Newsletter 28th October 2025 - Amended, including run sheet Cultural Evening

From the Principal

With Spring here, the days are warmer and longer. It's the perfect time to build healthy habits! We encourage you to think about having your child walk to school. If a full walk isn't possible, you can still help by using our "Park and Walk" approach:

• Park a few blocks away from the school gates.
• Walk the rest of the way with your child.

This simple change offers big benefits:

• Boosts Health: A little exercise helps your child start the day energized and healthy.
• Builds Friendships: It gives children a chance to socialize with schoolmates outside of the schoolyard.
• Reduces Congestion: It significantly eases the busy traffic and chaos right outside our gates, making drop-off safer for everyone.

Keeping Our Kids Safe 

We know that mornings and afternoons are incredibly busy for every family BUT we must ensure that road rules are followed to keep our children safe. Safety is our shared priority.

Safety at Pedestrian Crossings

We have teachers and crossing patrols assisting before and after school every day. Parking rules and proper procedures are in place solely to protect our children.

To support their vital work:

• Please do not call your child to cross the road to your parked car.
• Encourage your child to use the designated pedestrian crossings at school exits.

Important: Zero Tolerance Enforcement

When drivers stop in the wrong place to drop off or pick up, they put the safety of children at serious risk.

Please be aware that parking officers are sometimes on patrol outside the school. The agreed approach for illegal parking is 'zero tolerance' - meaning no warnings will be issued.  Likewise any complaints made by the school or public with photographic evidence will treated in the same manner.

You will receive a ticket if you are found to be:

• Double-parked
• Parked on yellow lines
• Blocking a driveway
• Or committing any other vehicle safety offense.

Thank you for helping us keep our school environment safe for everyone.

Piwakawaka Mufti Day

Congratulations to Piwakawaka house who won the Good Buzz draw at our Values Assembly in Week 2.  They have won themselves a mufti day!

If your child is in Piwakawaka house, they may come to school in mufti on Thursday 30 October. 

Cultural Festival Update

Pakuranga Heights School Cultural Festival - Wednesday 5 November

We are looking forward to hosting our school community at the cultural evening on Wednesday 5 November.

This is an extravaganza of cultural performances by our wonderful students and local talent.  The evening will include a cultural parade, dance items, singing, kapa haka performances and much more.

This year, we are having a "picnic in the park" theme, so bring along the whole whanau, picnic blanket, picnic dinner and get ready to be entertained.  Arrive early to find a picnic spot. On the night the PTA will be selling food and drinks.

The festival will begin at 5pm and will finish at approximately 7.30pm.

All students are expected to attend and perform on the night.

We look forward to sharing a wonderful community night with you.

Clarification on Cultural Mufti Day 

Cultural Evening day - 5th November, will not be a mufti-day, this has been replaced with International Day (see details below).

International Day

We're excited to announce that on Friday, November 7th, students are welcome to come to school dressed in clothing that represents their culture!

This special day will be a highlight of our inquiry learning celebrations. It’s an opportunity for students to share and celebrate what makes their cultures unique and special with their classmates and teachers.

More information about our Open Day will be shared closer to the date.

Celebrating Excellence

Enviro News

The pest control group at our school has been hard at work over the last couple of weeks. We started by nailing cardboard filled with peanut butter to attract pests and see where they were hanging out the most. After the holidays, we took a look at these spots. Then, with the help of Mr Fraser, Miss Gray, and Miss Bell, we built some awesome traps. 

Cultural Group

The school was buzzing with festive spirit as Pakuranga Heights celebrated Diwali! Some of our incredibly talented senior students showed off their amazing henna skills, designing beautiful patterns during the lunchtime break.

Teachers also got involved, lending a hand (with perhaps a little less artistic flair than the students!). Students from all over the school happily lined up and came away with stunning henna designs, which they proudly showed off to their friends and family. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the Festival of Lights, and we hope everyone enjoyed the festivities!

School Uniform

From the Community

Get Job Market Ready for 2026

Whether you're thinking of re-entering the workforce or wanting access to better opportunities, this workshop is for you. Auckland has the highest unemployment rate in the country so, getting seen in a crowded job market is more important than ever.In just 60 minutes learn how to build a diverse job seeking strategy across online job applications, recruitment agents, networking and referrals to maximise your opportunities. Understand how to leverage LinkedIn and network the right way to not just get 'seen', but 'heard', cutting through the noise of online job applications and land your ideal role faster.

This event will be run on school grounds (room TBC), on Monday 3rd November 1.45-2.45pm.

Secure your spot via the QR code in the flyer. See you there!

Eugenia Nenko