Happy Birthday
Happy birthday to Aaviyah Maveu, Ammon Cuff, Phoenix Cole, Harlow Holmes, Daniela Greco, Nina Marais, Reiko King, Connor Carn-Bennett, Freya Melville and Sophie Cornelius.
Whole School Cultural Day Thursday 19 March
On Thursday 19 March we will have a whole school Cultural Day. Children will be encouraged to wear their cultural dress to school to celebrate our diverse cultural identities. Optional in class: a shared lunch where families bring a dish to represent their culture. Your child’s classroom teacher will let you know if this will be happening in your child’s class.
Teacher Only Day Friday March 20
Our school will be closed on Friday 20 March for a teacher only day. Our teaching staff will be joining teachers from across our local area for a collaborative professional development session. This dedicated time allows our team to dive deep into the new Mathematics Curriculum, ensuring we are equipped with the best strategies and tools to support your child’s learning and numerical fluency. Kelly club will be open for the day.
Whānau Māori Hui
We would love for you and your wider whānau to join us for our first Whānau Māori Hui of the year. This is a great chance to connect, share a meal, and help shape the direction of our kura.
Details
- When: Wednesday 1 April 2026
- Time: 6:00pm
- Where: School Staffroom
For the Tamariki
Our tamariki are a central part of our school community, and they will be leading us in our tikanga to open the evening. We encourage you to bring them along! Once the formal proceedings and kai are finished, we will have a movie set up to keep them entertained while the adults kōrero.
Kai and Conversation
To keep everyone fueled, we’ll be providing hot chicken, fresh rolls and salad. While we eat, we’d love to hear your thoughts on:
- School Strategy/Whānau Voice: What are your aspirations for our school’s future?
- Open Q&A: An opportunity for you to ask us anything.
RSVP
Please follow this link so we can get the catering right. Let us know if you’re coming and how many of your whānau will be joining us for kai.
Can’t make it?
No problem at all. Your voice is still incredibly important to us. If you have ideas you’d like shared or questions to ask, please feel free to email them through or book a time to chat with Cameron directly at cameronlockie@silverdaleprimary.school.nz.
Ten Tips for Using Your Home Language at Home
- Speak your language or languages as much as possible, and encourage everyone in your family to speak as much as they can.
- Tell your traditional stories, rhymes, poems and sayings to your children. Talk to them about your family, culture, and history.
- Write to family or friends with your children in your language – cards, letters, emails, texts or social media – and plan visits to them if possible.
- Read books together every day. Point to the pictures, read all or some words, and perhaps use bilingual books as well.
- Watch programmes or movies in your language on television, from the library, or online. Perhaps choose ones with English subtitles.
- Help your children with homework in your language from their school, club, church, temple, or mosque.
- Sing songs with your children in your language.
- Have fun! Play music and traditional games in your language.
- Put up posters, alphabets, or charts in your language.
- Explain that your children can be strong in two or more languages and cultures at the same time.
Remember: Using your language or languages at home will help your children succeed at school, and in their future work. It’s OK for your children to mix their languages. It’s OK to ask for help from family, friends or teachers if your children don’t want to use your language. It’s easier in a group. Join community activities, or find or start a language playgroup, culture group, school or club locally (or online).
What did you do Today?
What did you do today? is a question that gets asked in many New Zealand homes by parents as their children get home from school. The usual response is “not much”.
When they get home from school today, here are 10 conversation starters that will hopefully spark better responses that “not much”.
- What was the funniest thing you heard all day?
- What was your favourite thing that happened today?
- Did your teacher get cross today? What happened?
- What subject was the most interesting today?
- Was anyone away today? Did that make the day different?
- What was something new you read today?
- What happened today that you wish hadn’t happened?
- What did you enjoy most for lunch today?
- What are you learning about in science?
- Did anyone do something nice for you today? Did you do something nice back?
Garden to Table Working Bee
A massive thank you to all the parents, students, and community members who rolled up their sleeves for our Garden to Table working bee last weekend. Thanks to everyone for your hard work in weeding, mulching, and tidying, our gardens have been completely transformed. These vibrant outdoor spaces are ready for our children to explore, plant, and harvest as they learn where their food comes from.
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