Term 4 Newsletter 3

From the Acting Principal

Kia ora koutou,

We’ve listened to parents who requested regular updates on the restructuring of the teams and the placement process for students. To keep everyone informed, we will now publish a weekly newsletter either on a Monday or Tuesday until the end of the year.

In this newsletter:

Structure Update
Curriculum Update
Week 3 and 4 School Reports
Dates for the Diary

Structure Updates for 2025 – HAVE YOUR SAY (1 day left!)

Thank you to those who have returned their surveys. We are still keen to hear from the rest of you as we move forward with a new team structure in 2025. Please share your thoughts by recording them in our consultation Google Form today – it closes at midnight tonight. We welcome all feedback to ensure the best outcomes for our ākonga.

Timeframes:

During Week 3 and 4 of Term 4, we strategically adapted our CRT/Māhuri programme so that students across a year level would be able to interact with one another.

Our first of two transition days is Monday 25 November (Week 7). On this day, your tamariki will be informed of their classroom and teacher for next year. We feel that it is more supportive for students and families to make the transition process more personal and to allow children to know who their new teachers and classmates are well in advance. It also gives teachers a great opportunity to meet the students and spend some time looking ahead to the next year together.

For more information about our general classroom placement procedures please visit our webpage: Class Placements.

For current Year 5 parents/whānau: We sent communication over the weekend to invite you for an information session from 3:15 pm to 4:00 pm on Wednesday, 6 November (tomorrow). Children are welcome to join us. Please join us in person in Māhuri or via Google Meets. The purpose of this meeting is to:

share some of the results from the parent feedback surveys
learn more about the transition from Year 5 to Year 6
share the structure of the Year 5 and 6 teams in 2025 and how it aligns with the new curricula
provide an opportunity for parents to ask questions

After thoughtful consideration and consultation with staff and the School Board, we are introducing a new team structure for 2025.

Currently, our three junior teams (Years 1-3) and three senior teams (Years 4-6) each consist of three or four classes. Starting in 2025, we’ll shift to two junior teams and three senior teams, which will help us manage class sizes and align with curriculum updates.

The new structure:

Junior Teams: One Year 1-only team, and a Year 2/3 team with five classes (two Year 2 classes, one Year 2/3 composite, and two Year 3 classes).

Senior Teams: One Year 4-only team and two mixed Year 5/6 teams, each with a blend of Year 5, Year 5/6 composite, and Year 6 classes.

This setup will help teachers collaborate more effectively, maintain low class sizes, and ensure students are grouped with peers of similar ages. Students will also have opportunities for cross-year interactions.

While some details, like team names and room assignments, are still being finalised, we are confident this change will foster the connection and belonging of our current structure while supporting curriculum growth.

To share your thoughts, please complete our feedback form: Google Form Link. Feedback is open from Tuesday, 29th October until midnight on Tuesday, 5th November.”

Curriculum Updates

The Ministry of Education is funding a number of Mathematics and Statistics programmes for schools across New Zealand in 2025. Over the past two weeks, we have invited various consultants into our school and visited other schools who are currently using these programmes. This will help inform our decision making on the best resource for our community.

Reports from Week 3 and 4

School Athletics

On Tuesday, 29th October we held our annual athletics day. It was a wonderful day with beautiful weather and we have over 30 students who are excited to take part in the more competitive HPPA athletics event held at Lloyd Elsmore on Wednesday, 13th November.

Rūna Sailing Experience

Room 17 was the first to get out on the optimists for the Rūna Sailing Experience this week (an experience for Year 5 classes). We live in a stunning part of the world, and learning to be comfortable out in the water enables our students to make the most of this wonderful environment.

Junior and Senior Movie Nights – Student Initiative

We had a fantastic turn out for our two movie nights on Thursday and Friday last week. With popsicles for sale many of our tamariki turned up prepared for the event with blankets, pillows and dressed up in fantastic costumes. Thank you to Chloe Kang and teacher mentor Miss D for bringing this event to life.

Student Leaders Expressions of Interest

On Friday, close to 50 of our Year 5 students attended the expressions of interest meeting to find out more about what it means to be a Student Councillor, House Captain, International Cultural Leader or Wellbeing Leader at PMPS. Their next step is to write an application letter addressed to the teachers in charge by Monday, 11th November.

Kids’ Marathon

Congratulations to the PMPS Runners, 30 students who completed their marathon with a 2.2km run, in the stunning weather on Sunday. They all showed amazing heart throughout the training in Term 2 and 3 and the event on Sunday. Well done!

Dates for your Diary

Tuesday 5 November/Wednesday 6 November – Year 5 RUNA Optimist Sailing Experience

Thursday 7 November – School Tour

Wednesday 13 November – HPPA Athletics

Thursday 14 November – Team Titoki Auckland Art Gallery visit

Tuesday 19 November – Team Titoki Art Gallery visit

End of Year Dates

Transition days – Monday 25 November and Monday 2 December

Senior Team Prizegivings – Thursday 5 December

Junior Team Prizegivings – Friday 6 December

Year 6 Graduation – Monday 9 December

Last day of the year – Friday 13 December

2025 Dates

Term 1: Wednesday 29 January to Friday 11 April

Waitangi Day Monday 6 February – School closed

Term 2: Monday 28 April to Friday 27 June

Kings Birthday Monday 2 June – School closed

Matariki Friday 20 June – School closed

Term 3: Monday 14 July to Friday 19 September

Term 4: Monday 6 October to Friday 12 December

Labour Day Monday 27 October – School closed

Uniform for Term 4

It is time to start thinking about sun safety again as we head into Spring and therefore we ask that our students wear their PMPS navy school hat every day in Term 4. We also encourage the use of sunscreen.

The key differences in uniform for Term 4 include, no long pants and wearing hats instead of beanies. The start of a new term is always a good time to update your knowledge about the uniform expectations – you can check out our uniform webpage for more information.

Absence from School

Please report your child’s absence from school via @school app or our website. Please include the length of time your child will be away and the reason for their absence. If you do not have the app please contact the office to receive a link.

Collecting Students during the school day

If you need to collect your child for an appointment during the school day please contact the office 09 534 9765 or email general@pmps.school.nz to arrange. If possible please arrange to collect your child before or after the morning tea and lunch breaks, as it is difficult to find children during these times. Morning tea is 10.50am until 11.15am, lunch from 12.45pm until 1.45pm.

@ School Parent App

The @school parent app is our preferred method of reporting absences, accessing student reports, receiving newsletters and school notices. When setting up your app please make sure that you enter yes to notifications – this will mean that you will get an alert each time a notice/newsletter is available. Please contact the office if you are unable to access the @school app.