BBS Newsletter 18 June T2W8

Teresa Burn — June 17th, 2025

Students pictured here with their homemade Matariki bird feeders in the shape of stars in celebration of Matiriki this Friday 20 June (School is Closed).

Coming Up

Year 2 Zoo Trip - Thursday 19 June
BOT Meeting - Thursday 19 June - 6.30pm (Staffroom)
Matariki Public Holiday - Friday 20 June - (School Closed)
Year 3 Auckland Botanic Gardens Trip - Monday 23 June
FOTS Pie Day fundraiser - Thursday 26 June-🥧Order a pie for your child`s lunch through Kindo before 24 June 3pm🥧
Term 2 Ends - Friday 27 June - 3pm

Principal News

School Uniform
Term Dates 2026
School Reports and Booking Parent/Teacher Conferences

School Notices

ICAS Exams

Friends of the School/P.T.A

Chinese Cultural Event
Pie Day
Donations and Sponsors wanted

Principal News

School Uniform

Our school uniform is part of building a culture of pride in our school. We work hard as a Browns Bay team. Our Property Staff ensure that our school grounds are safe and tidy. Our Office Staff work together to create a warm and welcoming place for the community and our Teachers create beautiful learning spaces for children. Children wearing the correct uniform is another part of making our school great.

We understand that from time to time life gets in the way of correct uniform, but over the past few weeks we have noticed more children not wearing uniform items. The school holidays is a great time to re-group and ensure that children are organised for the following term.

You can find our uniform guideline here. Please make sure that your child is only wearing uniformed items to school.

Term Dates 2026

At our last Board meeting, we set the Term dates for 2026. It is early in the year and may be subject to some small changes during the year, but I know it helps you to know the Term 1 start date as soon as possible.

School will start in 2026 on Monday 09 February. The dates for holidays are all in our School Calendar and on the School Website.

Starting school on time in February is really important for the well-being of children. In the first few days, teachers plan lessons and activities that set children up for a positive start to school with learning, behaviour and re-establishing friendships. If your child misses out on these activities it does impact their learning.

In the first week of school, we have a strong Induction Programme for children who are new to the school and for children whose English is a second language. It is a huge advantage for your child to be part of this.

If you are traveling overseas, please make sure that you are back in time for the start of school on 09 February.

School Reports and Booking Parent/Teacher Conferences

Your child's Mid Year Report will be sent home in the first week of Term 3. Parent/Teacher Conferences will also be held in Week 1 - Wednesday 16 July and Thursday 17th July.

You can book a conference with your childs teacher on the School Interviews Website using the code q3894

*Please note that Kellie Shimmin Room 14 is not available until the following week, but you can still make a booking using the same code*

I appreciate that while we are in a transition phase with the new Curriculum, it is confusing. Here's what you need to know:

In Maths, we are teaching the new Curriculum, which has some different content to the old Curriculum that we taught to the end of last year. We have new workbooks and online resources that are supplementary resources to the new Mathematics and Statistics Curriculum. The resources provide our learners with activities and ideas that support the teaching of Mathematics and Statistics. We are making good progress with implementation of the Curriculum, which has a comprehensive learning programme that will deliver the necessary teaching and learning programmes for your students. The mid-year report uses the old curriculum guidelines, but you will be able to see if your child has made 6 months progress since their last report.

The same applies to Reading and Writing. The new Curriculum places a heavy emphasis on Structured Literacy that has been a part of teaching at Browns Bay School for a number of years. There are some slight adjustments in timing in the new Curriculum, but we continue to be proud of the impact of Structured Literacy on learning and have further strengthened this with the use of the Writer's Toolbox this year.

School Notices

ICAS Exams

Each year, Browns Bay School invites children from Years 4, 5 and 6 to sit the ICAS English, Digital Technologies, Maths and Science exams. This year, the Exams will be held in August and registration is now open.

If your child has sat an ICAS exam before, you will already have been sent an email with the registration information. If you haven’t received this but would like your child to take part, please contact Karen Cebalo karenc@brownsbay.school.nz . Please be aware though that the exams are very challenging with a good level of English required, and we do want to make sure all children feel successful in what may be their first external exam. The exams are all sat online in school time.

If you would like your child to borrow an old ICAS paper to get a better understanding of what the exams involve, please also contact Karen Cebalo with your child’s name, Year level, Room number and state an ICAS subject.

*** If your child borrowed some papers last year and you still have them at home, please return to me ASAP as many children are needing them - particularly for Maths.***

Friends of the School/P.T.A

Chinese Cultural Event

Thank you to all of our BBS families for supporting the FOTS Chinese cultural afternoon last week, and to the enthusiastic help from our Chinese parents' community for all your work. You made the afternoon such a resounding success.

A very special thank you to Silvia Wei for her organisation and drive to put together an event which showcased the talent of so many of our students and gave us all the opportunity to learn about, and celebrate, Chinese culture together. (See Photo Gallery for more photos and videos).

Pie Day

We are excited to announce the first Browns Bay School Pie Day on Thursday 26 June. It is a great way for your child to celebrate the end of term. Pie Day gives you a break from packing lunches and will help raise money for the school.

You can order a pie through Kindo for just $7.40 and school will receive a donation of $1.50 for every pie sold.

Thanks to Euro Patisserie for being such a great supporter of Browns Bay School. We know your award winning pies are going to make our children really happy.

Sales close Tuesday 24 June at 3pm - no late orders sorry so don't miss out on this yummy lunch!