Newsletter – Wednesday 18 February

Newsletter – Wednesday 18 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. 

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to Elsie Taiapa, Armaanpreet Singh, Ava Little, Daniel Maeng, Samuel Bray, Julia Banach, Nehemiah Rutene, Rosa Meng, Ada Nelson, Harrison Hart, Felix Stirling, Zoe McKeown and Mateo Maranon.

 

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.

School Attendance and Student Learning

At Silverdale School, we understand that unique family opportunities and travel experiences occasionally arise outside of the standard holiday periods. However, as we look ahead to the 2026 school year, I would like to share some important information regarding the impact of holidaying during term time. While travel can be incredibly educational, the classroom environment offers a unique social and structured learning experience that is difficult to replicate. Research consistently shows that every day of school matters. When a student is absent for an extended period:

 

Sequential Learning is Interrupted: Subjects like Mathematics and Structured Literacy are taught in a building-block style. Missing a “layer” of these foundations can lead to gaps in understanding that are difficult to close later.

• Social Connection: School is where students build social stamina and navigate friendships. Long absences can make re-entry into peer groups challenging for some children.
• Teacher Momentum: Much of our teaching involves collaborative kōrero (discussion) and hands-on activities. This cannot be sent home in a packet of worksheets, meaning a student misses the “heart” of the lesson.

Please be aware that teachers are not required to provide specific work programmes or “catch-up” packs for students taking voluntary holidays during term time. Our teachers’ priority is the planning and delivery of lessons for the students present in the classroom. We suggest that while traveling, students keep a journal, read daily, and engage with the local culture and history of the places they visit.

If you are planning an absence, please notify the school office and the classroom teacher as early as possible. All absences for holidays are coded as “G” (Holiday during term time) in the Ministry of Education’s attendance system, which is classified as an “unjustified” absence.

We value the partnership between home and school and thank you for prioritising your child’s attendance. Our goal is to ensure every student has the best possible opportunity to succeed and grow.

Keeping Our Kids Safe Online

Raising children and young people in today’s digital world is not always easy. Many parents, caregivers, and whānau are doing their best to navigate questions around online content, safety, and healthy digital use. I know personally that it’s often the unknown that unsettles us most. Taking the step to learn more, to be in it alongside our children, is one of the most important things we can do. Being informed is key, and it helps us move away from the idea of simply ‘leaving them to their own devices’.

Our local schools across our community, both primary and secondary, have come together to host Tāima Kōrero (Time2Talk), a parent and caregiver information evening designed to support whānau with practical guidance and confidence to have important conversations at home.

This 90-minute session focuses on digital safety, age-appropriate conversations and the effects of online pornography. It explores the current digital landscape in Aotearoa, the impact of early exposure to explicit content, and why open, honest conversations matter. Parents and caregivers will leave with practical tools, clear language, and strategies to build trust, support healthy development, and create safer online environments within their whānau.

The session is suitable for parents and caregivers of children across both primary and secondary school ages and is open to families from across our wider local school community.

The event will be held on Wednesday 25 February 2026 at the Orewa Arts and Events Centre. Arrival is from 6.30pm for a 7.00pm start, with the session concluding at 8.30pm. Please note this is an adults-only event due to the sensitive nature of the content.

Tickets are $10 per adult, which go towards covering the guest speaker and supporting future collaborative events across our local schools. You can purchase your ticket here.

We encourage you to attend and to share this opportunity with others who may benefit. Supporting our young people is a shared responsibility, and evenings like this help strengthen our confidence, connections, and collective knowledge as a community.

Car Parking

Just a reminder that there is no parking in both carparks at school. Please don’t park by the kindy as these parks are reserved for kindy parents. Thanks for your cooperation with this.

School Values

Our school values are:

Kindness/Atawhai

Excellence/Hiranga
Respect/Whakaute

Integrity/Ngākau pono

Our School Values in Chinese 

Kindness – 善良

Excellence – 卓越

Respect – 尊重

Integrity – 正直

Our School Values in Korean

Kindness – 친절

Excellence – 우수

Respect – 존경 

Integrity –  청렴

Our School Values in Afrikaans 

Kindness – Goedhartigheid

Excellence – Uitnemendheid

Respect – Respek

Integrity – Integriteit

Our School Values in Hindi

Kindness – दयालुता

Excellence – उत्कृष्टता

Respect – आदर करना 

Integrity –  अखंडता

At Silverdale School we believe:
* positive behaviour can be learnt and difficult and disruptive behaviour can be unlearnt;
* individual children are not a ‘problem’ – we need to change the environment around them to support positive behaviour;
* punishing and isolating children doesn’t bring about long-term and sustainable changes in behaviour;
* we need to concentrate on a small number of evidence-based programmes and frameworks that we know work;
* there are no quick fixes. Behaviour change takes time.

