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Principal’s Message:
One of the highlights this term has been seeing our student leaders stepping up—whether through road safety initiatives, buddy programmes, supporting school events or running lunchtime activities. It’s a wonderful reminder of the positive impact students can have when given voice and responsibility.
Focus on Road Safety This Week:
This week, our students are focusing on the importance of being safe around roads. Our Year 6 student leadership team has taken the initiative to create and display road safety posters around the school to raise awareness for everyone.
As our school is located in a busy central business area surrounded by roads, road safety is a key priority. Each year, our teachers take students on a walk around the school to reinforce safe crossing practices. These include:
- Using the Killarney Street pedestrian crossing
- Crossing only at the Auburn and Anzac Street traffic lights
- Avoiding crossing on Auburn Street unless at an appropriate designated crossing
We kindly ask all families to support this initiative by role modelling safe road-crossing behaviours when walking with your children. Your support helps reinforce these important lessons and keeps our students safe.
Exciting Partnership with Teacher Training Institute (TTI):
Many of you will be familiar with David Ferguson, former Principal of Westlake Boys High School, who is now the CEO of the Teacher Training Institute (TTI). We’re pleased to share that Takapuna Primary has been selected as one of only 30 partner schools across Auckland to host TTI student teachers in 2026.
We know that teacher training is most effective when student teachers are immersed in high-quality teaching environments. This partnership recognises the strong teaching practices at our school and provides an exciting opportunity to support and shape the next generation of educators.
You can find more information in the promotional material link below.
Are you ready to make a difference? Train to be a teacher with us in 2026:
The Teachers’ Institute’s Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching (Primary, School-based) offers you the chance to gain teacher registration in just one year, while learning hands-on at our school every day. This programme is perfect for anyone considering a career change, returning to work after a break, or even after an OE. What’s more, trainees receive a stipend and pay no tuition fees for the year.
Applications for the 2026 cohort open on 1 April 2025. For more information, visit teachersinstitute.org.nz.
Property updates:
Exciting News: old classrooms to be removed!
After nearly five years of working closely with the Ministry, we’re thrilled to announce that the removal of the old classrooms has been confirmed and is set to proceed—with work likely to begin this term!
We are currently in discussions with project managers and contractors, and will share more detailed information with our community as soon as timeframes are confirmed.
Once the demolition is complete, we’re looking forward to gaining a large, open space that our children can enjoy. This development will also bring more natural light and create a greater sense of openness near the playground area.
Thank you for your ongoing support—we can’t wait to see this exciting transformation take shape!
Ministry of Education updates:
Parent Portal:
The Parent Portal is an online platform that provides parents and whānau with easy-to-use resources and tools to support their child’s education at home. The intention is to allow a partnership with schools and to keep informed about what their child is learning, by including: • Year-by-year Curriculum Learning Guides: parent-friendly versions of both The New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, detailing what children are learning. You can find more information on the Parent Portal online: https://www.education.govt.nz/parents-and-caregivers/schools-year-0-13/parent-portal
Assessment:
We (Ministry of Education) are licensing a new platform that will be free for schools. These are designed to be light-touch, low-stakes tools that sit alongside teacher professional judgement. The new assessment tool is not designed to replace a teacher’s overall judgement as to how the child is progressing in the curriculum areas.
Standardised tools (such as the phonics check, e-asTTle and PATs) should be used alongside other assessment approaches, practices and pedagogies. For example, pre-, during and post- assessment (diagnostic, formative and summative), activities provided by your structured literacy or maths resources provider.
Reporting to Parents:
This year the focus is on continuing to develop and embed quality assessment and reporting practices in schools. Good assessment practice sees teachers and kaiako effectively monitoring, responding to, and reporting on student progress and achievement information in reliable, consistent ways.
Quality assessment and reporting involves:
- combining information from observations, classroom tasks and data from assessment tools to give a well-rounded understanding of a student’s abilities.
- continuously collecting and analysing data and information throughout the year to monitor and support a student’s progress.
