Embedded Files
Message from the SFDS Board
As you will be aware, the Government has made a decision to remove the part of section 127 of the Education and Training Act 2020 that requires school Boards to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi as part of our primary objectives. I would like to let you know that we will continue to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the decision-making and governance of our school. We are doing this because we believe that when we uphold Te Tiriti, our tamariki learn about partnership and respect for different cultures, our history and for te reo Māori. All of these values provide a strong educational foundation for building happy and healthy tamariki and rangatahi. Keeping Te Tiriti at the heart of our school our paramount objectives are:
We continue to achieve equitable outcomes for our Māori students by making them feel seen, supported, and proud of who they are;
Take all reasonable steps to ensure students are to be taught, and to learn in te reo Māori to gain a deeper understanding of our shared history and language;
We continue to strengthen relationships with local iwi, hapū, and Māori whānau in our community;
All our akonga will be made to feel that they truly belong in this country by celebrating being a part of New Zealand's rich cultural diversity .
We will continue to honour Te Tiriti in the way we teach, make decisions, and connect with all our school whānau.
Nga mihi nui,
Peter
Presiding Member
St Francis de Sales School Board
Welcome
Welcome
Kia ora e te whānau
What a lovely time together on Friday at our family fish n chips night! Thank you for joining us, and special thanks to the PSL team for organising this event! It was such a beautiful evening.
Class Placements for 2026
Your child's class placement for 2026 is now available on Hero. This afternoon, the children spent some time meeting their new teacher and their 2026 classmates. Please note that we do not publish full class lists for privacy reasons.
Class placement decisions are made carefully and take the following into account:
Teacher judgment:
Teachers consider each child’s progress, peer combinations, and the overall balance of needs within each class. They discuss placements as a team and review each other’s decisions.
Student voice (Years 4–8 only):
Students are invited to share the names of peers they are friends with and those they work well with. We aim to place each child with at least one person from their list; however, due to limited options, we cannot guarantee all requests.
Parent voice:
Parents were invited to share information that may support their child’s learning. We asked that parents do not request specific teachers or specific classmates, as these requests are usually not possible to meet. We consider all parent feedback and also pass on relevant information to the child’s 2026 teacher. However, with limited options, not all requests can be fulfilled.
Leadership oversight:
School leaders carefully review all class lists and question teachers about their decisions, particularly where needs or abilities appear unbalanced across classes. All parent requests are reviewed, and adjustments are often made during this stage.
End of Year Liturgy Wednesday 17 December
We are fast approaching our final liturgy for the year! This event is normally attended by the whole school community, and takes place in the church. It is a celebration of the children, with performances by all of the children. We also recognise those senior students who have earned awards for their years of service, academic, Catholic Character, perseverance. We also have the winning speech from the senior speech competition. We are aiming for a 60 minute liturgy as we are very conscious that our little ones can't cope with much longer!
Year 1-3 students - please arrive at 5.00pm and go to your child's class to meet their teacher.
Year 4-8 Students - please arrive at 5.00pm and go straight into the church to meet with your teachers and kapa haka tutor.
Parents and guests will be welcomed into the church formally at 5.30pm - please do not enter the church before then.
There will be reserved seating for parents of Year 8 students
Poly Club Performance
A huge congratulations to all of our tamariki who have taken part in Polyclub this year! Yesterday they performance for their whānau and to all of the other ākonga and kaimahi. We were so proud to see how their confidence has grown by being part of this group every week! Thank you very much to Edna, to James, to Summer, to Michael and to all of the parents who arranged this programme! Your support for your tamariki learning the traditions and music of the pacific.
Timetable
You may remember that we made changes to the children's daily timetable this year. This was a trial - to move away from the older style timetable, to a timetable that specifically suited our needs. We made tweaks throughout the year, but were unable to make wholesale changes as this would have been too disruptive. Throughout Term 4 we've been reviewing the 2025 timetable, decided what we wanted to keep and want we wanted to leave behind.
The resulting final timetable is below, which will begin in Term 1, 2026.
Catholic Character
Catholic Character
St Vinnie's
Thank you for your donations to the St Vinnie's appeal for Christmas gifts. These were collected from school yesterday and will be wrapped up for children whose families are going through difficult times this Christmas. We are still accepting donations and will drop them to the Vinnie's shop early next week.
Values Awards Catch-up!
We have a large number of students who have earned awards for demonstrating our school's Gospel values in various ways. Thank you to these students!
30 November School Hui Awards
30 November School Hui Awards
Congratulations to Jeca, Mary, Abel, Thalia, Zoe, Declan, Amen, Ayaana, Meserak and Psalms for receiving a values certificate from their teachers.
Well done to Arija, Zoe, Boaz, Ciro for being drawn out of the House Points draw for a golden ticket!! Enjoy your chosen prize.
