Welcome

Our new 'House Points' system is going down a treat with the students! Staff can award a point at any time of the day when a student demonstrates one of our school values. At the school assembly 'Golden Tickets' are awarded to the 4 students whose name is drawn. All students who have earned a point since the last assembly go into this draw.

Well done to our first recipients of a Golden Ticket - Mya, Mary, Aura and Fiona! They have all chosen a prize from in the office. Some of the prizes are small items that we've sourced. Others are vouchers that can be exchanged for a privilege at school.

Would you be willing to donate some small prizes for children who win? e.g. stationery items, fidget items, mini puzzle toys, seed packets, crafts, etc? Please drop these into the school office. Only new items please.

Catholic Character

We continue our focus on Kindness - Atawhai at SFDS

"Kia tau ki a tātou katoa, te atawhai o tō tātou Ariki a Ihu Karaiti, me te aroha o te Atua, me te whiwhinga tahitanga ki te Wairua Tapu, ake, ake, ake. Amene.

May there be upon us all, the kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen."

As a whānau, you may like to share the scriptures below about kindness to help your discussion about about Atawhai at home:

Acts of kindness -Luke 5:17-26 and Matthew 6:1-4.

Key learning: Four friends brought their paralysed friend to see Jesus so he could be healed. Jesus healed the man to bring praise to God, not Himself. When we are kind, we should do it to honour God, not ourselves. For example, let's say you give some food to the food bank. God wouldn’t want us to brag about our generosity. However, if someone did find out about it and said how kind you were, you could give honour to God by saying, "God has blessed my family with lots of food, and we wanted to share some of it with another family."

Love your enemies - Luke 6:27-36 and 1 John 3:16-18.

Key learning:  Jesus talked about a common saying, “Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” He said that He didn’t agree. Instead, Jesus encouraged His followers to love their enemies and pray for those who were unkind to them. The Bible says that Jesus showed His love for us by “laying down his life”' (dying on the cross for our sins). 1 John 3:16-18 also tells us that the best way to show we have God's love in our hearts is to share what we have with those who need it.

Family Pilgrim Walk – A Journey of Faith and Purpose

Over 100 pilgrims joined our first Family Pilgrim Walk for a Cause on Saturday, 28 June, journeying through the streets of Wellington in prayer and reflection. Held on the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, this special event raised $756 for pilgrimage sites and charitable causes, while honouring the Sacred Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and St Joseph. It was a beautiful day of faith, community, and gratitude — with even the weather showing mercy! Check out the photos below. 

Feast of the Assumption Pilgrimage 15 August 6:00 p.m.

Join Archbishop Paul Martin, together with the other active bishops of Aotearoa New Zealand, as they gather and celebrate the Assumption mass      at St Mary of the Angels Church National Shrine dedicated to Mary Assumed into Heaven, Patroness of New Zealand. We hope to see you there!

Learning Updates

Garden to Table Update: Herby Cheese Puffs and a Hint of Lemon!

This week, our Garden to Table group whipped up some delicious herby cheese puffs using fresh spinach, silverbeet, and parsley harvested straight from our school garden. While we’re currently in between harvests and waiting for our winter vegetables to grow, the students made the most of what was available – and they loved every bite!

During our time in the garden, the kids also spotted a bright yellow lemon hanging on the tree, which inspired us to serve the warm cheese puffs with a refreshing glass of homemade lemon water. A perfect combination of flavours – fresh, savoury, and zingy!

We’re so proud of the creativity and enthusiasm our students bring to each session. Stay tuned for more seasonal creations from our budding gardeners and chefs!

Learning Through Play

Our learners are supported in their emotional, cognitive and physical environment in the context of learning through play. Our Year 1-3 learning environments integrate the elements of a play-based pedagogy to encourage our learners to think outside the square, be creative, collaborate with others and develop positive attitudes to learning at school.

We develop values and key competencies from the NZ Curriculum through play-based learning activities: curiosity and inquiry, innovation and thinking creatively, managing self, using language, relating to others and participating and contributing. Check out today's learning through play exploration in the pics below.

Raised Expectations within the NZ Curriculum

Now that you have had time to read your child's report on Hero, you may have noticed the following:

• The expectations at each year level of reading, writing and maths have increased

• The increased expectations are represented by changes to the graphs 

• A child who was previously exceeding expectations may now be within expectations.

• A child who was within expectations may now be working towards them.

• Many children have 'dipped' this year.

