End Of Year Wrap Up 2025
Kia ora Koutou
End of Year Wrap Up
Our last day of school is Tuesday, 16th December. School will finish at 12:00 pm, and children should be picked up by 12:30 pm. This half-day will focus on cleaning up, and children attending will assist with end-of-year tasks.
The school office will be open until the end of that week from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm for any inquiries or visits.
Start of the New School Year
We commence the new school year on 3rd February. Please note, our annual school beach picnic at Whangaumu Bay is scheduled for 27th February. We will need significant transport and supervision, so we hope this advance notice allows you to arrange time off to join us.
We are excited to welcome back Harko Brown, who will work with classes and staff on 17th and 18th February.
Class Information and Communication
Class lists have been sent home via Seesaw message, and children have had three visits to their new teacher. For any questions or concerns, please message teachers directly, rather than seeking the advice of others. You can do this via Seesaw. Addressing queries early helps ensure a smooth transition at the beginning of the year and helps everyone to be on the same page.
Stationery and Reports
This year, the school will provide stationery directly. You will receive an invoice via Kindo, unless you have opted out. This ensures all students have the required supplies from day one.
Your child's report will be shared through Seesaw. Please read it alongside other comments from the year and hit the like button to confirm receipt. We appreciate your engagement and support.
Year Six Journals
For Year Six students, please download their journal by mid-January, either entirely or selected items, as class changes will limit access to past information.
Staff Farewells
We bid farewell to several valued staff members:
Ronda Gibson: After 21 years, Ronda is retiring, having contributed greatly to our school community and impacting the lives of some many children and their whānau. We wish her all the best.
Rachel Barclay: Rachel has provided invaluable support for some of our children in literacy. She is an incredible practitioner with a wealth of expertise, we hope to work with her again in the future.
Chelsea: After seven years, Chelsea leaves for new adventures. Her support has greatly benefited many children and we have been very lucky to have her as a part of our staff.
Nicky Robinsion: Nicky's caring nature has been an asset to our youngest learners. We hope she might return someday.
Celebrating Progress
During our junior and senior prize-givings, we emphasized the importance of cherishing childhood and celebrating progress. Education is not about racing to meet benchmarks but about personal growth at an individual pace. Learning starts from where each learner actually is, not where a level of phase says they should be. Thank you for supporting your child's academic, social, and emotional development.
Appreciation for Volunteers
A sincere thank you to our wonderful volunteers:
Anne Mcinnes and Jan Cook: For the practice they provide for some of our learners.
Moira McKay: For her invaluable help in junior rooms.
Belinda Loring: For maths practice support and running the popular chess club.
Bronwyn Bayne: Our grant application guru, thank you for all you do!
Sarah Moon: Sarah is no longer a parent here, however she designs our raffle tickets and advertising for this every year, without charging, we so appreciate this!
If you wish to volunteer, please visit the office. The first step is police vetting.
I also want to thank everyone that has supported school trips, school events and fundraising events in some way, we could not provide the opportunities we do, without your support.
Farewell to Our Year Six Children
To our departing Year Six students, we are proud of your growth and accomplishments. Remember, kindness is a powerful trait. As you embark on new adventures, make choices that bring you closer to your goals.
Property Projects
Over the break, we will have a lot of property projects going on to update our infrastructure. Please be mindful of this if you are using the school grounds.
We also have a new grant application that has been completed by Bronwyn Bayne. If successful this will see updates made to our top playground area. Keep your fingers crossed, we expect to hear the outcome of this around April 2026.
Fundraising
This year, we set a goal of $45 000 to help us pay for learning support in the school. Having people available that children can co-regulate with benefits not just that child, but every child in the school. This fundraising does not completely cover the required amount, but goes a long way to ensuring we can cover this.
This year we have managed to raise $56 800. What an amazing effort. We will take $5000 from this and put it towards fundraising for a new sandpit area. Over the Summer break, we will also be replacing the seating outside Room 3 and 5, fixing the step up to the discovery shed to make it safe and building a permanent Gaga pit that the children will LOVE.
I want to take a chance to thank YOU for any way that you have assisted with fundraising. Even if it was just throwing your weight behind one aspect of this, we appreciate you! This helps to prevent the Little Red Hen effect, where a few people do the work, while everyone benefits.
A massive shout out to Dianne Wyatt, without her driving fundraising in the school, we just couldn’t do it.
Along with fundraising, we have raised $17 664 in grants that have been used to purchase specific items around the school. We have received $5401 in donations often made through Kindo and $5000 in sign sponsorship that again is used to support curriculum resources. We are incredibly grateful!
It is sad to think that we need to raise such a huge amount of money on top of government funding, but that is just our reality right now.
Our School Board
A big thank you to our School Board, you continue to drive this school forward with positivity and a clear direction of what kind of place we want to foster. Thank you to Bob Newport as an outgoing member, we have appreciated your hard work over the time with us.
Our Staff
You are the most fantastic bunch of human beings I could hope to work with. Thank you for continuing to move forward in what have been really trying times. Each and everyone of you works so incredibly hard for our children and to be the best practitioner you can possibly be, for that, I am truly grateful.
Class Teachers For 2026
Room 1 (Pīwakawaka) - Lisa Lipsham and Laura Stanners
Room 2 (Ruru) - Laura Stanners (this class will not open till Term 2 or 3)
Room 3 (Kāhu) - Leslee Allen and Tracey Angelo-Jones
Room 4 - (Pūkeko) - Steve Ferguson
Room 5 - (Kōtare) - Jo Kake
Room 6 - (Tūī) - Nicky Cleaver
Room 7 - (Huia) - Kelly Glasgow
Room 8 - (Kiwi) - Cathy Hadfield
Room 9 - (Miromiro) - Vikki Tuckey
