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/

Thank you to all of the children that brought in a gold coin donation last Wednesday for Lachie's Legendary Lego Competition. We were able to raise a whopping $1,070 to help the Love family make some beautiful family memories together.

The day also saw Lachie come in and judge the lego competition. The competition was to create a superhero out of lego, complete with socks. There was so much manawa reka shown by children across the school and in the staffroom we were inundated with entries. Lachie and his dad Andy came in to do the judging. The winners were:

Quinn, Year 5 and Imayuru in Year 2

There was also a special prize given to Room 9 in Year 2 for their group model they cretaed complete with real socks.

If you would like to know more about Lachie and his family, they have a page called Lachie’s Bucket List Page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089298321738 .

On Friday evening, the Year 6 teachers put on a wonderful event in the school hall for our Year 6 Graduation ceremony. It was an opportunity to celebrate our Year 6 students who will be leaving us in just a few days. More to come in next week's newsletter!

The wonderful Mr Murphy has run a football tournament for all of the Year 5 and 6 classes. Each of the Year 5 classes played each other, and then the Year 6 classes did the same. Mr Murphy refereed each game and made sure that all of the children played fairly, showed great sportmenship and had lots of fun. Every game saw lots of children and staff on the sidelines cheering the teams on. IN the final of the competition, Room 27 just managed to sneak past Room 24. This meant that Room 27 played the staff team.

It was a great game, and this time refereed by Mrs Gwilliams son Wilf so that Mr Murphy could play. It was a n excellent game and thanks to a couple of goals from Miles, and an amazing half volley from Mrs Smith, the staff managed to win the game. Lots of fun was had and it was a great end to the competition. A huge thank you to Mr Murphy!

Make sure you save the date: SATURDAY 5TH APRIL, as this will be the date of our school gala. This gala will be extra special as the children will be completing an inquiry learning unit during Term 1 that will culminate in a stall for the gala. So there are sure to be some old favourites and some new and exciting ones too!

The Friends of Willow Park are doing a wonderful job organising the gala, but Sonja and her team need more volunteers, donations and sponsorship to make it work. So if you have any way to help, please contact Sonja at fowp@willowpark.school.nz .

Community Pool Keys

Our school pool can be used by our families after school, during the weekends and term holidays. Keys will cost $100.00. per family and are not to be shared with other families.

Purchase keys from the office, using Eftpos or credit card only - no cash or internet transfers will be accepted. You will need to complete an application form and will be given a set of rules and procedures which you are expected to abide by. Keys are issued at same time.

There are only a few keys left and only a few days left to purchase so be in quick!

As we are now at that time of year where we are sorting out class numbers for 2025, it is important that we are aware of any families that are, or may be leaving Willow Park School,

If you are in this position please email Fran at the office on , office@willowpark.school.nz as soon as you can.

Miniball Finals:

Good luck to the following Year 5 / 6 boys teams who have finals this Wednesday.

WP Nuggets: 5th / 6th play off in A Grade - year 6

WP Vikings : 1st / 2nd grand final year 6

WP Hawks : 1st / 2nd grand final year 5

WP Bulls: 3rd / 4th play year 5

These are amazing results as the teams were bumped up a grade after successful Semester 1’s and grading games at the start of Semester 2, so they have had some tough games over these last few weeks.

Good luck boys. Enjoy your games. The last in Willow Park colours for the year 6.

Touch Rugby:

This Wednesday is also the last for our Touch teams. Some also playing off for top positions.

Summer Football:

Again another finals night after a successful summer season for our 5 teams.

Senior Triathlon:

This is scheduled for Monday 9th December in Block 2. 11am until 12:30pm. We have some very excited students registered. This involves a swim, cycle and run.

2025 Sports:

Registrations for 2025 will open before school closes this term for Touch Rugby term 1 (yr 1 - 6), miniball semester 1 (yr 2 - 6)and flippaball term 1 (yr 5 / 6).

These sports all start quite early in the term so I need to be able to start drafting teams ready to have them registered as early as possible in term 1.

Sue Whiteman

sue.w@willowpark.school.nz

2024 Term dates (Staff only days Friday 8 November)

• Term 4 starts Monday 14 October, last day is Tuesday 17 December (1pm finish)

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 :

Staff only days will be advised once decided.

• Waitangi Day - Thursday February 6
• 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 on Thursdays and are available to students in Year 2 and older.

Dave has space for Term 1, 2025 lessons. If you are interested, please contact Dave on 021 2221456, or dave.gatman@musiqhub.co.nz.

At Mid Bays Music, our highly qualified tutors are dedicated to making music learning both relevant and enjoyable. We would love the opportunity to support your child's musical journey!

When: Weekdays after school or Saturday mornings
Where: Murrays Bay Intermediate School
Start Date: 15th February 2025
Cost: $170 - $270 for the entire year (this includes book hire, but not instrument hire)
Age: Group lessons are available for children aged 6–12, with age requirements for some instruments.

Instruments Offered: Guitar, Ukulele, Clarinet, Saxophone, Keyboard, Trumpet, Recorder, Flute, Drums, Violin, Viola, and Cello. Click here to learn more about each instrument.

Enrolments for 2025 will open on December 1st and must be completed through Kindo. If you haven't done so already, please make sure you have an account set up.

Spaces are limited, and some instruments have sold out within the first 48 hours in the past! To avoid disappointment, be sure to register early!

For any troubleshooting or questions, please visit our website at www.mbmusic.org, or email us at mbmusic@mbi.school.nz.