School Newsletter
6 November 2025

Kia ora e te whānau | Greetings all

Recently we've had some incredible news that two of our Alumni have been made Head Boy at their respective schools for 2026. Aahaan Melant at Selwyn College and Cooper Fox at Sacred Heart College. What an outstanding achievement!  We are immensely proud of these ex-Stonefielders, and I'm sure they will do a fantastic job in these roles.   

We also have some wonderful news to share that this week, we achieved Green-Gold status as an Enviroschool. Enviroschools is an environmental action-based programme where young people are empowered to design and lead sustainability projects in their schools. Green-Gold is the highest possible status that only a few schools have achieved and highlights how all of our learners continue to bring their best together for our environment. 

We're loving the spring sunshine this week, learning is humming both inside and outside the Hubs. Check out all the news below. 

Ngā mihi nui,

Sarah and the team 

Intermediate

In the Intermediate School, we are thrilled to make meaning of the Auckland Zoo today. We are bringing our best together by collectively researching how a wide range of animals are cared for, both physically and mentally. How can you ensure an otter's happiness? What kinds of food support a tarantula's well-being? And what connections can we make to our own physical and mental health? We will be creating a collaborative resource of our findings to share with the junior school.

We are well underway with our Year 8 weekly maunga walks, and these have been an absolute highlight for our Year 8s. We have been documenting each walk with a special piece of writing, atop the maunga. Early memories, sketches and musings have filled our Year 8 booklets, and we look forward to these continuing to grow.

We are looking forward to our upcoming Year 7 Carnival and Year 8 Pantomime, which will be held later this term, along with our Year 8 Graduation Dinner, all showcasing our Term 4 concept of "We Brought our Best Together".

Year 5-6

This term, our Year 5–6 Learners have been building knowledge and making meaning around the concept “What to do when we don’t know what to do.”

We’ve explored what happens to our brains when we are bored and rotated through a range of teacher-led “In Real Life” (IRL) non-tech sessions, unlocking fun through collaborative art, letter and story writing, exploring the great outdoors, and engaging in brain games.

We have continued our mornings with a strong focus on critical thinking, maths, and literacy programmes.

Year 3-4

Our Year 3-4 Hubs has been a hive of activity this term! In Literacy, learners have been crafting their own narratives and exploring the perspectives of different characters, while in Maths, we've been tackling fractions. We have also had a strong focus on social and emotional skills.

Learners have been exploring what it means to collaborate effectively, how to manage "big emotions" with calming strategies, and what to do when we have disagreements with friends. A special highlight for our Year 4s has been learning to use their new Chromebooks and exploring the fundamentals of digital safety. We have also thoroughly enjoyed our swimming sessions this term!

Year 0-2

Our Year 0-1 Learners have been making connections across so many of our learning areas! We have had Constable Gordon talking to us about 'Sneaky Driveways' and in the coming days we will be taking our learning to the street! 

Some more engaging learning has been through exploring change. In Year 0-2 we have been looking at a wide range of topics such as the life cycle, colours, and chemical change.

We wish Hub 10 a great experience at Ambury Farm on Friday. We are sure there will be more opportunities for the learners to connect their learning across different learning environments.

We are a Green-Gold Enviroschool!

Yes, that's right! We are a Green-Gold Enviroschool! There are five guiding principles which we showed evidence for: 

• Empowered Learners

• Learning for Sustainability

• Te Ao Māori

• Respect for Diversity

• Sustainable Communities

Learners from different areas of our school gathered to share evidence and reflect on all the wonderful things happening at our school. From growing and harvesting our own kūmara, to the fantastic learner-led projects, and the incredible mahi behind our beautiful gardens, just to name a few! There were so many examples and we are so proud of everyone's determination to be kaitiaki to our planet and one another. Check out the 69 slides of evidence we presented.

To celebrate our achievement as a whole school, we did our kotahitanga flash mob, blowing our visitors away! Now, we need to continue to uphold our status and ensure we all care for our environment and community.

Many of these projects were achieved through the support of our parent community. If you have any knowledge or skills you'd like to share with our learners to help support these enviro initiatives, we'd love to have you! Please get in touch with Hilary Ironside.  

Wheels Week and Niuean Language Week

This year's Wheels Week was extra special... ending with our very own Takai! Takai is a tradition in Niue where people decorate their cars and go around the beautiful island. Since it was Niuean Language Week just the week before, we had our own version with wheel-icles (instead of vehicles!). Scooters, bikes, and helmets looked incredible and we all loved the wonderful music on a sunny day.

