"Together we are lifelong CREST learners"
Principal's Message
Hi everyone 
You may be surprised to know that I love my mornings standing on road patrol. Why? Because I get to witness the hugs and “I love you” & “have a great day” messages exchanged behind parents and kids.
Those hugs are super important. When we hug someone we love, our brains release hormones like oxytocin and serotonin, which help us feel happy and connected. This isn’t just a nice gesture; it actually strengthens our relationships and gives our kids a positive start to the day.
This week’s newsletter is HUGE! Keep reading for information on:
- Reporting Schedule for 2025
- Out of Zone Applications
- Growth Mindset – why it’s important at PBS
- School Photo schedule for next week
- Rob Cope’s tips for getting kids to clean up after themselves! (video)
- PTA AGM – come along to tonight’s meeting!
- PBS FUN RUN event!
- Registering for Netball and Hockey
- Year 7 Vision Screening
- New Entrant’s Parent Meeting
- Thanks for a wonderful Touch Rugby season
Before I sign off this newsletter I want to pass on my tremendous gratitude to the teachers of Te Motu syndicate for all the incredible planning, organisation and long hours that went into delivering two fantastic camps down at Bridge Valley in Nelson. Cath, Colin, Teresa, Caty and David – your mahi tahi was nothing short of superb!
To the wonderful team of parent helpers who accompanied students on these camps, thank you for the long days caring for our students and making sure each child got the very most out of their camp experience. We couldn’t offer such experiences without people like yourselves.
Upcoming dates for your awareness:
- Wheels Day Parade – Friday, 28 March
- School Fun Run event – Friday, 11 April
- Last day of term – Friday, 11 April
- First day of Term 2 – TUESDAY, 29 April
Ngā mihi nui,
Jess Ward
Principal – Tumuaki
P.S. Got a suggestion? Let us know through our online suggestion box.
PRINCIPAL’S C.R.E.S.T CORNER:
At PBS we champion our school C.R.E.S.T values in everything we do.
Curiosity. Respect. Excellence. Self Management. Teamwork
Thanks to the amazing Sports Ambassadors who helped set up and pack up gear for the school picnic last week. Your enthusiasm, diligence and self-management were highly valued. As a result of your mahi others had a wonderful time at our annual summer picnic. Tu Meke tatou!
Additional thanks to all the families who made it along to the picnic; we hope you had an enjoyable time.
Welcome to Our Recent New Students
There were no new students this week
Have You Checked Out Our Community Notices Directory?
Do you need to advertise your business, an upcoming event, need child care, or looking for a gift or new club to join? Check out the PBS Community Directory on our website https://kapiti.pbs.school.nz/
Reporting to Parents - 2025
At PBS reporting to parents on children’s progress and achievement will be ongoing throughout the school year. This means you will receive a termly update (via HERO) rather than a mid-year and end of year report.
We have developed a termly schedule for reporting which is aligned with the core curriculum areas of Literacy and Mathematics. The schedule also allows for reporting on the other curriculum areas, and the school’s CREST values.
The schedule is as follows:
TERM | You will receive: |
Terms 1 & 3 | A general update regarding your child. This update may include information about their attitude to learning, their behaviour and social needs, diligence etc You will also receive between 1-5 ‘Learning Journal’ posts about classroom learning throughout the term. These posts may include photos, examples of work, updates on other curriculum learning (e.g. the arts, technology, inquiry learning etc) and CREST values. Please note:
|
Terms 2 & 4 | An update on your child’s maths progress. This update may also include next learning steps and what you can do at home to support your child. An update on your child’s literacy progress. This update may also include next learning steps and what you can do at home to support your child. You will also receive between 1-5 ‘Learning Journal’ posts about classroom learning throughout the term. These posts may include photos, examples of work, updates on other curriculum learning (e.g. the arts, technology, inquiry learning etc) and CREST values. Please note:
|
Out of Zone Applications
Twice a year we will call for applications for five year old new entrants who haven’t started school yet and are living out of the school zone. The next round of applications will open on 26 March 2025 and will close at 4pm on 5 May 2025. This will be for five year old children due to start school during the second half of 2025.
If you have a five year old new entrant due to start school during this time, then please contact the office on 298 5775 and we will arrange for you to receive application papers. If you have already been in touch with your details, then we will email out the forms to you from 26 March.
Using Māori Language at Home
Learning another language provides many benefits including greater academic achievement, greater cognitive development, and more positive attitudes towards other languages and cultures. So, let’s give it a go and help to revitalise this unique language to Aotearoa for our tamariki. Each week our newsletter will include words or phrases that you might like to try out at your kāinga/home.
