March 5th 2025, Week 6
Principal's Message
Term 1 Week 6 2025
Wednesday 5th March
Kia ora koutou
March has arrived, we are suddenly in Week 6 and the weather is changing…hopefully the sun will stick around for a while longer! And now it is hailing!
Thank you for coming to meet with your child’s teacher over the last two nights. We have had 90% of our parents attend. We value the time to share information about learning and how we can work together to support your child. I have enjoyed having conversations with a number of you and pleased to hear that children have settled well, notifications on HERO are working and sharing of learning posts are appreciated.
We have taken up the opportunity for our Year 4-8 teachers to attend three days of intensive professional development on Structured Literacy at various times during term 1 and term 2. The aim is to strengthen what we are already doing with a key focus on Phase 2 of the English Curriculum. We will learn more about assessment tools that are efficient and effective to show us what has been learnt and what the next steps are for teaching and learning. You will read in the Board update that we are very pleased with the progress of all students in The Code and our overall achievement across the curriculum.
We are planning to run some English/ Structured Literacy parent workshops later this term. These will provide you with information on the teaching of English across the school, within the new curriculum. These workshops will be run on Wednesday 19th March at either 9am or 7pm. We would appreciate you emailing the office if you are able to attend either before Friday 14th March.
On Friday 21st March we have a Teacher Only day with all schools across our Kāhui Ako. This will be held at Wellington College. The key speaker is Russell Bishop, who is well known for his research on the significance of relationships and high teaching skills to bring about changes in student outcomes. A number of our teachers will be running workshops in the afternoon on developing school wide expectations, a consistent approach to learning basic facts, and the development of scope and sequence in Health.
The Colour Run is tomorrow afternoon and we are looking forward to the whole school being over at the park enjoying a fun run and obstacle course. Thanks to all parents who are involved in the running of this event and all the work that has gone on behind the scenes.
Ngā mihi
Andrea
NEW - Board Update March 2025
Tēnā Koe
Welcome to the start of another school year, it’s hard to believe we’re already just over halfway through Term 1. The whānau picnic was a lovely way for families to reconnect with the teachers and learn more about the class routine, expectations, and the teaching focus for this term.
The Board had our first meeting of the year during the third week of the term and it was good to hear how well the year has started for staff and students. It is great that parents and whānau are so welcome and there are many families enjoying the playground both before and after school. We look forward to further opportunities to continue to build our community spirit and provide information on the teaching and learning at Northland.
We would like to thank Rose Simpson for her contribution on the Board over the last two and half years. Rose has contributed broadly to the school and the Board but has shown considerable commitment and service to the Health and Safety, Community and Property. Thank you, Rose, for your service to the school community over many years and we wish you well.
We would also like to thank the teachers for all the hard work and late nights they put in to ensure that parents have the opportunity to share goals and discuss how children have settled. These meetings are highly valued and we know how important it is for everyone to know how they can support their child at home and connect with their teacher during the year.
End of Year Student Achievement 2024
Andrea provided a comprehensive report to the Board on the 2024 End of year student achievement data. Overall, our children have maintained high levels of achievement and progress in Reading, Writing and Maths in 2024. There has been an improvement for our Māori students particularly in reading and writing.
Reading
Reading achievement is being maintained at a high level of achievement across the school with 83% meeting or exceeding the curriculum level.
Writing
80% of children were meeting or exceeding the expected curriculum level at the end of 2024.
Maths
85% of children were meeting or exceeding the expected curriculum level at the end of 2024.
The end of 2024 marks two years where we have been teaching The Code across the school. Switching the entire school to a structured literacy approach has required significant work, effort, and input from the entire community (leaders, teachers, school, parents and of course students).
The community’s investment, through donations, in the schools Structured Literacy programme meant that we were well placed for the focus and roll out of the new structured literacy programme nationwide. We would like to acknowledge everyone for their patience, hard work, and dedication to supporting the kaiako, tamariki, kura, and whānau during this process. We would also like to ask the community’s ongoing patience and support while the staff works out how best to implement the changes in the Maths curriculum across the school.
There has been a shift in The Code achievement across the school and it is linked to the success in the implementation of the structured literacy approach across the school. Our target that all students will have made progress in The Code in each cohort has been achieved. The work that teachers have done on deepening their understanding and following a sequence in the delivery of The Code is having an impact.
The science of learning and reading research has shown that for learning to be transferred and automated in the long-term memory, our teaching strategies need to be small bites, regular and with quicker pace. It is fantastic to have been able to look and see the shifts in progress over time with most children now working at the appropriate level or above for this spelling programme.
We can celebrate our children’s success and be proud that our results have improved on those from 2021 and very close to our target of at least 90% of children meeting or exceeding the expected curriculum level in Reading, Writing and Maths.
