Kohimarama School News - 18th June 2025

School News

A Message from Cowley Team

Cowley Team Visit to MOTAT – Exploring Simple Machines

This term, the Cowley team has been learning about simple machines, and to bring our learning to life, we visited MOTAT for a hands-on technology experience. During our visit, we participated in a one-hour session led by an educator, where we explored the six types of simple machines and identified how they are used in various toys. It was an engaging and interactive way to deepen our understanding and see real-world applications of what we’ve been learning in class.

When all 65 Year 3s were on the bus, the doors slammed like a super angry gorilla. I quickly sat down with three people. I was squeezed in the middle like slime. By Sean

It was a rainy stormy lightning day, when ding, there goes my alarm clock.

I zoomed into the bus. The doors closed as I crept to my seat. 20 minutes later we arrived. Look at the dome! It was for us to rest in and eat. By Lexi D

Bam! The Year 3s walked out of the bus excitedly into MOTAT. First we walked to the meeting room to get a snack. Next, we marched out to explore the Science and Technology space. There was a silver slide! Weeeee! After that we had a lesson about simple machines and toys. It was the best school trip ever! By Nastya

First our group went on a scavenger hunt. Kaboom! The lightning flashed in the sky as we explored. My favourite part was finding out new things which I read about in the old village. I never knew there was an olden times village there! I would love my family to go and visit MOTAT. By Sofia

My favourite parts of the trip was the colour changing glow mat and the slippy slide. MOTAT made me feel curious and happy!! By Renee

Makedo

This term in Cowley, we explored the creative world of Makedo, a fun and hands-on way to build fabulous creations out of cardboard. Makedo allowed our students to design and construct everything from masks to pinball machines using simple tools like cardboard saws and reusable screws. It fit in perfectly with our topic on Simple Machines, as students experienced how levers, planes, pulleys and screws can be used in real-life making. We loved seeing the imagination, teamwork, and problem-solving that came to life through this engaging project.

• Charlie - “It’s cool - You can imagine something and make it real.
• Arlo- “Wow- look at my cool pin ball machine!”
• Arisha - “It takes patience to make something properly.”
• Yuxin - “I made a dog’s house”
• Connor ‘“My game uses gravity and friction to make the marble stop.”
• Rocco -”I’m making a fishing rod.”
• Oliver and Sean- “We are making a marble run!”

Cross Country Practice started

On Wednesday, we officially began our Cross-Country training. It's an exciting opportunity for us to challenge ourselves physically and mentally as we work on improving our personal times and building up our stamina. Through this training, we're also learning the importance of being self-motivated and reliable, taking responsibility for our own progress and pushing ourselves to do our best. We're looking forward to the upcoming races in Term 3 and can't wait to see lots of our school community supporting us at Madills Farm.

Mondrian Art

We have spent time exploring Mondrian's iconic use of red, blue, and yellow. His primary colour compositions have shown us the power of simplicity and structure. We have also been exploring what happens when these bold colours mix to shift our focus to secondary colours.

The Kohimarama Way - Reliable/Totika

Matariki Hikoi

Nau mai haere mai, we would like to invite all of the Kohimarama School community to celebrate Matariki. 

On the morning of Thursday 19th June we will be going on a Hīkoi (walk) from Kohimarama School to Kohimarama Beach. 

On the beach we will welcome in the Matariki Stars with Karakia and Waiata.

Once we return to school we will have a shared kai to continue the celebrations.

A coffee cart will be at school from 7am.

Timing:

• 6.45: Hīkoi from Kohimarama School, to Kohimarama Beach

• 7.00: Begin Karakia and Waiata
• 7.15: Group photo of all who participated in our celebration
• 7.20: Hīkoi back to Kohimarama School
• 7.50: Karakia mo te kai
• 7.55: Begin kai
• 8.55: Begin school day as normal

This is a family event, please feel free to bring grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and siblings along. Everyone is welcome for both the beach welcoming and the breakfast.

Breakfast will be a 'bring a plate' style shared breakfast. Tables will be set up in LS25 and LS26 and when we have all returned from the beach we will say a Karakia mo te kai before beginning our breakfast feast!

Please make a note of ingredients for allergies (e.g. dairy, gluten, peanuts) and take into consideration the ease of what you bring for sharing.

Photolife - Class and Individual Photos

On Thursday 19th June (tomorrow) Photolife will be at school to take your child/ren's class and individual photos. Please ensure your child comes to school in the correct uniform and shoes.

