Week 4, Term 4 Newsletter
In this week's newsletter:
School Life
This Week
Thank yous
Studio Placements 2026
Marae Trips Next Year - Police Vetting
Term Dates for Next Year
Book Club
Calendar Art
Freaky Friday
Safety at the School Gate
School Visit - Stacy Gregg Author
Fill the Blues Bus - Food Drive
Other Opportunities
Ray White - Nightmare on Nottingham
Pasadena Intermediate - Save the Date
School Life
This Week
We have had two short weeks, but boy, have they been mighty! As always, we have managed to jam pack in a whole lot. And while we generally have a very full schedule, we make sure to prioritise our time well so that the basics are always maintained. We've had lots of hands-on experiences over the past fortnight, with the Year 3s and 4s enjoying a trip to Wai Ōrea with Urban Ark to explore conservation in our own backyard. Sadly, due to the weather, we were unable to hold Senior Athletics this year. However, we were lucky enough to have author, Stacey Gregg, in to talk about being an author.
A big thank you to Rachel Barlett, who, alongside some of our young and enthusiastic gardeners, helped to clear the garden beds ready for replanting. We love this time of year and seeing things growing again. Any parents who happen to have a few spare minutes at drop off or pick up are always welcome to help out with weeding. Just make a pile of any weeds in one of the corners and we'll compost them.
Another big thank you to Hamish Herbert from HH Builders. Hamish generously offered us his time to dismantle our seating when we were having a drainage issue. Thankfully, we didn't end up having to cut into the concrete to resolve the issue!
Meanwhile, behind the scenes, we are in the process of beginning studio placements for 2026. We generally have this completed by midway through the term in order to ensure we can provide any necessary transition for our learners with higher needs. This also allows our teachers time to meet and pass on information to the next teachers about our children. Knowing our learners means we can cater to their learning needs right from day one of the new year and make the transition as smooth as possible.
We aim to meet the needs of each of our 400 children and go through a rigorous process with our teachers to place each child in a situation that will be best for them and their learning.
As you can imagine, this is a big job as we take into account friendships, learning and other factors in this giant puzzle.
For children currently in Year 1, Year 3 and Year 5, we will provide children with as much stability as possible. Where possible, we try to provide continuity with the studios they were in this year.
If your child is moving to a new area of the school, it is more complex. Their current teachers will be looking to provide children with continuity and stability in their friendship groups and find the right fit for your child.
If you have any information that you think will be useful to help us with this process please email us at studioplacements@westmere.school.nz by Monday 10th November at 5pm.
NB: There may be some staffing changes for 2026 so please be aware that we cannot accept teacher or studio requests.
Marae Trips Next Year - Police Vetting
NUONI as well as Year 3/4 have their marae trips in March 2026. If you are planning on going you will need to be police vetted. If you are unsure if you have a current police vet done through us, please check with the office. Police vets can take some time and we want to avoid the rush in the New Year, so if you are wanting to go, please fill in your form this side of Christmas - that would be gratefully appeciated. You are welcome to come into the office to get a form or print and fill in the form below.
PLEASE NOTE: You must bring 2x forms of ID for Anita to sight. We cannot take these electronically and must be in person.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/14EGCtVrT1BMojWbNeZXmXnLlDE1fgfo8/view?usp=sharing
Term Dates for Next Year
Term 1: 9 February-2 April (Waitangi Day - 6 Feb)
Term 2: 20 April -3 July (Anzac Day observed Mon 27 April / Kings B'day - 1 June)
Term 3: 20 July-25 September
Term 4: 12 October-18 December
Our last day for 2025 is Tuesday 16 December.
Book Club
Book Club orders will be coming home this week. If you ticked the 'GIFT' option, please collect your parcels from the office. Thank you for supporting the library. Your orders earned us just under $600.00 to spend on books for our tamariki!
Calendar Art
Calendar Art orders will be open next week from Monday Nov 3 - end of the day Tuesday Nov 17. This gives everyone 2 WEEKS to get their orders in! Calendar art items make the perfect Christmas gifts and keepsakes for the whole family. Keep your eyes open on Monday for the notice with the link and ordering information. There will be samples of the items you can order on display at the office.
Freaky Friday
It's time to dig out your spookiest costumes and save those gold coins for the games, rides and food because our much-loved annual school fundraiser is back! Following strong opinions from the tamariki and input from the community, we have changed the date so it will now be taking place on Friday 7 November 2025 from
5-7pm.
Join us for a fun-filled evening of games, rides, delicious food, music and costume competitions, all while supporting a key school fundraiser and enjoying one of the most anticipated events in our school community calendar.
This fundraising event is brought to you by the Westmere School Supporters.
We are extremely grateful to Hellers for providing the sausages for our sausage sizzle. If you would like to donate or sponsor any of the other food/beverage or activities at Freaky Friday, please get in touch with Lucy - lucyafarrugia@gmail.com.
Tickets can now be ordered here and please don't forget to sign up to help (link is on the ticket form) - we can't put these events on without you.
Safety at the School Gate
School Visit - Stacy Gregg Author
Award-winning NZ author Stacy Gregg was a guest at school this week. She talked about her latest book, 'The Last Journey'. Stacy is also the author of 'Nine Girls' (winner of the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year in 2024) along with many other well-loved books.
We know that meeting an author and hearing their stories gets kids excited about reading, so if you'd like to make the most of Stacy's visit, you may like to purchase a book for your child.
If you purchase any of Stacy's books online through the Dorothy Butler Children's Bookshop, the shop will deliver the books (signed by Stacy!) to the school. Dorothy Butler Bookshop will also give Westmere School 10% of any books purchased as a credit for the school library. See below for how to purchase the books. Please place your order by 5pm on Tuesday 4th November.
Follow this link so you can see which of Stacy's books are in stock.
Add the books you want to the cart.
When you get to the checkout choose click and collect as the delivery option.
Then write Westmere and your child's name and room number in the notes section.
Purchase the books via your preferred payment option.
The shop will acknowledge your purchase and deliver the (signed) books to the school.
Fill the Blues Bus
Last year, Westmere School contributed to the Blues effort to collect food for families in need. We are doing this again this year and ask for your help. Please drop off non-perishable food items to the boxes in the office by the end of November. We will make sure it gets to the Blues to distribute before the Christmas and summer holidays. Your kindness is appreciated.
Other Opportunities
Ray White - Nightmare on Nottingham
Pasadena Intermediate - Save the Date
