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Principal’s Message
Tēnā koutou,
We are still buzzing from our highly successful School Athletics Day—a huge congratulations to all our students for their incredible effort. It’s been wonderful to see their determination and teamwork in action! A huge thank you to Valerie as our sports coordinator with the support of Nikita and Sarah R.
Looking ahead, we are delighted to announce that work has officially begun on our new playground extension! This project will provide exciting new physical challenges and play spaces for our tamariki, and we can’t wait to share the progress with you.
Exciting changes to class placements for 2026: Building Resilience and Growth
In preparation for the 2026 school year, we are implementing an important change to how classes will be structured. This decision follows review and professional feedback, focusing on maximising growth opportunities for every child.
What is changing?
Historically, many of our students have remained with the same classroom teacher for two years. For 2026, we will be transitioning to a model where all students will move into a new class with a new teacher.
Why this change?
This shift promotes enhanced student resilience, broader social skills, and exposure to diverse teaching styles. Our key goals for this new structure are:
Building resilience: Children will develop greater confidence and adaptability by successfully navigating change and establishing routines with a new teacher and peer group each year.
Wider relationships: This ensures every student has the opportunity to build strong relationships with a broader range of teachers across the school, reinforcing our vision of a supportive “village” approach to learning.
Fresh start and new friendships: It can provide a fresh start for every learner, offering opportunities to forge new friendships and co-construct new, positive class norms annually.
Exposure to expertise: Students will benefit from exposure to the unique strengths and teaching expertise of many different educators during their time here.
How will classes be organised?
- This will be generated randomly, with the exception of any particular circumstances considered by the leadership/teaching team
- There will be a balanced approach as in previous years with a mix of learning abilities, gender and so on
When:
- Classes will be finalised before the second to last week of term 4 and children will meet their new teacher on Monday of the last week of school
What are the teaching teams for 2026?
Whānau Kiwi: Stefanie, Hannah, Sarah S, Emily, Balijinder
Whānau Tūī: Anneke, Kelly, Phoenix, Sarah R, Marizanne
Whānau Kererū: Nikita, Sammy, Pauline, Jane P, Tash T
Specialist teachers:
Tash G – English Language Learners
Kipa – Te Ao Māori
Claire (we welcome back for 3 days a week) – The Arts (visual, dance, drama, music)
We understand that change can sometimes cause anxiety for both children and parents, and we are committed to making this transition as smooth as possible. If there is something specific you wish to discuss, please do contact me directly – devikat@tps.school.nz
Internet Upgrade: Scheduled for NEXT WEEK
We ask for your patience, in particular early next week (Monday – Friday) as our internet systems are all being upgraded. There will be internet outages for the school which will impact our everyday organisation. If you can not get a hold of the school and need to do so in an emergency – we have added this number to our website. We also apologise in advance if our phone systems are interrupted and our absences are not followed up immediately. We hope for a smooth upgrade but we know this isn’t always the case!
Ready, Set, GO! TPS Athletics Day at Onewa Domain
This year marked a great step forward as we held the whole-school event off-site at Onewa Domain for the very first time. What a day! A massive thank you to all the families who came along to visit, helped us run events, and shared their appreciation for the huge amount of organisation, time, and effort invested by our staff. Please enjoy the few pictures included below.
Native Grove Update: We’re Exciting Updates on Our Outdoor Spaces:
We are also thrilled to share the opening of our beautiful Native Grove Nature Play Area. This space is now open to different year levels during break times, and the children are absolutely loving it, engaging in highly creative play with natural materials. The ‘fire pit’ circle, in particular, is encouraging some great conversations and collaboration. We extend our immense gratitude to Rakesh (our caretaker) and Sarah O.C. for their thoughtful design and hard work in bringing this special outdoor space to life for our lucky learners at TPS.
SCG UPDATES:
Congratulations to following parents who were voted into positions for the School Community Group for 2026.
Co Chair: Claudia Schmidt & Hannah Cochrane
Treasurer: Alexandra Teplovskaya
Secretary: Kimberlee Fyfe
The SCG is busy organising the Disney Cruiseship Disco next Friday 14th November. If you are available to help man a stall, turn a sausage, set up or pack down, please email scg@tps.school.nz. Wristbands will be issued for Kindo disco ticket sales and must be worn for entry. Tickets will also be available at the door.
Hats!
A friendly reminder to all students and staff: Hats are compulsory during Term 4. Please ensure your child has their brimmed hat.
School Policies:
Each term, the whole school community is invited to review and comment on specific policies and procedures. This feedback is captured using the review button on topics that are under review. The review topics for each term are listed on the Current Review and Review Instructions page.
General Feedback:
At any time, members of the school community can send general feedback on a topic to the school by clicking the green feedback button on the top right of the page.
Schooldocs:
Username: takapunaprimary
Password: deedsnotwords
Upcoming Events and Important Dates:
Week 6: Friday 14th November – School Disco night
Week 8: Monday 24th November – School Board Meeting 6:00pm
(contact takapunaboard@tps.school.nz)
Week 9: Monday 1st December – Whole school Beach Picnic
Tuesday 2nd December – Year 6 Graduation evening
Week 10: Thursday 11 December – Pizza, wheels, non-uniform day (*note date change)
Week 11: Monday 15 December – Meet the Teacher 2026
Tuesday 16th December (last day of school)
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