Newsletter 21st July 2025
From the Principal
A warm welcome back and to our new students and their whanau. A busy and wet start to term with parent conferences and the Art Exhibition.
Major Events Coming Up
Reminder - Teachers Only Day Monday August 4th - Week 4.
No school for students. The teachers will be at school working with the Ministry of Education on the new mathematics curriculum.
Student Lateness - Focus Term 3
Lateness to class can disrupt the learning environment for everyone, negatively impacting both the late student and their classmates. It can also lead to missed information, create a negative impression, and affect a student's academic performance.
Disruptions to the Learning:
Distraction:
Late arrivals disrupt the flow of the lesson, taking attention away from the material being shared, presented and distracting other students.
Missed Information:
Students who arrive late may miss important instructions, announcements, or parts of the lesson, potentially hindering their understanding of the subject matter.
Negative Impact on Class Morale:
Chronic lateness can create a sense of disrespect for the teacher and learning.
Consequences for the Late Student:
Missed Opportunities:
Being late can cause students to miss out on valuable class time, potentially affecting their academic performance and leading to missed opportunities for participation..
Negative Impact on Future:
Consistently being late can carry over into intermediate and secondary, potentially impacting on achievement and possibly career opportunities.
Does 15 minutes a day really matter?
As well as the reasons above 15 minutes a day so 1¼ hours per week which equates to 12.5 hours per term equivalent to over 2 days of learning lost each term and nearly 2 weeks of learning over a year.
The senior team will be monitoring the gates and be in contact with parents of students who are regularly late to work out a solution together. It is about making sure your child has the best opportunity to make the most of their opportunities and abilities.
This term there will be a lucky draw and every student who has arrived at school on time all week can win an iceblock and 10 minutes extra playtime on Friday afternoon. One winner per class each week.
Introducing our new Deputy Principal
Kia ora koutou,
Ko tēnei taku mihi ki ngā tāngata whenua o te Te Pakuranga-rāhīhī nei. Ka mihi hoki au ki ngā tohu o te rohe nei.
Nō Onewhero au. Ko Broadley raua ko McLellan ōku whānau.
My name is Vinnie McLellan and I am so grateful to be a part of the Pakūranga Heights School whānau.
I am loving getting to know everyone in our kura; from staff, students, and our ngā whānau. Working with all the stakeholders in a school is what makes this job so enjoyable.
Please feel free to come up and have a chat - my door will always be open at Pakūranga Heights, as I am here to serve you and do everything I can to continue to make our school the most effective kura for our kids.
He mihi nui,
Vinnie McLellan
Thank you
A huge thank you to Geoff Stott and his mighty team of enviro warriors for setting and catching in our tree area eight rats and four four possums over the holidays. This not only protects our natural environment but less chance of rats and possums making themselves at home in or under the classrooms.
Art Exhibition
A heartfelt thank you to all the parents who visited our art exhibition in the hall last week. We’re sure you felt as proud as we did seeing your child’s amazing artwork on display. The effort and creativity that went into each piece were truly impressive, and we were blown away by the high standard this year.
Congratulations to the winners of our art competition:
🎉 The Rangi family (Jackson, Room 8)
🎉 The Kuli family (Aanya, Room 19 and Folau, Room 10)
Photolife
On Friday 1st August, starting at 8.45am, PhotoLife will be at school for class, individual and sibling photos.
The sibling photos are scheduled for the morning tea break at 11am (please check with the school office staff for further details) - if you would like your children to have a sibling photo, you will need to collect a sibling photo form from the school office and complete and return by Monday 28th July.
Please note sibling photos are only available to children attending Pakuranga Heights School. Any families wanting sibling photos with children not enrolled at the school, can call PhotoLife on 0800501040 and organise a studio booking placement for this.
Photolife Shoot Keycode card
Approximately 2 weeks after photo day, you child will come home with a Photo Shoot Keycode card. This keycode is a unique individual code for your child. This code is issued for ordering photos online at www.photolife.co.nz.
Please ensure on this day that your child is wearing the correct school uniform.
Celebrating Excellence
In Room 15, our inquiry topic this term is 'Toys, Toys, Toys!' We're diving deep into where toys come from, what they do, and who plays with them.
To start, we had a fantastic time sharing our very own favorite toys with the class. Next, our imaginations soared as we designed our own brand-new toys! We wrote about their names, what amazing superpowers they'd have if they came to life, and who would play with them. We enjoyed creating these and can’t wait to discover more about the wonderful world of toys!
