School Newsletter
Term 2 - 4 June 2026

Kia ora e te whānau | Welcome to this week's newsletter

Welcome back from the long weekend. We hope you enjoy a relaxing reset as we dive into the remaining five weeks of Term 2. As we cross the midpoint of Term 2, it is wonderful to see the vibrant energy across all our learning hubs as students fully immerse themselves in their learning journeys. This term, our conceptual focus is on Responsibility and Contribution within our community. Our learners have been grappling with the essential question: “What are my duties to the environment and my community, and how can I make a difference?”

See how this relates to each village and much more below:

Year 0-2

This week we were thrilled to welcome another 10 new learners into Hub 1 & 2 as our mid-term cohort started. To help our new friends settle in smoothly, our established learners have stepped up beautifully as peer buddies showing inclusivity, collaboration, and how to live our school mantras. 

In literacy, our junior learners have been building their knowledge of "heart words" to increase reading fluency. A massive thank you to our wonderful whānau for your constant support and encouragement with home learning—it makes a world of difference! The children's determination is truly shining through as they master spelling rules to write sentences and create original stories, which they would love to share and read with you next time you drop into the hub. 

In mathematics, our learners are flexing their skills as thinkers by exploring how the world is organised with repeated patterns. We can make patterns with colours, numbers and shapes. Have a look in the Hub at what we’ve been creating. We are also learning about measurement and how to use standard tools like rulers to measure length.

Excitement is also high as we gear up for a fun-filled Book Week next week! To prepare, many learners have been keeping a daily reading log working towards the Whakamana Rock reading challenge. Next week we’ll find out which Rock has brought their best together to win the challenge.

Year 3-4

This term, our learners are tackling a powerful question: “How can we link our unique passions to our community to make a meaningful difference?” After mapping out their own personal strengths, learners are now exploring how roles, community organisations function, and even researching local "community heroes." All of this rich inquiry is fueling their reading and writing, focusing on paragraphing, time connectives, and persuasive writing, as they prep for our upcoming Clubs in week 11. Our learners are stepping up, designing their own club structures, and putting their leadership into action to make a tangible, positive impact!

Year 5-6

Our Year 5-6 learners have been deeply engaged in social sciences, exploring the powerful forces of land formation, tectonic plates, and earthquakes, and applying this knowledge to design future-ready cities that cater to growing population needs. Throughout this project, the learners have intentionally strengthened their collaboration capabilities by working in teams to negotiate and problem-solve. The excitement continues into next week as they embark on an immersive underwater VR experience with Blake VR to explore marine ecosystems and learn how the natural world has many interconnections, like our cities.

Intermediate

In Year 7 and 8, our learners have been putting Responsibility and Contribution into action as we wrapped up our Mountains to Sea unit.

We recently held our Mountains to Sea Exhibition, which wonderfully displayed our Intermediate's hard work and passion for our local waterways. Taking their learning into the community, they also created educational posters that are now on display at the St Heliers Library for the next four weeks. If you are nearby, please pop in to see how our young people are making a real difference!

Learner Led Conferences - Thank you!

Thanks everyone for coming along last week to the Learner Led Conferences. We hope you enjoyed hearing about all the amazing learning your child has been doing. Learner-Led Conferences are an important part of our school, as they help children develop agency and take ownership of their learning. They allow learners to demonstrate that they know what they are learning, how they are progressing, and what their specific next steps are.

Year 2 Botanical Garden Trip 

On Tuesday this week, our Year 2 learners visited the Auckland Botanic Gardens as they explored what makes a community thrive. They explored the magical Potter’s Garden and discovered the wonders of nature. At the education centre, they learned about what plants need to survive and how to create and maintain a garden, helping to foster sustainability and kaitiakitanga.

Year 0-1's will experience this tomorrow.

Intermediate Info Evening - Thursday 18 June

Our Intermediate village is designed to grow and support our older learners, preparing them for the transition to College and life ahead. Each year we provide Year 5-6 parents with an opportunity to gain an insight into our Intermediate village and what it means to transition into the leaders of our school. An invite has been emailed to all Year 5-6 whānau. Please rsvp your attendance. 

Kapa Haka Matariki Celebrations

The Kapa Haka have some exciting events planned as part of the upcoming Matariki Celebrations including a hikoi, performances at Edmund Hillary Retirement Village and at New World Stonefields, as well as our annual hikoi up the Maunga on Wednesday 1 July. Details have been emailled to all kapa haka learners. 

Leading the Way: Celebrating Our Sports Leaders!

We are incredibly proud of our Sports Leaders who consistently step up to ensure our learners are living our school vision every day. A huge shout-out goes to our dedicated Sports Leaders and PAL (Physical Activity Leaders)! These monitors take on immense responsibility to keep our school active, organised, and connected through movement and play. 

Bringing Our Best Together at the PE Shed

Every day, our leaders ensure that break times run smoothly and inclusively. They take full responsibility for managing our sporting resources. Their daily routine includes:

• Setting Up: Safely collecting and signing out the key from the office, opening the PE shed, and putting on their high-visibility yellow vests so they are easily recognisable to everyone on the field.

• Upholding Expectations: Setting up the display board outside the shed as a daily reminder of our school mantras and expectations.

• Encouraging Great Sportsmanship: Helping to manage the lines and ensuring all learners wait patiently and respectfully for their equipment.

Our monitors take this duty seriously, maintaining a clean, professional environment by ensuring no food is taken into the PE shed while they are on duty.

Leadership in Action: Junior Cross Country Success!

We recently saw a brilliant example of this leadership during the Junior Cross Country. Our Sports Leaders, PALs, and Whakamana Rock Leaders showed outstanding support for our younger learners. Many of our leaders ran alongside the juniors, giving out high-fives and encouraging them to keep going with big smiles when things got tough. They truly brought our school mantra, "Bringing Our Best Together," to life. They recognised exactly what our younger students needed in the moment and stepped up with self-awareness, kindness, and empathy.

Thank you to all of our Sports and PALs for giving your time, energy, and care to our school community. The work you do does not go unnoticed, and we are incredibly proud of the positive impact you have on us all!

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

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

• Book Week | Monday 8 - Friday 12 June 

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

• Stonefields School Board Meeting | Tuesday 9 June 

• Book Week Dress Up Day | Friday 12 June

• Junior School (Year 0-4) Assembly | Monday 15 June | 2pm, Hall

• Intermediate Information Evening | Thursday 18 June | 7pm

• Year 3 MOTAT Trip | Thursday 18 June 

• Year 4 MOTAT Trip | Friday 19 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.