Newsletter – Wednesday 11 February

Newsletter – Wednesday 11 February

Kia ora, Talofa, Malo e leleli, Kia orana, Fakalofa lahi Atu, Taloha Ni, Ni sa bula, 你好, Namaste, 안녕하세요, Hola, Xin chao, السلام عليكم. 

Welcome to the 2026 School Year

Tēnā koutou katoa,

A very warm welcome back to all our returning families, and a special Haere Mai to the new students and whānau joining the Silverdale School community for the first time. I hope you all enjoyed a restful summer break and had the chance to recharge for the exciting year ahead.

It has been wonderful to see the school grounds come alive again with the sound of laughter and the energy of our students. The start of a new school year is always filled with a sense of possibility, and 2026 is no exception. Our staff have been working hard over the holidays to prepare our learning spaces and finalise our programmes to ensure every child has a fantastic start.

This year, we remain committed to our KERI values—Kindness/Atawhai – Excellence/Hiranga

Respect/Whakaute – Integrity/Ngākau pono. We have a busy term ahead filled with sporting events, cultural opportunities, and, of course, a deep focus on our learning goals.

I look forward to catching up with many of you at the gate or during our upcoming school events. Let’s work together to make 2026 a year of growth, connection, and success for all our tamariki.

Please contact your child’s teacher if you have any concerns. All staff email addresses are on our website. www.silverdaleprimary.school.nz.  

Welcome

Welcome to these children who started with us this week. Our current roll is 594.

Isabel SIme, Ruby Daniels, Jacob Laurie, Ethan Thompson, Flynn Summers, Lorelei Preest, Erana Bray, Lennox Terhart, Jarvis Yang, Oliver Lathrope, Amelia Peng, Mitchell Hopkins, Sadie Kelly, Abdallah Al Namaani, Keegan Moran, Isobel Marsden, Ed Sime, Sophia Millan, Anbu Samaneethi, Samuel Bray, Nehemiah Rutene, Yujie Lu, Lucia Son, Clara Moller, Bella Li, Deia Gardner, Amara Renall, Ahil Goel, Ayan Goel, Sithuli Rajapaksha, Vinuli Rajapaksha and Kata Le.

Term 1 Dates

Whānau Connect (Meet the Parent) – Week 3, Wednesday 25 February, Thursday 26 February 3.30pm – 6.00pm

Cultural Day – Week 6, Thursday 19 March.

More information to come closer to the time.

Whānau Connect (Meet the Parent) Evenings

We have changed the format of Whānau Connect (Meet the Parent) evenings. Our Year 4 and 6 whānau won’t need to attend these evenings. If you would like to meet with your child’s teachers please contact the teacher directly to set up a time to meet.

Our Whānau Connect (Meet the Parent) Evenings are being held on Wednesday 25 February, Thursday 26 February 3.30pm – 6.00pm on both days. These meetings will be 10 minutes and the main purpose of these meetings is for you to let your child’s teacher know about your child. It is also a time for you to gain some information about how your child’s class will operate and learn about the journey your child is embarking on this year. Children will not be required to attend.

The booking code to book a time to meet with your child’s teacher is xth5z, to book go to  https://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/code

Children Coming to School Late

Change of procedure all children who came to school late will report to the office before coming to class.

Uniform Expectations at Silverdale School

In Terms 1 and 4, all students are expected to wear a Silverdale School sunhat when outside.

We have a “No Hat, No Play” policy to ensure the safety and well-being of our students.

Black shoes are part of the school uniform and must be worn to and from school. Acceptable styles include sandals, lace-up shoes, or buckle shoes. The only jewellery permitted is a watch and/or stud earrings.

Students should wear their full school uniform with pride.

Uniforms should be clean, tidy, and in good repair.

Lost property items can be found in the lost property box under the stairs outside the library.

Please ensure all uniform items are clearly named to assist with returning lost property.

Thank you for your cooperation in ensuring our students maintain a high standard of uniform presentation.

Our School

Vision/Moemoeā

Learn to Journey – Journey to Learn

Ako ki te Haere – Haere ki te Ako

Mission Statement/Tauākī Whakakanga

Actively prepare each child to take responsibility for their own life-long learning, values and behaviour, in partnership with the home and community.

Values/Ngā Whanonga Pono

Kindness/Atawhai

Excellence/Hiranga

Respect/Whakaute

Integrity/Ngākau pono

Learner Assets/Ngā Hua Ākonga

Self Manager/He kaiwhakahaere i a koe anō

Communicator/He Kaiwhakawhiti Kōrero

Collaborator/He Hoa Mahi Tahi

Innovator/He Tangata auaha

Resilient Hearts/Ngākau Manawaroa

A Calm Heart/Ngākau Marino 

An Understanding Heart/Ngākau Mataara

A Grateful Heart/Ngākau Reka 

A Loving Heart/Ngākau Aroha

Car Parking

There is no parent parking on the school site, an option during drop off and pick up is to park away from the school and walk to school, a great way of building you and your child’s fitness and help reduce the carbon footprint at the same time.

The drop off zone that borders the sloping bank will be a ‘manned’ stop, drop and go area from 8.30am to 8.55am and again from 3.00pm to 3.15pm. In the morning our staff will greet your vehicle and, if necessary, escort your child/ren to their class. This means you will be able to stop, drop and go in a minimum of time. You do not need to get out of your car. In the afternoon your children will wait for you on the bank to be retrieved. The teacher on duty will pop your child in your vehicle and you can quickly depart. You do not need to get out of your car.