We have already seen significant positive behaviour changes within our school. Our children are continually learning what it means to show Kindness/Atawhai, Excellence/Hiranga, Respect/Whakaute and Integrity/Ngākau pono and are continuously making great efforts to show these values.

If a child doesn’t know how to read, we teach.

If a child doesn’t know how to write, we teach.

If a child doesn’t know how to multiply, we teach

If a child doesn’t know how to swim, we teach.

If a child doesn’t know how to behave….we teach!

(adapted from Colvin, 2007)

These values came out of discussion with the children and staff in 2017. Our school-wide incentive programme is our Caught by KERI Stars, children can receive a Caught by KERI Stars for displaying one of our values. These Caught by KERI Stars and then collected and the children go into a draw to pick out of the prize box at our assembly. 

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.

The NPHS -Northern Region Vision and Hearing Screening team will be visiting our school on FRIDAY 13 MARCH 2026.

This screening is for Years 0-2 students who have not yet completed their B4 School Check, or any required follow-up rescreen.

(Further information: B4 School Check – Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora).

If you do not want your child to take part in the vision and hearing screening, please let the office know before the visit – office@silverdaleprimary.school.nz 

Your child’s screening results will be sent home with your child. 

These results may also be shared with the school, including your child’s teacher to support their learning and wellbeing.

Auckland Regional Dental Service
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

Travelwise – Walking School Bus

Silverdale School currently offers walking school bus routes starting from:

Skipjack Pass – Departs each morning at 8.20am. Follows Skipjack Pass, Outlook Terrace, Manuel Road, Miller Rise and Bankside Road into school. 

If you would like to start your own route, please reach out!

We strongly encourage children to walk to school as it promotes healthy living, provides opportunity to make new friends, and helps reduce chaos at the school gate.

What is a Walking School Bus?

A walking school bus is just like a school bus except children walk to school under the supervision of adult volunteers, creating a safe and social journey to school.

Children are collected from stops along a planned route and dropped off at the school gate. Along the way they learn how to safely negotiate the road and have an opportunity to socialise and share stories with friends and neighbours. What a great way to travel to school!

Walking school buses also make a contribution to reducing the amount of traffic around schools – in Auckland there are more than 200 active walking school buses, with over 4,000 children regularly walking to school. That’s a lot of active feet on the street.

How do I join?

Email: alexfranklin@silverdaleprimary.school.nz

What are the benefits of the Walking School Bus?

Health and fitness – for children and parent walkers alike

A big time saver as you don’t have to negotiate the slog to school, traffic at gate, etc – the bus does it for you

Great socialisation – lasting friendships for the kids, and parents get to meet fellow members of the community

Promoting independence in our little ones

Kids get great rewards, including: fun bag tags, certificates, and choices of goodies when they finish ‘bus tickets’. Exclusive special events at school, like free sausage sizzle, milo and muffin mornings, summer lunchtime swimming in the pool 

Safety. As it’s a supervised group, you know your children will benefit from the presence of adults.

What parental commitment is involved?

The WSB works thanks to parents like you. One morning a week you ‘drive’ the bus, the other four mornings you’re freed from the school run. Of course, you can ‘drive’ more often if you’d like.

 

What happens if you can’t make it one morning?  We all have times when sickness, work or other commitments mean we need help, and WSB parents support each other through them. Just shout out to fellow bus drivers on your route, and arrange for a swap or if someone can help out.

Thank you to our Newsletter Sponsors

Community Notices

Silverdale Rugby Club – Junior Registrations

Our junior program is focused on creating a fun, inclusive, and supportive environment where children can build confidence, develop skills, stay active, and most importantly, enjoy being part of a team. We are passionate about providing positive opportunities for young people in our community, and we would love to connect with families at your school who may be interested in giving Rugby a Go!!

• A link to our website with full registration details
  https://www.silverdalerugby.co.nz/juniors/2026-junior-rugby-registration
• Link to our Silverdale Junior Rugby Friends & Family Facebook page
  https://www.facebook.com/groups/silverdalejuniorrugby/