Please be patient as 2025 is a 'transition year' for the updated curriculum - and there will be many anomalies that we need to work through as we adopt these new expectations. Please refer to last week's newsletter for more information. 

Reporting FAQs you may find helpful

1. Why does my child’s progress graph look different from previous years?

Answer: The NZ Curriculum has been refreshed, and expectations have been raised. This means the green “expected progress” band has shifted, and some students may now appear lower on the graph—even if they’ve continued to make steady progress.

2. My child used to be ‘within’ or ‘above’ expectation—why are they now shown as ‘working towards’?

Answer: With the updated curriculum, more concepts have been added, and the standard has been raised. This doesn’t mean your child is doing worse—it just reflects the shift in what’s being measured and taught.

3. What do the dials on the chart mean?

Answer: The dials show how much of the curriculum your child has learned in each phase. Green shows content they’ve already covered. Beige shows content currently being taught. Grey areas represent new content from the updated curriculum that still needs to be learned.

4. Why is my child still learning Phase 1 content in Year 7?

Answer: Some Phase 1 concepts are essential building blocks for reading confidence. Even though your child is already working on more advanced skills (Phase 3), it’s important to strengthen key earlier skills to support future learning. 

5. Will my child catch up to the new expectations?

Answer: Yes—with continued teaching, support, and time, most children will adapt to the new expectations. Teachers are identifying gaps and working with students to help them progress confidently.

6. Is my child falling behind?

Answer: Not necessarily. A shift in how progress is shown doesn’t mean your child is struggling. It just means we’re now looking at a wider and more detailed set of skills.

7. How can I support my child at home?

Answer: Reading and helping regularly at home, talking about what you read together, and encouraging your child to ask questions will all help. Your child's teacher is well-placed to suggest activities to focus on.

8. Why haven’t I been told that my child is behind?

Answer: Your child isn’t necessarily behind—but the updated NZ Curriculum has changed how we track and show progress. What used to be considered ‘working within’ expectation might now show as ‘working towards’ expectation - simply because the expectations have shifted and more content has been added. 

Teachers are carefully monitoring each child’s learning and adjusting teaching to match these new expectations. As always, we aim to keep you informed, and we’re committed to working with you to support your child’s progress. If any serious concerns arise, we will always contact you directly.

**Please note: 

1. The graphs on Hero will remain open for you to view for one more week. After this, they will be switched off from view until the end of the year so that we can make updates, and fill the gaps that you may have noticed.  

2. We will be holding Learning Conferences on the 16th and 17th of September, so that you can meet your child's teacher to discuss your child's progress and achievement. Bookings for these conferences will be open in a few week's time. 

Sports

School Swimming Sports

A friendly reminder this event is happening next Tuesday 29 July at Kilbirnie Pool. All year 4 - 8 students will be attending. There will be fun races for those not participating in the competitive races. We will be travelling by bus between school and the pool, we will be leaving soon after 9am so please support your child/ren to be on time to school. We will be back at school around 12pm.

Please remind your child/ren to bring their togs, towel and goggles on this day. Thank you for your support.

Dates to Add to Your Diary

Please also check our SFDS Events Calendar 

Wednesday 23 July 2025

• Pohutukawa (Rm 10) PE Day - Wear PE Gear

• Ranginui PE Day - Wear PE Gear

Thursday 24 July 2025

• Tangaroa PE Days (Rm 2,5 & 6) Wear PE Gear

• 12:30pm - 2:45pm Technology Ranginui (Yr 7 & 8)

Friday 25 July 2025

• 7:50am - 8:30am Flames Netball Practice

• 11am - 12pm Grandparents' Day Mass

• Ranginui PE Day - Wear PE Gear

• Wheke (Rm 7) & Parareka (Rm 8) PE Days - Wear PE Gear

• 1:15pm - 2:45pm SFDS vs SWIS Netball game

• 3pm - 4:30pm Year 5/6 Netball Practice

• 4:30pm - 5:30pm Year 7/8 Comets Netball Practice

Monday 28 July 2025

• Tangaroa PE Days (Rm 2,5 & 6) Wear PE Gear

• 1:30pm - 3pm Rm 6 Paekawakawa Reserve trip

• 1:45pm - 2:45pm Rm 5 Island Bay library visit

Tuesday 29 July 2025

• 9am - 12pm School Swimming Sports

• Pohutukawa (Rm 10) PE Day - Wear PE Gear

• Wheke (Rm 7) & Parareka (Rm 8) PE Days - Wear PE Gear

Wednesday 30 July 2025

• 9am - 2:30pm Ranginui Handball tournament at ASB

• Pohutukawa (Rm 10) PE Day - Wear PE Gear

• Ranginui PE Day - Wear PE Gear

Thursday 31 July 2025

• Tangaroa PE Days (Rm 2,5 & 6) Wear PE Gear

• Tarawera (Rm 2) Pe Day - Wear PE Gear

• 12:30pm - 2:45pm Technology Ranginui (Yr 7 & 8)

