Kohimarama School News - 3rd September 2025

School News

A Message from Cowley Team

Dear parents and caregivers

The Cowley Team has been diving into the world of storytelling! Our children have been busy designing their own characters, describing imaginative settings, and developing engaging plots with clear problems and solutions. They have also enjoyed using picture prompts to spark ideas for their short stories. After drafting their work, they have been learning the importance of editing and improving their writing through discussions with their peers and teachers. 

As 21st-century learners, it’s important for children to become confident using digital tools. To complement their storytelling, some Year 3 students designed their own book covers using Canva.com. They searched for and uploaded images, experimented with layering pictures, and explored layout and design features to bring their covers to life. This highlights their fantastic creativity and growing confidence with online tools. Here are some snippets to highlight our creativity;

• She lived in a big green coral castle surrounded by colourful mermaids and mermen. Her scales shimmered teal and turquoise, and her wavy red hair swayed in the waves like the wind. Her eyes shone like the sun, making mermen fall madly in love with her. A red velvety cape helped her balance when she walked on land. ‘Under the Sea’ By Sofia

• In an instant, his back arched into a sharp curve and his tail puffed up like a brush. Every strand of fur stood on end making him look like he was struck by lightning. ‘Strawberry the Penguin’ By Lexi R 

• Sam had glimmering white teeth that sparkled in the bright sun like a star. By Arlo

• The girl touched her eagle's warm feathers, it was super warm, it was soft like a blanket. ‘Emma and her Fall’ By Emily X

• The moon glowed in the dark. She saw holes from asteroid craters. Lava shone on Planet Selco. Pretty stars twinkled in the sky. Her heart felt like the moon in space. By Maia 

• On top of the clouds lives a magic house, with bushes surrounding the house that are as green as the grass. Leading up to the house is a walkway made of stones. Two chimneys are on the house and are as red as roses. By Victoria H 

• Harry jumped in fright and then went under the slide and cried. He missed his family. But then the gates went ‘Smash!’ Now he was trapped. By Harry 

• Splash! The boat crashed into a wave and broke on the beach.  'Shipwreck' by Henry L 

• The shimmering fish are wriggling as fast as cheetahs through the sparkling water. It looked great to swim there. The water was swaying with the colours turquoise and cyan. In the deep, dark purple and black were the only colours.  'Underwater World' by Charlie W 

• Next, they dived. Three, two, one, the judge blew his whistle. Boooom! The giraffes hit the water like a powerful missile. 'Giraffe Olympics' Ayla S 

• In the depths of the African Savanna, a remarkable magical zebra, named Ziggy roamed around with his magic power that made him defy gravity and fly. One fateful day, Ziggy found a magical lake.  'Ziggy the Zebra' Aryan D 

Cowley Team Prepares for the Spotlight!

The Cowley Team has been hard at work preparing for their upcoming Production performance in ‘The Secrets of the Pohutukawa Tree!” Make sure to snap up your tickets as it is sure to sell out. We have been learning two energetic dance routines, rehearsing our song, trying on our costumes, making props, and creatively painting, sewing, and gluing so that our stage is a feast for your eyes. We’ve been fine-tuning our movements, learning to work as a cohesive team, and staying flexible as we bring our performance together. We can’t wait to see you at the show! 

Here are a few teasers to whet your appetite…

The Kohimarama Way - Aroha/Compassion

The Secrets of the Pohutukawa Tree - School Production

We are working hard on this fabulous joint Production, at the moment running through each Team's musical numbers - see the hardworking students in the photo below.  Please also see the poster below for the dates and times for your child's two performances and get your tickets on Kindo for $5. 

Thank you to our Years 7 and 8 writers:  Abigail, Rachel, Jian, Thomas, Dash  and Noah (see photo below) - you have written a humorous and entertaining script that keeps the audience invested throughout the performance.  Thanks also to Mrs Lawrence who led this group of winners.  Our tickets were designed by students in Hillary and Snell - see photo, thank you to all who handed in designs, the ones chosen were by: Ryan, Chetna, Sabine, Stella/Lilian, Freya, Leo and Sasha.

PhotoLife - Team Photos

Photolife will be at school on Thursday 4th of September (tomorrow) for team photos. Please ensure your child has the correct school/sports uniform for their photo.

Sibling photos will be held in Term 4.

Lost Property

There is a growing amount of lost property accumulating in the Hall. A lot of it is unnamed.  Please support us by checking the lost property in the Hall and by naming your child's items so they can be easily returned to them.All lost property will be removed at the end of this week in preparation for our Production, so please check for any missing items before 3pm on Friday.

