On Thursday 10 April the school day will be different. The children will be learning about each other’s cultures through the arts and technology (visual arts, dance, music, drama, hard materials and food technology). The children will take part in three different activities during the day.

Children will be in Tuakana-Teina groups, this means that the groups will have older and younger children in them and families will be together. Each group will consist of approximately 20 children. In these groups the older children have a responsibility to guide and lead the younger ones.

There will be many different activities on the day and teachers will be running many of them and we have invited parents who have something from their culture to share, to come and take an activity.

On Wednesday 9 April join our Board Chair, Kathy Harding to our Parents Wine and Cheese Evening in the staffroom. A time to meet other parents, laugh, converse and discuss ideas for the school.

Applications for Out-of-Zone Enrolment at St Heliers School for children turning 5 this year closes on 8 April at 3pm. If a ballot is required it will be on the same day at 3.30pm. Parents will be notified by the end of Term 1, on Friday 11 April

Parents are invited to our Whole School Citizenship Assembly on Friday 4 April at 2pm.

Citizenship Awards recognise those children who consistently uphold our school values and consistently display citizenship qualities.

Citizenship Qualities:

Friendly and helpful towards other people

Generous with your time and talents for the good of others without thought of personal reward

Sympathetic towards those in distress, the weak and the needy

Only one child is awarded an excellence award in each class per term.

Year 7 challenge themselves on the water with kayaking and sailing on Wednesday 2 April at Okahu Bay.

Year 8 challenge themselves on the water with kayaking and sailing on Tuesday 1 April at Okahu Bay.

The Central East Auckland Weetbix Tryathlon is on Sunday 30th March at Pt England Reserve.  If you have yet to register your child, please don't wait as this event usually sells out and many children are left unable to take part.  Click on the link to register now, and please ensure that you connect your children with the St Heliers School Team.  You will see this option as you proceed through the enrolment.  https://raceroster.com/events/2025/93895/central-east-auckland-weet-bix-kids-tryathlon

To ensure that our athletes are feeling confident and excited about this amazing event, I am offering four training sessions down at Glover Park in the lead up to the big day.  These will of course help with fitness, but more importantly they are about the tips and tricks to ensure that the children have a wonderful time out there on the course, and the all-important mindset and attitude needed for the event.

There will not be any swimming at the training sessions, but please ensure you bring their bike, helmet, running shoes, and water.

Please arrive ten minutes before the start time to get set up.  If you arrive at the times listed, your children will miss the beginning of the session.

I look forward to seeing you at one, or all of the sessions below:

Sun 9th March      3.30pm

Sun 16th March    4pm

Fri 21st March      8am   (note that this is a Teacher Only Day at school).

Sunday 23rd March 3.30pm

Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Kathy Harding

Running Club Coach and Board Chair

027 2818 007

kathycfm007@gmail.com 

Parents are invited to our Whole School Excellence Assembly on Friday 28 March at 2pm.

Excellence Awards recognise those children who have attained a standard of academic, sporting or  cultural excellence in some aspect of their schooling.

Only one child is awarded an excellence award in each class per term.

Year 5 and 6 children compete in the Bay Suburbs Swimming Competition at Sacred Heart College on Friday 28 March.

The next Board meeting is on Wednesday Thursday 27 March at 6pm.

Year 7 and 8 Students compete at the Eastern Zone Swimming Competition at Sacred Heart College on Monday 24 March.

As reported in Term 4 last year, on Friday 21 March, school is closed as the staff have professional learning around the New Zealand Curriculum - specifically structured literacy and maths. The Ministry of Education has permitted school to take 4 staff only days in 2025, however St Heliers School will only be taking 2 to minimise the disruption to parents and learning.

Our second Staff Only Day is Friday 30 May, which is the Friday of Kings Birthday long weekend. Children will return to school on Tuesday 3 June.

The Year 7 and 8 students spend 3 days at Camp Adair in the Hunua Ranges participating in a range of outdoor activities. The depart on Wednesday 12 March and return on Friday 14 March.