Kīwaha (idiom)
A super simple saying that you can use in your everyday conversations.
Mīharo – Wonderful
Growth Mindset
At PBS we want students to embrace challenges with perseverance and resilience. They can do this and achieve this by having a Growth Mindset rather than a Fixed Mindset. What’s the difference and why is it important?
Students with a Fixed Mindset believe that some people are simply born smart. They think that skills, talents and intelligence are reserved for some people and not for others. They may believe that they are not smart and there’s no way they can fix that. If a student thinks this way then they may resist learning, they may avoid tasks they think are too hard and give up easily, they may not have the drive to push through mistakes to learn a skill, and they may take teacher feedback as a personal criticism. These students may opt into or stick with tasks that they know they can be successful with, rather than pushing themselves that little bit further.
Students with a Growth Mindset believe that with practise, time and effort anyone can improve and develop new skills. They are open to teacher feedback because it gives them pointers for growth. They understand that sometimes we make mistakes but understand that mistakes also help us to learn. They attempt tasks with more positivity and confidence, and are more likely to try again after a set-back.
This video may help you and your child understand this concept more clearly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUJkbWNnNy4
School Photos - 25 & 26 March
Class photos and individual portraits will be taken on Tuesday, 25 March & Wednesday, 26 March (Week 9). Reminder: there will be no team/group photos this year due to low purchase demand. We recommend if your child is playing in a school team to please take photos during the season.
Photo Schedule | |
Tuesday, 25 March | Wednesday, 26 March |
Te Motu (Years 7 & 8) Syndicate Ngaru (Years 3 & 4) Syndicate | Tātahi (Years 1 & 2) Syndicate Te Moana (Years 5 & 6) Syndicate |
See a sample copy of the order form below for instructions on how to order. Order forms were sent to classrooms today.
Rob Cope - The One Trick That Gets Kids To Tidy Up - No More Nagging!
Parenting is hard enough—we don’t need to make it harder by constantly chasing our kids to tidy up. The endless reminders, the pushback, the frustration… it’s exhausting. But what if there was a way to make tidying up effortless? There’s one simple trick that makes tidying easy—no more nagging, no more battles!
Click on the image below to watch https://youtu.be/HO7_S3Hj3tQ
Massey University Parent Survey
Thank you from the Massey University Evaluation Team who have been onsite surveying some of our classes in regards to the Healthy Active Learning programme. This is a Sport NZ initiative that our school has been part of since 2022.
You can still take part in the online survey, if you haven’t already. The Massey Team are keen to gather parent/whānau voice. The link to the survey can be found here. There is a $100 supermarket voucher up for grabs for anyone who completes the survey and enters the draw!
Join Us for the PTA AGM Tonight – Your School Needs You!
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of our PTA will be held on 18 March (tonight) at 7.30pm in the school staffroom. This is an important opportunity to learn more about the events and initiatives we support throughout the year, and to get involved in shaping the future
of our school community!
We’re always looking for new members to join our PTA team; fresh faces and new ideas help us continue to make a positive impact for our students and teachers. Whether you have a lot of time to dedicate, or just want to help out now and then, your involvement makes a difference.
If you have any questions or want more information, please feel free to contact Sandy Saunders: sandys@pbs.school.nz or Di Puati: dpuati@pbs.school.nz
We hope to see you there!
Fun Run
At PBS we are holding our awesome FUN RUN event on the last day of term (Friday, 11 April) at 1.30pm. There will be lots of cool activities like the slip and slide, a dance off, colour run, pool of bubbles, lots of different fun activities and of course the fire truck to hose kids off at the end. Your child will need to wear old clothes that you don’t mind colour getting on, as well as bring a towel and change of clothes.
All the funds raised from this event will be put towards a large permanent sports canopy over the stage area on the field. This will enable the school to make use of the stage all year round, as well as an outdoor field space that can be used rain or shine.
After lots of discussion, the PTA have decided to change the fun run up a bit this year. We are going to have an old-fashioned sponsorship form (on paper) and a different price structure. This is because in previous years we have had an external company managing the payments and prizes, resulting in a big portion of our hard earned funds going to them. This year, we have four individual prizes to give out to the students who raise the most money from their sponsorships. These prizes will be in the form of a voucher from their favourite store (EB Games, Rebel, Warehouse, Sterling Sports etc).
- 1st prize will be $200
- 2nd prize will be $150
- 3rd prize will be $100
- 4th prize will be $50
But wait, there will also be a class prize; yummy pizza for lunch for the class that raises the most money. This will be delivered to the winning class in Term 2 after all the sponsorship money has been collected.