Congratulations Bao L

Congratulations to Bao L, in year 5. He has just passed his ABRSM grade 5 piano exam with a high merit. A fantastic achievement as he’s only been learning the piano for 3 years and is still only 9 years old. 

Kids Artwork Fundraiser

Certificates & Awards

Congratulations to these outstanding students:

• Room 1 – Harrison N
• Room 2 – Alfie C
• Room 3 – Sloane M, Luca C
• Room 4– Thanya S
  
• Room 5 – Ashley X
• Room 6 – Jack S
• Room 7 – Ahthana B
• Room 8 – Nastya FP, Jason Q
• Room 9 – Victoria N, Leon AC
• Room 10 – Emily X, Chloe B
• Room 16 – Tyla H, Lilyana H
• Room 11 – Kylo H, Paz A, Lucine G
• Room 12 – Remy C
• Room 13 – Lucy B, Noah H
• Room 14 – Sora S, Maria K
• Room 15 – Eli D, Eva B
• Room 17 – Harry G, Remi A
• Room 18 – Bodie A
• Room 19 – Romeo H, Natalie Q
• Room 20 – Aria S
• Room 21 – Rachel C, Harry B
• Room 22 – Cosi Y, Poppy B
• Room 23 – John G, Khoa D
  

Caught Being Good - 'Greenies'

Congratulations to this weeks fortunate students being recognised for caught being good in the playground:

• Carl                                       for Commitment         Atkin
• Emily            Rm 10           for Respect                    Patteson
• Grayson       Rm 22           for Compassion           Atkin

Sport News

Aims Games

We'd like to wish our Aims Games Year 8 participants all the best this week:

Ollie B, Harry H, Grayson G, Fletcher D, Leo M, Sep G, John G, Pedro TR, Isaac W

Touch Rugby Term 4

The Eastern Bays Touch competition, run by Total Sport 360, kicks off on Wednesday 29th October, with registrations closing once capacity is reached, so if your child is keen to play please complete the registration form that was emailed to all parents/caregivers.
Please note:
- Teams cannot be entered without a coach, so parents and caregivers please pop your hand up for coaching if you can.
- The entry fee must be paid to the School no later than 3 weeks prior to the competition starting or the team will not be able to play.
Competition Night:
Wednesdays 4.30 to 6.00pm.
– Juniors (school year 3-4) 4.30 to 5.00pm
– Middle (school year 5-6) 5.00 to 5.30pm
– Senior (school year 7-8) 5.30 to 6.00pm

Team size: 6 players + reserves.

Season Dates for Term 4, 2025 competition
Wednesday 29th October 2025 through to 10th December 2025.

Location: Madills Farm, Kohimarama

Entry fee: $650 per team (7 players = $92.86 ea. 8 players = $81.25 ea. etc.)

Uniform: Red Kohimarama P.E shirts and blue Kohimarama P.E shorts. 

Thank you
Antonia Jackson, Volunteer Sports Coordinator

PTA News

Embracing Change: A Fresh Take on Our Food Ordering System

Change can be a tricky thing. Whether it’s switching up a routine, trying a new activity, or, in our case, revamping the way we order the food options available to our children, it often comes with a mix of excitement and hesitation. It’s completely natural—after all, we find comfort in the familiar.

But sometimes, change is the very thing we need to grow, improve, and discover something better.

As you are aware, we’re trialling a new food ordering system for 4 weeks, which will take us to the end of term 3. This means saying goodbye to some old habits and trying out a fresh, more streamlined way to choose meals. While there might be a few bumps along the way as we discover what options work best for Kohimarama families, we are delighted that you are all part of the journey.

Our relationship with Rice runner (Sushi provider) has been long standing and one we didn’t want to let go of too quickly. Vincent, the owner of Rice runner has emailed us which I would like to share with each of you for more insight; 

We're also trying out new food options to give students more variety and the chance to explore different tastes. 

By making the transition to a platform such as EzLunch, we are hopeful that it will be a convenient option for the school community. Reducing the amount of Admin reminders sent by Learning space coordinators and limit / remove the need for parent helpers while also increasing our food options across 4 days.  

The level of volunteer support this year has been really positive and wonderful however there are other areas that could do with the support when the lunch supply can be covered by a 3rd party. (The Book fair/ Garden Club, to name a few)

So let’s approach this change with patience and a sense of adventure. With your feedback and support, we’ll continue to fine-tune the system and ensure we make the best choices for our wider school community and putting in place options that are the best they can be—for everyone.

Here’s to fresh starts, open minds, and full tummies!

Bizzy Bodz - Holiday Programme

Community Notices