8 October 2025 Week 1
Principal's Message
Kia ora koutou
Welcome back everyone and especially to new families!
We've had a very positive start to Term 4 and are looking forward to some more settled weather. This week, we would like to extend a warm Northland welcome to Bennett, Eloise, and Nanki, who are all joining Ruru Iti this week.
At the end of last term, two of our students represented Wellington at the Inter - Regional Cross Country Championships in Christchurch. We would like to congratulate Reuben S who placed 4th in the Year 8 boy’s division and Aiden C who placed 33rd in the Year 7 boy’s division. We are very proud of Reuben and Aiden meeting the selection criteria to participate at this level of competition.
Congratulations to Reuben C, Reuben H, Nico C and Oscar H who have been selected to participate in the Interzone Swimming sports on Friday 10 October (first week of Term Four).
Our annual School Athletics Day for Years 4-8 will be held next Tuesday, October 14, at Ben Burn Park for most of the day. The postponement day is Monday, October 20. Parents are welcome to come and cheer on students from 9:30 am onwards. Parent Helpers Needed! We need parents to help run the various events. If you are available, please contact Neil at neils@northland.school.nz before the end of this week.
We are currently working on our school organisation and class placement for 2026. Our teachers all work together, considering many factors when developing classes: learning and behaviour needs, achievement data, social/friendship combinations, and team dynamics related to siblings or relations. Please trust the school and our staff expertise in this process. We will inform you of the school organisation in the next few weeks before any classes are finalised.
Term 4 Sunhat Policy
As the weather warms up, please note that we are now operating under our Term 4 Sunhat Policy: All students and staff must wear a sunhat when outside. Please ensure your child has a named full- brimmed sunhat at school from this Friday onwards. We are very impressed already with the many students who arrived this week with hats, thank you for your support.
We would like to acknowledge Ryan, Angela and Scout for all the amazing work and commitment in running GNAT, Greater Northland Amateur Theatre Company. There are so many children from Northland involved in "The Lord of the Rings” this year. We are very proud of everyone who have dedicated many Sundays and holidays to rehearse. We know the five performances this weekend at the Northland Community Centre will be nothing short of outstanding. I am really looking forward to the show.
Term 4 is always a busy term, so there will be weekly newsletters and team communication on HERO to make sure you are well informed of events such as Ruru swimming, Athletics, team or class trips.
Finally, if you have any questions or concerns about your child, please follow our process to ensure the right people can address things efficiently: start with your Classroom Teacher as the first point of contact, then the Team Leader/Deputy Principal if unresolved, and finally the Principal if further support is needed.
Ngā mihi
Andrea
New - Athletics Day Year 4-8
The Northland School athletics day, for students in Year 4 - 8, will be held on Tuesday 14 October at Ben Burn Park in Karori, from 9:30-2:30pm. Postponement day is Monday 20 October.
The programme for the day is:
9:15am 800m (Year 4-6)
1500m (Year 7-8)
10:00-2:15pm Rotations [45 minutes each of: Sprints, Long Jump, Quoits (or discus for Y7-8 only) and Vortex]. All students will take part in each of the rotation events.
Due to the amount of students going, we will need parents to help on the day. If you are able to volunteer your time to help with the event, please email Neil as soon as possible. It is important that we get adequate parent help to ensure this sports event runs smoothly.
Students will be travelling to and from Ben Burn Park by bus, which is provided by school. The buses will leave school just after 9:00am to arrive at the park in time for the rotations to start at 10:00am. Students who have self-nominated to run the 800m or 1500m will be required to get their own way to Ben Burn Park by 9:00am. I will contact parents of these students directly, in a separate email.
Ngā mihi, Neil Sargisson
Sports coordinator
Updated - Strike Action
NZEI has confirmed employees who are members of NZEI will strike on Thursday 23rd October from 7am -7pm.
Primary Teachers’ Collective Agreement
Primary Principals’ Collective Agreement
Support Staff in Schools' Collective Agreement
Kaiārahi i te Reo and Therapists Collective Agreement
Due to the high number of NZEI members across all four key collective agreements (including teachers, principals, and support staff), we cannot safely staff the school or provide an alternative programme. Therefore, the board has made the decision to close the school for instruction all day on Thursday, October 23.
We thank you for your patience and understanding.
