Intermediate Term Four Update

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

Welcome back to Term Four! We are all abuzz with excitement in the Intermediate School, as we continue to squeeze the learning juice through authentic contexts. Our concept for this term is "We Brought our Best Together", and we will explore this concept through a range of learning experiences, which could not have been achieved without targeted, specific collaboration.

The amazing learning experiences we have in store for this term are:

• Weekly Year 8 Maunga Walk - Starting in Week Two, on Wednesday afternoons, our Year 8 learners will walk up our fantastic maunga. We will use this time to reflect on our Stonefields journey and set goals for our next step into college. Please note that learners must be wearing sunscreen, wear a school hat and bring a drink bottle. We will depart from Stonefields at 1:50 pm and return just before 3 pm.

• Intermediate Zoo Trip - In week five, we will be going to Auckland Zoo to build knowledge on how the habitats are created and maintained to ensure the health of each animal, both physically and mentally. You will be sent a separate email with more details about this. 

• Year 7 Carnival - Once again, the Year 7 learners will be designing and building carnival games to create a fantastic morning of fun memories for our juniors. We will be working on these throughout the term, with the carnival date being scheduled for the end of the term. 

• Year 8 Pantomime - Meanwhile, our Year 8s will be planning and performing the annual Year 8 pantomime. This is a wonderful chance for our Year 8s to collaborate, build connections with younger learners and come together to spread some wonderful cheer before they leave Stonefields School.

• Year 8 Graduation Dinner - Our annual Year 8 graduation dinner is the Stonefields high society social event of the year! This is a brilliant way to recognise and farewell our Year 8 learners, all while eating some amazing food and dressing up for the occasion. This year, our graduation dinner will be held on December 4th. We will be in contact via email, closer to the time, with more details. 

In our literacy learning, we are building our knowledge on the elements of an impactful speech as we craft our own on the topic of whenua. We will be performing these in front of our peers, and we will be holding our annual speech competition, where one Stonefield's candidate will go forward to represent our school at the APPA Rehu Tai speech finals later this term. Don't hesitate to get in touch with your child's literacy teacher directly if you have further questions or would like more details about your child's progress in literacy. 

In maths, we are continuing to build our knowledge around numbers and incorporating measurement as part of our strand. If you would like more information about your child's progress in maths, please contact your child's maths teacher directly. 

As part of our learning around Aotearoa Histories, we have set ourselves a very step-heavy target! We are attempting to walk the length of Aotearoa, collectively, as an Intermediate whanau. Each week, a different guardian group will be given their own pedometer and will have one week to generate as many steps (actual steps, not vigorous hand shaking) as they can, which will be added to our total. We will be tracking our progress on our map of Aotearoa and looking at different historical contexts along the way! Stay tuned to check our progress and see how far we have travelled! 

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

• hub16teachers@stonefields.school.nz

• hub17teachers@stonefields.school.nz

Kotahitanga - Unity in Diversity

We are celebrating our diversity in many ways across the curriculum. In our MITEY learning, we are continuing to build knowledge on the relationships we have with our friends and whanau and how these change. Also, how we acknowledge differences and navigate these changing relationships with respect and maturity. 

Kotahitanga Cultural Day, immerse yourself - Tuesday 5 August

Early in the term we will be building our knowledge of different cultures through a cultural immersion day. Learners will experience a range of cultural activities including food, art, music, dance, games, and sports. Learners will be encouraged to dress in cultural items for the day.  

We would love to partner with our parents also for this day. Do you have a cultural activity you would like to lead with the learners? Do you have some cultural food that you would like to share/make with our learners? Are there any other cultural talents or ideas that you would like to share with us? Please get in touch with your hub teachers.

Staff Only Day - Monday 11 August

Don't forget school will be closed on Monday 11 August. Kelly Club will be open if you need childcare. 

Senior Assembly Dates

This term we have three Senior Assemblies. This is a great opportunity for parents to see everything we've been exploring and learning about in the Hubs. We hope you can join us at 2pm in the Hall on: 

• Monday 4 August

• Monday 1 September

• Monday 15 September 

FOSS and Parent Helpers - we need your help! 

FOSS (Friends of Stonefields School) do a fantastic job of helping to support our school and organise a range of fun events to bring the community together. This includes Friday Cafe and this term, the highlight for many kids, the School Discos. But to make these happen they need your help! If you'd like to get involved or to find out more, please get in touch here.