Our mobility car parks are in operation in both carparks, so please ensure that these are used only for the purpose they were designed. Unless you have a mobility card and the card holder is in the car then the spaces must be kept clear.

A couple of reminders:

1. Both car parks are for staff cars only, please do not park in any of the carparks.
2. No parking in the stop, drop and go area until after 2.45pm.
3. At stop, drop and go please do not get out of your car.

 

Dental Clinic Parking

A reminder to parents that you must not use the dental clinic car park to drop off or pick up children, thanks for your cooperation in this.

 

Hats 

Please make sure that your child has their school hat at school. The wearing of the school hat is compulsory during term 1. Children not wearing a school hat will have to sit in a shaded area during play and lunch times.

 

Getting to and from School

If your child/ren are walking/biking/scootering to or from school can you please go over with them how to do this safety. Below are some general tips.

How to stay safe when walking

• Use pedestrian crossings or cross at traffic signals.
• Stop and check at every driveway.
• Walk on the footpath, close to the houses and away from the road.
• Hold hands if walking with a young child near roads or in carparks.

Crossing the road, when there’s no pedestrian crossing

• be patient and cross the road only when it’s safe to do so (it takes time for a vehicle to stop)
• then use the kerb drill:

1. Stop one step back from the kerb.
2. Look and listen for traffic coming from all directions.
3. If there is traffic coming, wait until it has passed and then look and listen for traffic again.
4. If there is no traffic coming, walk quickly straight across the road.
5. While crossing, look and listen for traffic, wherever it may come from.

When using a pedestrian crossing

• Use official crossings where possible – in fact, if you’re within 20 metres of a pedestrian crossing, the law requires you to use it.
• Check that approaching vehicles have seen you and can stop before you step out.
• Cross as quickly as you are able.
• For crossings with signals, only cross when the green person or message shows.

School Donations

Our school donation is $200 per child. This money was used to pay for a large number of additional curriculum resources, subsidise a number of school wide activities such as swimming, production, art, dance and drama resources, sporting functions, developmental material and related photocopying and other essential resources.  No child was excluded from using these resources but it does seem that quite a number of families relied on the goodwill of others to support their child.

Each term the BOT puts all the names of those donations that have been made into a draw to give one child the chance to have their fees paid for the following term. The families that have received these in the past have been very grateful. We understand that a donation is voluntary and that it can be at times very difficult to manage. Mrs Reid in the office, is very happy to discuss possible arrangements for meeting this cost for your child.  Each small contribution adds up across the course of time and helps to enhance the substance of this school.   

A huge thank you to all those families who paid their donation last year.

 

Newsletters  

Newsletters will be sent home each Wednesday. We will be emailing newsletters to each family. If your email address has changed from last year please send us your new email address so we can update our records. 

 

2026 Term Dates

Term	Start	Finish
Term 1		Thursday 2 April
Term 2	Monday 20 April	Friday 3 July
Term 3	Monday 20 July	Friday 25 September
Term 4	Monday 12 October	Friday 18 December (school finishes at 12.00pm)

 

Pick Up and Drop off Students

Scheduled Appointments

If you have a scheduled appointment  for your child during school hours please follow these instructions:

1. Email the teacher (all teachers emails are on the School Website) before 8.30am with the time you will be collecting your child. 
2. You will pick up your child from the stop, drop, go area.
3. Please stay in your car and call or text this number 0273369199 telling us you are at school.
4. We will send your child to you, please stay in your car.
5. Please call or text this number 0273369199 telling us that you have your child.

Early Pick Up

If you need to pick your child up from school before 3.00pm please follow these instructions:

1. Email the office what time you need to pick up your child. office@silverdaleprimary.school.nz
2. You will pick up your child from the stop, drop, go area.
3. Please stay in your car and call or text this number 0273369199 telling us you are at school.
4. We will send your child to you, please stay in your car.
5. Please call or text this number 0273369199 telling us that you have your child.

Late Drop Off

If you are dropping your child to school late, please make sure that they go to the office before going to their classroom.

Dear parents and caregivers,
The Auckland Regional Dental Service (ARDs) is a Health NZ/Te Whatu Ora-operated service, which provides FREE dental care to children across the greater Auckland areas. In order to prevent any eligible children missing out on receiving free dental care, ARDs is cross-checking their own records with school rolls.
For our children’s better oral health and wellbeing, our school roll will be shared with the service as required. To find out more information about ARDs, please visit ards.co.nz or call 0800 TALK TEETH

Thank you to our Newsletter Sponsors

Community Notices

• Transport is impacting attendance or punctuality  
• Parents are juggling work, multiple children, or changing circumstances  
• Children need a calmer, more personal transport option than public buses  
• Schools or families need help with sports, events, or one-off activities  

The Auckland Boys’ Choir invites boys who love to sing to experience exceptional musical training in a fun, supportive environment. Through singing, boys develop their voices, confidence, discipline, and stamina, while forming lasting friendships along the way. Rehearsals are held on Monday afternoons from 4:30-6pm on in Epsom. Learn more at aucklandboyschoir.org.nz