Newsletter 29 May 2025 – Takapuna Primary School

Takapuna Primary

School Newsletter

Mā te pā ka taea te whakatipu te tamaiti
It takes a village to raise a child

Kia ora TPS whānau Like us

Principal’s Message:

Here we are mid-way through Term 2 and it is a busy time for all. Across the school, our ‘Powering Motion’ inquiry learning is well underway with children investigating the science of wheels and pulleys in Kiwi, flight in the Tūī team, and Kererū learners are learning about how electricity works.

Recently, we wore pink clothes in support of NZ Pink Shirt Day to promote the importance of kindness and inclusion which are integral values at our kura. Thank you to everyone who supported this great initiative.

Last week, some of our classes took park in the National Simultaneous Storytime which supports children’s literacy by encouraging reading in a fun, community event. Meanwhile, a large number of our tamariki are enjoying their winter sport season which is also great to see. Today we have a number of learners from Years 3-6 representing our school at a Rippa Rugby tournament. We wish them all the best for their games today!

Teacher only day – What is our focus?

A reminder that there is NO school tomorrow (Friday). Our teacher-only day will be an opportunity for further professional learning as we will all attend a COLAB Day with the other schools in our Community of Learning, Te Kāhui Ako. This will be held at Westlake Boys High School and the theme for the day is ‘Bridging the Gap – Literacy for Real World Success’. The keynote speakers are Alana Madgwick and Derek Wenmoth. Alana will speak about ‘Enhancing the Mana of Literacy in Every Classroom’ and Derek will talk to the topic of ‘Learner Agency in our Community of Learning’. We will also attend workshops on a range of connected topics.

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

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.

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.

Spotlight learners:

Aditi in 5C is sharing her fabulous story. 5C listened to ‘The Truck Cat’ from the National Simultaneous Storytime and then wrote about their connection to the story. Ka pai Aditi!

School and Community News:

The SCG (School Community Group) are super excited to host our next school disco! Please see the poster below 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.

Upcoming Events and Important Dates:

Teacher-only day: Friday 30th May (tomorrow)

School disco: Friday 6th June

Term 2 Board meeting: Monday 9th June at 6:00pm – please email takapunaboard@tps.school.nz for further information

Public holidays: Tuesday 2nd June (no school) and Friday 20th June (no school)

Regards, Devika & the TPS team

Enrolments 2025:

If you have younger siblings turning 5 years old in 2025, please enrol NOW to assist us with planning.

https://www.tps.school.nz/enrolment/

SCHOOL DONATIONS – an investment in our students

Our mission at Takapuna Primary School is to deliver a great quality learning environment that supports a quality education. To support this, we are seeking your help.

Your school donations make a very real difference to us as a state-funded public school. Our basic costs are met by the Ministry of Education, but it’s the money we receive from our school community that really allows us to provide opportunities, equipment and teaching beyond what is funded by the government. As an example, we would like to undertake further enhancements including sun shades, and also to enable wet weather use. This funding is therefore so important in providing a high-quality learning environment (both in and out of the classroom).

The school donation for 2025 is $250 per student, or $400 for families with two or more students. We can arrange weekly, fortnightly, or monthly instalments via internet banking if this helps spread the cost. Importantly, donations are tax deductible so approximately one third of every donation can be claimed back as a tax credit. That means for a $250 donation you receive $83 back in your wallet. Your actual donation cost is $167.

To make your donation payments please go to the ‘Hero’ app and click on the ‘Finance’ tab. Alternatively, any payments can also be made directly into the school bank account 12 3026 0792484 00 – if doing so, please ensure you include your child’s name and ‘donation’ as reference on the payment.

We do understand these are uncertain times and managing financial priorities can be difficult for some families.

Any queries regarding payments can be directed to our accounts team: accounts@tps.school.nz

If you would like to know more about how the School Board operates and/or would be interested in understanding how else you can help, please contact: takapunaboard@tps.school.nz

Thanks so much for helping to support our growing and vibrant community.

Kindest regards

Takapuna Primary School Board

Kia ora koutou TPS community,

Our next school Board elections will be on Wednesday 10th September this year and we’re looking for some great candidates to join the next Board term.

To find out more about what being on the school Board involves, we would like to welcome you to:

Join any upcoming Board sessions;
Join our Q&A Board zoom call – Thursday 5th June at 7:00pm (email takapunaboard@tps.school.nz for the link details);
Get in touch directly via the email address above for any specific questions.

To find our more about our current Board, next Board meeting dates and also find some great links and videos please refer to our school website: https://www.tps.school.nz/bot/

History of Takapuna Primary School

(since 1879)

This photo was taken in 1935 of the whole school. It is outside the infant block (now the library).

A past student commented that “the students with shoes were made to stand in the front. Not many students had shoes, as it was during the ‘depression'”.

TPS SPORTS

Link to school website here: click here

Jumping June update
“I just wanted to take a moment to say a huge congratulations to you and the school on your fantastic fundraising efforts! It’s truly inspiring to see all your hard work making such a difference.”

Rochelle (Jumping June Customer Service Team)

Every Wednesday, the whole school skips together for 15 minutes. Great to see so many tamariki having fun and staying fit.

Week 3 update

Come on TPS, register and raise for the Heart Foundation! Our goal is to move more, learn about the importance of heart health, and develop healthy habits for life.

Yummy Stickers needed!

Remember as soon as your sticker chart is full, return it to your classroom teacher and collect another one. The more TPS collects, the more sports gear we get! So get going and start collecting your Yummy cut-out labels and stickers now!

TPS Basketball

3×3 Basketball Tournament
TPS has entered two teams for the upcoming tournament. They are currently training with their coach who is teaching them the rules and skills for this very fast game.

Venue: Eventfinda Stadium

Date: Thursday 5th June (boys) Wednesday 11^th June (girls)

Time: Doors will be open at 9:00am

Tipping off first round at 9:30am – final round will finish at 2:10pm

Takapuna Slam Dunkers

Every player worked very hard on the court and got a win for the team.

Takapuna Alley Oops

TPS Run Club

If you would like to maintain your fitness for your winter sports or begin training for Cross Country in Term 3, then join the TPS Run Club. Collect a registration form from the Kererū office or send an email to sports@tps.school.nz for an e-copy.

Sports and Games at lunchtimes

Skipping, basketball and netball

Each whanau team has a day on the field

Splash Polo

Congratulations to Mila (KE) who has been selected for U12 North Harbour Water Polo Team!

TPS Netball

Takapuna Tornadoes

Early morning trainings for this team.

Takapuna Sunflowers

Showing excellent teamwork and determination.

Community Sports Board

Arlberg Ski Club at Whakapapa is looking for new members.

No sub fees for under 12 years at Arlberg. No joining fees for all. Season passes for 10 years and under are free at Whakapapa, only during the May sale, on now.!

If you are a skiing family and looking for a great place to stay.

Contact Max Tongue maxtongue@gmail.com

MATHS CORNER

Open Tasks:

Open tasks are maths problems that can have multiple correct answers. The best open tasks can be accessed by learners working at many different levels of the curriculum.

Open tasks allow mathematicians the opportunity to explore number patterns, make generalisations and justify their thinking. Here is an example of an open maths task: