School Newsletter
12 June 2025

Kia ora e te whānau | Greetings all

Following our successful Hauora Immersion week at the start of term, the learning around Te Whare Tapa Whā has continued across villages with our learners exploring and comparing the health and wellbeing to the four walls of a wharenui (meeting house)

• Taha Hinengaro – Mental & Emotional Wellbeing

• Taha Wairua – Spiritual Wellbeing

• Taha Tinana – Physical Wellbeing

• Taha Whānau – Family & Social Wellbeing

• Whenua – Connection to Land & Roots

The learning has been captured by looking at the impact of healthy, active lifestyles through understanding the impact of physical activity on the body and Hauora. There has been a focus through a science lens, looking at the impact of physical activity and the heart. 

Celebrating Leadership and Sportsmanship

We’re also incredibly proud of our Senior Sports Leaders and PALs (Physical Activity Leaders), who have been running lunchtime games and supporting break-time engagement. Whether it's issuing gear from the PE shed or leading games on the field, it’s been wonderful to see learners exploring tennis, hockey, and more, trying new things, getting active, and growing in confidence.

Investing in a Healthy Future

As part of our strategic goal to embed Healthy Active Learning approaches that increase participation and enhance learner wellbeing, our staff are engaged in professional development to support this mahi.

We know that research shows regular physical activity and aerobic fitness support healthy brain development for our tamariki. It enhances memory, attention, and learning by improving brain structure, blood flow, and neural connections. Even a single session of physical activity can boost attention and processing speed, while regular movement over time strengthens working memory, cognitive flexibility, and overall brain function.

This highlights the powerful role physical activity plays in supporting both wellbeing and academic success. 

Your feedback in the 2024 whānau survey shared that you would like to see more specialist learning in sports and Physical Education, and more sports codes on offer. You will be delighted to hear that we have Stonefields' girls and boys hockey teams entering the Eastern Zones one-day tournament next week. We're also hoping to offer Hockey as an extension sport, see below for details. 

As this is an area we're strategically focusing on you will see an increase in movement opportunities from play to quality PE lessons and building sports codes. We believe that a holistic approach to well-being is crucial for our students' success, and we're excited to continue this journey together.

Ngā mihi nui,

Sarah and the team 

Raffle - Thanks for your support! 

A huge thank you to our whole community for another successful fundraising raffle. This year we raised a total of $9,740, plus the School Board, as promised, has matched each dollar bringing our total project budget to $19,480. We are super excited to get started with planting, seats and some play equipment as soon as possible. Keep an eye on the field for progress!   

Matariki holiday - Friday 20 June

A reminder school will be closed on Friday 20 June for Matariki. Enjoy celebrating with your whānau. 

Mid-Year Achievement Reports

During the last week of Term 2, we will share a report of your child’s learning achievement at the mid-year point. This report will include a general comment from their hub teachers describing how your child is progressing, their attitude towards learning, and their social development. It will also include a mid-year achievement snapshot of your child's reading, writing, and mathematics progress.

Year 5-6 Bike Skills

Bigfoot Adventures from Auckland Transport is providing a fully funded 'Bike Skills' programme for our Year 5 and 6 learners. This is a great connection to our term's concept of hauora/wellbeing. Learners will build their cycling ability, explore how to ride bikes safely with safety checks, and develop important skills on the road and pathway. The programme will be delivered by qualified instructors with supervision from our teachers.

Workshops will take about 3 hours, with some groups split over two days. Bikes and helmets are provided, however learners are welcome to bring their own bikes and helmets if they wish. We will confirm exact groups closer to time so your child knows when to bring their bikes and helmets if they would like to.

• Hub 12 - Tuesday 17 June and Wednesday 18 June 

• Hub 13 - Tuesday 24 June and Wednesday 25 June

Uniform donations please

If you have any uniform items you no longer need, which have plenty of life left in them, please donate them to our Pre-Loved Uniform shop. We're very low on stock at the moment with a growing waiting list. All money raised goes directly back to the School. Thanks for your support! 

When It’s Hard to Get to School – Support for You and Your Tamariki

Sometimes getting to school is the hardest part of the day, especially if your child is feeling anxious, overwhelmed, resistant or just not themselves. You’re not alone.

If you’re a parent who is navigating school reluctance, anxiety, or disconnection, here’s an online event to help you feel more supported and confident. Presented by tamariki and parent wellbeing advisor with a background in psychology, Anna Mowat, and an experienced educator for her team - these are people who deeply understand all the challenges and complexities of parenting. Register here.

Event date - Thursday 19 June, 7.30pm online

Overdue library books

It’s nearly mid-year and a great time to follow up our overdue library books. Learners in years 5-8 and all parents/guardians of learners with overdue library books, will soon receive emails showing what books are overdue and on issue to them.

