Week 1, Term 3 Newsletter
In this week's newsletter:
School Life
This Week
WSS 2026 School Events
Other Opportunities
Pasadena Enrolment 2027
Auckland Netball
No Limits Netball
Call out for T3 Basketball Team
Auckland Central Volleyball Club
Western Springs College Open Week
Ponsonby Intermediate Open Day
Marist College - Enrolments for 2027
Playball for Term 3
School Life
This Week
Nau mai, hoki mai ki te Wehenga 3! Welcome back for Term 3. We are in the full swing of things again; we're four days in, and it's like we never left. The tamariki have settled in beautifully and have had a wonderful start to the term; that includes all the new ones we welcomed on Monday. There are even a few enterprising ones who have already got a business up and running in the nature trail (see lead photo).
This term's Kaupapa is The Performing Arts. So it won't be long before your tamariki are twirling and whirling their way through their afternoons and bringing home even more drama. We will have a showcase during the last week of term to show off their learning, so look out for more information on that closer to the time.
Manaakitanga
One of our core school values is Manaakitanga. Our school values extend to our whole school community and include showing manaaki towards our neighbours.
If you choose to drive to school, please give manaaki to our neighbours by parking respectfully (ie, do not park over their driveways). When you do this, it helps us to maintain good relationships with them.
Please pass this message on to anyone in your whānau who does pick-ups and drop-offs - mums, dads, grandparents, aunts and uncles and nannies!
Reminders
The start of the second half of the year is also a great time to revisit some of the procedures and policies we advertise at the beginning of the year. I know it's not the most exciting reading, but please read through these again as there are quite a few important items in here. Please pass these on to anyone in your household or circle of friends who may not be as diligent at reading the newsletter as you.
Attendance, Lateness & Absences
You can track your child's attendance on Hero.
Absences: If your child is going to be away please log their attendance in the Hero app. If they will be away for multiple days please email Anita at the office anita@westmere.school.nz.
Holidays: If your child will be away for a week or more for a family event or a holiday you need to email the principal rebecca@westmere.school.nz.
Lateness: If your child is late to school please make sure they sign in at the office before going to class. The roll is taken at 9am.
A reminder that absences are discouraged. Please book holidays during term breaks and, where possible book appointments outside of school hours.
Sickness: This poster from the Ministry of Health provides guidelines for whether you should send your child to school or not when they are unwell.
Bikes and Scooters
We love kids to ride their bikes and scooters to school. It’s a great way to start the day.
Tamariki need to get off their bikes or scooters when they arrive at the gate and walk them in and then out at the end of the day.
Pre-schoolers need to follow the same rules. They cannot ride around the school until after 3:10pm when most people have cleared the area.
Change of Clothes
Our tamariki play outside all year round, no matter the weather, rain or shine. Please make sure your child has a change of clothes in their bag at all times. ALL ages. We don't keep spare clothes at school.
Hats
Bucket hats are compulsory in Terms 1 and 4. These are available for purchase at the office.
Healthy & Litterless Lunches
A healthy food and drink environment helps support a young person's wellbeing|hauora, including their immediate physical and mental growth and development. It also helps establish positive behaviours for the future. Good nutrition can positively affect student behaviour, learning, concentration, and energy.
At Westmere School, we encourage children to bring healthy lunches to school to support their learning and learning behaviours.
We are also a litterless lunch school, which means no wrappers in lunchboxes and that anything left over during the day stays in children's lunchboxes. This is to help you, as parents, know what your child is and isn't eating each day, and to help keep our school clean.
We have found that tamariki eat most when things are simple and are manageable in size, e.g. they will eat a cut-up apple but not a whole apple. They are often keen to get going with playing, so when things are smaller, eating them becomes more achievable.
Children are not allowed lollies or chocolates at school. Please leave these items for after school. They can cause unnecessary disruption and issues between friends.
Junior/Senior Playgrounds
If you are using the playground before or after school, please help the children to follow the school rules. Children cannot climb on the roofs of the huts or on top of the monkey bars on the Junior Playground.
The Senior Playground is built for older children - i.e. things are higher, spaced further apart, etc. Please be mindful of this and supervise children very carefully.