The regulatory requirements to report to parents and whānau have not changed.
As you start reporting against the new curriculum, we (Ministry of Education) want to acknowledge that schools only have been using the new curricula from the start of 2025, which includes new teaching and assessment methods and content. As a result, you may see a change in your student’s progress or achievement compared to previous years.
Teacher Professional Development focus for 2025: Mathematics:
In the previous newsletter we shared information on Professional Development for teachers in Writing. Here is an update on Mathematics:
Mathematics Curriculum: Teacher Professional Learning:
On our Teacher Only Day (April 11th), staff took part in professional learning focused on the new Mathematics Curriculum. Facilitated and funded by the Ministry of Education, the session helped deepen understanding of curriculum changes and introduced practical tools for classroom use.
Our Learning Leaders are also continuing professional development with The Learner First (TLF), now in its second year. This includes in-person workshops and online sessions with other Auckland schools. The focus this year is on rich tasks—problem-solving activities that encourage students to apply their maths knowledge in different ways. In February, we explored open-ended tasks as one example.
Feedback has been very positive, with teachers valuing the support and resources to enhance their maths teaching.
Teachers also have the option to attend online professional learning sessions in the afternoons or during school holidays. These sessions are designed to help connect existing quality teaching practices with the new phases of the curriculum.
Feedback from staff involved in these learning opportunities has been overwhelmingly positive. Teachers have appreciated both the clarity around curriculum changes and the practical strategies to support engaging and effective mathematics instruction.
Spotlight learner!
In Kererū B, we have been learning to write stories based on researching real life tales of survival. Ryan’s writing was very engaging and he met all the goals for each paragraph, including awesome sentences and dialogue.
Lockdown Exercise/Practice – Feedback from Harrison Tew
“The lockdown exercise went extremely well. During the exercise, part of the school was moved to simulate the ongoing management of welfare needs during a long-term lockdown. At the conclusion of the lockdown exercise, the school returned to its normal activities.
Takapuna Primary School continues to focus on ensuring they have the best procedures to ensure the well-being of all of their staff, students, and any visitors on-site.
The Senior Leadership Team of Takapuna Primary School clearly have a passion and vision for their school, and it is a pleasure to have a continued professional relationship with Takapuna Primary School.”
Wade Harrison (Harrison Tew)
School and Community News:
SCG (School Community Group) are super excited to host our next school disco! Please see the poster outlining key information. We are so grateful to have a wonderful parent community to come together and organise this great event. See you on June 6!
Jump Rope for Heart:
What a lovely start to this worthwhile fundraiser! Each Wednesday, the whole school heads outside to skip together—it’s been fantastic to see so much energy, teamwork, and fun. We’re proud to support the Heart Foundation while encouraging fitness and community spirit.
Pink Shirt Day – Friday 16 May:
Children are welcome to wear pink on Friday 16 May in support of Pink Shirt Day. This day promotes kindness, inclusion, and standing up against bullying—values we encourage every day at school.
If you’d like to make a donation, we suggest doing so directly through the official Pink Shirt Day website.
Let’s celebrate kindness together!
Friendly reminder: Term-time travel
We’d like to kindly remind families that taking children overseas during school term time is not considered a justified absence, and as such, the Principal does not approve leave requests for travel.
If you do choose to take your child out of school during term time, please be aware that classroom teachers are not responsible for providing additional learning materials or making up for any missed work upon your child’s return.
We appreciate your understanding and support in helping us maintain consistent learning for all students.
Team Newsletters:
These were shared last week by classroom teachers, they are also available on our website for future reference.
Upcoming Events and Important Dates:
Teacher-Only Day: The second day for the year is confirmed as Friday 30 May (weekend of King’s Birthday)
School disco – Friday 6 June
Term 2 Board Meeting: Monday 16 June 6:00pm – please email takapunaboard@tps.school.nz for further information
Public Holidays: 02 June (no school) and 20 of June (no school)
Regards, Devika & the TPS team
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