School Newsletter
5 February 2026

Kia ora e te whānau | Greetings all

It’s been such a joy seeing our kura fill with life again. We’ve loved hearing the tamariki share stories of their summer adventures—from backyard campouts to beach days, it sounds like everyone made the most of the sunshine with their whānau. Also a massive Nau mai, haere mai to the 47 new learners, their families, and the new Kaiako joining us this week. 

Our team are feeling energised! After a week of professional development together, the buzz among the staff is incredible. We’re feeling inspired and ready to make this year truly special for your children.

Thanks to your incredible fundraising efforts last year, the new play equipment is officially ready for action. If you have a moment, take a wander over to the field. You'll also see the latest addition to our kura, an Outdoor Classroom! This space will be used for collaborative problem solving and loose parts play. We will officially open this in the coming weeks.

We also have a dedicated Music Studio! This will be the new home for our school bands and the recording studio for the new school song we'll compose for this year’s production.

We have so many exciting things planned for this year, let's get into it! We look forward to seeing you all on Thursday 19 February at our Meet the Teachers and Community Picnic event. 

Ngā mihi nui,

Sarah and the team

School Groups and Clubs

The school has loads of groups and clubs available for your child to join. Here's a list of everything that's on offer for Term 1. For details on days and times, please contact the teacher in charge:

• Kapa Haka - all ages welcome, come along to practices on Wednesday mornings. Shoba Segar

• Pasifika Performance Group - Ashleigh Mackinven

• Bands (Year 5-8) - Nathan Imboden

• Senior Choir (Year 5-8) - Nathan Imboden

• Junior Choir (Year 0-4) - Klara Sinnamon

• Orchestra - Katherine Wilcox

• Recorder club (Year 3-8) - Katherine Wilcox

• Marimba Group (Year 3-8) - Katherine Wilcox

• Senior Enviro Club (Year 5-8) - Hilary Ironside

• Garden Club (Year 0-4) - Hilary Ironside

• Trees For Survival - Jasmin Harris 

• Chess Club - Katherine Wilcox

• Book Club - Esther Casey

• Art Club (Year 5-8) - Sarah Allen

• Retro Video Games Club (Intermediate) - Ollie Baker

• Pokemon Club (Intermediate) - Zara Powdrill

• Dungeons & Dragons Club (Intermediate) - Zara Powdrill

• STEM (Intermediate) - Zara Powdrill 

Attendance target

In 2026, the government's target is that 80% of all students achieve an attendance rate of 90% or over. We know that school attendance is directly linked to the best possible learning outcomes. In Term 4 last year we dropped well below this expectation. 

For Term 1 this year, our goal is to work in partnership with you to acheive 80%. This will be an increase on the 77% we achieved in Term 1 last year but we believe it's achievable!

Here is our Attendance Management Plan which outlines our policies and procedures for achieving this target.   

Music Lessons 

We are very proud to offer a growing range of music lessons during school hours. Through specialist music teachers, your children can learn guitar, piano/keyboard, vocals, drums, violin, cello, trumpet, french horn, saxophone, flute, clarinet, or music production. For more details, please see our flyer and get in touch with the tutors directly:

• Guitar - Gideon Voon 

• Piano - Judith Williams

• Vocals - Keeley Lash

• Drums and Guitar - Jag Singh 

• Violin and Cello - Belinda Carrigan

• Trumpet - Stephen Bemelman 

• French Horn - Anita Austin

• Flute - Lauren Grout

• Saxophone and Clarinet - J.Y Lee

• Music Production  - Nathan Imboden

For music lessons with Nathan Imboden, please contact the school office. 

Kapa Haka

Kapa Haka practises will resume on Wednesday 11 February in Te Pou Manawa at 8.20am. If your child is interested in joining or just wants to know more, please come along to check it out. All are welcome.

Term 1 Sports opportunities

We've got so much going on in sport this term, we've sent you a whole separate email so you don't miss anything. Please see our latest email.

Check out the upcoming events in Term 1. Sign ups now LIVE! Visit: stonefields.school.nz/sport

• Tamaki T/Ball Softball Y3-8 | Wednesday 18 February

• Tamaki Cricket Y7-8 | Wednesday 11 March

• AUCC 6-aside Cricket Festival Y3-6 Girls | Tuesday 18 March

• AUCC 6-aside Cricket Festival Y3-6 Boys | Wednesday 19 March

• Weetbix Tryathlon Y0-8 | Sunday 22 March

• EZ Orienteering Y7-8 | Monday 23 March

• EZ Swimming Y7-8 | Tuesday 2 March

Kawa of Care

As we start the new year, it's a great time to revisit our Kawa of Care. This is the agreement all learners and parents signed when their child received their Chromebook. These are a few key points we'd love your support with:

• I will make the most of this opportunity to learn lots of new things and to share these with others.  My Chromebook is for learning.