Massive thank you to the Pasifika whānau and learners who created the beautiful lei as prizes for our winners, and well done to all the learners who participated by decorating their wheels and the audience who cheered them on! Special thanks to our Travelwise leaders (Maddie, Eve, Siya, Navya, Amber) who dedicated their time to set up and ensure everyone was safe.

What was incredible to see was just how easy it is for our community to wheel their way to school! The bike and scooter racks were overflowing. We'd love to see this continue and become the norm for transport to and from school! 

Senior Athletics Day

On Tuesday, our Year 5–8 learners took part in our third Senior School Athletics Day and what a blinder of a day it was! The sun was shining, and the smiles on our learners’ faces matched the fantastic weather.

As self-aware learners, our ākonga came prepared with hats, sunscreen, water, packed lunches, and positive attitudes. It was wonderful to see everyone giving their best effort and pushing themselves to extend their abilities in sprints, high jump, shot put, and discus. It was brilliant to see such a high level of athletic skill on display, and we truly appreciate the preparation and training that went into this day. A special thanks to all staff members and Kelly Sports for running such a well-organised and successful event. 

Hats, Hats, Hats! 

A reminder hats are compulsory for all learners to wear whilst outside this term. We have a strict No Hat, No Play policy during break times. Any child without a hat will need to stay under the shade of the buildings. Your help in reminding your child to bring their hat each day is greatly appreciated! 

It's also a great idea to add a badge/ribbon/button/motif to their hat - anything that will help your child easily identify it. 

Cultural Art Calendars

Thanks to our wonderful community, we raised $2,400 from your purchases of personalised calendars, diaries and cards. This will go towards play equipment which the kids have now chosen their preferred option and will be installed on the mounds in the coming weeks! 

Your products will be delivered to school in approximately three weeks. 

If you missed the deadline and would still like to purchase your child's cultural art, please get in touch with the office. 

Attendance Target for Term 4 

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. Last year in Term 4, we had 76% of our learners achieve an attendance rate of 90% or above. This year, we're aiming to improve this target and achieve 88%.

You can easily check your child's attendance rate on the Edge App. Simply click on 'Attendance' under your child's name and use the Terms at the bottom to view Term-by-Term rates. 

Measles

You will have seen in the media that New Zealand is currently experiencing a growing Measles outbreak. Measles is a very contagious viral illness that spreads easily between unvaccinated people and makes most people feel very unwell. Here is some advice from Health New Zealand: 

• If there are no measles cases at your school, students and staff should attend school regardless of vaccination status. 

• If a case is found at our school, Public Health will check the school's roll against the Aotearoa Immunisation Register.

• Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated students and staff may be asked by Public Health to stay home only if they’re close contacts of a confirmed case.

• Public health officials will contact those affected directly with instructions, including quarantine if needed.

• Fully vaccinated students and staff can return to school once their status is confirmed by Public Health.

• Public Health is working to speed up this process to avoid unnecessary time away from school.

You can check yours and your child's vaccination status on My Health Record – Health New Zealand

Calling All Coaches - Join Our Stonefields Sports Program

To support the growth of our extension sports programs in 2026, we’re seeking enthusiastic coaches to help lead and develop our Stonefields sports teams. The role will involve coaching responsibilities across training sessions, interschool practice matches, Eastern Zones tournaments, and possibly supporting teams through to seasonal club competitions, or AIMS Games. There is potential for this role to be fully or partially funded. If you're interested, or know someone who might be, please get in touch, or nominate a coach who could help get these codes off the ground at both junior and senior school level. 

• Netball

• Football

• Basketball

• Hockey

Extension Sports 

We’re excited to support our learners both in forming, and joining, Stonefields-based teams to take part in local club opportunities. If your child is interested in any of the codes below, please complete the expressions of interest form so we can help connect you with a team.

• Basketball Y3-8: 3x3 or 5x5 format, depending on sign up numbers, and coaching support.

• Water Polo / Flippaball (Y3–8): Fast-paced, fun, water-based sport

• Hockey (Y5-8): Seeking coaching support and enthusiastic players

• Lacrosse (Y7–8): With support from Auckland Lacrosse Association

• Friday Cafe (run by Hub 9) | Friday 7 November | 3pm

• Mid-Term New Entrant Cohort starts | Monday 10 November 

• Kapa Haka Practise | Wednesday 12 November | 8.20am

• Manaiakalani Film Festival | Wednesday 12 November 

• Diabetes Day | Friday 14 November 

• Friday Cafe (run by Hub 8) | Friday 14 November | 3pm

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

• Kapa Haka Practise | Wednesday 19 November | 8.20am

• Friday Cafe (run by Hub 7) | Friday 21 November | 3pm

• Stonefields Market Day | Saturday 22 November | 10am - 1pm 

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