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School Newsletter Term 1, Week 3

Friday 14th February 2025

School NewsletterTerm 1, Week 3Friday 14th February 2025

Kia ora koutou,


We are off to a fantastic start to the academic year, embracing new initiatives and focusing on key areas to enhance student learning and well-being. A major shift in our approach has been the implementation of our new timetable, which is already proving to be a great success. This structure maximises learning time while ensuring students have appropriate brain breaks and opportunities for physical movement, supporting both engagement and overall well-being.


Our school environment continues to evolve, providing students with inspiring and accessible learning spaces. The development of our Memorial Rose Garden is well underway, offering a place of reflection and beauty within our grounds. Additionally, the Orchid is being structured in a way that ensures long-term sustainability and ease of management. Our Rongoā Garden is also progressing, enhancing the aesthetic appeal of our outdoor spaces while serving as a valuable learning area for students to explore traditional Māori healing practices and the significance of native plants.


Classroom Learning Focus
Inside the classrooms, our focus remains on Structured Literacy and Mathematics, ensuring students are developing strong foundational skills in both areas. A significant addition to our programme is the introduction of afternoon 'Power Hours', which provide a flexible and engaging way for students to delve into a range of learning areas. These sessions cater to student interests while reinforcing key curriculum aspects in an innovative and dynamic manner.


We warmly invite all whānau to our upcoming Community Conference and Kai Evening on Thursday, 13 March. This will be a wonderful opportunity to walk through our classrooms, connect with your child’s teacher, view student work and gain insight into their learning environment. Following this, we will come together on the school field for a shared picnic, fostering community spirit and strengthening our school-home partnership. More details will be provided soon, but be sure to mark your calendars for this special event!


We are looking forward to an incredible year ahead, full of learning, growth, and community connection. Thank you for your ongoing support in making West End School a thriving and dynamic learning environment.


Nga mihi,

Tony West

Principal - Tumuaki

West End School - Te Kura O Urumutu

Bringing in a spare change of clothes

If your child has a toileting accident at school

A reminder to please pack a spare pair of clothes so that if your child has a toileting accident at school, they are able to get changed into clean, dry ones.

Team Newsletters Term 1

Tipuranga Mahi

Room 14

To start our year off in Ruma 14 we looked at our names. We talked about who has the most letters in their name and who has the least amount. We tried to think of words that started with each letter and sound in our names. We wrote a word next to the sound and made an acrostic poem. We drew a picture in sharpie remembering all the parts of our bodies. Some of us forgot our noses but luckily Mrs M reminded us! Lastly, we cut out and stuck stripes to our picture so we could show off our excellent cutting and gluing skills!

Puāwaitanga Mahi

Room 7

In Room 7, as part of our Hauora - Ko wai au? All About Me, we have been creating incredible Name Monsters! We started by colouring a whole page with bright crayon patterns, then folded it in half and wrote our names. After carefully cutting them out, we unfolded our designs to reveal unique, symmetrical monsters—no two were the same!


This activity tied in with our school values of Mana Aotūroa as we experimented with colours, shapes, and creativity, and Whakamana as we celebrated the uniqueness of our names and artistic expressions. Here are some of our fantastic Name Monsters.

Te Wao Nui o Tāne Mahi

Room 5

Learning Intention: to create a visual representation of our pepeha.

A pepeha is a special way for people in New Zealand to introduce themselves. It is like a story that tells about a person’s connection to the land and their ancestors. The pepeha is often given at formal events, like a meeting or a ceremony. It’s like a way of saying, “ This is who I am, and this is where I come from.”

Plant to Plate 2025

Te Wao Nui O Tāne are very lucky to be participating in Plant to Plate in 2025. Plant to Plate is a volunteer run organisation that teaches children about gardening and cooking with a range of fresh produce. All senior students will get a chance to experience this fantastic initiative.


Room 4 was the first class on Wednesday to meet the wonderful volunteers. Together, they planted a variety of new plants in our gardens, which will be harvested later in the year. While working in the garden, students learned about the science of plant growth and the care required to maintain a thriving garden.


Inside the hall, students explored the importance of kitchen hygiene and discovered how to transform fresh produce into delicious meals. The highlight of the session was sharing the kai together, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed!

Swimming timetable

Swimming starts next week. Our times are as follows


Te Wao Nui o Tāne (Room 2, 3, 4, 5) will swim on Monday,

Puāwaitanga (Room 1, 6, 7, 10 and 11) will swim on Tuesday,

Tipuranga (Room 13, 14, 15, 16, 17) will swim on Thursday.


Children will need to bring togs, towel, goggles and if your child has long hair it will need to be tied up for swimming.