Learners may borrow over the coming holidays, but we’re asking for overdue books to be returned, so others may have a turn with them. Your help in making this happen is really appreciated.

This year we have introduced a way for learners to help "put things right". If they've looked everywhere and still can't find their library book, or lost or damaged the book, we ask that they "own up and put it right" by either:

• Donating a book to our library

• Paying to replace the damaged/lost book

• Making their own book to be added to our library for others to read 

Mistakes do happen and our system isn't perfect.  If you/your learner receive a reminder for books that were never issued or have already been returned, please ask your learner to come and have a chat with us in the library.

Library open before and after school

Did you know our library is open from 8.30am-9.00am and after school from 3.00pm-3.30pm each day?  You are welcome to visit with your learner/s, explore the space and our books, issue and return books and if you need to, you can check what is on issue to your learner/s to help them find what needs to be returned.  We'd love to see you, so come on up and say "hi".  Whaea Esther is here every day and Mrs Malan is here Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Year 5-6 Maths Parent Workshop

Wednesday 18 June, 3.15pm-4.15pm   

The year 5-6 teaching team would like to invite you to a maths workshop covering changes to the New Zealand Curriculum and the expectations at a year 5-6 level, including:

• Maths No Problem resources and approach

• Rich projects and problem solving

• Extension opportunities to challenge learners

• Trends the team are seeing and how to support your child with maths at home

Please RSVP using the link. We look forward to seeing you there!

Intermediate Information Morning 

Wednesday 25 June, 7.30am-8.30am, Stonefields Staff Hub (up the red stairs and along to the end!)

We invite all parents of year 5-6 learners to come to an information session, led by Ollie Baker (Intermediate, Leader of Learning) and the Intermediate Teaching Team, to learn more about the Intermediate space at Stonefields School and answer any questions you may have. Pleae RSVP here.

What’s happening in Sport

Next week brings two exciting inter-school events! On Monday, our Year 7-8 teams will take part in the Te Rōpū Pourewa Ki-o-rahi Festival, followed by our Eastern Zones Hockey teams competing in their event on Tuesday. We wish all our teams the very best of luck - go out there and give it your all!

A sincere thank you to everyone involved in preparing our students for these events, and to those stepping in to support on the day. Your time and effort are greatly appreciated.

Upcoming Bake Sales - Sweet Treats & Sweet Sounds! 

Join us for some delicious goodies at our upcoming Bake Sales, held right outside the office alongside our Friday Cafe Performances!

Dates to mark in your calendar:

• Friday 27 June, 3pm

• Friday 25 July, 3pm

Come along, support our talented performers, and treat yourself to something sweet - it’s the perfect way to wrap up the week!

Extension Sports Update | Hockey (Years 3-8)

We’re excited to be moving forward with our School Hockey programme for Years 3–8!

There is still time to sign up! If your child is interested in learning and playing Hockey, there’s still time to get involved. Please complete the Expression of Interest form HERE. We’d love to see as many keen learners as possible giving it a go!

Hockey Taster Sessions: To help our learners get a feel for the game, we’re offering two initial taster sessions for those who have registered their interest. These sessions are a great way to try out Hockey in a fun, supportive environment.

We also warmly invite skilled parents or whānau members with a passion for Hockey to come along and support or get involved in the sessions! Please let us know if you can make it along sport@stonefields.school.nz 

Provisional Dates (To be confirmed):

• Tuesday 22 July, 2:00-3:00pm

• Tuesday 29 July, 2:00-3:00pm

We’ll confirm the dates closer to the time – stay tuned!

Turf and Court bookings

If you or your sport team would like to book a training time - please book this in with the office office@stonefields.school.nz 

After School Sports Programs

Held on Stonefields grounds, can be found here

Local Clubs and other sport opportunities

Please also visit our Community Noticeboard for notices on local clubs and activities. 

• Friday Cafe | Friday 13 June | 3pm

• Senior School Assembly | Monday 16 June | 2pm, Hall

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

• Matariki Hikoi | Wednesday 18 June | 6.30am, Hall

• Year 5-6 Maths Parent Workshop | Wednesday 18 June | 3.15pm

• Matariki | Friday 20 June | school closed  

• Junior School Assembly | Monday 23 June | 2pm, Hall

• Intermediate Information Morning | Wednesday 25 June 

• Jumping June celebration | Friday 27 June 

• Friday Cafe and AIMs Bake Sale | Friday 27 June | 3pm

• Last day of Term 2 | Friday 27 June 

• Term 3 starts | Monday 14 July 

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

After-School Activities and Holiday Programmes

There are many sports, art, and cultural activities available both on-site and in our community. Check out our Community Noticeboard for more details.