes arrive late or need to leave straight after school. Please ensure you can pick your children up no later than 3:15 pm, otherwise you will need to make alternative arrangements.

Hero gives you (parents) the opportunity to send through your child's absence with a click of a button. This is a quick, efficient way and gives our staff a notification and message of the reason your child is away.

This is the way we would like you to let us know if your child won't be here. If there is additional information that the school needs to know, please contact Sheryn directly.

You can find out more information about our Student Attendance & Attendance Procedure policies by heading to School Docs and searching the above headings. Link to School Docs - https://kereru.schooldocs.co.nz/

Unless we have heard otherwise, or you put on your sheet at the beginning of the term, we will assume that your child is on.

You need to contact Sheryn before 2 pm with any changes.

We would love to hear from you if your child is between 1 and 4 years old. To make sure we have you on our 'potential enrolments' list.

Please email office@kereru.school.nz or follow the link to our enrolment section on our website to find out more information.