Willow Park School Newsletter

Email: office@willowpark.school.nz
Website: http://www.willowpark.school.nz/
Location: Willow Park School 13 Compton Street, Hillcrest, Auckland, New Zealand
Phone: 09 480 9236
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/willowparkschoolhillcrest/

With only 4 weeks to go until our school gala, a lot has been happening with our gala committee, and in school with classes and teams working on their stalls. This is going to be an exciting gala so please make sure you book the date and tell your family and friends to come along too!

A huge thank you to everyone who brought in books and toys on Friday - we had a huge intake which will go a long way to filling up our prize stall and book stall. Each Friday before the gala there will be a non-uniform day to encourage other offerings for the gala. This Friday our non-uniform day will be to encourage families to bring in non-perishable food items for hampers that we will create. Please have a look in your cupboards to see if there is something that would be suitable for a hamper, and that will last the distance with four weeks to go for the gala.

Willow Park School is one of the only schools on the North Shore, and in Auckland that have had a thriving Lion and Dragon Dance group. With the loss of Mrs Selma Dancy to Orewa College, it is exciting to see our new Mandarin teacher, Miss Linda Dai, is getting involved already in this activity. Mrs Dancy is coming in over the next few weeks to pass on her knowledge which Miss Dai has been utilising. We have some existing students particularly in Year 6 who are also providing some excellent tutoring. The good news is that our school will continue to have a strong Lion and Dragon Dance group, who hope to have their first performance at the school gala. Miss Dai has also added a new group, working with some Year 4 girls to teach a Chinese Handkerchief Dance.

Wow term 1 is so busy. All the sporting codes asking for team registrations and we feel like we are constantly badgering you with notices and information about so many sporting opportunities. It has been wonderful to see so many children keen to play a sport and to parents prepared to make that commitment also. You are the ones who have to get the children up for early trainings and then to the many different venues for the games. The children are very lucky. We are also very conscious of the financial cost and hope that this is not deterring some children from playing. Unfortunately we have no control over what these sporting codes charge and do try very hard to keep the cost to you down as much as possible. Just as an example we received the invoice for the 13 miniball teams the other day and it was $12,252!

Thank you so much to all those who have registered this week!! We are pleased to have so many entries already and are featuring on the Shore to Shore website leader board! Keep up the good work. We still have a long way to go. Our aim this year to get over that 400 participant mark So please get those registrations done. We also have three spot prizes drawn each week from the updated list of children who have registered. A year 1 or 2, a year 3 or 4 and a year 5 or 6. Now that we have a reasonable number to draw from we will make that on Monday.

It is an amazing event, lots of fun for the family and all over by late morning. So come along and join us and get some exercise at the same time. We need you, your extended family , friends and neighbours. The Shore to Shore is a great family event where participants can run or walk a 5km route from Takapuna Grammar School to the MIlford Beach reserve. Along Takapuna and Milford Beaches.

We can apply for a grant which is to purchase sports equipment. This money allows us to provide and replace gear for our PE lessons and the many sports teams that play for Willow Park. The more participants we have the greater the grant. So please get behind this and support Willow Park.. With lots of spot prizes and also prizes at school as we promote it. A prize for our first girl and boy on the day. A prize for the family with the most registrations. So get all your relations, friends and neighbours to come along, and if we can get our classes on board a prize to the class with the most entries.

Here is the registration link: https://shoretoshore.co.nz/register/

Rippa Rugby and Tackle Zone Day:

Registrations are now open Yr 3 - 6. We have 2 zone days which take place during the school day in term 2- Thursday 29th May and term 3- Thursday 14th August. Children bus down to the Onewa Domain and play against other schools. No experience is necessary, as it is a fun day to try a new sport. $10 for both days.

Miniball: ( Basketball ) All finalised miniball teams have now been emailed out.

Our teams will be getting underway with practices shortly, with games starting on 11th/12th March. Good luck to those teams playing your first game this week. It seems like a long time coming. Have fun and thank you to all those parents who have put their hand up to coach these teams. We are very grateful.

Winter Netball:

Registrations are open on Kindo for the year 0 - 4 children who play on a Saturday at Pinehurst School and the year 5 and 6 children who play on a Wednesday after school at Netball North Harbour Northcote.

For the Kidzplay teams, year 1 - 4 registrations are looking good but we are currently low on year 1 and year 3 children. We would like to confirm and register those teams by the end of next week if possible.

Winter Hockey:

Registrations are now open for winter hockey. This is open to all children from year 3 to year 6. They play on a Monday after school at North Harbour Hockey Stadium in Bush Road and games are between 4pm -7.30pm. Games commence Monday 5th May until Monday 25th August. Fees are $115. We have a great group for the year 5 / 6 team but only have 2 registered for the year 3 / 4. Please let me know if you think your child might be keen or you can register them on Kindo. I would hate to disappoint those two children and not have a team for them.

Don’t forget these events still coming up:

Weetbix Tryathlon on Sunday 30th March at Point England. Although we don’t organise this through the school we do register with the organisation and any child from Willow Park can enter under our umbrella and we go in to a draw for a number of prizes.Please let us know if your child is participating so we can follow their progress and acknowledge them after the event.

Triathlon/ Duathlon

Our annual school triathlon/duathlon will return this year at the end of Term 1. The date is Monday 31 March for all students in Years 4-6. The triathlon takes place at school and is a really fun way to end the term. Registration will come out next week on a Google form. All children doing the triathlon must register as they leave the school grounds. Those participating in the duathlon do not need to register. Your event is held totally within the school.

Cricket Zone Day:

We had three year 5 / 6 teams participate on a Cricket Zone day last week. It was held at the Takapuna cricket ground and the teams played schools from the North Shore. We had two girls teams and one boys team. I was very proud of the way they represented Willow Park. Their sportsmanship and fair play was commendable. We had some close fought games and considering a majority of these children had never held a cricket bat, let alone bowled a ball, they did extremely well. We took some great wickets and catches. Several of the opposition teams were made up of club players yet we still managed to hold our own. Just shows the talent and skills our children have.

It was great to see Room 9 and 10 students back in their rooms on Friday. All of the work inside the classrooms have been completed and the new windows and entrance doorways have made a huge positive feel in the classrooms, and they are now much improved teaching spaces. The final bits of painting work is currently being completed.

It is now time for Rooms 12 and 13 to have their new windows, and so they have moved to Rooms 24 and 25 for the next two weeks whilst the work gets completed. There will be fencing up for another couple of weeks around this area but this won't impact the other classrooms in this area.

2025 - School Term dates

Term 1 - Monday 3rd February. - Friday 11 April

Term 2 - Monday 28 April - Friday 27 June

Term 3 - Monday 14 July - Friday 19 September

Term 4 - Monday 6 October - Tuesday 16 December

2025 - School is closed for :

Any further staff only days will be advised.

• Waitangi Day - Thursday February 6
• Staff Only Day - Friday 21 March
• Staff Only Day - Friday 30 May
• King's Birthday - Monday 2 June
• Matariki - Friday 20 June
• Labour Day - Monday 27 October

Musiqhub offers Guitar and Ukulele tuition to students at Willow Park School with experienced tutor Dave Gatman.

Students learn a range of traditional and contemporary styled songs and techniques where they play together as a group and take turns to play to the group as individuals. This format creates a relaxed and fun environment for students to learn in and is popular in schools around the country.

The lessons are during school hours on Thursdays and are available to students in Year 2 and older.

Dave has a few spaces for Term One lessons. If you are interested, please contact Dave on 021 2221456, or dave.gatman@musiqhub.co.nz.