Term 4 Newsletter 2

From the Acting Principal

Term 4 is in full hum. In this installment of the PMPS newsletter you will get a glimpse into how we are unpacking the new curriculum. We would like you to have your say about a new team structure for 2025. And we have plenty of reports of the successes we have had over the past two weeks.

It is with regret that we farewelled Mrs Janelle Sloane on Friday. Janelle has personified Education with a Heart as she has served as a teacher aide at our school for an amazing 21 years! After a much deserved holiday, Janelle will be living the life of a Nanna and picking up work to support her daughter’s business. If you would like to share your appreciation for the support that Janelle has given your child(ren) over the years feel free to email dylanmar@pmps.school.nz and I will make sure to pass along your kind words.

Curriculum Updates/Teacher Only Day 21st October

Our Teacher Only Day was a valuable opportunity to deepen our knowledge of the science of learning and discuss how structured literacy underpins our approach to teaching English across all year levels. We also explored new approaches to gaining mathematical understanding, reviewing Ministry-accredited resources and programmes that will receive funding in 2025.

Te Mātaiaho: The Refreshed New Zealand Curriculum

New resources and guidance continue to be released by the Ministry of Education for Te Mātaiaho, supporting both maths and English teaching with structured, evidence-based programmes.

English and Structured Literacy

The final draft of the refreshed English curriculum was shared with schools over Labour Weekend. For Phase 1 (Years 0–3), Structured Literacy approaches focus on key skills:

Phonemic Awareness – Recognizing and working with sounds in spoken language, taught with corresponding letters.

Systematic Synthetic Phonics – Teaching students to decode and spell through blending sounds.

Handwriting Mastery – Building automaticity in handwriting to support overall literacy.

These constrained skills build a foundation for unconstrained skills, like vocabulary and comprehension, which begin from day one through read-alouds and shared writing activities.

The refreshed English curriculum provides guidance across three key areas:

Oral Language – Communication skills, vocabulary, and grammar.

Reading – Word recognition, comprehension, and critical analysis.

Writing – Transcription, composition, writing craft, and writing processes.

By focusing on structured literacy and proven teaching methods, we aim to support all learners from foundation skills through to advanced comprehension and composition.

Structure Updates for 2025 – HAVE YOUR SAY!

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.”

Reports from Week 1 and 2

Mathex

Congratulations to the PMPS Mathex team of Lindsay Wu, Jayden Chen, Eric Pan and Chloe Kang who are the 2024 HPPA Mathex champions! Competing against 23 other school teams at Sunnyhills Primary, the PMPS team were one of only two teams to attain a perfect score. Having completed the 25 problem solving questions in the possible time they were awarded the win and the trophy. Well done to the students and their very capable teacher, Mrs Mandy Attard.

Te Tai o Rehia Kapa Haka

The Kapa Haka Roopu o Pigeon Mountain Primary represented us with pride at the Te Tai o Rehia Kapa Haka festival held at Bucklands Beach Intermediate on Tuesday 22nd October. Te Tai o Rehia is the unique Māori kapa haka festival for our kahui ako. Originally hosted at Macleans College in 2022, continued at Bucklands Beach Intermediate in 2023 and again this year, roopu from all of the Te Ara kahui ako schools perform. Pigeon Mountain Primary School took a group of 61 students ranging in ages from Year 1 to Year 6. Directed masterfully by Whaea Jordan and supported by Linda Lowden on the guitar and tutors Mrs Layne Tupou, Mrs Sage Swart, Mrs Lisa Kulatunga and Miss Alex Donaldson, the roopu rose to the occasion and blew everyone away. Kia kaha to you all!

Our schedule of waiata and haka included:

Ko te ata māhina (Waiata Tira)

Toia Mai (Haka)

Tihei Mauri Ora

Matariki

Toia Mai (waiata/haka)

Tika Tonu (haka)

Hutia te Rito

HPPA Touch Rugby

The tournament held at the Pakuranga Rugby Club grounds at Lloyd Elsmore gave the students of Pigeon Mountain a fabulous opportunity to compete in a sports code that was new for many of players. The matches were intense in the heat yet our tamariki remained positive and demonstrated a great sense of teamwork and respect for the opposition.

Kauri Tip-Top trip report

Kauri team visited the Tip Top Factory as part of our recent inquiry unit. We had a tour through the factory viewing area, learning about the key parts of the process of making the ice-cream and hearing interesting facts along the way. One of the highlights was the Magic Moments room where students all enjoyed a delicious ice-cream treat. Kauri team thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Thank you to all the parents who helped make this event possible.

Community – Pie Day student initiative

Thank you for your continued support of the student initiatives we have running at our school. Pie Day was a great success again this year. We saw some very happy students on Friday afternoon!

Emirates Team New Zealand – Victory!

Congratulations to Emirates Team New Zealand and to Thomas Khyn, father of two of our students, who is on the Design Team, for their victory in the 37th America’s Cup held in Barcelona!

Sunsmart

With the warmer weather approaching and more time spent outdoors, this is a reminder of the importance of being ‘SunSmart’.

All students are now expected to be wearing their school sun hats when outdoors.

We encourage all students to have applied sunblock before coming to school.

Re-applying sunblock throughout the day is important so please provide your child with some sunblock that they can keep in their bag and that can easily be applied by them at school. Roll-on sunblocks are ideal for this. Please ensure it is named.

We do have a limited supply of sunblock at school, however we need to be aware of students who may have allergies to sunblock before making this available to them at events such as Athletics Day. If your child does have a sunblock allergy, could you please let your child’s teacher know. It is also important that if your child has a sunblock allergy, you have a conversation with them about not using the school supply as their classroom teacher may not always be with them at outdoor events where sunblock is available.

Dates for your Diary

Today we held our annual School Athletics which brings our junior and senior school together to test their strengths in running, throwing and jumping. Thank you to all of our parents and whānau that joined us for the day.

Upcoming this week we have team photos with Photolife on Wednesday and we are looking forward to the Junior Movie Night on Thursday afternoon. Friday’s a busy day with a student-led scavenger hunt at lunch time as well spelling bee auditions and student leaders expressions of interest for 2025. Tamariki will have to choose which of these is most relevant for them to attend. We wrap the week up with the Senior Movie Night on Friday afternoon.

Next week, Year 5 students will be taking part in a BBYC Sailing Experience as part of their Rūna experience, considering our turangawaewae and our nation’s navigating history.

Names have been put forward for Mathex testing for 2025, and these tests will happen in Week 4, Tuesday and Thursday. The School Tour on Thursday 7th November is our first for Term 4 and enables parents and whānau who are considering enrolling to get a glimpse of the culture of our school.

Tuesday 29 October – School Athletics Day

Wednesday 30 October – Photolife team photos

Thursday 31 October – Junior Movie night

Friday 1 November – Senior Movie night

Monday 4 November – Year 5 RUNA Optimist Sail Experience

Tuesday 5 November – Year 5 RUNA Optimist Sail Experience

Wednesday 6 November – Year 5 RUNA Optimist Sail Experience

Thursday 7 November – School Tour

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.

Art Classes after school

Wednesday After School Art Class

Drawing, Oil pastel, Sketching, Painting…

Classroom – Room 9

Time: 3.15 pm— 4.15pm

Fee: $15.00 per lesson, pay per term

And School Holiday art program

Phone: 027-6555574 (Janet)

E-mail:janeto@xtra.co.nz