Kererū Hapori News

By Bridget McDowall | Posted: Thursday December 12, 2024

Whaia te iti kahurangi, ki te tuohu koe me he maunga teitei" Pursue that which is precious; do not be deterred by anything less than a lofty mountain. This whakataukī was part of my team leader’s address on Wednesday evening at the Year 6 Leavers' Celebration. It encourages our learners to show manawanui(persistence) and stamina. It is about aiming high, striving for your dreams, and facing challenges with resilience and determination. Remember that the journey toward your goals is worth pursuing, no matter how difficult the climb may seem.

The Kererū team teachers would like to wish our Year 6 students all the best for 2025 in their new schools.

We encourage our Year 5 students to look forward to a new year and its challenges and adventures. Be positive, try hard, develop resilience and persist if things get tough. We are excited about what our new 2025 Year 6 students will all bring to Kaikorai Primary School.

Our year has comprised various events, including cross country, athletics days, Matariki celebrations, sharing our learning through project-based learning, Epro 8, quizzes, Jump Jam, shows, sports trips, swimming lessons, climbing days, science trips, the Life Education Bus and more.

Looking back, one of the year's highlights was undoubtedly the camp. Our Year 6 students were brave while away from home; they faced their fears, tried new things, and had heaps of fun outdoors. Night one was a big challenge for us all. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if it was lights-out time or an audition for the next WWE episode. Either way, congrats to our Year 6 boys—you’ve officially won the gold medal in nocturnal chaos!"

Leavers’ Celebration

We celebrated our Year 6 students' final year at Kaikorai Primary School on Wednesday. Our Year 6 students are prepared for the next part of their journey, and we thank them for their contributions and leadership across the school.

Whaea Ana assisted us in learning our Kapa Haka items and introduced a very special new school song that was performed in front of an audience for the first time. Next year, all of our tamariki will learn this song.

We would also like to thank the parent group for their generous contributions, particularly for providing our Year 6 Leavers' gifts and supporting our school camp this year. 

For those parents for whom it is your last year as a part of Kaikorai Primary School, we thank you for your contributions to our wonderful school community.

Writing Success

Congratulations to Matteo, who made the shortlist for the Queenstown Writers Festival. The competition had over 150 entries, and Matteo reached the shortlist and the top twenty. Enjoy reading his entry!

My Big, Bad, Brown, Day.

When the blinding sun started rising in the sky, I woke up from a relaxing snooze. I turned my head to look at the time. It said 7:30 am,  but I noticed something was wrong. I could hear the clock on the wall, and each repetitive tick-tock was much clearer than usual. After about 10 seconds, it became incredibly annoying. I could see each clear movement on the wall. “That's weird,’’ I thought. When I slowly heaved myself out of bed, I felt my head brush the ceiling. My limbs were shorter and thicker than I remembered them being. But the strangest thing was that I was covered head to toe with coarse brown fur. As I focused, I could smell my breakfast, but I no longer wanted it. It smelled like dumpster food, and I gagged at the thought of having enjoyed it before. My stomach roared for meat. Confused, I bounded to the mirror faster than I had ever moved before. 

When I reached the mirror, I stopped dead in my tracks and looked at the mirror in horror. I had turned into a brown bear. Where my nose used to be, I had a marvellous black snout and paws the size of a human head. My shaggy brown fur shook when I moved. My arms and body rippled with muscle, and I had beautiful, striking silver eyes. (I use striking since I think those eyes can strike you dead if …I got angry.) I moved incredibly fast because of my powerful hind legs. But the most amazing thing was that all of my senses seemed to be multiplied a hundredfold. I could hear the birds, their soft chirps, and the rustling of the leaves and bushes.

I could smell the flowers, berries, and plants in the soft green grass of the meadow. But all of that was just an extra. Because, man!!!, that fish in the fridge smelled awesome! My bear/ predator instinct told me to run to the fridge and eat everything in it, which I did, but my hunger was not satisfied. I refused to eat anymore, but my stomach howled in protest. Plus, the meat was a rip-off. It was processed! I wanted raw, fresh meat. Then, in a flash, I realised that I could never survive, let alone keep my transformation a secret in the house. My excitement level went from one hundred to zero. I then knew what I needed to do if I wanted to live. 

It's not like I wanted to fight for a mate. Mating, killing, swimming, leading (some weird stuff.) That was my life now. But I somehow knew that it was right. (Also, I was afraid I would get bloodlust and kill my mum and definitely scare her.) Finally, with a (deeeeeeeeeeeeeeep) breath, I bounded out the door. I took one more miserable look at my former home, then went out to the wild, wacky world of bloody carnivores (hopefully no cannibals.) At least I am an apex predator, I thought to myself.

Senior Disco

What a fantastic way to wrap up the school year! The Christmas Disco in the school hall was an absolute hit, with children dressed to impress and showing off their best dance moves under the lights.

Thank you to the PALS and the parent group for running and leading this event.

Finally...

We would like to wish you all a happy and restful summer holiday.

Ngā Mihi,

Bridget, Hannah, Rosarah and Hannah.

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