It is going to be so much fun! Parents and whānau members are more than welcome to come and watch the kids in action. Just remember, don’t send your child in their good clothes!
New Entrant Parent Information Presentation – Tātahi Syndicate
A New Entrant Parent Information Presentation will be held for all parents of new children this Friday, 28 March from 10am – 10.30am in the school staffroom.
This session will:
- provide an overview of the ‘Transition to School’
- provide an overview of the New Entrant Programme in reading, writing and mathematics
- highlight how you can help at home with learning, and explain the purpose of the
Home Learning Books
In Tātahi Syndicate, we believe that successful partnerships between home and school are established when both parties have a shared expectation and knowledge of their child’s learning. We would love to see you there.
Year 7 Vision Screening Programme
Te Whatu Ora, Health NZ provides a vision screening programme for all Year 7 students and will be at our school on 19 March.
Vision – pupils will be advised of results at the time of screening. If further assessment is recommended, you will be notified by mail.
Children who wear glasses and/or are under professional care and have regular checks will not require a vision check from our service.
Non-consent – please notify the school if you do not want your child being screened. This screening is not a full assessment of your child’s vision. If you have any concerns, please see an optometrist.
Te Moana Syndicate Fundraising
Easter Raffle
Te Moana Syndicate are selling raffle tickets for Easter – $2 a ticket and you could win one of three baskets full of Easter and holiday treats!
Hot Cross Buns for Sale
Iceblocks for Sale
Iceblocks will be for sale on Wednesday lunchtimes for $1 each.
Netball
Year 7 – Year 8 students who have returned their netball forms, please remember you have trials this Friday (21 March) 3.15pm at school. You need to be wearing appropriate footwear and have all your jewellery removed. Also, don’t forget your drink bottle.
Year 3 – Year 6 students – if you are keen to play you still have time to bring back your registration form. These need to be at school by Thursday, 27 March.
Touch Rugby
This week is the final round of the 2024/25 touch rugby season. Thank you to the Kapiti Junior Touch Association for all of their organisation and coordination. Well done to all of our players who participated positively and with loads of energy. Congratulations to our PBS student referees for stepping up and taking on this role. It can be pretty daunting, but you did us proud.
And finally a massive thank you to our volunteer parent coaches for giving up their time and supporting our tamariki – some of our coaches took on 2 teams!
Our PBS Super Star Coaches were:
John Macneilage, Daphne & Adam Thomson, Michelle Ferris, Maddy Gordon, Dane Coles, Nathan Wood, Paul Ransfield, Craig Thomson, Dave Chester, Natasha Denison & Clare Pringle, Paul Steinmetz and Rebecca Rolls.
Schools vs Schools Tournament
We have 4 teams competing in the Schools vs Schools touch tournament this Sunday, 9:30am at Mazengarb Park. Coaches will have already communicated the following with you if you have a child representing the school at this event, but just as a reminder, players will need the following:
A school shirt and navy blue or black shorts, suitable footwear, warm clothes for if the weather turns wet/cold, a drink bottle, a packed lunch and their CREST values. Good Luck everyone. Karawhiua!
Hockey Registrations are Coming!
The hockey season is just around the corner, and we have some awesome “Have a Go” taster sessions in school this week for Years 3-6. Registrations for school hockey will open next week. We will post a link in the newsletter, and email home to the parents of students who have expressed an interest.
- Mini Funsticks will start on Sunday, 4 May and will run for Term Two only, finishing on Sunday, 29 June. There will be no hockey King’s Birthday weekend.
- Year 3/4’s skills sessions will start on Sunday, 4 May with two weeks of skills sessions. The last games will be Sunday, 13 August. There will be no hockey King’s Birthday weekend, or 6 & 13 July.
- Year 7/8’s skills sessions will be on Tuesday, 6 May with the competition starting Tuesday, 13 May. Last games will be played on Tuesday, 12 August.
- Year 5/6’s skills sessions will be on Wednesday, 7 May with the competition starting Wednesday, 14 May. Last games will be played on Wednesday, 13 August.
Any questions – please contact Caty Spencer on cspencer@pbs.school.nz
Recent Student Achievements
Softball: Lucas, Jackson and Fabian have had a stella season for their under 11 softball team. Not only did their team win the Under 11 Rookie tournament a few weeks ago, their team has taken out the Under 11 title for the whole Wellington Region. Well done!
Future Student Achievements
If your child has an achievement you would like us to share in our newsletter, then please send details (and a picture if you would like) to mbarfoote@pbs.school.nz
Inclusive Whānau Network
Join the PBS Whānau Rōpu
Waitārere Forest Run