School Policies
All our school policies can be found on School Docs.
https://westmere.schooldocs.co.nz/
Username and password: westmere
School Donation
The school donation is listed under the finance button in Hero.
We know some whānau prefer to set up an AP to pay the school donation monthly or weekly. Below are some options for this.
It is also a camp year for all our Year 5 and 6 tamariki so we have also put in an option for paying this throughout the year, so it's not a large sum all at once.
Year 1-6 for donation $520
For payments March to November (10 months):
$52 per month, or
$15 per week (rounded up)
Year 5-6 for camp, provisionally $400
For payments March to November (10 months):
$40 per month, or
$10 per week (rounded up)
Year 5-6 for donation and camp
For payments March to November (10 months):
$82 per month, or
$25 per week (rounded up)
Our bank account details:
Westmere School (Auckland) Board
12-3020-0460008-00
These funds will be held as a credit balance in Hero until charges become due and then used to pay the line item in Hero. Any extra funds received can be used to pay other costs charged. Any remaining balance can sit in Hero until 2027 or refunded for Y6 students.
Student Disclosures & Oranga Tamariki (OT)
If a child raises any issues of concern, e.g. family harm, we are required to report these to Oranga Tamariki (OT). When we report them, OT take over and decide the process from there. We have no control over this process. They do not inform us of their next steps or what the outcome of any follow-up is. It is all kept confidential.
Don’t Sit on a Worry
Worried about something? Don’t sit on it! We don’t want you or your tamaiti worrying. Reach out and let us know. Often we can resolve small worries before they turn into an anxiety. Get in touch with whomever you feel most comfortable with. We encourage you to start with your child’s teachers but we’re all here to help.
Complaints Process
Your first port of call is always your child's kaiako. Then the order is as follows:
Studio Teacher
Year Group Leader
Deputy Principal
Principal (rebecca@westmere.school.nz)
Board (botchair@westmere.school.nz)
Further Information
Day-to-day information can be found on our recently updated website.
WSS 2026 School Events
Other Opportunities
Pasadena Enrolment 2027
Auckland Netball
After-school and Weekend Netball Skills Clinics
No Limits Netball
No Limits Netball is an inclusive netball programme, designed for individuals with disabilities to give netball a go in a welcoming environment that suits their needs.
These are FREE sessions that are held once a month.
We have a range of adaptive equipment available, including different sizes and textures of balls, adjustable hoops and bell balls.
These sessions are held indoors, in a wheelchair accessible venue.
Address: Auckland Netball Centre, 7 Allison Ferguson Drive
Dates & times:
Friday 24 July, 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Friday 21 August, 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Sunday 27 September, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Friday 16 October, 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Sunday 22 November, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
More information can be found on the Auckland Netball Website.
Call out for T3 Basketball Team
We would like to call out for Y4 or Y5 who interested in T3 Basketball, you can fill the google form here to express interests and the deadline for it would be 27 August.
Auckland Central Volleyball Club
Western Springs College Open Week
2026 WSC Open Week Tour dates in week 1 of Term 3, as well as new Out of Zone Enrolments for 2027 (Y9 + Y10 only). These tours will take place with Principal (Ivan Davis) between 9am-10:30am. Bookings can be made via this link HERE and further information is available on website.
Ponsonby Intermediate Open Day
Marist College - Enrolments for 2027
Playball for Term 3
Playball is so excited to be back at Westmere School for Term 3, 2026!
Playball is a sport and movement program for 2-9 year olds.
The main objective of Playball is not to create superstars, but rather to provide children with the opportunity to develop many necessary physical, social, educational and personal skills. From a child's perspective the most important element of our program is FUN! For many children, their Playball lesson is the highlight of their week!
We will run Playball at Westmere School every Tuesday after-school, 3pm-4pm.
Playball fees for Term 3 are $130 for a 10-week term (inc GST).
To enrol your child/children, sign up online form. You will find 'Westmere School’ under the classes section- Get in quick! Spots are limited.
If you have any queries, contact Tania on 02102895901 or email tania@playball.co.nz