• I will only use my school email account when using my Chromebook. 

• When I take my Chromebook home, I will bring it back to school everyday, charged and ready to use. My charger will remain at home.

• If I choose to place stickers on my device, these will only be placed on the outside of the Chromebook or case. I will not place any stickers on the inside of the Chromebook, on keys, or the trackpad. 

• When Chromebooks are being carried, they must be inside the provided Chromebook carry case.

Uniform donation please

If you have any uniform items that you no longer require, and there is life left in them, please donate them to the school. Good quality items will then be sold as Pre-loved uniform, with the school gaining extra revenue which flows back to your children. Your support is greatly appreciated!

School hours - 8.30am - 3pm

Hubs open at 8.30am. We encourage learners to arrive at school between 8.30am to 8.45am, giving them time to unpack, play for a short time and settle into school before the 8.55am bell.

School finishes at 3pm. For safety reasons, children who are not picked up by 3.10pm need to go to the office to wait until their caregiver arrives.

If you need to drop your child at school earlier than 8.30am, or you will be collecting them after 3.10pm, please book them into care with Kelly Club.

Kindo

Kindo is our online payment platform for all school payables including sun hats, lunches, book bags, trip fees and donations. If you have not yet created an account, please do so here using the email address you receive school communications.  

Lunch orders are available every day. Simply order via your Kindo account up till 9am on the day and your order will be delivered directly to the school office in time for lunch. You can also order ahead for the entire Term. Download the Kindo App to make it that little bit easier. 

There are also many other goodies available for purchase on Kindo including:

• Name labels 

• Gratitude journals

• Beeswax food wraps and other sustainable products

Orders will be delivered to school

Visitor Tour

Stonefields School offers prospective and current parents an opportunity to attend a walk through of the school. This will give parents/caregivers an insight into what being a learner at Stonefields is all about!   

Our next tour will take place on Tuesday 17 March, at 9.15am. Please register here if you'd like to attend or pass on the details to any other prospective parents.   

After-school activities on-site

There are also loads of after-school activities offered on-site by other providers including football, basketball, skateboarding, art classes, and bricks for kids.  

• Multi-Sports by Sports-X | Wednesday | 3-4pm 

• Bricks for Kids | Wednesday | 3.15pm - 4.45pm

• Football Skills by Eastern Suburbs Football Association | Thursday | 3:15-4:15pm

• Art Classes | Thursday | 3pm-5pm

• Young Guns Skate School | Friday | 3:30pm-4:30pm 

To register, please visit our Community Noticeboard for details

• Waitangi Day | Friday 6 February | School closed

• Kapa Haka practice | Wednesday 11 February | 8.20am Te Pou Manawa

• Friday Cafe | Friday 13 February | 3pm 

• Kapa Haka practice | Wednesday 18 February | 8.20am Te Pou Manawa

• Lunar New Year Shared Morning Tea | Thursday 19  February  

• Meet the Teachers and Community Picnic | Thursday 19 February | from 4.30pm  

• Friday Cafe | Friday 20 February | 3pm

• Junior Assembly (Year 0-4) | Monday 23 February | 2pm, Hall

• New Entrant Cohort visits | Monday 23 - Thursday 26 February

• AI Parent Workshop | Tuesday 24 February | 6pm

• Stonefields School Board Meeting | Tuesday 24 February | 5.30pm, Te Pataka Ako

• Kapa Haka practice | Wednesday 25 February | 8.20am Te Pou Manawa

• Friday Cafe | Friday 27 February | 3pm

• Kapa Haka practice | Wednesday 4 March | 8.20am Te Pou Manawa

• Friday Cafe | Friday 6 March | 3pm

• New Entrant Cohort starts | Monday 9 March 

• Parenting Workshop | Tuesday 10 March | 7pm

• Kapa Haka practice | Wednesday 11 March | 8.20am Te Pou Manawa

• Junior Athletics Day | Thursday 12 March | 8.20am Te Pou Manawa

• Friday Cafe | Friday 13 March | 3pm

• Junior Assembly (Year 0-4) | Monday 16 March | 2pm, Hall

• Book Week | Monday 16 - Friday 20 March 

• Visitor Tour | Tuesday 17 March | 3pm

• Kapa Haka practice | Wednesday 18 March | 8.20am Te Pou Manawa

• Talanoa | Thursday 19 March | 6pm

• Friday Cafe | Friday 20 March | 3pm

• Senior Assembly (Year 5-8) | Monday 23 March | 2pm, Hall

• Kapa Haka practice | Wednesday 25 March | 8.20am Te Pou Manawa

• Photolife Hub and Portrait Photos | Friday 27 March

• Friday Cafe | Friday 27 March | 3pm

• Photolife Sibling Photos | Monday 30 March

• Kapa Haka practice | Wednesday 1 April | 8.20am Te Pou Manawa

• Last day of Term 1 | Thursday 2 April

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.