Friday 1 August 2025

• Teacher Only Day - School closed

Monday 4 August 2025

• Tangaroa PE Days (Rm 2,5 & 6) Wear PE Gear

• 1:30pm - 3pm Rm 5 Paekawakawa Reserve trip

• 1:45pm - 2:45pm Island Bay library visit

• 6:30pm - 8:30pm SFDS Board hui

Tuesday 5 August 2025

• Pohutukawa (Rm 10) PE Day - Wear PE Gear

• Wheke (Rm 7) & Parareka (Rm 8) PE Days - Wear PE Gear

Wednesday 6 August 2025

• Pohutukawa (Rm 10) PE Day - Wear PE Gear

• Ranginui PE Day - Wear PE Gear

• Nominations for the Board Elections close 12pm 

Thursday 7 August 2025

• Tangaroa PE Days (Rm 2,5 & 6) Wear PE Gear

• 12:30pm - 2:45pm Technology Ranginui (Yr 7 & 8)

Friday 8 August 2025

• 7:50am - 8:30am Flames Netball Practice

• Ranginui PE Day - Wear PE Gear

• Wheke (Rm 7) & Parareka (Rm 8) PE Days - Wear PE Gear

• 3pm - 4:30pm Year 5/6 Netball Practice

• 4:30pm - 5:30pm Year 7/8 Comets Netball Practice

Monday 11 August 2025

• Tangaroa PE Days (Rm 2,5 & 6) Wear PE Gear

• 1:30pm - 3pm Rm 2 Paekawakawa Reserve trip

• 1:45pm - 2:45pm Rm 6 Island Bay library visit

Tuesday 12 August 2025

• Pohutukawa (Rm 10) PE Day - Wear PE Gear

• Wheke (Rm 7) & Parareka (Rm 8) PE Days - Wear PE Gear

Wednesday 13 August  2025

• Pohutukawa (Rm 10) PE Day - Wear PE Gear

• Ranginui PE Day - Wear PE Gear

Thursday 14 August 2025

• Tangaroa PE Days (Rm 2,5 & 6) Wear PE Gear

• 12:30pm - 2:45pm Technology Ranginui (Yr 7 & 8)

Friday 15 August 2025

• 7:50am - 8:30am Flames Netball Practice

• 9am - 10am St Patricks College Entrance Exam - Please email the office if your son is attending this

• Ranginui PE Day - Wear PE Gear

• Wheke (Rm 7) & Parareka (Rm 8) PE Days - Wear PE Gear

• 3pm - 4:30pm Year 5/6 Netball Practice

• 4:30pm - 5:30pm Year 7/8 Comets Netball Practice

Monday 18 August 2025

• Tangaroa PE Days (Rm 2,5 & 6) Wear PE Gear

• 1:30pm - 3pm Rm 6 Paekawakawa Reserve trip

• 1:45pm - 2:45pm Rm 5 Island Bay library visit

Tuesday 19 August 2025

• Pohutukawa (Rm 10) PE Day - Wear PE Gear

• Wheke (Rm 7) & Parareka (Rm 8) PE Days - Wear PE Gear

• Ranginui PE Day - Wear PE Gear

• All day Southern Zone Miniball Festival

Thursday 21 August 2025

• Tangaroa PE Days (Rm 2,5 & 6) Wear PE Gear

• Tarawera (Rm 2) Pe Day - Wear PE Gear

• 12:30pm - 2:45pm Technology Ranginui (Yr 7 & 8)

Friday 22 August 2025

• 7:50am - 8:30am Flames Netball Practice

• Ranginui PE Day - Wear PE Gear

• Wheke (Rm 7) & Parareka (Rm 8) PE Days - Wear PE Gear

• 3pm - 4:30pm Year 5/6 Netball Practice

• 4:30pm - 5:30pm Year 7/8 Comets Netball Practice