In this week's newsletter:

School Life

• This Week

  • Curriculum Changes

• Calendar Art

• Police Vets

• Term Dates Next Year

Other Opportunities

• Support Auckland FC and Westmere School

• Zero Waste Christmas

• Fill the Blues Bus

• Bike Hubs

School Life

This Week

Freaky Friday was a hit! Thanks to the WSS and all the volunteers who made it a spooktacular event!

This week we were treated to a performance all in te reo Māori. Originally, a performance for Ngā Uri o Ngā Iwi, we thought the whole school would enjoy it, and they certainly did.

Many of our tamariki in the English-medium were surprised at how much te reo they knew and could understand. Humour and drama are universal which helped too!

Our Seniors have been enjoying bike safety lessons all week and brushing up on their skills.

While our last Junior classes have been at swimming lessons.

Sadly, there has been quite a lot of litter around the school this week. Just a reminder that we are a litter-free lunchbox school. Help us to keep our school clean! This also helps keep away the pigeons and magpies. We have had a few swooping incidents, which have been frightening for kids. Help us to prevent these.

Curriculum Changes

A fortnight ago, we received another new version of the Mathematics and English Curricula. Until this point, we had been implementing all the changes requested by the Minister. We understood the timeline and what was being asked of us.

This time, however, we were unaware that the current versions of the Mathematics and English curricula, which we were asked to implement and assess against this year, were in fact drafts (they were not published in draft format as the versions prior to these were). The Minister had an international team review the curriculum, and they made significant changes, again. The Mathematics expectations, in particular, have increased again.

The Minister and her team have been at pains to tell us these are small changes, but as they are not implementing them, I am at odds with this assertion.

What this means for us?

This means that our goal wheels will be changed again. At present, we are working through what our goal wheels will look like for 2026. Things are moving so fast at the Ministry that we haven't been given guidance on reporting yet. We are also waiting for a new assessment tool that was meant to be introduced this term, but won't be available until next year.

In short, we are unsure what next year will entail at this time. It means that we are in a bit of a holding pattern until we get further information. This is a frustrating position to be in, as it makes it difficult to be properly prepared, and will likely mean that anything we do need to change or amend will have to be done at pace.

Rest assured, though, that once we do get the information and resources we require, we are ready to sort through it, re-align our reporting processes and educate our amazing team of teachers. We will keep you informed through future newsletters as we learn more.

Calendar Art

One more week to order!

Need Christmas gift ideas? Keepsakes? A 2026 Calendar? Greeting cards? What better artwork for these than your own child's art?! The tamariki have been very busy letting their creative juices flow to create their beautiful pieces for this year's items - calendars, greeting cards, diaries, mouse mats and sketch pads, all adorned with your child's beautiful artwork.

Orders will close at the end of the day Tuesday, November 17.

Profits contribute to the WSS's fundraising efforts so this is a great way to get some Christmas shopping done, support the school and your children! 

To order:

1. Go to www.kidsartworks.com
2. Use the Entrance Code: KZ1111
3. Enter/Search your child's room & name when prompted

There are samples of the items available to purchase in the office.

Any questions email rahatchaudry@gmail.com

Police Vets

This is a reminer to all parents attending the Ngā Uri o Ngā Iwi noho marae trip and Middle School parents wishing to attend the overnight trip - that you need to be police vetted.

PLEASE do your police vet this side of Christmas as we cannot guarantee they will be done in time in the New Year.

Come into the office to fill in the form at the office and bring in 2x forms of ID to the Office for Anita to sight. These cannot be received electronically and needs to be done in person.

If you are unsure if you are police vetted, email the office: office@westmere.school.nz.

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.

Other Opportunities

Support Auckland FC and Westmere School

Do you want to go to either of the next home matches of Auckland FC?

• Vs Brisbane Roar | November 23rd 

• Vs Newcastle Jets | November 30th

Auckland FC has given us access to Spinzo, a 'group ticketing' platform that makes it super easy for friends and family to buy individual tickets to Auckland FC matches and sit together, rather than one person having to pay for all the tickets upfront. You can tell you who from your school is going to the match and where they are sitting!

If you purchase tickets through Spinzo, Auckland FC will donate $5 to Westmere School for every ticket sold.

Purchase your tickets here!

Zero Waste Christmas

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.

Bike Hubs