School Newsletter
20 March 2025

Kia ora e te whānau | Greetings all

I'm excited to announce the School Board has recently signed off on a big property project which we will start bringing to life during the April school holidays. Born from an Enviro learner voice group who presented to the Board last year on how to further enhance our outside environment, the group presented two ideas that collated the voices of learners across the school. One of their ideas was to include mosaic stepping stones in the garden at the end of the new Block, this project was completed last year.  The second project was to create more play areas and shade towards the back boundary of the School.  After presenting to the Board, the learners met with three different providers to share their ideas. They then reviewed concept drawings received from the potential providers and worked with them to achieve their vision. 

It was agreed that in order to access the back boundary of the school, we must first create an all-year-round pathway around the field. Along this pathway, we can then create different play activations such as natural play equipment, seating and shade. I'm pleased to share that last week we engaged a contractor who will install the first stage of the path during the upcoming April school holidays. The next stage is to design some interesting play spaces next to the path using the children’s, the teacher's and your ideas. Here are some initial concepts:    

We would love your input! We invite you to come to Te Pataka Ako - Community Hub to view the plans for where the proposed path will go, there will be some initial ideas and we would love you to add yours - you might like to search online for some options or hand draw your ideas.

We will then engage the landscapers to price up each play space so we can collectively make decisions on what to install next.  

FOSS will be running a raffle for hamper baskets in Term 2 to help fundraise for this. This was an awesome fundraiser last year and allowed us to install the sports shed. We're looking forward to seeing the hampers happen again this year, allowing us to install play activations along this pathway! 

Look out for more details soon. 

Ngā mihi nui,

Sarah and the team

Soapbox Derby Racing

Hub 16 and 17 have seen collaboration in action as we have come together to design and begin to build our soapbox derby scale model vehicles for our Darby Race Day in Week 10. We have analysed different examples of successful (and some non-successful) teamwork in stories, society and throughout history. From the crew of the Titanic to the expansive team at Google, we have built knowledge on what makes an effective team member and what they can contribute to a shared setting. Will our learning pay off on the track, though? Time will tell.....

Year 5-6 Partnership Connects

The Year 5-6 teachers will be holding Partnership Connects on Thursday 27 March, between 9am - 3pm. This is an opportunity for parents to meet with the teacher to hear some noticings from the term so far and some early assessment information. It is also an opportunity to think about home learning opportunities that learners could do at home to further their learning and set targets for the year ahead.

The meetings will be 10 minutes. There will be an option for either an online meeting (video-conference) or in-person meeting. If you are having an in-person meeting, this will take place in your child's hub. 

How to book:

To book a meeting, please go to School Interviews:

• Enter your details, including if you would prefer an in-person or video-conference 

• Select the hub for each child

• Select a timeslot for each child

You’ll notice each hub has two or three bookings available at each time slot, depending on the number of teachers in that hub. Please book your preferred time and the team will then allocate a hub teacher for your meeting. 

You will receive a booking confirmation email from School Interviews confirming your booked timeslot. If you need to make any changes to your bookings, please use the 'change or cancel your booking' link in that email. 

Whole School Athletics - Tuesday 8 April

We are looking forward to our Whole School Athletics Day on Tuesday 8 April. This event provides great opportunities for learners to be their best selves, bring their best together and break ground. At Stonefields, we support and encourage participation in a wide range of team and individual sports, at both competitive and social levels. Ultimately, our vision is for all learners to have an understanding of hauora, and the desire and ability to enjoy and experience success in a healthy and active life, now and in the future.

We'd love to see you there encouraging on the sidelines:

• Year 0-2 - 9:15am-11:00am at Stonefields School

• Year 3-4 - 11.20am-1pm at Stonefields School

• Year 5-8 - 10:20am-2:40pm at Colin Maiden, leave school at 10am

Further details to follow.

Photolife Hub, Individual and Sibling Photos

Photolife will be coming on Friday 28 March to take Hub and Individual photos, and on Monday 31 March to take sibling photos. All children will be captured in Hub and Individual photos. 

If you would like your children to have a sibling photo, please complete the request form that has been sent home and return it to the school office by Friday 28 March. There are spare forms in the office if you need another one. 

Parking and traffic - we need your support!

Sadly we had another very near miss of a child being hit by a car outside school. 

We are so fortunate to have a magnitude of quiet streets with plenty of parking within a few minutes walk of the school. We urge you to please put the health and safety of children first and use these streets. Better yet, walk, bike or scooter to school! The majority of our school community lives within 500 meters of the school. Think of the health benefits your child will gain from a short walk, bike or scooter to school each day. What a great way to start the day! 

Teacher Only Days

The Minister has requested schools take two Teacher Only Days in 2025 to focus on the New Maths Curriculum. We are chosen to join the Manaiakalani Cluster Teacher Only Day on Friday 30 May with other local schools. Please note Monday 2 June is King's Birthday so you have the opportunity to take a four day weekend!!

We will take the second Teacher Only Day on Monday 11 August.  

Preschool Storytime

For our preschoolers and their caregivers, we invite you to join us for storytime just before afternoon pickups on Monday afternoons in the library.  We’ll start at 2.45pm so if you get here a little early to pick up your school child, come and join the fun! 

