School Newsletter
Term 3 - 23 July 2026

Kia ora e te whānau | Greetings all

Welcome back! We hope you've all had a wonderful break and the batteries are recharged, ready for a full term ahead! This week we welcomed 20 new learners and their whānau to our school community, Haere Mai!

In Term 3 we will be focusing on communicating through the Arts as we prepare for the School Show at the end of the term. Tomorrow you will receive the Village Comms outlining how this applies to your child's year level, along with the foundation knowledge for Term 3.

Whilst you were recharging, we made the most of the quieter time. It was wonderful to watch the surprise on kids' faces as they discovered some new additions to our school...

• New shelving has been installed in the library and it's not just for storing books; it's a new space to hide away and get lost in a book.

• The Fale is now complete! Join us on Friday morning for a brief blessing. The Fale will be formally celebrated in week 5 when we also celebrate Tongan Language Week. 

• Accessible pathway: it was simply joyous to watch a wheelchair-bound child independently make their way from their Hub to the Turf for the first time via the new pathway. 

We've got more property enhancements starting soon as well as progressing plans for the large-scale project - an all-weather cover over the turf. We will share news on this as the plans start to take shape. 

This term we will also be launching a community consultation as we start to shape the strategic plan for the next three years. We highly value your voice and look forward to coming together to create a forward-thinking strategic plan that ensures every Stonefields learner is truly ready for tomorrow. Look out for provocations and opportunities to share your thoughts in the coming months. 

Ngā mihi nui,
Sarah and the team

Year 5 Bike Skills Programme

This week our Year 5's had the privilage of taking part in a Bike Skills programme run by Bigfoot Adventures, funded by Auckland Transport. They learnt about bike safety including how to check their helmet and riding safely on the road. For some of our learners, they got to experience riding a bike for the very first time. What an incredible milestone to experience! 

More Bike Racks coming soon

Following on from the Year 5's Bike Skills sessions and last term's Walk to School Wednesday, more bike racks will soon be installed near the Hub 1 entrance. Work will be starting soon to create a space within school grounds to safely lock your bikes up during the day. 

We're thrilled that we have outgrown the current bike racks near the front entrance and look forward to seeing more learners ride bikes and scooters to school. 

A reminder: no electric bikes or e-scooters are allowed on school grounds. If your child is required to use one of these to get to school, please contact us to sign an e-Scooter Kawa of Care. 

Staff Only Day - Friday 31 July

A reminder that there is a Staff Only Day on Friday 31 July. School will be closed for learners this day. Kelly Club will be open if you require child care, please register on their website. 

Playground design underway

Plans for further play equipment have been progressing nicely with our group of student leaders reviewing and feeding back on the designs provided. This is the next phase in developing the Property Masterplan with the area surrounding the field pathway, near the dental centre. The plans will create a new play area that encourages exploration, creativity, and active play. 

Community Consultation - Your Voice Matters

As we near the end of our current strategic planning cycle (2023-2026), it is time to start looking ahead and create a plan for the next three years (2027-2030). To help us achieve this, we need your voice!

We are thriving on many fronts. You have told us that our children are happy, feel safe, and that our relationship-building remains an embedded strength of our culture. Our Academic Results across Reading, Writing, and Math show that the longer Students are at Stonefields School, the better they do. But true ambition means balancing these wins with our "take stock" reality. We know that we want to increase the learning challenge for our students, and we want to ensure our Learning Process is just as accessible for you at home as it is in the hubs.

To answer these challenges, we are posing five big questions to guide our collective conversation:

1. Protecting Our Core Identity: What is absolutely non-negotiable and must be preserved?

2. Hardwiring Wellbeing into Learning: How can we scale joy and belonging for every student?

3. Distinguishing the Stonefields Graduate: How can we better stretch your child using unique tools like SchoolTalk to prepare them for the future?

4. Brave Strategic Choices: Should we master our current systems or explore entirely new horizons?

5. Horizon Scanning for Future Readiness: What critical real-world skills must our strategic plan prioritise?

We have designed this consultation to be inclusive, respectful, and flexible. Over the course of Term 3, we would love you to engage in one or more of our opportunities to provide your voice:

• Whānau Survey: An anonymous online survey to capture high-level insights from every family in our community. Launching mid-August.

