1 November 2018 By all accounts, our year 7 & 8 students are having a blast at Kawau camp. I would like to thank our teachers who do not get paid any overtime for spending so many days away from their own families to ensure the success of the camp.   It is this selflessness that is a hallmark of our profession and it serves as an example of why the profession deserves community support as our teachers engage in arduous negotiations with the Ministry over their working conditions and remuneration.   The latest news is that primary teachers and principals across the country have called for another round of strikes. These will be rolling strikes across the country beginning with us on 12 November, if the parties cannot settle prior to that.  Our board has voted the close the school on that date.  KAS will be open - details here: You can find out more about the strikes here. We thank you, in advance, for your support. NB! Strikes may be called off if parties settle prior to 12 Nov. We will inform you asap.
The pool committee did an amazing job on the Halloween Disco.  A small 6 member team put together the best disco that I've seen in my time here.  Thank you team. Your work is appreciated. Their next fundraising project is *** You can find more details here***
		80 More Halloween Pics Here

Elsewhere in this newsletter is information about chromebooks for 2019.  We ask that students from years 4-8 have chromebooks.  Chromebooks at year 3 are not compulsory, although most families choose to buy them.  At this stage it is looking likely that we will run a composite year 3/4 class in 2019. More details about the class structure for next year will be published in next week's newsletter - if everything goes to plan.

Our hearty congratulations to the Kotare - The Junior Team for holding a superb cross country event. We where thrilled by large number of parents who attended the event. A highlights video was added to our Facebook page (814 views) and the Sports Page for those who were not able to attend.  The video was also added to Seesaw where it forms part of our reporting to parents.  In the past, cross country may have gotten a mention in a cramped paper report. Now parents are able to read about the learning intentions and also get a visual of their child participating.  Over time our use of Seesaw will improve as we learn how to use the tool as a vehicle for reporting on student achievement. Kotare children also used the video as a prompt for their recount writing. It prompted rich discussion and memory recall which then flowed into their writing.