Dean Rainey Principal Week 6 - Term 1 2021 principal@.school.nz Office – 7826 717 [email protected]

Welcome to March! Principal's Message

Kia ora koutou,

Wow! Just like that we are at the end of Week Six. As a wise person said today “as the area of our knowledge grows, so too does the perimeter of our ignorance”. This echoes Aristotle's statement of the more knowledge we acquire, the more we realise we don’t know.

Life is about learning and enjoying the process. For us this means learning about change; learning to grow; learning in consultation with the past, while learning from those who have come before us.

• Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua: ‘I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on my past’

It amazes me how our learners energetically embrace change and maximise the use of our provisional facilities. They do this easily utilizing our wide-open spaces during break times with blankets, bean bags, walkie talkies, lego, and sports equipment to socialize and thrive while learning through these diverse play experiences.

Since our last newsletter we have hosted dignitaries, community members, alongside our school whanau for a Turning of the Sod. This ceremony was another first, and a huge milestone in the construction process. Current students will look back at this occasion and tell of their accounts of how “they were there when the new school was built”. It was delightful to hear the unfeigned heartfelt commentary resonate from our Board Chairman Tom Murton about the process that has led up to the changes we are currently experiencing, and about the effort behind the scenes that will in turn benefit many generations to come. Post ceremony, our senior students did a fantastic job farewelling and acknowledging the process, and those who also came before with a powerful haka! If you haven’t seen this already, it’s on the schools facebook page from last week.

Our 2021 annual swimming sports had excellent community attendance, with the addition of some really competitive racing which shows that aquatics is thriving. Swimming is such a life skill, and today as I write this I’m still dripping wet from surfing with the Year 7&8 students. Out of the 14 students that went surfing, all students managed to get up on their feet and ride a wave. Cowabunga dudes!

It is always such a pleasure to walk around campus and observe the learning that’s going on. Students and teachers have made the most of the learning opportunities that have presented themselves for 2021. Learning opportunities like; 1) getting involved with the safety aspects of the new build and providing solutions to problems e.g. non-skid carpet on the toilet block decking, 2) measuring the perimeter of the old school's footprint 3) being able to observe/grasp the opportunity to climb aboard the 20-tonne digger, and inquiring as to how the controls might work, 4) Hosting Westport North School to some invitational games on the field.

Next week sees the culmination of a lot of sports and performing arts as the students' preparation comes to fruition for the Top of the South area schools competition in . They make us, and Karamea very proud with their mana, determination, and work ethic that’s been demonstrated over the past few months preparing for this event. As the old adage goes; success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. From my observations of students, and staff over the term there has been plenty of perspiration… Our community spirit, and work ethos becomes contextualized even more so after watching the America's cup over the past week. We as a tiny nation in the South Pacific sure do punch above our weight internationally, and in many different arenas. This comes from grass roots events like these. Go team!

Aroha nui, Dean Rainey

FRIENDS OF THE SCHOOL FUUNDRAISER

Firewood for sale Blue gum and Birch (Hardwood)

Tandem trailer $250.00 per load, payment at time of delivery please.

Delivered stacked or dumped as required. 27th March anywhere between 10am - 5pm. 6 - 10 loads are expected but place an order and we will see how far we get. Please leave your name, address, contact phone number and the number of loads wanted with the school office (7826717). Thank you for placing an order.

Sports News

KAS primary would like to welcome Sala Skinner who has taken over for Jordan Hill as the new sports development officer. Sala will be joining us on Fridays running sports programmes for our Year 0-6 students. This programme has been running here at KAS for the past 2 years and has been very successful with our students. Working on hand eye coordination and fine motor skills as well as touching on a variety of sports including cricket, soccer, basketball, and hockey.

Paul Murray and Robert McCrostie are running Tennis lessons on Wednesdays after school 3:15-4:30pm for children ages 8 and up. Unfortunately, the weather hasn’t been playing the part for a few weeks but, lessons will be on for the remainder of term 1. Please feel free to contact the office for more information. We would like to thank Paul Murray for also coming in and teaching Nikau students a few skills out on the courts this term. We are hopeful this will pick up again during Term 4 later in the year.

The Swimming Sports in Westport was held on Monday the 22nd of February. This competition is for those students that are Years 5-8. This year Matilda MacMillan, Trevor MacMillan, and Millie Forbes all represented KAS in the competition. It sounded like it was a great day and all did very well with their swimming. Trevor MacMillan has qualified to compete in the West Coast Swimming Competition which will be held Wednesday, March 24th at the PERC in Westport. We wish Trevor all the best for another great race!

We held our own KAS Swimming Sports Competition on Monday, March the 8th. It turned out to be one of the best swimming sports I have been to. It is great to see our students shine in and out of the classroom and putting in an awesome effort on the day. We had a super turnout of parents and community members to support the students as well. A big thanks to Jason and Juliette at the Four Square for donating sausages and bread for our TOSI fundraiser. The students showed their skills on the BBQ and made us very proud! Awards will be given at the next school assembly as well as an update on House Points for 2021.

This term our Year 7&8 students have started Surfing lessons with Surf & Sups Mark Cloughley. It has been a tough start with the swell and weather not playing the part but things have finally kicked off. The kids had a great day out for their first lesson with all getting up on their boards. We are hopeful the next few weeks will have the kids out there learning to ride the waves and build their confidence in the water. I would like to thank Michelle Maiava and Dean Rainey for taking the kids out for this. We are very lucky to have such a beautiful place for the kids to learn how to surf which is so good for the mind and the body. Surfing will be something we will be looking at for Terms 1 and 4 for our secondary students.

The Top of the (TOSI) Tournament will be held Sunday, March the 22nd to Friday, March the 26th at Reefton Area School. Our TOSI team have been working incredibly hard this year with all that will be on offer during tournament. Sports being played include Volleyball, Soccer, Basketball, Touch, Netball, Indoor Netball, Ultimate Frisbee, Ki O Rahi, Golf, Outdoor Bowls, Rogaine, Badminton, Playball, Archery, Multisport, and an Obstacle Course Challenge. There will also be challenges with Art, Tech, Food, Photos, and the Wearable Arts. Students will also perform a Skit, Waiata, and Haka.

This event is a chance for those with a passion for sport to go through to Nationals and those with a passion for the arts, tech, food, and drama to showcase their skills. It is also a great way to reconnect with each other after the summer break for the year ahead. The senior students have shown commitment and the drive to set themselves with high standards this year. I hope they will continue to do so throughout the year. All the best to the TOSI team for a memorable experience this year at TOSI.

Deborah Wagner Sports Coordinator

KARAMEA AREA SCHOOL - UPCOMING EVENTS 22/03/2021-26/03/2021 TOSI Tournament in Reefton – Go Karamea! 24/03/2021 West Coast Primary Swimming Sports 24/03/2021 Rata class trip to Little Wanganui Rock Pools 30/03/2021 Celebration Assembly hosted by Kowhai – 2:15pm 2/04/2021 GOOD FRIDAY 5/04/2021 EASTER MONDAY 6/04/2021 EASTER TUESDAY 7/4/2021 – 9/04/2021 Year 5 and 6 Sailing Camp 13/04/2021 Celebration Assembly hosted by Secondary – 2:15pm 16/04/2021 End of Term 1 3/05/2021 Start of Term 2