I want to acknowledge you all for providing our tamariki with everything they needed to start the year in a positive and happy way. We were very pleased to welcome so many new students as well as new teachers to our school. 

As you may or may not know, Whaea Renee Onehi (Rm 6) and Whaea Tracy Gasnier (Rm 8) have moved out of the area and are working in different schools. We have been very fortunate to have new teachers join our school. Whaea Tracy Griffen is now the teacher for Akomanga Korimako (Rm 6) and Whaea Arie Bartlett who is the teacher for Akomanga Pukeko (Rm 2).  We also have Whaea Abbie McCall, Whaea Lisa Panapa and Whaea Jamie Boulton who are our regular release teachers this year for different classes across the school.  We are very excited to have these kaiako join us, please help us to make them feel welcome. 

Our Teacher's Only day that we originally scheduled for February 7th will not be going ahead. We will be open for school as normal that day. 

The Swimming pool is currently not in use until we have the correct testing equipment to meet compliance and avoid our students getting sick.  We are awaiting the arrival of the kits so as soon as we have these and we have the water at the right levels we will open it up for use again. 

As we enter the first two weeks of school, your child will be tired towards the end of the week and possibly display some changes in mood or even say things like "they don't want to go to school".  This is normal when children first start school as they can be quite overwhelmed by all the new things they have to do and understand during the day.  It would really help if they have early nights to bed so they can be well rested.  Devices should also be limited as this will hinder their ability to sleep as they need at least 2 hours of no screen time before bed for their brain to move into a rested state. 

Arrival time to school is between 8:15am and 8:50am as this is when we have road patrol duty on. Anything before is not patrolled. Students should not be dropped off to school earlier than this as we can not supervise these students successfully - bus children have a designated area to go to when they arrive and should not wonder off. 

Morning tea time is at 10:45am for students to eat their kai. and then play from 11am - 11:15am. Lunch time is at 12:45pm to eat and then play from 1pm - 1:30pm. 

At the moment we have a new lunch provider and the portion sizes are much smaller than last year. All lunches are hot and are delivered to classes. I would strongly recommend that you provide extra lunch in case your child does not like what is provided. If you do send your child with lunch, please do not send any fizzy, lollies or a lot of junk food as this is not helpful to their ability to function or behave well. We are a water only school so please do not send your child with a drink bottle full of juice or fizzy. 

Next term we will be asking parents who would like to opt into the lunch scheme to avoid any wasted food. You will receive a notice about this and will have the choice to opt in or out for the term. 

If you have to collect your child early from school, please sign them out at the office. Do not collect them from the class until you have done this. If your child is away, please contact the school every day they are absent so we can mark this on our roll. 

Any concerns you have about your child at school, please direct these to the class teacher first and see where they can help. If you need extra help, please talk to the team leader before asking to talk with me. I prefer to have things dealt with at a lower level so that it can be managed immediately as opposed to waiting for a hui with me to occur. 

We have a lot happening in the first couple of weeks. One class is attending camp and we have a whānau picnic coming up on Wednesday 12th February from 3:30pm to 5pm. This is an invitation to have a picnic at school, the kids can have a swim, and the kaiako can have the opportunity to connect with whānau informally. A sausage sizzle will be provided but you are welcome to bring other kai and drinks for your whānau as well.  We look forward to seeing you there as we love being able to have a kōrero and kai. 

Thanks for everything you are doing to help your child have the best start to school this year. We are very grateful to you all. 

Ngā mihi nui . 

On Wednesday 12th February, we are hosting a free Sausage Sizzle Whānau BBQ and picnic from 3:30 - 5:30pm for all those who are enrolled at our kura. This is a chance to meet with your child's teacher informally, have a chat with the team and  enjoy some time with other whānau members while spending time with your tamariki. 

We will be opening the pool if it is fine and providing set times for different classes to swim during the picnic. They will have about 20 mins in the pool each. 

Bring your blankets & deck chairs, enjoy some tunes and have a sausage sizzle or bring your own kai. 
We look forward to seeing you all there.  If the weather isn't that great, we will open up the classrooms and still have the option to chat with your child's teacher, see the classrooms and enjoy a free sausage sizzle. 

We are looking for passionate and community-minded individuals to join our Board of Trustees and help shape the future of our school.

As a trustee, you will play a vital governance role—setting the school’s vision, policies, and strategic direction to ensure the best outcomes for our students. This is different from management, which is the responsibility of the principal and staff who handle the school’s daily operations.

The Board’s key responsibilities include:
✅ Overseeing school performance and student achievement
✅ Ensuring strong financial and strategic planning
✅ Supporting and evaluating the principal
✅ Upholding a safe and inclusive school environment

No prior experience is needed—just a commitment to supporting our students and school community. Training and guidance are available!

If you’re interested in making a meaningful contribution, we’d love to hear from you. Contact our Board's Presiding Member Jamie Burt for more information. His email address will be available via the office. 

Our school operates within an enrolment zone, meaning families must reside within the designated area for their child to qualify for enrolment.

The Board of Trustees will notify the community if any spaces become available and will provide updates before the start of each new term. For more details, please visit the Whānau tab on our school website under Pre-Enrolment.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss your child’s enrolment, please contact the office to arrange a hui.

As we navigate this transition, we are committed to keeping our community informed in a timely manner. The enrolment zone helps us manage student numbers, ensuring our classrooms can accommodate all enrolled tamariki. At this stage, we have reached full capacity.

Thank you for your understanding and support.

School uniform is available to purchase from the school office between 8.30am and 3.15pm.  Uniform prices are as follows:

School Jacket - $65
Polo Fleece - $58
Polo Shirt - $38
Shorts - $35
Skort - $38
Bucket Hat - $10

Please make sure your child has a hat for Term 1.  They must wear this every time they are playing or learning outdoors.

Our school has a uniform policy and we will expect this to be adhered to at all times. If your child has to come to school without the correct uniform, please send a note to school with the child or email their teacher explaining why. 
We take pride in our uniform and want everyone to be wearing this correctly and taking good care of it. Please help your child to ensure they have what they need each day and it is clean and tidy. 

Plain black shorts, pants leggings or skirts are acceptable so long as they do not have any writing or pictures on them. We will notify you if your child is not wearing the correct uniform and ask this be addressed immediately. 

Kihikihi School uses Skool Loop.  This is a one stop shop for school notices, the school newsletter,  reporting a school absence, checking the school calendar and more.  If you have not already downloaded this app we highly recommend that you do so that you don't miss any important information from school.  Once you have downloaded the app, simply add our school.
You will be able to access most of the information you will need here as well as letting us know when your child is away each day. 
If you need help with this, please talk to one of the staff. 

We have recently changed our school lunch provider as per the Ministry of Edcuations instructions. We are now with School Lunch Collective. We have been sent the menu which we have attached to this for you to look at. 
These lunches are about the size of an adults hand and arrive to school hot each day. 

We do encourage you to send your child with food each day incase they do not like the menu options or they are not enough food for them. We do provide extras for students if we have left overs but this is not a guarantee, 
Next term we will be asking parents to opt in to receiving these lunches if we see the uptake of these not increasing. 
Your child will continue to receive a hot lunch everyday until further notice. If your child has specific dietary requirements (such as gluten or dairy free or any allergies) you must let the school know so these can be catered for.