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Newsletter T1W6
13 March 2026
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Deputy Principal Appointments
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We are very pleased to announce the outcome of the Deputy Principal appointments completed late last month. We have appointed Mrs Nikki Mackay to one of the roles. Mrs Mackay is currently our much respected Assistant Principal and has been at the school since 2023. The other appointment is Mrs Liz Cribb. Mrs Cribb is a New Zealand trained teacher currently working as a Deputy Principal in the Cook Islands, having previously worked in New Zealand and Portugal in various schools. Due to contractual commitments Mrs Cribb will begin at Glendowie School in Term 4. When Ms Sinclair finishes in July we will share more detailed information with the community about the structure of the new leadership team.
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The appointment panel were delighted by the calibre of applicants. All five shortlisted candidates were currently in senior leadership roles and three had previously held principal roles in other schools.
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Parent Teacher Interviews
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The first of our Parent Teacher Interview sessions will be held on Wednesday 1st April. School will close at 1.40pm to allow this to happen. Information about the online booking system is included in this newsletter.
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Please be reminded that only students in Years 5 to 8 are allowed to ride their bikes to school. We only have enough space to accommodate bike storage for students in those year levels. It is also a recommendation of New Zealand Police that students 10 and under should not ride their bikes to school.
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Please don’t park in the kindy area of the church carpark.
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Please do not use the footpath outside school to turn around or park at any time of day.
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Parking in the St Andrews carpark is strictly prohibited. This is private property.
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Enjoy the weekend and especially the camp night for those who will be attending - our Parents’ Association have worked hard to ensure it will be a fun night for all!!!!!
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Paul Crowhurst | Principal
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The next Board meeting will be held on Tuesday 17th March, from 6.30pm in the boardroom. Anyone is welcome to attend and a copy of the agenda is available from the school office from 3pm on the Friday before the meeting.
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A reminder that we hold sample stock of all uniform items in the office, so if you are unsure of sizing please pop in with your child to try them on. Our supplier has noticed that a number of hoodies have had to be exchanged because they are a smaller and slimmer fit than the fleeces we have - he recommends that if you can't try on a sample first, then maybe purchase a couple of sizes above what you normally would.
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Parent - Teacher Interviews
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This year there will be two opportunities to meet with your student's teachers. The first parent-teacher interviews will be held Wednesday, 1st April 2026.
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On Monday, 16th March booking information will be emailed out. Please refer to this and note that MYP, PYP & Room 27 each have different times and booking codes.
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If you have any queries, please contact the office. School closes 1.40pm. OSCARS will be open from this time.
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Montessori
Last week, Rooms 27 & 28 took part in a very special trip to have our class agreements (treaties) formally signed at Roberta Reserve. In past years on the 4th of March, we have walked down to Karaka Bay, the place where te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) was signed in our local area, on the same date in 1840! Doing our ceremony near where the actual Treaty was signed in our local area helps us connect our classroom agreements with the history and significance of the Treaty of Waitangi.
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As we sat under the shade of the big trees near the park, we welcomed our new families and Montessori staff to our community. We ended our Mihi Whakatau with shared kai and a run around in the sunshine, before we walked back up to school. This trip is always a great, shared community event and more importantly, students had the opportunity to reflect on the importance of agreements, respect, and working together.
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“We went so that we could make a class agreement. We all sign the piece of paper that tells us what we agree to do in class. The trip was pretty good because I got to eat an apple and play with my friend.” - Leo N, Y4
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“Our trip was pretty nice, because I like the weather. We sang a waiata and had an apple together. I liked playing with my friends afterwards.” - Mia S, Y3
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“The trip was good. I like eating the apples. It was nice to have my dad there to be part of the official welcome.”- Aurora VH, Y5
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Year 2 - A Buzzworthy Visit!
To kick off our "Sharing the Planet" unit, Year 2 had a very special visit from bee experts, Mr. and Mrs. Parker.
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The children learned how living things are dependent on each other by stepping into the role of the bees themselves! Dressed in costume, our students role-played the different jobs within a colony—from the hardworking foragers to the busy nurse bees—demonstrating how every member of the hive relies on the others to survive.