Board update
We had our first meeting of the year two weeks ago and it was a pleasure to welcome our three newest members, Deborah, Jane, and Katie. Jono remains as our presiding member, and portfolios were divided amongst board members in the following manner:
- Health and Safety - Deborah
- Policy - Deborah
- Community and Communication - Katie
- Finance - Richard
- Property - Richard
- Playspace - Jane
We would like to thank everyone for a very positive start to the year.
Ngā mihi nui
Katie and Andrea on behalf of the Board
NEW - Teacher only Day dates with a focus on the New Mathematics Curriculum
Kia ora koutou
We hope this finds you well.
This is a shared communication to all families of students who attend Northland, Kelburn and Wadestown schools, in regards to our upcoming Teacher Only Days (ToDs) for 2025 and 2026.
As you may be aware, as part of the focus on the new Mathematics and Statistics Curriculum and Structured Mathematics, the Government is providing two ToDs for all teaching staff in both 2025 and 2026.
Part of this support for schools is to provide in-person, facilitated ToDs to assist staff with their professional learning development (PLD) in Mathematics.
To qualify for this, we need to meet a minimum number of staff. Collectively, we can do this when we work as a group of local schools. We believe that there will be benefits to working together, with local schools from across our Kāhui Ako (KA).
To make this possible, we have had to apply to the Ministry of Education to secure this PLD. With demand for these days high, and the number of facilitators limited, we have had to be flexible in our timings.
We note that these dates might be different to those shared with families previously and thank you for your understanding in this matter.
For 2025:
- Day 1: Friday 27 June - last day of Term 2
- Day 2: Friday 22 August - Term 3 Week 6
At this time, we are also in negotiations with the MoE around the dates for our 2026 PLD. These have been submitted and we are now awaiting confirmation of these dates. Once these have been confirmed, we will share these with you.
To assist families manage this change and to assist with childcare arrangements on this day, we are negotiating with Kelly Club who will offer all-day, school-based care, at Kelburn Normal School. All students across our schools will be eligible to take up this opportunity but we note that there will be a cost attached to this service.
Kelly Club - Kelburn Normal School
To book/ for more information, visit: www.kellyclub.co.nz/kelburn-normal
We thank you for your understanding in this matter and are grateful for your ongoing support of our students and teachers.
Ngā mihi nui,
Andrea Peetz, Danielle Sanders and Amanda Frater
Tumuaki of Northland, Kelburn and Wadestown Schools
NEW - Netball 2025 – registrations now open
Welcoming all returning and new players to the Northland School Netball club for the 2025 season! Registrations are now open and close on Friday 21 March 2025. Visit Northland School Netball Club where you can find information for parents about the season and fees, and a link to the registration form.
Northland School Netball Club is parent-led and focused on supporting our tamariki to develop their skills in a fun and welcoming team sport environment. If you are interested in coaching or managing a team we’d love to hear from you - register your interest with the committee by emailing northlandschoolnetbal
HERO
We would like to provide you with a brief outline of all the functions that we are now using on HERO. Please make sure that you are signed up and have notifications on so you can access all the information.
As we progress in our upgrades with HERO we are adding new features to streamline communications.
- Attendance
- Enrolment
- Sharing of Learning
- Community notices
- Group, Class, Team notices
- Trips and request for parent help
- School event reminders and parent information evenings
- Finance
In the financial section you will notice we have added Before School Care (BSC), Pizza payments and all our Western Zone Bus payments. You can check your school account at any time through the App and we will send statements at the beginning and end of each term.
Please come and talk to us if you need help navigating the HERO App.
School Lunch Options
Subway - Every Monday - order online through www.lunchonline.co.nz
Sushi - Every Tuesday - order online through www.ezlunch.co.nz
Pizza - Once a month - available the 1st Friday of each month(Starting March 7), $6 per pizza order forms available on the school website or in the school office.
Apps available for Subway and Sushi through the school website.
Term Dates
The bell rings at 8:50 am. Any student arriving after this time will need to sign in at the office and will be marked late. We encourage students to arrive by 8:30 am to meet with friends and get ready for the day. Lessons will begin at 9am.
Before School Care available from 7:30 am -8:30 am in the Library. Please email the office for further details, office@northland.school.nz
Term 1
Teacher Only Day - 21st March( Kāhui Ako MOE Teacher Only Day Curriculum 21st March )
Term 1 - 30th January - 11th April
Term 2
Teacher Only Day - Friday 27th June - (Mathematics curriculum)
Term 2 - 28th April - Thursday 26th June - last day of term
Term 3
Teacher Only Day - Friday 22nd August (Mathematics curriculum)
Term 3 - 14th July - 19th September
Term 4
Term 4 - 6th October - 17th December
CAMP DATES
Year 7 / 8 Camp - Term 2 Kaitoke 6th May- 9th May 2025
Year 5 / 6 Camp - Term 4 Forest Lakes 29th October - 31st October 2025