

School Newsletter Term 1, Week 4
Friday 21st February 2025
Kia ora koutou,
Over the past three weeks, we have been thrilled to welcome our newest students and their whānau through our transition program. Our meet-and-greet visits have provided a wonderful opportunity for families to connect with our staff, experience the school environment, and ensure a smooth start for our new learners. It has been fantastic to see the enthusiasm from both students and parents as they prepare to join the West End School community.
With Athletics Day fast approaching, our students have been training hard and showing great determination in their preparation. It is inspiring to see their commitment to improving their skills and supporting one another in practice sessions. We look forward to a fantastic day of participation, sportsmanship, and celebration of our students' efforts.
Our commitment to Structured Literacy continues to shine across the school, with students making excellent progress. The consistency of our approach ensures that every child is supported in their learning journey. It is fantastic to see the confidence and capability growing in our students as they engage in their literacy learning.
A huge congratulations to the many students earning ‘Values’ tickets throughout the school. These tickets acknowledge our students for demonstrating our core school values, and it is heartening to see so many tamariki making positive choices every day. Their kindness, respect, and responsibility contribute to the wonderful learning environment we all enjoy.
We also want to take a moment to acknowledge the warmth and friendliness of our parent community. The smiles, greetings, and supportive interactions we see before and after school create a positive and welcoming atmosphere. Your presence and engagement help foster a strong sense of belonging and community spirit that makes West End such a special place.
Thank you all for your ongoing support and involvement. We are excited for the weeks ahead and look forward to celebrating many more successes together.
Nga mihi,
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.
School Athletics
A reminder that School Athletics day is in Term 1 this year to hopefully avoid any wet weather! This will be held on Monday 3rd March (Week 6) and will start at 9am and run through to 12.30. More information will follow in next weeks newsletter. Senior swimming will still continue in the afternoon.
Tipuranga Mahi
Room 17
In Room 17, we have been getting to know each other as part of our ‘Ko wai au? Who am I?’ learning. We have created some self-portraits. First we used crayons to create a bright, colourful background. Then we dyed the background. We drew a picture of ourselves on newspaper and then we put it altogether to create our masterpieces! We shared to our classmates things that we like and added a speech bubble to our work. We hope you love them as much as we do!
Puawaitanga Mahi
Room 11
Room 11 is off to a great start with their code lessons. In Weeks 1 and 2 we learned about the ‘ar’ and ‘or’ sound and the spelling rule that it has. In Week 3 and 4 we learned about ‘ur’, ‘ir’ and ‘er’ and their spelling rules. At the end of each sound we do an activity where we have to write as many words as possible with the sound we have learned.
Swimming timetable
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 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 -
- School Athletics: Monday 3rd March - 9am-12:30
- 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
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
Location: West End School, 196 College Street, Palmerston North
Phone: 06 358 2465