• Face-to-Face Collective Forum: Join us for a deeper dialogue on Wednesday 19 August. Please email us to attend - office@stonefields.school.nz 

• Drop-in sessions: Have a quick, casual discussion with us during school drop-off or pick-up. We'll be available on several dates, starting with 8.30am Tuesday 28 July in Te Pātaka Ako. Drop in and see us! 

Don't leave your child's future to chance. Let’s come together to create a forward-thinking strategic plan that ensures every Stonefields learner is truly ready for tomorrow.

Uniform Donations please

Our uniform shop needs restocking, particularly sizes 8 and above. If you have any uniform items that you no longer need, and they have plenty of life left in them, we'd love for them to be donated to our shop. Please drop them off at the school office. Thanks for your support! 

Enrolments 2027

Do you have a child turning 5yrs in 2027? Later this term we will start planning our staffing requirements for 2027 which includes when we will open new entrant classes. If you have a child due to start school next year, please submit an enrolment application via our website. 

Welcome to Term 3 Sport! What an action-packed term we have ahead - we can't wait to get into full swing!

With AIMS preparations, Cluster competitions, basketball, gymnastics, rippa, coaching, and plenty more on the calendar, it's shaping up to be a busy and exciting few months. Please keep an eye on the Sports Website, newsletters, and emails for event information throughout the term.

As with all our sports, we are desperately seeking parent helpers for each of these events so please earmark your calendars, or get in touch with us if you can help!

Here's to a fantastic Term 3 of sport!

Interschool Sport Sign-Ups (Tāmaki & Eastern Zones Clusters)

Please encourage, support, or remind your learners to sign up for any sports they are interested in taking part in - some registrations will be closing very soon!

Sign Up here: Stonefields.school.nz/sports 

Interschool Sport Line-Up:

• EZ Netball Y7-8 | Monday 27 July

• Tamaki Basketball Y5-8 | Wednesday 5 August 

• EZ Basketball Y7-8 Girls| Monday 17 August

• EZ Basketball Y7-8 Boys | Tuesday 18 August

• Tamaki Rippa Rugby Y5-8 | Wednesday 19 August

• EZ Cross Country Y7-8 | Monday 24 August

• AIMS Games Y7-8 | Saturday 5 - Friday 11 September

• Tamaki Netball Y3-8 | Tuesday 15 September

Sport Coaching - Register Now!

We've loved seeing the fantastic participation and attendance in our Extension Sports Coaching Programme, and we'd love to see as many students as possible continue in Term 3! 

Sports on offer include:

• Rippa

• Volleyball

• Football

• Hockey

To register your child for their preferred sport(s), please complete the registration form below.

If your child is continuing from Term 2, please check the updated schedule carefully, as there have been a few minor timetable changes to accommodate coach (and space) availability.

Coaching Schedule sports website

Get Registered! Extension Sports and Coaching Enrolment Form

Our coaches are looking forward to seeing everyone again this term, and we're excited to welcome some newbies too!

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

• Friday Cafe (run by Hub 7) | Friday 24 July | 3pm

• Junior School (Year 0-4) Assembly | Monday 27 July | 2pm, Hall

• Eastern Zones Netball (Year 7-8) | Monday 27 July 

• Staff Only Day | Friday 31 July | School closed

• Senior School (Year 5-8) Assembly | Monday 3 August | 2pm, Hall

• School Board Meeting | Tuesday 4 August | 5.30pm Te Pātaka Ako 

• Tamaki Basketball | Wednesday 5 August 

• Friday Cafe (run by Hub 2) | Friday 7 August | 3pm

• FOSS Parents' Night | Saturday 8 August 

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.

Merton Road Cycleway and Road resurfacing - Update from Auckland Transport

Project work includes:

• installing a unidirectional cycle lane on both sides of Merton Road, between College Road and Morrin Road

• reducing parking on the northern side of Merton Road to accommodate the cycleway - parking will be retained on the southern, Colin Maiden Park side of the road.

• kerb and footpath upgrades on the northern side of the road (residential side)

• renewed road surface

Progress update - Works are progressing well and will soon move to the opposite (southern) side of Merton Road to undertake localised manhole repair works in preparation for the final road resurfacing stage. These works will be limited to specific manhole locations, and traffic will continue to be maintained in both directions along Merton Road. For more details, visit at.govt.nz/links2GI