Due to some senior students attending an event Yr6 students will have their photos taken later in the year.

Please note sibling sittings will be later on in the year.

Kohimarama School Rock Band Performance - Friday 27th June @ 11.30 am

We have a 'wicked' school Rock Band, directed by Ben Jurisich and they will be performing live in a couple of weeks time.  You are very welcome to come and 'rock' with us.

Community Thank You

A huge thank you to our amazing PTA for hosting such a fantastic Comedy Night at Good George in Mission Bay! We especially want to acknowledge the organisers who planned and delivered a wonderful night of entertainment. You all did a magnificent job bringing the event together and creating such a fun, vibrant atmosphere for our Kohimarama School community. Thank you.

We're already looking forward to the forthcoming Gala later in the year, which we hear will be another fantastic evening for the community. Thank you, everyone involved in our PTA.

Colenso House Colour Day

Colenso House brightened the school last Thursday bringing a welcome burst of yellow to a dreary wet day! Practically everyone in the House turned up wearing their colour, earning an impressive 920 points for their house! Fantastic stuff Colenso!!

Certificates & Awards

Sports News

GYMNASTICS COMPETITION!

Eastern Suburbs Gymnastics Club (ESGC) will be hosting the Eastern Zones Primary and Intermediate Schools' Gymnastics Competition again this year.  The Primary competition (years 3 - 6) will take place on MONDAY 28 JULY. The intermediate competition (years 7 and 8) will take place on TUESDAY 22 JULY.

Boys and Girls are all warmly invited to participate, whether they are trying Gymnastics for the first time or already do classes or competitive Gymnastics.  

The entry fee is $12 per gymnast.

The competition will be an individual and team event and top teams and individuals can qualify for the Champion of Champions’ Championships to be held on THURSDAY, 4 SEPTEMBER 2025 at Tristar.

Kohimarama School is super lucky to have one of our parents, Jess Brosnahan, offering to organise the gymnasts and help them with the required choreography of routines and practices.  If there are any other parents familiar with gymnastics who can help, we would love to hear from you.

If you are interested in registering your student and/or learning more about the competition, please email Antonia at sports@kohimarama.school.nz no later than Friday 20 June.

Registrations close Thursday next week, so please get in ASAP.

Bay Suburbs Tackle Rugby Tournament

Our Year 5/6  team had a successful day on Tuesday June 10 at the Auckland University Rugby Club.
After a closely contested round-robin with a win and 2 draws, the team lifted for a close win in the semi-finals and then put on a comprehensive performance in the final, to take the title.
Thank you to all the parents who supported the event.

 Futsal

On Sunday our Futsal team played an amazing game (best game yet) in the Semi Final against Farm Cove (who are a really strong team) and we came out on top to qualify for the final.

We faced Randwick Park School in the final and once again the game ended in a 1-1 draw, so we were off to penalties for a second time in a row.

Unfortunately, the penalties didn't go our way this time, so we finished runner up this round.

Well done to our Futsal team.

PTA News

Joke:  Why can’t you trust atoms?

Answer: They make up everything.

Thankfully the jokes on Friday night were far better than the above! It was a very successful evening with belly laughs across the room. 

A massive Thank you to Stefanie Hedgman who volunteered her time and energy bringing this event together. You successful brought this event to life. Thank you again and well done. 

We sold 80 tickets for the evening and I got word that the Bar tab was also very successful. Thank you for supporting this fundraiser. Here are some photos of the evening….

Rob Cope – Tuesday July 15th – Second day of term 3!

Please be sure to book your tickets and not miss out on this opportunity. There are 200 seats available and if you, Parents of Kohimarama school don’t grab them with in the next week, It will be opened up to the wider eastern Bay community. This is not a fundraiser. This is a supportive session. 

Book Your Tickets NOW!...

GALA GALA GALA…

The countdown is on…

Tickets to our Kohimarama Gala go on sale Wednesday morning, June 25.

Join us on Friday 18 October at the Akarana Yacht Club for a relaxed evening by the sea — all in support of Kohimarama School.

When tickets go live, you’ll be able to:

• Book a full table of 10
• Or purchase individual seats — let us know if you’d like to be grouped with others
• Bring friends or whānau from outside the school — just let them know it’s a fundraising event

 $150 per ticket | Buy via Humanitix (link will be available on the website)

We’d love to see you there!

Questions? Reach out to us at

 kohimaramapta@gmail.com

School Holiday Programme

Community Notices