School Newsletter
6 March 2025

Kia ora e te whānau | Greetings all

Our Year 3-4 team have had a fantastic time today connecting with parents, and tomorrow the Intermediate team will connect with their families. The Year 5-6 team will have this opportunity after the learners return from camp on Thursday 27 March. If you haven't already booked your timeslot, please do so now. 

The teams are also in Camp mode with Year 5-6 off next week, the Intermediates in May, and Year 3-4 with their stepping stone to camp - School Sleepover at the end of this term. Year 0-2 are also starting to plan their stepping stone experience, more details to come.  

Ngā mihi nui,

Sarah and the team

Year 0-2

Kia ora Whānau. Our Junior Village is very excited to have begun our rotation for concept this week. Until the end of this term, we are focusing on Bringing our Best Together, as our Year 1 and Year 2 learners thrive in the opportunity to work together exploring the concept of The Power of Us! At home, please ask your child “Which Year 1 or Year 2 learner did you collaborate with for The Power of Us?” "What learner qualities did you use?” and " What strengths did you bring together?"

Year 3-4

A huge thank you to those who attended our Partnership Connects today! It was wonderful to share insights and discuss how we can partner together to support learning. We have started diving into our concept learning—Power of You, Power of Us: Unlocking Our Superpowers! We have been building our knowledge by exploring what makes us unique and special, including our strengths and talents. Through discussions and activities, learners are beginning to see how their individual superpowers contribute to the collective strength of our community.

Excitement is also building for our upcoming sleepover on Friday 4 April. We have begun discussions in our hubs about what this will look like, helping to address any worries that learners might have and ensure they feel prepared and excited. If you haven't completed the permission form yet, please do so here. 

Year 5-6

Our camps are almost upon us! The learners are excited for their upcoming activities at camp and at school over the next 2 weeks. During literacy and concept learning, learners have been building knowledge of the Hunua area, by exploring local birds, flora, fauna and immersing themselves in local Māori stories. They have also reflected on the water cycle, as 65% of Auckland drinking water comes from the Hunua Ranges. 

Year 5-6 hubs have also been applying their understanding of the new maths curriculum. Learners say they enjoy the new approach to maths, new resources and getting into the learning pit.

Intermediate

Our Intermediate learners have been working collaboratively this week. As part of our unit on cooperative games, learners worked as a team to find their way across the turf using spots. The groups discussed their plan as a team and then made sure everyone was included in the journey across the turf.

In Maths, learners worked collaboratively to solve tricky word problems in the style of a Mathex competition. 

As part of MITEY, we are learning about worries and how to navigate them. Our learning includes identifying the steps we can take to help ourselves navigate worries and when we need adult support.

Critical Literacy Support Years 5-8

We are pleased to introduce you to Esther Casey, who is a literacy support specialist teacher as well as one of our valued librarians. Esther works alongside Anna Malan in our library, as well as supporting our senior learners with a specialist critical literacy programme.

Kia ora!

My name is Esther Casey and I am a new teacher based in the library this year. I’ve really enjoyed meeting all the learners and introducing them to many of the different types of beautiful books we have in our library.  I also teach our older learners to think critically about information during their library sessions and in ET time.

As a specialist Literacy teacher, I am working with groups of learners to support their literacy learning in years 5-8. This includes oral language support, critical thinking and critical literacy skills. These are all elements that are new in the 2025 New Zealand English Curriculum. Learners are also able to share the writing they are doing with their literacy teacher and I provide support, feedback and next steps. 

Our Library is now open from 8.30am to 3.30pm each day. Everyone is welcome to pop in and read some books together or choose new books to borrow. So come on up, I’d love to meet you!

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.  

Food Waste Workshop by Senior Enviro Leaders

Recently, the Senior Enviro Leaders participated in a Food Waste workshop by Dr Janani from EcoPlay Challenge. We learnt so much about food waste and are inspired to take action and influence our school community so we reduce food waste. Special thanks to the Community Climate Action Network for funding this workshop and New World Stonefields for donating fruit for us to try different ways to get creative with food.

Did you know that 1.3 billion tonnes of food produced in the world is wasted or lost every year? That is a lot of food going to waste when there are so many ways to reuse food, like mixing food that is about to go bad with something else, for example, you could mix squishy blueberries with ice cream to make blueberry ice cream. At the food waste workshop we were given cards that had different “gross” foods on them and we were told to mix the different foods together along with some fresh food of any kind to make something that we would want to eat.  We made all kinds of things like chicken noodles, salad and avocado toast. See how many different ways you can avoid wasting so much food.

You could...

• Compost food scraps

• Use leftovers to make a new meal

• Freeze excess fruit and vegetables

• Use a shopping list so you don't overbuy

• Creatively reuse food storage containers

• Make an eat first space in your fridge and pantry

• Store food properly to prolong freshness

We hope you will do your part to help reduce food wastage and have learnt something new about food waste. Over the year, our mission is to help learners reduce food waste and make a positive impact on our environment.

Music Lessons - now available in 11 instruments!

