Intermediate Term Two Update

Tēnā koutou, nau mai hoki mai | Greetings to you all, welcome back! 

We hope you all had a lovely break with your whānau. The term has started with a lot of excitement as we launched our concept 'He Hauora te Taonga - Health is Wealth'. On Tuesday, we were fortunate to welcome the Police Eagle Helicopter, flown in by parent, Newman Subritzky. The Intermediate cohort were also privileged to welcome Olympian, Samantha Child (nee Charlton) who was the vice-captain of the Black Sticks and is a three-time Olympian (London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020). Samantha made 277 appearances in the black singlet including attending two Commonwealth Games, and winning gold at Gold Coast 2018. Samantha spoke to the learners about the importance of balancing their own hauora and how to feel good about their own performance despite the team's outcome.   

On Thursday, our learners embraced tuakana-teina and were immersed in a variety of sporting, and health and wellbeing experiences supporting our youngest learners. Our learners supported their Year 0-2 buddies through a rotation of five activities each related to the key dimensions of Te Whare Tapa Whā including soccer, hockey, boxing, karate, jiu-jitsu, yoga, nutrition, physical challenges and much more. 

To contact the Hub Teaching Teams, please use the email addresses below:

• hub16teachers@stonefields.school.nz

• hub17teachers@stonefields.school.nz

Farewell Rachel Kay

You will be sad to learn that Rachel Kay has resigned from her teaching position with us. Her last day will be Friday 23 May (end of camp). We wish her all the best in her new school.  

The Teacher shortage continues to be challenging, particularly in Auckland where a number of schools currently have vacancies. Although we received over 35 applications for Rachel’s replacement, none were of a calibre that we would interview. Getting quality teachers in front of your kids is a priority. With this in mind, we decided to engage a recruiter and are pleased following interviews, that we have offered the role to a very strong teacher who will be immigrating from South Africa to NZ with her family.  We are hopeful that she will be able to commence from 26 May however this will be subject to her family’s visa being processed in a timely manner.  We are working on cover solutions that we could implement if there is a delay in her arrival.

Wendy Varadhan comes with 10+ years experience teaching senior primary and intermediate-aged learners. She has subject strengths in the foundation learning areas.

He Hauora Te Taonga

Inspired by Olympian Samantha Child's presentation, learners have launched the term with the Hauora Physical challenge, setting themselves individual goals for the end of term. This ranges from improving my golf swing - by measuring the increased distance I can hit the ball, to increasing my stamina - by running 10 km in the same time that I currently run 8 km, and improving my confidence in doing tricks on my scooter - by being able to jump higher. What challenge has your child set themselves? 

Break Through Challenge - Physical

This term will be the first opportunity for senior learners to explore our first Break Through Challenge. This new challenge was introduced at the Break Through Festival last year. To achieve the challenge a learner needs to complete:

• A Physical Challenge

• A Passion Project

• A Social Impact Project

Each challenge typically takes a term to complete. Once all three projects are completed, the child must share their learning journey and evidence with a teacher so it can be evaluated against the Break Through Challenge criteria. A Break Through pin will be awarded to individuals who achieve the criteria.

Learner-Led Conferences - Thursday 5 June

Our annual Learner-Led Conferences for Years 7-8 will take place on Thursday 5 June and Friday 6 June. This is an opportunity to celebrate your child's learning so far this year. Learners will prepare a short presentation and share their learning with you. Parents will also have an opportunity for a 10-minute connect with one of our teaching team. Look out for the booking link coming soon. Please note school will close at 1pm on Thursday 5 June for Year 7-8.  

Puberty Sessions 

A reminder our Intermediate will be taking part in the puberty talks:

• Year 7 - Wednesday 14 May: Positive Puberty Plus Programme

• Year 8 - Thursday 15 May: Tū Tika Programme (‘Standing strong and doing what’s right’)

A parent information evening will be held on Thursday 8 May at 6:30pm via Zoom. Please rsvp here. 

Reminder: Chromebooks Charged, Ready for Learning!

A reminder that learners should be bringing fully charged Chromebooks to school each day. Chromebooks tend to be used at various points throughout each day, whilst balancing this with book work. 

• You may be interested to know that Keyboarding is a new element in the 2025 NZC Curriculum. 

• Please ensure that your child charges their Chromebook each night, so they are ready for learning the following day. 

• Chargers should be kept at home

Winter Uniform

At Stonefields School we wear our uniform with pride. As the weather cools down, our winter uniform items will keep you warm. We appreciate your support in ensuring your child is wearing the correct school uniform:

• Black polo shirt 

• Charcoal trousers, skort, or shorts   

• Black shoes, including black laces (white soles are acceptable). 

• Black or white socks

• Beanie

• Fleece or Intermediate Jacket

• Black or dark blue plain hair ties/bands (no other colours please) 

• No jewellery or necklaces should be worn, as this is a health and safety concern during playtimes and PE sessions. Exceptions to this include jewellery of cultural significance, small stud earrings, and watches however no smart-watches. 

• Black tights/leggings and a black thermal can be worn under the uniform for extra warmth if required 

New uniform items can be purchased online and delivered to your home. Pre-Loved uniform items can be requested here and collected from the office. 

Photolife Photo orders

Last term Photolife captured individual portraits, hub photos, and sibling photos (if requested). These are now available for you to order. You will have received an email from Photolife during the holidays with your keycode. Please go to the Photolife website, enter your keycode, and select the photos you'd like to purchase. Orders placed before Sunday 11 May will be delivered to school for free. 

If you haven't received your keycode from Photolife, please contact the office. 

Lost Property 

Don't forget to keep an eye on the lost property outside Te Pataka Ako! The rack is bulging with named jackets and the pile of unnamed jackets is even higher. 

Dates for the Diary

• Mufti Day for Nature Pathway  | Tuesday 6 May 

• Tamaki Football (Year 3-8) | Wednesday 7 May

• Puberty Talks - Parent Online session | Thursday 8 May | 6.30pm online

• EZ Football Year 7 Boys | Tuesday 13 May 

• Stonefields School Board Meeting | Tuesday 13 May | 5.30pm, Te Pātaka Ako

• EZ Football Year 8 Boys | Thursday 15 May 

• Senior Assembly (Year 5-8) | Monday 19 May | 2pm, Hall

• Intermediate Camp Raglan | Tuesday 20 - Friday 23 May

• Mid-Term New Entrant Cohort Start | Monday 26 May

• Learner-Led Conferences (Year 0-6) | Thursday 29 May

• Staff Only Day | Friday 30 May | school closed

• King's Birthday | Mondau 2 June | school closed

• Visitor Tour | Tuesday 3 June | register here  

• Whānau Hui | Wednesday 4 June | 6pm

• Pasifika Talanoa | Wednesday 4 June | 6pm

• Learner-Led Conferences (Year 7-8) | Thursday 5 June

• Senior Assembly (Year 5-8) | Monday 16 June | 2pm, Hall

• EZ Hockey | Monday 16 June

• Stonefields School Board Meeting | Tuesday 17 June | 5.30pm, Te Pātaka Ako

• Matariki Hikoi | Wednesday 18 June 

• Matariki Holiday | Friday 20 June | school closed

• Tamaki Ki-O-Rahi | Wednesday 25 June

• Term 2 ends | Friday 27 June 

View our School Calendar to keep up to date with all events