Newsletter 2025/39

Kia our PBS whānau

As we wrap up 2025, I just want to say a huge ngā mihi to my amazing staff and our incredibly supportive parent community. This year has been full of great learning inside and outside of the four classroom walls.  When our Board members and I reflected back on all we have achieved, under our strategic goals, at last night’s meeting, we couldn’t help but be full of gratitude and pride. 

Here is a summary of some of our achievements;

Under Goal 1: Growing Community, we made some big steps forward in how we keep everyone informed and connected. Having moved to the HERO platform in January, staff are pleased with the way this software enables us to share learning, updates, and celebrations. Parents and whānau have been so supportive as we’ve settled into this new system, and our staff have worked hard to make reporting clear and meaningful. We also offered a great range of parent education opportunities, from AI workshops to Kathryn Berkett’s session and the Inclusive Whānau Network, helping grow our understanding of children’s needs and education. Our commitment to Te Ao Māori also grew stronger this year through professional learning with Matenga Baker, Waiata Māori sessions, Kapa Haka, Matariki celebrations, and our Board’s ongoing commitment to upholding te Tiriti o Waitangi.

In Goal 2: Building Resilience, PBS students really stood out! They tackled challenges with real determination and a growth mindset, whether it involved Inquiry Learning projects, Year 7-8 SWAT (Study with another Teacher) programme, school/interschool/regional/ national sports events, Kiwi Academic competitions, various performances, debating and speech comps, EPro8 challenge, or one of the many other opportunities on offer. Camps, gymnastic programmes, tournaments, fundraising (e.g. School’s Fun Run) and student-led initiatives brought out the best in them. Staff also continued their learning about wellbeing and trauma-informed strategies to support healthy, happy learners.

And with Goal 3: Achieving Personal Excellence, we saw huge commitment from our staff to grow their practice. From Structured Literacy and Numicon Maths, to Autism NZ training and HERO webinars, our teachers and support staff kept building their knowledge to give students the very best learning experiences. Our school CREST values were visible everywhere: in assemblies, sportsmanship, Learning Through Play, leadership roles, and those everyday moments that make our school culture so strong.

To my staff, thank you for your incredible teamwork, humour, and hard work this year. You have been faced with many curriculum, resource and reporting changes and/or complexities, which you have handled with integrity. 

To our parents, whānau, Board and PTA, thank you for backing us, showing up, volunteer-ing, and supporting us every step of the way. 

And to our wonderful students, thank you for bringing your curiosity and energy to school.  You make PBS such a special place.

Have a wonderful summer break and Christmas everyone!

Please keep reading this newsletter for information on:

• Reminder about End of Year Reporting
• Prizegiving event for students in Years 5-8

Upcoming dates of importance:

• Tonight – Year 8 Farewell dinner
• Wednesday, 10 December – Whole school End of Year Assembly 9.15am – All Welcome
• Tuesday, 16 December – Prizegiving and the last day of the school year.  School closes at 12.30pm

Ngā mihi nui

Jess Ward
Principal – Tumuaki

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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 

Over the weekend, PBS student Mitchell set up a stall at the Ōtaki Kids Market, selling festive goodies and offering back scratches with his very own “festive scratching stick” — all for a gold coin donation!

Yesterday he proudly returned to school with $38 raised for our PBS Aroha Fund. What a wonderful act of generosity and heart. Ka rawe, Mitchell — thank you for spreading kindness in our community!