Intermediate Well-being Workshop 

Friday 28 March, 7:30am - 8.30am, Staff hub

The Intermediate years are a time of rapid growth and change—socially, emotionally, and academically. Join us for an engaging Learner Well-being Workshop, where we’ll explore key strategies to support your child’s mental and emotional resilience.

Topics include:

• Cognitive Thinking Traps – How unhelpful thought patterns affect learning and emotions

• Size of the Problem – Teaching children to manage challenges appropriately

• The Impact of Change – By understanding how changes within themselves, such as new interests, emotions, or challenges, and changes in their friends can impact them. Learners can develop the skills to adapt, communicate effectively, and maintain positive connections. When children are equipped to manage change, they feel more secure, supported, and empowered in their learning and social environments.  

Netball 2025

We’re kicking off Winter Netball with trials happening next week. The trials are for Years 5-8 and will take place on the following dates. Please meet promptly by the sports shed at 1pm. Learners are expected to attend both trials.

• Tuesday 25 March, 1pm

• Wednesday 26 March, 1pm

For all registered players, please keep an eye on your emails for further details. Our Year 1-4's will not trial and will be placed based on their registration criteria.

Weetbix TRYathlon - Sunday 30 March

We’re excited to have 34 learners registered for this amazing event! For all parents involved, please join the WhatsApp group to stay organised leading up to the big day. 

Not registered yet but keen to take part, it's not too late. register here.

GIRLS only Football Program | Term 2

We are excited to launch a girls only Football program facilitated by Eastern Suburbs, coached by two of the clubs' senior team female players. This will start in Term 2 and most likely run on a Monday afternoon, so please earmark this in your calendar for any and all girls keen to take part! Please keep an eye out for registration details in our next newsletter.

Monday's: GIRLS only Football Development program by Eastern Suburbs Football Association | 3:15-4:15pm | 10 weeks $160

Term 2 Inter-School events 

Some awesome sporting events are coming up in Term 2. Look out for sign-ups opening on week 9

• Tamaki Football (Y3-8)

• EZ Girls Football (Y7-8)

• EZ Boys Y7 Football

• EZ Boys Y8 Football

• EZ Hockey

• Tamaki Ki-o-rahi (Y5-8)

• Gymnastics Team Training

AA Insurance - The Big Little School Sport Sponsorship

We are excited to reach out to our amazing school community for your nominations! AA Insurance is offering a generous $10,000 sports sponsorship to a deserving school, and we believe our learners would greatly benefit from this incredible opportunity. 

How would this sports grant help our school overcome challenges we face when organising sports activities?

The funds would allow us to secure additional staffing hours, enabling us to provide dedicated support for training and preparation for our tamariki in interschool sporting events. It would also allow us to bring in external specialists who can deliver targeted training sessions in the lead-up to the 2025 AIMS Games, ensuring our athletes are well-prepared. Additionally, the grant would help us improve health and safety by upgrading our gazebos, making them more user-friendly for all on-site and off-site sports activities. 

With this support, we can continue nurturing and developing the growth of our young athletes, focusing on areas that need improvement while fostering their success. We encourage you to put forward your nomination, sharing how these funds could be used to enhance the growth and development of our Stonefields athletes, ensuring they have the opportunities and resources needed to thrive.

Please submit your nominations here: www.aainsurance.co.nz/big-little 

• Friday Cafe | Friday 21 March | 3pm

• New Entrant visits | Monday 24 - Thursday 27 March

• Senior Assembly (Year 5-8) | Monday 24 March | 2pm, Hall

• Kapa Hapa practice | Wednesday 26 March | 8.20am Te Pou Manawa

• Pasifika Talanoa | Wednesday 26 March | 6pm

• Year 5-6 Parent Connects | Thursday 27 March 

• Photolife Individual and Hub photos | Friday 28 March

• Intermediate Well-being Workshop | Friday 28 March | 7.30am, Staff Hub

• Friday Cafe | Friday 28 March | 3pm

• Photolife Sibling photos | Monday 31 March

• Junior Assembly (Year 0-4) | Monday 31 March | 2pm, Hall

• School Board Meeting | Tuesday 1 April | 5.30pm, Te Pātaka Ako

• Kapa Hapa practice | Wednesday 2 April | 8.20am Te Pou Manawa

• Year 3-4 Sleepover | Friday 4 - Saturday 5 April 

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

Stonefields speed limit reversal 

The Ministry of Transport has updated the Land Transport Rule: Setting of Speed Limit 2024. The updated Rule requires them to reverse the permanent 30km per hour speed limits introduced in our neighbourhood. The speed will be reversed back to the pre-2020 speed limit before 1 July 2025. Detailed information, a map of the changes and a list of roads by suburb is available on the Speed Limit Reversals webpage.

Sadly for the Stonefields neighbourhood, this will mean the speed limit will be reversed back to 50km per hour in the coming months. There will be a variable speed limit of 30km per hour placed around our school during peak times.  

Community Activities

There are many sports, art, and cultural activities available in our community including school holiday programmes. Check out our Community Noticeboard for more details.