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The highlight of the visit was a delicious honey-tasting session, which was the perfect way to appreciate the "sweet" results of all that teamwork. A huge thank you to the Parkers for such an engaging and "un-bee-lievable" start to our inquiry!
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“I learnt that boy bees are smaller than girl bees.” - Maddie P
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“I learnt that boy bees don’t sting.” - Sophie C
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“Queen bees lay 2000 eggs per day.” - Oliver M
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“Honey is sticky.” - Cayden O
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“Bee keepers have different bee hives that the wild bee hives.” - Zac J
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“Bees fly 3 km.” - Mack B
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“Bees live 35 - 40 days but queen bees live for 2 years.” - Arnold S
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“Bee hives have to be kept at 35 degrees.” - Alice W
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Year 6 - Showing Empathy
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We Year Sixes have been learning about empathy as our Central Idea:
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Intentional and empathetic communication affects the needs and feelings of others.
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We got to make an Empathy Tool Belt of words and phrases. We can use it to express our feelings and to show understanding and compassion to others. We had paper tools printed. We had a screwdriver, a wrench, and a hammer.
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The screwdriver was for some basic words you can say in a situation, like:
“I’m sorry,” or “Are you okay?”
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The wrench is supportive, like:
“I’m sorry for…” or “Are you okay? Do you need help?”
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The hammer is powerful, like:
“I’m sorry for… How can I make it up to you?” or
“Hey, are you okay? I know how you feel. Do you want to talk about it?”
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That is our amazing Empathy Tool Belt!
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Empathy is important in life. Empathy is the ability to understand and emotionally respond to others. You can show empathy when someone is upset by bending down and putting your hand on their shoulder or back, or by telling a story about a time when you felt the same way they do.
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In conclusion, we Year Sixes would like everyone to try to use empathetic words all around the school — including parents and families.
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We have been learning about showing empathy. Empathy means understanding someone's mind and helping them feel better.
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As this unit was about showing empathy we did some activities to practice showing empathy. We have been working together as a group to learn how to do empathetic things in the group. We made our team name, the bands to show what group they are in, and each team made a chant to cheer themselves. We did some activities to practice showing empathy while working in a team.
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We have been making a community for homelessness. We found a lot of facts about homelessness as we searched a lot to make our community better. We found facts like
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-shop owners don’t like homeless
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-some homeless people have mental problems.
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One afternoon all year sixes went into a room. A teacher was teaching the students about showing empathy. The teacher said that showing empathy is the most important thing in your life. And it can even change a person’s life. I was so impressed by that speech. Everyone clapped at the teacher when he finished the speech. I was so proud of the teacher. It was so meaningful for me.
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I thought I would show empathy to everyone and be a nice person and I will make someone’s life better.
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This unit was an important lesson for everyone because I also think showing empathy is a very important thing in people’s lives.
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Parents' Association
Please join us for Camp Night tomorrow night! You don't need to be camping to come along and join in on the fun.
For non-campers please join us anytime between 2.30 - 9pm for games, food trucks, sausage sizzle, movie & spotlight!
See you tomorrow!!
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Upcoming Events
- Saturday 14th March - PA School Camp Night
- Tuesday 17th March - Bay Suburbs Softball Tournament
- Tuesday 17th March - Y4 Triathlon
- Tuesday 17th March - Board Meeting - 6.30pm, Boardroom
- Thursday 19th March - Eastern Zone Swimming, Sacred Heart
- Friday 20th March - Y5-8 Swimming Sports, Sacred Heart
- Sunday 22nd March - Weetbix Tryathlon
- Thursday 26th March - Parent's Association Annual Meeting
- Friday 27th March - Bay Suburbs Swimming, Sacred Heart
- Friday 27th March - Second Hand Uniform Shop - 8.30am
- Wednesday 1st April - School Closes at 1:40pm
- Wednesday 1st April - Parent Teacher Interviews
- Thursday 2nd April - Last Day of Term 1
- Monday 20th April - First Day of Term 2
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Community Notices
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