2026 Term Dates 

We apologise, last term we released some incorrect dates for 2026. The following dates are now confirmed: 

• Term 1: Wednesday 4 February - Thursday 2 April

• Term 2: Monday 20 April - Friday 3 July

• Term 3: Monday 20 July - Friday 25 September

• Term 4: Monday 12 October - Wednesday 16 December

Public holidays during Term time:

• Anzac Day (Observed) – Monday 27 April 

• King’s Birthday – Monday 1 June

• Labour Day – Monday 26 October

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. If you would like your child to keep their Chromebook at school and charge it here, then please contact your child's hub teacher and this can be arranged. 

• Please also be aware that the school only monitors activity on Chromebooks during school hours. Outside of school hours, monitoring of the safety and security of your child while online, is the responsibility of parents and guardians.

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. 

School Board Elections

You will have received an email yesterday from us regarding the School Board Elections. Nominations open this Friday, 18 July. 

Stonefields School have appointed Schooled Election Pilot as the Returning Officer for our election and for the election to be provided online.

On Friday 18 July, you will receive an email from Schooled Election Pilot (election@electionpilot.nz) with a link to our election portal. All nominations must be submitted via this portal.  

• You can nominate yourself or someone else in the community. 

• Nominees will be asked to submit a photo and a short candidate statement 

• Nominations will close at 12 noon on Wednesday 6 August 

If you have any questions regarding the elections, feel free to drop into the office or email us at office@stonefields.school.nz 

Dates for the Diary

• Friday Cafe | Friday 18 July | 3pm

• School Board nominations open | Friday 18 July 

• Eastern Zone Netball | Monday 21 July | sign up here

• AIMs Fundraising Bake Sale  | Friday 25 July | 3pm

• Friday Cafe performances | Friday 25 July | 3pm

• Stonefields School Board Meeting | Tuesday 29 July | 5.30pm, Te Pātaka Ako

• Friday Cafe | Friday 1 August | 3pm 

• Cook Island Language Week  | Monday 4 - Friday 8 August

• Senior Assembly (Year 5-8) | Monday 4 August | 2pm, Hall 

• Kotahitanga Cultural Day | Tuesday 5 August 

• School Board nominations close | Wednesday 6 August | 12noon

• Tamaki Basketball (Year 5-8) | Wednesday 6 August | sign up here

• Friday Cafe performances | Friday 8 August | 3pm

• Staff Only Day | Monday 11 August | school closed 

• Eastern Zone Cross Country | Tuesday 12 August | sign up here

• School Board Election voting begins | Wednesday 13 August

• Eastern Zone Basketball Boys | Thursday 14 August | sign up here 

• Friday Cafe | Friday 15 August | 3pm 

• Senior School Disco | Friday 15 August | 7.15pm

• Tongan Language Week  | Monday 18 - Friday 22 August

• Eastern Zone Basketball Girls | Tuesday 19 August | sign up here

• Tamaki Rippa Rugby (Year 5-8) | Wednesday 20 August | sign up here 

• Whānau Hui | Wednesday 20 August | 6pm

• Pasifika Talanoa | Wednesday 20 August | 6pm

• Visitor Tour | Thursday 21 August | register here  

• Friday Cafe performances | Friday 22 August | 3pm 

• Photolife Teams & Groups | Wednesday 27 August

• Friday Cafe | Friday 29 August | 3pm 

• Senior Assembly (Year 5-8) | Monday 1 September | 2pm, Hall 

• Stonefields School Board Meeting | Tuesday 2 September | 5.30pm, Te Pātaka Ako

• Tamaki Netball (Year 3-8) | Wednesday 3 September | sign up here 

• Friday Cafe performances | Friday 5 September | 3pm 

• School Board Election closes | Wednesday 10 September

• Friday Cafe | Friday 12 September | 3pm 

• Māori Language Week  | Monday 15 - Friday 19 September

• Senior Assembly (Year 5-8) | Monday 15 September | 2pm, Hall 

• Kotahitanga Cultural Celebration | Wednesday 17 September

• Friday Cafe performances | Friday 19 September | 3pm

• Term 3 ends | Friday 19 September 

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