Poutū-te-rangi 2025
March Newsletter

Kia ora koutou!

It has been a fantastic term and the sun continues to shine on our kura. Mrs Stephenson has been away in Wellington, meeting with various ministers and officials in her capacity as Vice-President of the Auckland Primary Principals' Association. On behalf of all the staff, I would like to congratulate Nardz as an elected Vice President advocating for all students in Auckland to ensure the best possible outcomes for all schools. 

We have been busy bees around here! I'd like to shout out to everyone for the amazing triathlon - always a highlight in the school calendar. We have also had inter-school swimming, the school cross country, school photos, netball and rippa rugby tryouts, a visit from the Peace Run, and more.

Year 3-6 students will be sitting PAT Assessments over the next few weeks. Years 4-6 will sit the PAT Panui - Reading Comprehension Test, and Years 3-6 will sit the PAT Pāngarau - Adaptive Maths Test. PATs (Progressive Achievement Tests) are standardised tests designed by the NZCER to assess your child's progress in reading (Panui) and mathematics (Pāngarau). 

This week, we welcome the team from Surf Life Saving NZ. They will work with each class on the 'Surf to School' beach/wave safety programme. Each session will have a class lesson and a practical, pool-based session.

Teacher Only Day

We have a teacher only day coming up next week on Thursday 3rd April.  Our teachers will be taking part in professional development for Structured Literacy. 

Bee Education Area

We're creating a wonderful learning space for our students in the Bee Education space near the hall. Work is underway to plant and irrigate the bee gardens. The students will also be involved in planting and maintaining this area.

Nau Mai Haere Mai

We warmly welcome Caitlyn Crivelli as the teacher for Room 14. And while Mrs Belson is away, we have the wonderful Erin Burke teaching some of our newest students in Room 20. In other exciting news - next term we will welcome a specialised music teacher to our staff. 

Chrissy Isdale will be joining us one day per week to run choir, band and all things musical at our school.

Reminders

• Please walk your wheels in the school grounds
  For safety reasons we ask that anyone with a bike or scooter, walks their wheels in the school grounds before and immediately after school. Our school is very busy at the end of the day and we have had many close calls with people riding bikes or scooters within the school grounds. Thank you for your support in keeping our school safe.
  After 3:10pm (once the crowds have cleared) it is OK to ride and scoot around the school again.
  And don't forget your helmets!

• Lollies at school
  Students should not bring lollies, sweets, gum, etc to school. If you are bringing treats for the class (eg- for a birthday), please hand these straight to the teacher.
  We also also ask that students only drink is water - juice, sodas or energy drinks are not appropriate to bring to school. 

• Drop off times
  Students should be arriving at school between 8:30am - 9am. To ensure the safety and well-being of all our students, we kindly request that children do not arrive at school before 8:30 am as classrooms are locked and they will be unsupervised.

• Please do not use the staff carpark
  A friendly reminder: Please do not park in the staff car park or block the driveway at any time. Staff come and go at any time. It is also essential that the disabled parking spot is clear at all times.
  [If you are really keen on parking in the staff carpark, make sure you bid in this year's silent auction for a VIP parking space! (coming soon in Term 2!).]

Thank you, as always, for your support and all the best for the weeks ahead.

Ngā mihi nui,

Nick Gill
Deputy Principal

WPS Triathlon 2025

The sun was shining and our tamariki were all in high spirits for yet another fantastic school Triathlon at the end of Week 4. With a record-breaking number of students entering the competition this year, it is clear that it has become a much-anticipated event and a highlight of our WPS calendar. It kick-starts our school year with a sense of whanaungatanga as we see the community come together not only to spectate and enjoy the atmosphere, but also to help run the event. Thanks to our dedicated PTA and volunteers, everyone was well fed with sausage-sizzles and hydrated with cold drinks and ice blocks. It was wonderful to see our tamariki not only try their best but most importantly have fun and support each other in their races. It was also fabulous to see so many preschoolers also enjoying their own mini-triathlon Wheels Race up on the court before the main races started. Many thanks to everyone for your support and help in making our Triathlon bigger and better every year!

Farewell Lance

We recently said a heartfelt goodbye to Lance, who is embarking on an exciting new adventure teaching in Japan. Lance has been a much-loved and valued member of our school community, and his dedication and passion for teaching will be greatly missed.

To celebrate their time with us, we held a special farewell assembly where students and staff shared fond memories and expressed their best wishes. We wish Lance all the very best in his new role and look forward to hearing about his experiences in Japan!

Inter-school Swimming

Our swim team achieved a fantastic win at the inter-school competition held at West Wave, securing first place by a single point! The competition was intense, and our swimmers displayed impressive skill and determination. We're incredibly proud of their hard work and team spirit. Congratulations to everyone involved!

School Donations

Donations, trip costs, or sports payments, are now in Hero. Click on the dollar sign ($) in the Hero app. Payments through Hero are processed via Stripe, which includes a small transaction fee. If you prefer to make a direct credit payment, to avoid this surcharge, you are welcome to do so using the details provided below. Alternatively, EFTPOS payments can be made at the school office. Please note that we do not accept cash.

For EZ Lunch orders, stationery purchases, and sausage sizzle payments, please continue to use Kindo.

Bank Name         Woodlands Park School
Bank Number       12-3100-0088429-00
Reference           Childs Name
Particulars           Room number
Code               What you are paying for - Example ‘activity donations

Activity
The activity contribution is used to cover the cost of extra-curricular events throughout the year. This includes trips such as Arataki, Auckland Museum, Bigfoot Adventure Day. It also includes activities, performances, workshops and programmes run within the school (for example Surf Safety, Life Education, sporting groups, speakers and performers who visit the school). This does not cover the cost of transport that is associated with those activities. 

Printing
The printing contribution goes towards, but does not fully cover, the cost of learning-related photocopying and printing.

Whilst not compulsory, your contributions are a crucial part of ensuring that we are able to provide students with quality learning resources and experiences.  Your donation is very important to the school.  Please ask the office if you would like to arrange a payment schedule.

We are delighted to share with you and launch our new communication system, Hero. Hero allows our school to build an online environment that reflects our unique context. It enables teachers, students, and families to view and share content anytime, anywhere on any device. The software is secure, easy to use and will eventually bring together all school-related information in one place. 

Please ensure that you download this app (follow the QR Code below) on your phone or log in on a personal laptop or computer. This system replaces the use of Seesaw and other communication avenues and will enable us to have all of our communication in one place. 

Please ensure you have notifications enabled for the Hero app