Kia ora e te whānau,
Welcome back to the 2025 school year! We’ve had an amazing start, with our tamariki taking part in Fundamental Skills last week and now settling into their routines and expectations for the term.
We’d love to invite you to our Open Afternoon on Thursday, 27 February, from 1–4pm. Bring a picnic lunch or enjoy the delicious kai our students have each day, spend time in the classrooms, and connect with your child’s teacher.
At Spring Creek School, we’re encouraging our tamariki to become independent learners. Please support this by encouraging them to pack their own school bag each day and carry it into school. A reminder that we are a water-only school, so no juice, Milo, or other drinks.
As a SunSmart school, all students must wear a wide-brimmed or bucket hat (no caps) during Terms 1 and 4. Any colour is fine!
While we don’t send homework home, we encourage daily reading, practicing basic facts, and spelling. If you’d like ideas on how to support your child’s learning at home, please chat with their teacher.
New Mathematics Curriculum & Teacher Only Days
The government has introduced a new mathematics curriculum, and to support teachers in upskilling and implementing this curriculum, schools have been allocated two Teacher Only Days in 2025, with two more to follow in 2026.
We’d like to give you these dates well in advance to help with planning, as school will be closed on these days:
📅 Monday, 17 March
📅 Monday, 12 May
On these days, our staff will collaborate with Tua Marina, Mayfield, and Grovetown Schools, participating in professional development facilitated by Evaluation Associates.
Please mark these dates in your calendars. We appreciate your understanding and support as we work to strengthen our teaching and learning programs for your tamariki.
Keeping Ourselves Safe Programme
This term, as part of our health curriculum, we’ll be running the Keeping Ourselves Safe programme with the support of Constable Charlotte. This important programme helps tamariki develop essential skills to keep themselves safe in different situations.
Keeping Ourselves Safe starts on Wednesday, 12 February, and covers:
✅ Recognising when their safety is at risk
✅ Ways to stay safe in interactions with others
✅ Who to ask for help and the importance of persistence
✅ Understanding that abuse is never okay and never their fault
✅ The importance of personal, family, and school safety rules
How can whānau support this?
👨👩👧👦 Talk with your child about what they’re learning
🏡 Set safety guidelines as a family
📖 Support them with any activities they bring home
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher or me.
We currently have an After School Club running at school, please pop in and see Ness if you require further information.
Have a fantastic weekend!
Me mahi tahi tātau mō te oranga o te katoa.
Working together for all to succeed, nobody is left behind
Ngā manaakitanga,
Cheryl Alderlieste
Tumuaki - Principal
