Term 1, Week 6

Mā te huruhuru ka rere te manu

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 have packed a lot into the weeks since our last newsletter. It is hard to believe that the end of Term 1 is already approaching, and with it our Tōtara Camp in the final week of term.

Thank you to the families who joined us for our Whānau Connect meetings earlier this term. These meetings are an important opportunity to set goals and share aspirations for the year ahead. We always enjoy the chance to connect with our families, and the relationships we build together are vital in developing a shared vision and strong partnership to support your children’s learning.

At the beginning of Term 1, Megan Garnham resigned from her bus driving position with Tranzit to take up a full-time job in town. We are very grateful for the kindness, care and reliability Megan showed over the past few years as our school bus driver. Megan also volunteered her time in our school library, helping keep books organised and supporting students in Kākano on Fridays. We thank Megan for the contribution she made to our school. Rochelle Sudfelt has stepped into the role as our new bus driver and is no stranger to our community. Mum of Peyton, Arya and Immy, she has now added school bus driving to her skill set.

This term we have also been fortunate to have Erika Berendsen supporting our swimming programme in class. Erika brings a wealth of swimming and coaching experience, and our students have been listening carefully and working hard to refine their swimming skills.

Our students have enjoyed a number of exciting experiences this term, including the Sherwood Triathlon, a visit to the Hastings Art Gallery, the Year 7/8 Physical Activity Leaders course, a visit from Tots and Dots, and the Tractor Trek visit, which supported students to learn more about emotional wellbeing. With just under three weeks remaining in the term, we still have the Year 7/8 GRIP Leadership course, our Community BBQ on the 20th, and Tōtara Camp at Rānui Farm Park to look forward to.

Alongside all of this, preparations are well underway for our major fundraiser - the Kererū Hill Country Walk and Trail Run. A huge amount of work happens behind the scenes to bring an event like this to life, and I would like to acknowledge and thank everyone who has been involved in the planning and organisation. I also really appreciate the support being offered by our school families and community members who are stepping in to help on the day.

Noho ora mai,

Kelsie Allen
Principal

Roll: 28

A big Happy Birthday to:

• 02/03 - Lucia
• 03/03 - Hugo
• 21/03 - SJ
• 26/03 - Mrs Marshall
• 31/03 - Ms Bazzard
• 02/04 - Willaim T
• 04/04 - Jack

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 2 - Friday 24th April
• 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 term, our Assemblies will be on a Friday morning at 9 am. We will have 2 Assemblies in Term 1. You are more than welcome to join us:

• Friday 20th February
• Friday 13th March

We had a fantastic day on the 24th of Feb with our friends from Sherwood School at the Sherwood Triathlon. It was a tough course, where our students needed to bike, run and swim.

We had some impressive results, but what we are most proud of is the perseverance our students showed. They didn’t give up even when it got hard, and the support they showed each other was great to see. A huge thank you to Christine and the team at Sherwood for a great day. You were such kind and generous hosts, providing us with morning tea and lunch. Thank you to our teachers, parents and other supporters who helped with transport, marshalling and supporting our students today. We couldn’t give our students experiences like this without your help.

We had the most amazing morning at the Hastings Art Gallery - Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga on the 26th of Feb!Our little country bumpkin kiddies were beside themselves with excitement at the arrival of a “big flash” bus - that EVEN had curtains. That alone nearly stole the show. We took part in the My Home Town Art programme, focusing on landscape art, and spent time exploring the gallery before creating our own Ruahine Ranges collage pieces. The students learnt about layering, using colour for effect, and how to create interest and depth in their artwork. We are incredibly proud of what they created - so proud that the artworks are already backed and up on the office wall. Pop in and check them out… they are pretty amazing. A huge thank you to Caitlin and Frances and the team at Hastings Art Gallery for such a fantastic morning of learning and creativity.

We are so lucky to have Erika Berensden give our tamariki swimming lessons during school time. The students go through swimming drills and technique improvement each week. Erika was on the New Zealand National Team. She's braver than us getting into the water on these chilly days!

