“What Are They Learning?” – English: Oral language, Reading and Writing

This week a group of Onepū tamariki performed a play that they wrote, performed, made props and costumes for. Whaea Jo Carter supported them through the whole process. 

What a masterpiece it was, every audience member was blown away by the message that was given, the performers, and the 'backstage workers'. 

Being able to have experiences like this is a reflection of our current curriculum. We can use the learning objectives to support tamaiti in their passions.

Eastern Zone Athletic Sports

Congratulations to our athletes who showed hiranga while representing our school at the Eastern Zone Athletics competition on Wednesday last week. The top three qualifiers from EZ head to Inter Zones to represent not only LBS but also the Eastern Zones!

Year 4 place getters: Jacob G - 2nd, vortex; Leo O - 2nd, 100m

Year 5 place getters: Aurian - 1st, vortex; Billy A - 1st, vortex; Leila - 2nd, high jump.

Year 6 place getters: Paddy - 1st, vortex, 3rd 100m, 1st 200m, 1st high jump; Koa - 2nd vortex, Darcia - 3rd vortex. Year 6 boys relay team - 3rd (Paddy, Coen, Koa, Trystan )

Thank you to those who supported the team and assisted at the Long Jump pit.  

Tennis

Last week, the Onepū tamariki attended tennis sessions at the Kilbirnie Tennis Club.  Students learnt how to hold the tennis racket correctly and to 'hug' the racket when they're not playing.  They learnt how to score points in a match and how to control the racket.  The tennis coaches shared what materials were used to make the tennis rackets.  As the tennis skills of the tamariki improved, they were able to hit the tennis balls over the net.

T G Macarthy Trust Thank You:

We have received a $4,000 donation from the T.G. Macarthy Trust.  This is most welcomed and the money will be used to purchase new books and further enhance our Library and Information Network.  We are very appreciative of receiving this grant every two years to support our library. 

Health, Safety and Attendance

Measles is a highly contagious and dangerous disease.  Here is some more information about how to recognise it, immunisation, and what to do Measles disease . 

We do have vulnerable and immunocompromised tamariki at school. Please let us know if your tamaiti has been diagnosed with measles, influenza A or B, or Covid. 

Tamariki must attend school every day.  The target for all schools is 90% of tamariki to attend 80% of the time.  We are not near this target, and the learning of tamariki is suffering as a result. Unless your tamaiti is unwell, they need to be at school. 

Our Vision in Action

At the heart of everything we do is our school vision:
Waihangatia ngā Ākonga Tino Pai – Building the Best Learners.

Welcome to Lyall Bay School News, a new website created by Year 5 and 6 students in the Hauraki hub.

Our journalists are dedicated to reporting on the stories that matter to the tamariki of our kura. They will tell their stories, keep them informed about the issues that affect them, and amplify their voices and opinions.

The students in our newsroom are learning about the purpose of journalism, how to write different types of news stories, pitch their stories, edit each other's work and produce a student publication. They will write a range of stories, from news and sports to entertainment and opinion pieces.

Schools are busy places. Our schedules are in constant flux, with exciting events interrupting our routine each week. As a result, there is no shortage of events to cover. From athletics day competitions and visits from All Blacks stars, to lunch time dance competitions, our students will share all the big stories from Lyall Bay School. We look forward to sharing our coverage with our readers.

 https://sites.google.com/view/lyallbayschoolnews/home

2026 Classes

We are in the middle of putting 2026 hubs together. This is the last chance if you would like some input into the kind of environment that your child does best in. Please let me know (principal@lyallbay.school.nz) by November 15th.  Kaiako are not yet in set spaces, so please do not request a particular kaiako, as that kaiako may not be in that room for 2026!   We also ask that you do not ask for your child to be with a particular group of friends.  This can get tricky if other parents have asked for something quite different.  Our kaiako do know our tamariki well and always try to make sure they are with others they know.  As our classes all work collaboratively, there are always opportunities for tamariki to be with different groups.

We do have a change in hub make-up for 2026. We try and keep our class numbers as low as possible. To be able to do this, some hubs are different sizes for 2026. 

Huetepara: Ahu starts with one kaiako, as we have always done. Au Hāro is the only other hub in Huetepara, there will be three kaiako in there. 

Maranui: Te Wheke has two kaiako; as does Taniwha. 

Onepū: Hautonga has three kaiako; Hauraki has two kaiako. 

We congratulate Jules and Hannah, who have both won roles at other schools. Jules has won a role to be a Special Education Needs Co-ordinator at a local school, and Hannah has won a role as a kaiako at a school in the city. We thank them both for all their mahi with our little tamariki, and wish them well on their journey in education. 

We have employed three new kaiako for 2026: Rachel Martino, Clare James, and Shaun Redpath. We are looking forward to working with you all. 

Thank You Morning Tea

Thank you to all of the volunteers who help us at school. We have whānau who come and read with tamariki, bring their expertise in to support our learning, fundraise, provide support at events, come on trips, help at sports events, coach teams, manage teams, are on FoLBS, are on the Board, and many more roles. 

We want to thank anyone who has helped us at school and invite you to a Thank You morning tea, Wednesday, 19th November, from 10:45 in the hall.