Thank you to all parents who will be helping at camp that week and to the teachers for organising the camp and taking time away from their family.

Parents are welcome at this assembly on Friday 14 March at 2.15 pm.

Join the Principal and Deputy Principal at the Māori Hui and Pasifika Fono on Tuesday 11 March at 5pm in the staffroom.

Kākahi compete in the annual school swimming sports at The Y Glenn Innes Pool & Leisure Centre on Friday 7 March. House points will also be collected on the day.

Pakakē and Paikia compete in the annual school swimming sports at The Y Glenn Innes Pool & Leisure Centre on Thursday 6 March. House points will also be collected on the day.

All our new entrant children who started at the beginning of this year will receive their Starting School Certificates. Parents are invited to watch the presentation at the junior morning assembly on 5 March.

On Tuesday, 4 March at 8.15am Y3-8 children will be able to have an opportunity to try some of the instruments, parents must accompany the students. The Have A Go morning will be held in our Dance & Drama Room.

Are you planning to run or walk in Auckland's iconic Round the Bays event?

There is not an official St Heliers School Team, but members of our Running Club will be heading into the start line together and would love for you to join them!  Please see the message below from our Running Club Coach and Board Chair, Kathy Harding.

Everyone is welcome to come and join the fun with us on Sunday 2nd March for Round the Bays!  We will meet by the water fountain in front of the brick toilet block opposite Vellenoweth Green in St Heliers at 7.30am.  Then we can all travel together on a free shuttle bus into town for the start of the race.  

I will run with a big helium balloon of some description (details provided later), to help us attempt to run as a group but realistically in such an enormous crowd, this is a bit of a challenge.  Please note that as much as I am hoping that many children will run with me, I am not able to take responsibility for your children in an event of this size, so please do not enter your youngsters without a supervising adult alongside them.

The course is 8.4 kms which is a big distance, but it is all flat and we can walk a bit if necessary and get carried along by the amazing atmosphere.  In terms of which category to enter, unless your child is super-fast and wants to take the event very seriously, I would just enter as a 'jogger' rather than a 'runner'.

It will be a memorable experience, particularly for those who have not taken part before!

If you would like to hear updates leading up to the event or if you have any questions, please email me    kathycfm007@gmail.com 

Parents are welcome to our first merit assembly of the year on Friday 28 February at 2 pm.

We invite all parents and caregivers to join us for an information evening on Structured Literacy. While the most noticeable changes will be in the junior school, families across all year levels may find this session valuable. Teachers will share some key changes in classroom learning, the types of activities children are engaging in, and what parents might see at home and ways to support learning. Parents will also have the opportunity to move through different stations, where they can explore our new resources, and gain practical insights into how Structured Literacy is evolving at St Heliers School. We look forward to seeing you there!

Ngā mihi, 

Kylie Dawson 

The Senior Leadership Team look forward to seeing all the new parents from the middle of Term 4, 2024 and the beginning of this year at the morning tea at 9.00am on Wednesday 26 February. Here a little more about whats happening in the school, meet other new families and have some of your questions answered. We look forward to seeing you.

Rooms 16, 17 and 25 will have their first class trip to Kelly Tarltons on Monday 17 February.

We would love to see all families at school for the first whole school event on the calendar; ‘St Heliers School Family Open Evening, on Thursday 20 February 2025. This is your chance to meet your child’s classroom teacher and, the other teachers who will be teaching your child this year.

We want you to visit all your chidrens teachers, so like last year, the teacher will not be standing up the front to talk. When you choose to visit the class, your child joins you and introduces the teacher. You will have the opportunity to informally chat with the teachers, meet some of the other parents and view the learning envirnoment.

This is intended to be a fun evening so if you want to talk to your child’s teacher about your child, then another time can be arranged for this. Note that there will be an opportunity at the Goal Sharing Afternoons in March when you and your child will meet with the teacher to discuss your child’s learning.

Parents of International students are invited to Semplice Cafe in St Heliers Village for a morning tea with the International Student Manager and the Senior Leadership Tea on Wednesday 19 February from 9 am to 10 am.