New - Measles Information
We have been asked to provide our community with information regarding measles and up to date links that can be referred to regarding immunisation and information.
Recent measles cases linked to overseas travel have been reported in Te Tai Tokerau and Queenstown. Cases were active in the community while infectious and there is a risk of measles circulating there, and more widely in Aotearoa.
- Measles is very contagious and can make people of any age very sick.
- Watch for measles symptoms – fever, cough, runny nose, sore eyes and a blotchy rash.
Measles: Locations of interest in Aotearoa New Zealand – Health New Zealand
- If anyone in your whānau has measles symptoms keep them home and contact a doctor or Healthline urgently on 0800 611 116.
- Vaccination is the best protection from measles. Check all whānau are immunised.
Measles immunity – Health New Zealand
Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine – Health New Zealand
- Anyone closely exposed to measles who has not received two MMR vaccinations cannot attend their school | kura for at least eight days.
New - Library News
Scholastic Book Club Term 4 2025 - Issue 7 is out now!
Term 4 Issue 7 2025 catalogues have been distributed in your child's class. Deadline for orders is on 17 October. Please note that we do not take paper order forms or cash payments - all orders are done online via LOOP. Please go to https://mybookclub.
Should you wish to gift the books you ordered to someone, please place your order then email Erwin so she knows. When the order has arrived, she can then put it aside and get in touch with you so you can come and pick it up. Any other queries to Erwin Palado by emailing librarian@northland.
Update - Quiz Night Buy Your Tickets Now
On Thursday 23 October at 7pm, the PTA is putting on a Quiz Night at The Shepherds Arms on Tinakori Road. Tables are selling already! A Quiz Night is a great opportunity to catch up with family and friends, have a laugh and perhaps even learn something new! So book a table now and join us!
If you'd like to book a table now, please get in touch with us at parentandschool@northland.school.nz
- Teams of 6 people ($120 per team, or $20 per person).
- When: 23 October - Quiz starts at 7pm, but we will have the tables booked for the evening if you would like to grab dinner beforehand.
- Where: The Shepherds Arms
If you’re able to help out with our events/fundraisers, please get in touch with us at parentandschool@northland.school.nz
New - Pie Delivery this Friday
Thank you for all the Amazing Pie orders - we are finalising numbers and getting ready for Delivery this Friday 10 October - we will be collating the orders in Te Kohanga - thank you to those that have offered to help - we will see you Friday ! And another thank you for all the Bag Donations its been great !
New - Red Bin Donations
The Red Bin is coming back! Donations of good quality clothing are welcome. With the warmer weather on the way, our partner school has requested donations of size 5-16 SHORTS, T-SHIRTS and HATS. The red bin will be parked at the Tiger Turf entrance to school from Thursday 16 October - Thursday 23 October. Clothes need to be clean and in good condition. If you have any questions or have a large donation, give Deborah a text or call on 021 709 467. Thank you!
Repeat - Weetbix TRYathlon 2026
Kia ora e te whānau,
Northland School has entered a team for the Weetbix TRYathlon 2026. It’s on Sunday the 15th March at Kilbirnie Park. If your child would like to be part of the school team, please click the ‘join school team’ option after signing them up. We will have a gazebo set up on the day where your children are able to store their belongings and gather to support each other. If you have any questions please feel free to email me at alexm@northland.school.nz
Ngā mihi,
Alex M
Repeat - 2026 Enrolment
To help us with our planning for next year we do need to know the number of students who will be attending. If your child is in Year 1 – 7 and is leaving at the end of the year, please let us know as soon as possible. If you have children due to start at Northland School in 2026 please check with Ann in the office to ensure that we have these details recorded. If you know of children from other families who are likely to start next year, please encourage their parents to contact us. The more information the school has about potential in-zone and out-of-zone enrolments the better equipped we are to provide the best possible class organisation for the coming year.
Below is a link to the online enrolment form:
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.
- Term 4 - 6th October - 17th December
- Labour Day - Monday 27th October
- Strike Action - Thursday 23rd October (TBC)
2026 Term Date
- Term 1 - 2nd Feb - 6th April
- Term 2 - 20th Apr - 3rd July
- Term 3 - 20th July - 25th Sept
- Term 4 - 12th Oct - 16th Dec
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
Community Notices
