KTS Newsletter
Term 4, Week 1, Tuesday 18 October 2022
Coming up...
We hope you had a lovely 2-week break and are all set for what will be a very busy last 9 weeks of the school year. There are a number of events between now and the end of school; please keep an eye on the calendar on the website or the ‘Coming up’ section in the newsletter so you don’t miss something.
A warm KTS welcome to the following new students: Viraj, Justin, Yichen (Room 3) and
Claudia (Room 9).
School payments and donation
Florin has sent out reminders for any outstanding activity costs/sports fees and the voluntary school donation.
The school relies heavily on its community to provide many of the basic activities and resources used by the school. Although the Ministry of Education pays for all capital expenditure and the salaries of teaching staff, in order to fund the additional teachers to cover maths extension and learning support groups we rely on our school community to raise a significant amount in locally raised funds.
As a decile 9 school, Kohia Terrace School is provided with low-level government support. The Ministry of Education funds schools based on the information provided in the four-yearly nationwide census. The per-student targeted funding for Educational Achievement component for a decile 9 school is $32.69, for a decile 1C school it is $826.59. Families are asked to make a voluntary donation to assist in making up the shortfall of seen and unseen costs that enable us to provide an exciting environment with rich learning experiences, which benefits our students collectively.
Donations can be made at any time throughout the year. Receipts are provided to enable families to seek a 33% tax rebate from the Inland Revenue Department for this donation.
School Equity Index
You may have heard about changes in the ways in which school operational funding is calculated; this will no longer be based on decile rating from but against an equity index. Unfortunately this change will see a $30K reduction in operational funding for 2023 with another reduction in 2024.
Māra Kai
Nestled away behind our school hall you will find the māra kai, the place where food grows. This has been a work in progress for a couple of years with funding from our PTA.
Two large trees were removed in 2020 and the wood was used to create some terraced gardens which now contain a variety of edible plants, many of which were donated by Bunnings Grey Lynn. The northerly aspect provides plenty of sunshine and our winter crops have been growing well in an organic environment with our own ‘homegrown’ compost.
On the last day of term the students from Room 3 helped in the harvesting of cabbages, lettuce, silverbeet and multicoloured beetroot.
Now that the māra kai is established we plan to have more students involved in planting, nurturing, harvesting and using the produce.
As you can see in this photo, the garden is running rampant, unfortunately that includes the weeds. If any parent would like to donate a bit of their time and do some weeding we would be very grateful. And so would our veges!
Pre-service teachers
We currently have four pre-service teachers who are working towards their Graduate Diploma of Education through the University of Auckland. We acknowledge the mentorship by their associate teachers in rooms 7, 8, 15 and 16.
Talent quest
Our annual talent quest is returning in week 5. Students are invited to showcase any special talent that can be performed. Sign-up sheets will be up in classes this week. Auditions for places in the lunchtime competitions will be held in year groups during weeks 3 and 4. Please see the website for more information.
Year 4 and 5 classes start University
Yesterday we sent out Year 4 and 5 classes off to their new classes at the University whilst their classroom balconies and stairs are replaced. We are very grateful that we have been able to rent these spaces to ensure focussed learning for these 9 weeks. The teachers have done a great job in setting up their rooms and the students certainly have met the challenge of working in a new space.
Hopefully we will see many of you at the PTA Music Bingo night coming up. The PTA have done an awesome job in organising a fun night to support not just the school budget but our sense of community. It is one thing that so many of you value about the school so please get a group of friends together and come along, or join a table or your class and get to know some new people.
Have a good week – Alison
Congratulations
Congratulations to the following students who received a KTS Learner Competency certificate at the last Azoombly (end of Term 3):
Literacy Award
Silver – Andrew (Rm 12)
Karate success
Congratulations and well done to Thanmai, who won a silver medal in the Auckland Open and School Championship 2022, under 8-9 years old male - Kumite category.
Term 3 Chess Class
1st place: Vincent (Rm 12)
2nd place: Alexander (Rm 7)
3rd place: Thanmai (Rm 11)
Best girl: Ysabel (Rm 6)
Music Bingo Night - Saturday 29th October
The KTS parents' night out, our biggest fundraiser of the year, is coming up in LESS THAN 2 WEEKS! Hosted by KTS' own Nathan King of Zed music fame, your ticket includes a special aerial performance by Flip n Fly Circus School, at least 3 rounds of Music Bingo (think singing along to music clips and finding the titles on your game card), a gourmet platter and pizza dinner, lots of great prizes, silent and live auctions, cash bar and dancing. We have some incredible sponsors (see below), so find a babysitter (or just bring a mate) and buy your tickets ASAP online on Kindo or at the office. Ticket sales will close next week - Tues Oct 25th. If you would like help finding a table, have a chat with your class parent liaison or the office staff and we can sort you out. There are prizes for the best-dressed table (music theme), but this is optional.
Community Notices
Riders without Horses
Mangere Pony Club runs a Riders without Horses programme to encourage young enthusiasts and to give back to the community. It doesn’t include any riding but does involve being around horses. Click HERE to find out more.
Auckland United Football Club are running a summer 7-a-side competition at Keith Hay Park on Wednesday evenings. We have space for a Year 8 team at 6:15pm.
Single players or a team can apply - please contact - nick.d.smallwood@gmail.com
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