We are excited to let you know that we are extending the range of instruments learners can learn at school through private music lessons. As well as Guitar, Piano/keyboard, Vocals, Drums, Violin, Trumpet, and French Horn, lessons are now available for Cello, Flute, Clarinet and Saxophone! Wow, how lucky are these kids? Please call in at the office for further information or register your interest here.

Whānau Noho

Our Māori whānau had an amazing hikoi to Omamari. The value of whanaungatanga was reflected as whānau came together to build and strengthen relationships, foster a sense of belonging, and connect through shared experiences over the weekend.

Whānau experienced a wide range of activities. Some of the highlights for the tamariki included a waka ama experience and kayaking on Lake Waikare, designing and building bird houses, swimming in Kai Iwi Lakes, helping adults prepare kai by shucking corn and cleaning and shucking mussels, sand boarding after dinner, and working in teams for their scavenger hunt. There were many opportunities for tuakana-teina where older tamariki supported and guided younger tamariki, and opportunities for parents to work alongside tamariki. Everyone came away with rich learning from the range of experiences and the new relationships they developed.

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! 

Visitor Tour

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

Our next tour will take place on Wednesday 12 March, at 9.15am. Please register here if you'd like to attend or pass on the details to any other prospective parents.   

Part-Time Gardener

We're currently looking for an experienced gardener to help Ray keep our grounds looking so good. Approximately 6-8hrs a week, across a few days. Please contact the office for more information or chat to Ray. 

Year 3-4 - How to support your child at home

Wednesday 19 March, 3.15pm - 4.15pm, Hub 9

Join us for an engaging session where the Year 3-4 teachers will walk you through some practical suggestions to support your child's learning at home. 

Intermediate SchoolTalk Workshop 

Thursday 20 March, 7:30am - 8:15am, Staff hub

Get familiar with SchoolTalk features to stay connected and informed about your child's learning. We will also look at how the new curriculum sits in SchoolTalk and how to navigate to the new learning progressions.

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.  

Sports Uniform revamp

Following on from a learner-led Break Through project last year, we have chosen to revamp our sports uniform to include items suitable for a range of sports. This will include a t-shirt, a singlet suitable for Basketball, Gymnastics and Touch Rugby, and a dress suitable for Netball and Hockey. This aligns with one of our strategic goals for 2025 "To embed MITEY and Healthy Active Learning Approaches to enhance learner wellbeing".

To help support this project, we'd love input from our parent community. If you'd like to be involved in helping to steer this project, please get in touch with the sports team on sport@stonefields.school.nz.  

Thank you to our Volunteers

We would again like to extend a special thanks to our parent and staff volunteers who generously dedicate their time to support our sports initiatives - we couldn't do it without you! 

SPORT REGISTRATIONS - closing soon...

If your learner is keen to take part in the following codes, please remember to register your interest asap!

AIMS Games 2025 (Year 7-8)

AIMS Expressions of Interest Form

AIMS whanau information presentation

Zespri AIMS Games official website

Netball (Year 1-8) 

We have extended this deadline to this Friday, 7 March, please don't miss out and be sure to remind your friends too.

Netball - Expressions of Interest Form

Gymnastics (Year 3-8)

Gymnastics - Expressions of Interest Form

Lacrosse (Year 3-8)

Lacrosse - Expressions of Interest Form

Flippaball (Year 3-8)

Flippaball / Water Polo - Expressions of Interest Form

Hockey (Year 3-8)

Hockey - Expressions of Interest Form

Interschool Sport Events still open for Term 1

Learners must sign-up themselves using their school login: 

• EZ Swimming Y7-8 | Mon 24th March

• EZ Orienteering Y7-8 | Mon 31st April

• Tamaki Volleyball Y5-6 | Wed 9th April

• Weetbix Tryathlon Y0-8 | Sunday 30th March 

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 

• Year 7-8 Parent Connects | Friday 7 March 

• Friday Cafe | Friday 7 March | 3pm

• New Entrant Cohort starts | Monday 10 March

• Year 5-6 Camp group 1 | Monday 10 - Wednesday 12 March 

• Kapa Haka practice | Wednesday 12 March | 8.20am Te Pou Manawa 

• Year 5-6 Camp group 2 | Wednesday 12 - Friday 14 March

• Friday Cafe | Friday 14 March | 3pm

• Junior Assembly (Year 0-4) | Monday 17 March | 2pm, Hall

• Year 5-6 Camp group 3 | Monday 17 - Wednesday 19 March

• HPV & Boostrix Vaccinations (Year 7-8) | Wednesday 19 March | 2pm, Hall 

• Parent Workshop - Year 3-4 - How to support your child at home | Wednesday 19 March | 3.15pm, Hub 9

• Intermediate SchoolTalk Workshop | Thursday 20 March | 7:30am, Staff hub

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

Theatre 

We are thrilled for another one of our learners who has been cast in Encore Theatre Collective's production of Annie at the Bruce Mason Centre this June. Congratulations Finn and all the best! Check out Encore for more details and tickets. 

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.