Our Year 7 & 8 students had an awesome afternoon taking part in a Physical Activity Leaders course led by Sport Hawke’s Bay. They spent the afternoon learning new games, working alongside students from other schools, and building their understanding of what it means to be a leader in games and physical activity. It was great to see them giving everything a go, stepping up, and representing our school so well. We’re looking forward to seeing these skills out on the playground!

Last Thursday afternoon we had a very exciting visit roll into Kererū School - quite literally!

The Think and Be Me Tractor Trek arrived with a convoy of tractors as part of their journey visiting schools and sharing an engaging show about managing big feelings and positive thinking. Our students learned some great tools for understanding emotions, calming their bodies, and turning tricky thoughts into more helpful ones.

It was wonderful to have our friends from Tots and Dots join us to enjoy the show - and of course get a close look at the tractors.

A big thank you to the Tractor Trek team for stopping by Kererū School and sharing such important messages with our tamariki.

On Thursday 12th, our students travelled to the Waipukurau Pools to take part in the Rural Schools Swimming Sports alongside Argyll East, Tikokino, Sherwood and Ongaonga Schools. It was a fantastic day of friendly competition, encouragement and plenty of time in the pool.

Throughout the day we saw our tamariki giving things a go, supporting one another and demonstrating our school values. In particular, we were proud of the perseverance shown by our students. Whether it was swimming longer distances, trying a new stroke, or getting back in the pool for another race, everyone showed great determination and effort.

Events like this are a great opportunity for our students to challenge themselves, connect with other rural schools and enjoy being active together.

A big thank you to Christine from Sherwood School for organising the event and ensuring the day ran so smoothly. We also appreciate the parents who drove children to and from the pools, helped supervise and supported our swimmers throughout the day.

We would like to acknowledge Erika for the in-class swimming lessons she has been providing this term. These sessions have helped build our students’ confidence and skills in the water and certainly helped prepare them for the day.

Well done to all of our swimmers for representing Kererū School so well. We are incredibly proud of the effort, sportsmanship and perseverance shown by every student.

This year we are trialling running our Year 7 and 8 Technology programme in-house.

This week, our Year 7 and 8s spent the morning with Mrs Allen planning, researching, selecting and justifying food options they will prepare for Camp in Week 9. They had to work together to agree on their choices, consider dietary and allergy requirements, and research suitable recipes.

Once their options were selected, they recorded the ingredients, worked out serving sizes, calculated whether recipes needed to be multiplied, and then added up the cost of each item.

Our Year 7 and 8s were awesome - hard-working, collaborative and thinking critically throughout the process. Next week they will be baking chocolate Weet-Bix slice, chocolate chip cookies and ginger crunch, followed the week after by beef nachos and vegetarian nachos.

The countdown is on to our major fundraising event.

We need your help:

• Please save the date, spread the word, and consider putting your hand up for a job either before the event or on the day.
• Funds raised directly benefit your children (and our community hall), allowing us to offer trips and camps free of charge and to purchase resources for our school.
• If you haven’t already, please follow the event page, like and share updates - we now really need some momentum with ticket sales.

We are running 2 raffles in conjunction with the Kererū Community Hall. An Easter Raffle & a Firewood Raffle. Both raffles will go toward the final total for the Kererū Hill Country Walk. They will be drawn at the end of the walk. Please support them both by buying or selling tickets.

At the recent Board meeting, Kate Gaddum was appointed Presiding Member. We extend our thanks to Toby Mayers for his time in the role and look forward to his continued involvement on the Board.

The 2026 Board structure is:

• Presiding Member: Kate Gaddum
• Parent Representative: Toby Mayers
• 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:

• Alcohol, Drugs & Other Harmful Substances Policy

• Sun Protection

• Digital & Online Safety

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
• 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 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/

Just a friendly reminder to help us with the end of the day organisation, please ensure you let us know if your child/ren will not be on the bus in the afternoons.

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 have a better understanding of who will potentially come to Kererū School in the (near or distant) future. This is to ensure that you, as parents, receive information such as transition visits and school information before your child's start date.

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.