Newsletter 13th October 2025
From the Principal
Welcome back!
A very warm welcome to all our new students and families. I hope you all managed to spend some quality time over the holidays with your children.
I was fortunate enough to spend two wonderful weeks in the Gold Coast to celebrate my grandson’s first birthday. Now that both my children live overseas I never take family time for granted. A big bonus was the great weather with temperatures of 28 degrees plus every day I was there.
Term 4 is always a very busy and exciting term as we continue working towards meeting set goals as well as celebrating another year of learning and success. Our last day of term is 19th December, giving us 11 weeks. This gives teachers time, in between other exciting school events, to assess and analyse achievement and progress in preparation for writing your child’s school report. You will receive your child’s report on Friday, 12th December.
Please ensure the dates below are in your diary as we’d hate for you to miss out.
Important Term 4 Dates:
31 October - Junior Zoo trip
5 November (new date) - Cultural Festival
12 December - Students reports go home
15 December - Senior Duty Awards
16 December - Junior School Celebration Assembly
16 December - Middle School Celebration Assembly
18 December - Senior School Awards and Yr 6 Graduation Assembly
19 December - Last day of term
Property Update - Holiday Projects
The shade cover over the Middle School playground has been replaced after the storm damage in Term 2
The Senior School shade cover (HIVE) has been drone cleaned in the holidays.
Rooms 14-17 had new carpets installed.
Fire Project - The Ministry of Education has upgraded our school fire alarm system to be fully compliant with the Building Code and New Zealand Standard 4512:2010. This has been a huge job that has taken over a year to complete. Our fire and smoke detectors now connect directly to the fire brigade for all rooms around the school.
Measles Outbreak
Recent measles cases linked to overseas travel have been reported in Te Tai Tokerau and Queenstown. Cases were active in the community while infectious and there is a risk of measles circulating there, and more widely in Aotearoa.
Measles is very contagious and can make people of any age very sick.
Watch for measles symptoms – fever, cough, runny nose, sore eyes and a blotchy rash.
If anyone in your whānau has measles symptoms keep them home and contact a doctor or Healthline urgently on 0800 611 116.
Attendance
We have a new display in our school office - the Bee Here Wall.
Every time a class has everyone present, they will be notified on our ‘PHS News’ the next morning. A representative from the class will then add tokens to each house for each individual student in their class.
At the end of the week the house with the most tokens wins extra play. BUT! You must be at school for all 5 days that week to go out and have extra play. So Bee Here or Bee Square!
It is vitally important that your child regularly attends school. Every day missed, for any reason, is a growing tally of time they are losing from their education. If your child regularly missed a day or two each month, they will have missed close to 1 and a half years of schooling by the time they finish secondary school. Those students who regularly miss a handful of days a term will finish high school being 5 years or more behind their peers. We need whānau support to get the best outcome for your child.
Attendance % | If your child misses: | That equals: | Which is: | Over 13 years of Schooling |
90% | 1 day every 2 weeks | 20 days per year | 4 weeks per year | Nearly 1.5 years missed |
80% | 1 day per week | 40 days per year | 8 weeks per year | Over 2.5 years missed |
60% | 2 days per week | 80 days per year | 16 weeks per year | Over 5 years missed |
40% | 3 days per week | 120 days per year | 24 weeks per year | Nearly 8 years missed |
Lateness compounds and creates a huge impact on your child's learning also. Please ensure they are on time to school to make the most of their learning time and to be given every chance to keep up with their peers.
If your child misses: | That equals: | Which is: | Over 13 years of Schooling |
10 mins per day | 50 mins per week | Nearly 1.5 weeks per yr | Nearly half a year missed |
20 mins per day | 1 hr 40 mins per week | Over 2.5 weeks per year | Nearly 1 year missed |
30 mins per day | Half a day per week | 4 weeks per year | Nearly 1.5 years missed |
1 hour per day | 1 day per week | 8 weeks per year | Over 2.5 years missed |
Term 4 - Sun Safety is Important
In Term 4 students are required to wear a hat as part of their school uniform. This becomes compulsory from Week 3 (week of 20th October) onwards.
There are several reasons why New Zealanders are at a high risk for developing skin cancers – including our pākehā ancestors having fair skin, our low ozone levels and our cultural emphasis on ‘the great outdoors’.
Keeping sun safe is not optional in our country, it is essential. Our unique environment causes us as New Zealanders to be particularly vulnerable to damaging ultraviolet rays. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in this country – almost 80% of new cancer cases in New Zealand are skin cancers.
New Zealand has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, and together with Australia we have the highest melanoma rates. There are nearly 67,000 new skin cancers a year, including 2400 new cases of melanoma. There are over 300 deaths from skin cancer annually.
Maori and Pacific Islanders represent a low percentage of the overall skin cancers diagnosed, however they are more likely to suffer from fast-growing and difficult to diagnose melanomas. Prevention is much, much better than cure.
As skin cancer is so serious, it is vital that parents teach children in New Zealand how to be sun safe. And the best mode of teaching is to model sun safety ourselves.
How can we do that? Learn the S and W words below and repeat them all the time in your family – make sure you think about each aspect before spending time in the sun until sun safety becomes a firm habit amongst those in your household.
SHADE
Limiting your UV exposure from sunlight is best achieved by keeping in the shade as much as possible. If you plan to sit on the beach (or somewhere else in the sun) often as a family, a sun umbrella is a great investment.
SLIP
If being in direct sunlight is unavoidable, cover your skin with clothing. Think about putting a long sleeve t-shirt, and long, light pants on yourself and your children. A small amount of discomfort now could prevent serious repercussions later.
SLOP
Sunscreen should be used in addition to covering your skin, not instead of. Always have to hand some SPF 30+ sunscreen – check it has not expired and store it in a cool location. Apply sunscreen quarter of an hour before sun exposure, and reapply it every two hours or after swimming. Use approximately a teaspoon on each limb, and 1/2 a teaspoon on other exposed areas.
SLAP
Slap on a hat. Have spare sunhats for the family kept in the car, so you are not caught out.
WRAP
Wear sunglasses that block UV to protect your eyes and the skin around them. The best sunglasses will state on them that they meet Australian/New Zealand standards for UV protection.
* Special children’s sunscreen is not required, so long as your child does not react to regular sunscreen. Children’s sunscreen is often a milder but effective version. It is generally considered that the benefits of sunscreen far outweigh any concerns over the products used in sunscreen formulation.
The sun is harshest between the months of September and April in New Zealand – so it is best to apply the above practices throughout this period. Be very careful around reflective surfaces at any time of the year – including snow and water. They make the effects of the sun on the skin much worse.http://www.kiwifamilies.co.nz/articles/keeping-safe-sun/
Sue Kandasamy
Acting Principal
Celebrating Excellence
Kia ora from Room 20. Last term, Room 20 drafted and published their pepeha. Pepeha are a way to connect with our audience and community and for many, reconnect to family and iwi. This term, Room 20 will have opportunities to share their pepeha with our school community.
Shake out day 2025
From the Community
