School Newsletter
Term 2 - 21 May 2026

Kia ora koutou and welcome to this week's newsletter

This last fortnight has been inspiring to witness our core school mantras in action, from the sea of pink on Pink Shirt Day where our Intermediate and younger learners stood side-by-side to prove that Kindness Counts and Your Voice Matters, to the immense determination on display during our sunny school Cross Country runs. 

This fortnight, we explore the power of our 'Other Learning Opportunities' as the final piece of our BIG 5 Balance Curriculum, where learners stretch their learning capacity, explore creative passions in STEAM and the arts, and act as engaged thinkers to make a positive social impact. 

Our LitEx teams did us proud, competing with pride, and our Intermediate learners put into action their Mountains to Seas learning. 

All learners have started preparing for next week's Learner-Led Conferences. These are a brilliant chance for our self-aware learners to take the lead and openly share their goals and progress with you. Make sure you've booked your time slot. 

With Book Week just around the corner too, there is so much to look forward to. Thanks as always for your amazing support, and happy reading!

Pink Shirt Day

Last Friday it was wonderful to see the school a wash with Pink as we celebrated our mantras Kindness Counts and Your Voice Matters - Speak up, Stand up, joining New Zealanders to Speak Up and Stand Together to Stop Bullying. We loved seeing our Intermediate learners step into the tuākana-tēina role, supporting our youngest learners as they built their knowledge on what it means to live our school values.    

Cross Country

The sun was shining for us on Tuesday when all learners showed their determination and brought their best together to run cross country. The sense of achievement all learners had on their faces when they crossed the finish line was simply joyful! 

We were also blown away by the number of senior learners who chose to challenge themselves by running the 2.5km competitive course over the fun run, ka pai. And how great do they look in their Whakamana Rock shirts! 

Intermediate Mountains to Sea Action Projects

Our Intermediate learners had an amazing exhibition day, where they shared their Mountains to Sea action projects. The hub was overflowing with projects ranging from detailed dioramas to science-rich information boards, and well-researched games — both physical and digital. We loved sharing our learning with you all, and a special congratulations goes to the following learners, whose projects were recognised by the visiting Mountains to Sea Board as exemplary pieces of learning, with clear messages and meaningful impact.

Siya, Dharana, Ollie, Harry M, Ashton, Thea, Emman, Ryan P,  Ruhani, Shenali, Matteo, Shaurrya, Will N and Yami. 

Learner Led Conferences - Thursday 28 May

Learner Led Conferences are happening on Thursday 28 May. Don't forget, school closes at 1pm on this day. 

Learner Led Conferences help children to develop agency - the ability to take ownership of their learning. When a child leads you through their Hub, they aren't just showing you a piece of work; they are demonstrating that they know what they are learning, how they are progressing, and what their specific next steps are. Over the course of one hour, your child will guide you through an agenda of "must-dos" and "can-dos" that showcase the breadth of the BIG 5—including English, Maths, and Concept learning.

Book your timeslot here  

Sausage Sizzle and Bake Sale

During the Learner Led Conferences, our AIMS team will be holding a sausage sizzle and bake sale to help with their fundraising efforts. More details below.

Get Ready to Read: Book Week is Coming Soon!

Mark your calendars - Stonefields School Book Week is just around the corner and promises to be an exciting celebration of literature, reading, and imagination. Book Week will take place from Monday 8 June, and is packed with fun activities designed to inspire a love of reading in all our learners.

We have a fantastic line-up of events planned:

• Visiting Authors: We are pleased to welcome Stacy Gregg and David Riley who will share their stories, insights into the writing process, and inspire reading.  If you would like a signed copy of their books, Stacy Gregg books can be purchased using this link, they will be delivered to school, and David Riley books using this link that you purchase direct and you can bring for him to sign on the day. 

• Competitions and Challenges: Put your literary knowledge and creativity to the test. Look out for various fun reading challenges and competitions with exciting prizes up for grabs throughout the week.  We’ll also find out which of our Whakamana Rocks can claim to be our very first Reading Challenge Champion! 

• Scholastic Book Fair: The Scholastic Book Fair will be in the library, offering a wide selection of new books for purchase. It’s a great opportunity to expand your home library and support the school. It will be open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 8-9 am and  3-4pm in the library.  If you can help run the fair, please let Esther or Anna know in the library.  We need people to make it run smoothly! 

LitEx

Sixteen of our Year 5-8 learners took part in the LitEx competition on Monday.  This competition, run by the Auckland Literacy Association, has teams of four students compete against other schools with questions about books, authors, and word knowledge.  All four of our teams performed very well, showed great collaboration and determination.  Izzy won second place in the individual round.  We are very proud of Izzy and all the learners who took part.  

Staff Only Days - Friday 29 May and Friday 31 July 

A reminder we have some Staff Only Days coming up. School will be closed for learners on these days. Kelly Club will be open if you require childcare. 

• Friday 29 May (Friday before King's Birthday weekend)

• Friday 31 July 

For more information about all sports opportunities, please visit: stonefields.school.nz/sport 

• Learner Led Conferences | Thursday 28 May | School ends at 1pm

• Staff Only Day | Friday 29 May | School closed

• King's Birthday | Monday 1 June | School closed 

• Botanical Gardens Visit - Year 2 | Tuesday 2 June 

• Botanical Gardens Visit - Year 0-1 | Friday 5 June 

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

Community Activities

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