Well done to Aubert House for winning the House Cup!
Principal's Award
Principal's Award
Congratulations to Willow Soldini-Esdaile, one of our Year 8 students, for receiving the Principal's Award on 20 November. Willow has received this award for earning the most house points out of the whole school for demonstrating our school values for the preceding two weeks! Thank you for being such a great role model, Willow.
4 December School Hui Awards
4 December School Hui Awards
Well done to our awards certificate recipients: Raffaele, Zhryx, Kora, Johnny, Agape, Hemantsri, Miriam, Ayana, and Nathaniel!
Congratulations to Aalayah, Valentina, Thea and Raffaele for winning the house draw to get a Golden Ticket!
Congratulations to Avila House for winning the House Cup!
Principal's Award
Principal's Award
All of the children gathered at our School Hui were thrilled to see that the principal's cup went to four people today! This is a first!
Thank you so much to Sofia (Y5), Eva (Y8), Declan (Y6) and Malia (Y1) who all earned the most house points since our previous school hui! It was so good to see that the award was earned by children of all different ages.
Learning Updates
Learning Updates
End of Year Reporting Against the New Zealand Curriculum
The teachers are all busy updating each child's Hero report - so that you have the most up to date information about your child's progress and achievement. The graphs on their Hero page will be opened for you to view mid next week.
Multiple changes to the NZ curriculum over the past two years has been challenging for us to navigate, but we have tried to be transparent with you about the impact of these changes on how we measure and report on learning in the core learning areas of English and Maths.
At the mid-year point we explained to you that your child's Hero graph may show a dip, and that this was because the content in the curriculum and the expectations had increased. Many of you spoke with your child's teacher with concerns about this at the mid-year.
Another change by the government was that students were to be taught specific content at specific year-groups. The theory that underpins that is that exposing children to the content - even if they are not yet able to comprehend it completely, helps their learning in the long run. The curriculum content is covered yearly - with increasing complexity.
What does this look like on Hero?
School Notices and Events
School Notices and Events
Back to school stationery – order now!
We’ve teamed up with OfficeMax MySchool to make your back to school shop super easy. And if you order in December, you’ll go in the draw to WIN 1 of 5 $1000 cash prizes*.
Your child’s class list is already loaded. Just go to myschool.co.nz.
Please order the pack for your child’s next school year. For example, Year 5 students should order the Year 6 pack. If you’re unsure, give the school office a call!
Simply add your details, (check you have the correct year) check that you want everything on the list, then click and confirm - and OfficeMax MySchool will get it underway, with free delivery on orders over $70*.
You can pay by internet banking, credit card or debit card. Zip# is also available, so you can pay in 4 interest free payments over 6 weeks and still get your order right away. Plus, you’ll be helping our school earn school rewards* that we use to purchase much needed extra resources for our school.
Quotes for WINZ are available by contacting 0800 724 440 or via email enquiry@myschool.co.nz.
We encourage you to order early to ensure your child has all their stationery requirements ready to go in plenty of time for the start of Term 1.
So go ahead and beat the back to school rush, order today with OfficeMax MySchool and give them the best start possible.
#Zip Pay in 4 is available to approved applicants only and subject to completion of satisfactory credit checks. For more information visit myschool.co.nz/zip. T&Cs and late fees apply. Zip Co NZ Finance Limited FSP 598969.
*T&Cs apply, see myschool.co.nz for details.
Please also see below for a full list of stationery requirements if you wish to purchase items yourself.
SFDS Full School Stationery List 2026.pdfVision & Hearing Screening for New Entrants Thursday 11 December
Te Whatu Ora provides vision and hearing screening for all new entrants. Results are shared with children on the day, and parents are notified if further assessment is needed. Children who already have regular checks or use glasses/hearing aids do not need screening. If you do not want your child screened, please inform the school. This is not a full exam—see a specialist if you have concerns.
Dates to Add to Your Diary
Dates to Add to Your Diary
Please also check our SFDS Events Calendar
Thursday 11 December
Room 10 PE Day - Wear PE Gear
Room 7 & 8 PE Day - Wear PE Gear
Tangaroa (Year 0-3) PE Day Wear PE Gear
10:15 – 11:45am Middle Syndicate Swimming Lessons - Final Lesson
Technology Ranginui (Yr 7 & 8)
Friday 12 December
Ranginui (Year 7 & 8) PE Day- Wear PE Gear
Room 7 & 8 PE Day - Wear PE Gear
Tuesday 16 December
Year 8 Leavers' Dinner (tickets are now available on Kindo)
Wednesday 17 December
End of Year Liturgy
Thursday 18 December
Last day of Term 4 - School closes at 12.30pm
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