KTS Newsletter
Term 4, Week 6, Tuesday 22 November 2022
Coming up...
A big KTS welcome to Oscar, who started in Room 3 on Monday.
As we prepare for the last four weeks of the school year, there is a lot on. It was amazing to sit and watch the absolute talent that came to the fore in the talent quests last week. Thank you sincerely to the staff who gave up their lunch breaks to judge, Catherine who organised the whole week and a special congratulations to all those students who got through to the final. It is very evident that KTS certainly has talent. The winners of each section will perform at the prizegiving assemblies on Friday 9th December.
Staff are currently busy working on end-of-year reports, class placements and deciding the recipients of our various learner competency badges and cups. A reminder that we do not ask for parent input into class placements; students are asked to name three students they would like to be in a class with in 2023, and we commit to them being with at least one. They may also indicate one student they feel they would not work well with. Teachers take into account a number of factors when making placements – gender, ethnicity, academic, social and emotional needs are all considered. Students will meet their teacher for 2023 on Monday 12th December. We will also post those class placements via HERO on the same day.
Prizegiving Assemblies
We are holding our prizegiving assemblies for the recipients of sports awards, learner competency badges and major awards on Friday 9th December.
9.00 – 9.45am Junior Prizegiving (Year 1 – 3 students)
10.00 – 11.15am Senior Prizegiving (Year 4 – 8 students)
Due to space restrictions, attendance is by invitation only. Caregivers of recipients will receive this in an email by the end of the week.
We realise that every student, and indeed every parent, would like these awards. Our learner competency badges acknowledge four students in each class (Years 1 – 7) for one of the following:
Mōhio – self awareness
Whanaungatanga – relating to others
Whakaaro – thinking
Whakatutukitanga – taking action
These badges are the basis of our approach to learning and reflect the skills needed to be a lifelong learner; they are not about the most improved or the top academic student in each class. As a school we acknowledge students who have demonstrated excellence around one of our four competencies. What informs those decisions is linked on the left hand menu on the school website under ‘Special Award Criteria’. Teachers can usually identify a number of students within their class who demonstrate the key elements of each competency. We do take into account recent previous recipients as we balance equity with excellence. However, there are some children in the school who may receive three or even four badges over their eight years at KTS, and some who will not receive any.
There are also a number of major school awards (cups) awarded each year for students in Year 3, Year 6 and Year 8. Criteria for these awards can be found in the same document on the website.
We are very much looking forward to seeing you at International Night next Thursday (1st December). Each year group has a musical performance for you to enjoy, plus you will get to enjoy our various cultural and performance groups, including Kapa Haka, Indian Dance, Sri Lankan dance and our Jump Jam national champions. There will be food to buy, including baked goods, dumplings and sausages. We would also love to offer curries/South Asian food, so if you can help out with this, please contact Tina (see contact details below). Please come along and join us in this very special school community event. Food will be available from 5.00pm with the evening winding up by 7.30pm.
It is going to be a very busy 4 weeks. I look forward to seeing many of you at the various events coming up – the first one being the Eden Albert Cultural Festival on Saturday. Performance times are as follows: 9.45 KTS Kapa Haka, 10.55 KTS Indian Dance, 11.50 KTS Sri Lankan Dance.
– Alison.
Health curriculum consultation
As mentioned last week, Harakeke and Pohutukawa teams currently have programmes being delivered that fall under the Health umbrella, so it is timely to consult with you now rather than next year. We would really appreciate feedback on our curriculum so invite you to take approximately 5 mins to complete the survey Health Curriculum Consultation. Thank you to those families who have already responded.
Final talent quest results
Library News
Library Stocktake – Next week I will be collecting back all library books for the annual stocktake.
Summer reading – Please enrol your child in the Summer Reading Programme at your nearest city library. They always have fun activities organised and the librarians from Epsom Library will be popping into assembly this Friday to tell our students about what is happening over summer.
Literacy Awards – Congratulations to all students who received a badge this year. The last badges for this year will be presented in assembly this Friday. Please ensure students keep and look after their booklets over summer so they can continue to complete their award next year.
Book Sales at International Night – We will be having a sale of our withdrawn library books during International Night. These would also be a good source of reading material over summer. It would be great if students could bring coins to spend on books.
PTA Update
International Night
Our final event of the year is coming up soon! KTS International Night will be on Thursday December 1st, with food sales starting at 5pm and performances at 5:30. Come see KTS' amazing students perform and taste some fantastic cooking from our families as we host our first ever International Food Festival. We will have drinks, a sausage sizzle, a bake sale and dumplings for sale. We are still looking for volunteers to cook curry and rice that we can sell so if you can help out please sign up here or contact Tina for more info: 0211167231.
We are also looking for members of our community who would be able to volunteer their skills to do henna designs at a stall. Please contact Laura (laura@kts.school.nz) if you are interested in helping out.
Manuka Honey For Sale
Manuka Doctor has kindly donated some very high quality jars of Manuka Honey (970+MGO, RRP $150). We are selling these as a fundraiser for half price at $75 each. They make a great Christmas gift! If you would like to purchase please contact the office. All proceeds go to the school.
December Holiday Programme
Monday 19th: We'll get active with a KKZ favourite game – Sour Santa. Later we'll paint mugs for the kids to gift. Later we'll have party games like pass the parcel and pin the nose on Rudolph.
Tuesday 20th: Mini gingerbread houses to take home. then we'll make beautiful Christmas decor candles
Wednesday 21st: Pom Pom wreaths and painting Christmas posters
Thursday 22nd: Giant cardboard gingerbread men, tree ornaments & a candy cane hunt!
Early bird discount ends 15th December
Multiple booking discount is for 3 or more identical bookings, not sessions.
We are trialling a new start time of 8am and end time of 5.30pm (full day). Half days still end at 3pm.
Book Now!
https://enrolmy.com/kts/book-now/14-Christmas-Holiday-Programme-2022
January Holiday Programme Coming Soon
Community Notices
Contact Us
Email: office@kts.school.nz
Website: https://www.kts.school.nz/
Location: 3 Kohia Terrace, Epsom, Auckland 1023, New Zealand
Phone: 09 630 4525