Upcoming Events

WEEK 4 -

  • Swimming for Te Wao Nui o Tāne - Monday 17th February
  • Swimming for Puāwaitanga - Tuesday 18th February
  • New Entrant Visits - Wednesday 19th February - 1.50pm
  • EPIC Music - Wednesday 19th February
  • Swimming for Tipuranga - Thursday 20th February


WEEK 5 -

  • Swimming for Te Wao Nui o Tāne - Monday 24th February
  • Swimming for Puāwaitanga - Tuesday 25th February
  • New Entrant Visits - Wednesday 26th February - 1.50pm
  • EPIC Music - Wednesday 26th February
  • Swimming for Tipuranga - Thursday 27th February


WEEK 6 -

  • Swimming for Te Wao Nui o Tāne - Monday 3rd March
  • Swimming for Puāwaitanga - Tuesday 4th March
  • New Entrant Visits - Wednesday 5th March - 1.50pm
  • EPIC Music - Wednesday 5th March
  • Swimming for Tipuranga - Thursday 6th March



WEEK 7 -

  • Swimming for Te Wao Nui o Tāne - Monday 10rd March
  • Swimming for Puāwaitanga - Tuesday 11th March
  • New Entrant Visits - Wednesday 12th March - 1.50pm
  • EPIC Music - Wednesday 12th March
  • Swimming for Tipuranga - Thursday 13th March
  • Community Conferences and Kai - Thursday 13th March from 4.30pm - 6.30pm

PE at West End

Sports Term 1, 2025

Term 1 Sports is about to get well underway, we have a great amount of children participating in a range of sporting codes. The following are confirmed teams for the term.


Hockey

Year 1 - 2 Tuesday Afternoons - Westie BlueSticks

Alice Birkin

Dalia Santing

Eliza JAYASURIYA

Tamsin ROBERTS


Year 3 -4 - Tuesday Afternoons

Westie Blacksticks - Coach Kasey McKeage - Practice Mondays 3pm on the turf

Samuel Marshall

Owen WALKER

Katherine SIANO

Keely CORLETT

Maddison McKeage

Ana Vera SMITH

Kowhai SMITH

Alexander RYNHART


Westie Goldsticks

Ayala SANTING

Marshall BUCKLEY

Myla McKay

Liam Buckley

Ruby Roberts

Marni McKay

Imogen BOULD-VON DINCKLAGE

Saoirse HAZELTON


Year 5 - 6 - Wednesday Afternoons

Westie Yellowsticks

Quinn PEARSON

Charlotte MOULDEY

Hannah Fletcher

Chanel Clough

Leah Cooper

Rosie Corlett

Jacob WALKER

Noah JAYASURIYA

Luca DALZELL


Netball

Westie Mystics Tuesdays 5 v 5

Coach - Leana Shirley

Trainings - Mondays 3 - 4pm

Amber Roberts

Elizabeth Siano

Kryzlah

Norah Liggins

Sophie Persson

Grace Rangihaeata

Mary


Futsal

All players need sneakers and shin pads.

Summer Futsal - West End Kicks

Where: Arena 3 Pascall Street, Palmerston North

When: Fridays 4pm - 9pm

Game Dates: 21st , 28th February, 7th, 14th, 21st of March, and 4th of April.

Jake COULON

Peyton FAIRHURST

Marley HUBA-WHITE

Archie Cousins

Casey Fairhurst

Roger Graham

Koby DALZELL

Muhammad Wisam

Liam Wilson

PTA Fundraising and Events

Term Dates 2025

Term 1: Monday 29 Jan - Friday 11 April

Term 2: Monday 28 April - Friday 27 June

Term 3: Monday 14 July - Friday 19 Sept

Term 4: Monday 6 Oct - Friday 12 Dec

Ballot Dates 2025

Ballot Dates Drawn at 11.30am of the dates stated below

Term 1 for Term 2: Wednesday 26 February 2025

Term 2 for Term 3: Wednesday 14 May 2025

Term 3 for Term 4: Wednesday 30 July 2025

Term 4 for Term 1 2026: Wednesday 29 October 2025

If your child is absent from school.

It is really important under the current circumstances you notify the school if your child is absent.


PLEASE DO NOT TXT OR EMAIL THE CLASSROOM TEACHER.

ALL ABSENCES SHOULD BE ADVISED VIA THE OFFICE.


Please remember to advise the office by 8.30am if your child is not attending school.

You can telephone 358-2465 and leave a message or txt 021 118 0156.

ABSENCES CAN ALSO BE SENT EASILY THROUGH OUR SCHOOL APP


In both cases please give a reason for absence.

Thank you.

Kindo Online Shop

It is very important that families register with Kindo, as this is now the only way to register your child for school sports, and ordering PTA lunches.
Below are the links to register.
If you require help please call the Kindo helpdesk on

0508 454 636

New users need this link

Existing users need this link

West End School
Te Kura o Urumutu
Email: office@westend.school.nz
Location: West End School, 196 College Street, Palmerston North
Phone: 06 358 2465