Week 1 Term 2, 2026

Welcome to the start of Term Two. An especially warm welcome to all new families and staff who have started at the school this week. The Year 6 leaders welcomed everyone to the school at pōwhiri in the morning, and we were able to take a photo of everyone outside.

School Timetable

The timetable for the day at school has been altered, moving to equal learning block times of 100 minutes. The bells now go at: 

• Block 1: 9:00am - 10:40am (100 min)

• Morning tea: 10:40am - 11:00am (20 min) 

• Block 2: 11:00am - 12:40 pm (100 min)

• Lunch: 12:40 pm - 1:20pm (40 min)

• Block 3: 1:20pm - 3:00pm (100 min)

Morning tea and lunch eating is with the classroom teacher in individual classrooms at the end of morning tea and lunch. A reminder to all families that the school day finishes at 3 p.m. every day. Teachers have been instructed to keep the students in class until the bell rings.

New Entrant Numbers

To assist the school with planning for the rest of 2026 and into 2027, I need to know the number of new entrant children who will be enrolling. I am also looking for names of potential families who may wish to come to the school in the ballot. This information helps to set numbers in the ballot as well as future planning for teachers that we may need to start the year.

Future Planning the Transport to School

With uncertainty around fuel and pricing, the school is beginning to plan possible options. The first consideration is bus use. One family I spoke to, during the term break, spoke about going on the school buses rather than driving their children to school. Certainly a good plan. This is similar for many of our families who drive their children to school and are eligible for the buses as well. If there is a change in your planned bus use, please let the school know. Numbers for the buses are important for us to monitor.

Celebration of Learning

Minute to Win It is one of my favourite Celebrations of Learning. There is nothing like seeing parents compete against their children. Classic biscuit race; Variations on Ping Pong games. This concept is a lot more than just a challenge. It is about goal setting and practising to achieve a goal. These are skills for the future.

There are skills that we need all children to have to assist them in their learning. The first is basic multiplication facts. From Year 2, we need the recall of basic multiplication facts to be automatic. The teachers work on the understanding behind the facts as well as the recall. Recalling the facts instantly is a skill that can and should be practised at home too. Making the flash cards on a rainy afternoon and spending 10 minutes a day practising would be the best outcome. 

Another skill to be practised is reading out loud to an adult (the reader provided or at least 7 to 8 pages of a chapter book for older students) and then retelling the story in their own words. This should be happening at all levels of the school. The retelling is the most important part. It assists with developing and sharing an understanding of the story, the character and the settings. This assists with developing learner comprehension. 

The school had a great first day. The teachers and I are working on keeping learning at the forefront of what we do. Cosmic Curiosity is the title for this term's concept. I am already looking forward to where the learning will take us.

Ngā mihi nui

Paula