Kia ora e te whānau,

We thank you for your support in this busy start to the year, with tamariki enjoying lots of activities like swimming, sailing, technology, Aupaki Sports Day and kapa haka. You might be surprised to know that almost all of these extension activities that inspire and engage our tamariki are funded by school donations and fundraising.

Your donations massively impact opportunities at Lyttelton Primary School

The contributions whānau make play a critical role in what Lyttelton Primary School offers. Last year, we surveyed our school community and learned how important it is to you that we continue to enrich our children’s learning with diverse opportunities. We also heard how important the fundamentals of learning and teaching are to you. Donations play a critical role here too - they contribute to library books, classroom equipment and learning assistants in classrooms.

Government funding doesn’t cover everything our school provides

The Ministry of Education’s grant does not cover the total of our school’s actual costs. The remaining and significant shortfall has to be found elsewhere. This is because our school type and equity index (previously decile) means we get less funding than other schools.

To help bridge the gap donations are increasing by $40 per family

We know that recent years have been tough for many in our community, financially and otherwise. We have worked hard to stretch our school’s dollars and held off increasing donations as long as possible. In fact, donations have stayed the same for many years, and are well below donations for schools like ours in Christchurch. But we now need to increase them to meet our ongoing costs.

After careful consideration, we have decided on a $40 increase per family for 2024.

The 2024 donations are:

1 child – $140

2 children – $200

3 + children – $260

Please get in touch if you have concerns or questions

While your donations are important to us, so is your wellbeing. If these donations are difficult to manage, we have a number of options that may help, for instance:

regular, small direct payments - many families tell us they love the peace of mind of spreading the cost out over the year.
partial donations - every little bit helps, so if a partial donation is what you can manage, we're very grateful for that.

Please call or email to talk about how we can work with you on this. Phone Suzy on 03 328 8309 or email suzy.boddy@lyttelton.school.nz

Thanks to whanau who have paid it forward already

In the last year, some families have supported others by paying a little extra towards their school costs. We know from feedback that both those who have given and those who have received (both anonymously) have been buoyed by the sense of support. If you feel you may be able to contribute over and above the donation amount, we would also greatly appreciate your additional contribution. Even an extra $20 has a big impact.

Payment method

Payment can be made in full or in part. Note: All donations can be claimed back on your tax via claim form IR526. Receipts will be issued on request.

Options for payment include:

HERO App
Internet banking: ASB 12-3483-0014098-00
EFT-POS at the school office (no credit card)

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Ngā mihi,

Lyttelton Primary School Board of Trustees

A picture of Manawanui!