"Together we are lifelong CREST learners"
Principal's Message
Kia ora koutou
Thank you for making alternative child-care arrangements for your children on Friday, enabling our staff to have a teacher-only day.
Our teachers spent the day exploring how we can continue to strengthen writing outcomes for our students. The focus was on understanding the refreshed English Curriculum and examining evidence-based approaches to writing instruction.
Teachers explored the important role that handwriting, sentence construction, grammar, and punctuation play in developing confident writers. We discussed current research showing that fluent handwriting supports students to focus more on generating and organising their ideas, rather than the mechanics of writing itself.
Staff also investigated effective strategies for teaching sentence structure and building writing stamina. We shared successful practices already being used in classrooms, explored methods of assessment, and reviewed a range of tools that can support writing development.
Overall, this day of professional learning provided valuable opportunities for collaboration, discussion, and planning as we continue working together to help every PBS kid to grow as a writer.
NB: For your awareness, PBS has two further teacher-only days for 2026; Term 3 – Wednesday, 29 July for Learning Conferences, and Term 4 – Friday, 23 October for our second Curriculum day (as gifted by the Minister for Education).
Keep reading this newsletter for information on:
- Board Term 2 Update
- Ministry of Education Statement on 2026 Reporting
- PULSE – Wellbeing check in tool
- Road safety – please don’t use driveways as drop offs or turning areas
Upcoming dates of importance:
- Wednesday, 10 June – Roti and sauce available for pick up from Te Motu fundraiser
- Friday, 12 June – Te Motu fundraising hotdog lunch (note change in date)
Kia wana te rā,
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
While all the teachers were deep in their learning on Friday, Paula and Marie were busy in the office creating our student council hoodies. Wow!
Aren’t we lucky to have such creative staff members, who show that teamwork gets the job done…and with flair too.
Welcome to Our Recent New Students
Nathan, Ruben, Ezra, Blaquelyn, Mateo and Kaiden – Rm 22; Zoe and Nihaan – Rm 26
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 Update from the Ministry of Education
Statement from the Ministry of Education to Support Schools with Reporting to Parents and Whānau:
We have introduced new curriculum documents this year for Maths & Statistics and English for Years 0–10.
This means we are currently changing from the old to the new curriculum. We want to acknowledge that schools and kura will only have been using the new curriculum from the start of 2026, which includes new teaching and assessment methods and content.
Because of this, you could see a change in your child’s progress or achievement compared to previous years, which may be the result of changes in the curriculum expectations for your child’s year level.
If you have concerns or questions about your child’s achievement, we strongly suggest talking with your child’s teacher or kaiako. They will also have used their own observations, classroom tasks and other tests when reporting on the progress your child or tamaiti is making.
School Board Update - Term 2, 2026
Kia ora students, whānau and our wider school community, we hope you had a lovely long weekend. Below is a quick update from your Board as we head towards the middle of the year.
Policy and Governance
We’ve completed a review of end of year achievement data and PAT testing to identify measurable gains in the progress of our students.
Property and School Environment
Recently completed projects:
- The project to fully refurbish the four senior bathrooms attached to Rooms 13 – 16 has now been completed, and students are already enjoying these greatly improved facilities. While the Ministry funding allocated to the project would only have covered the refurbishment of two bathrooms, the Board was committed to completing all four at the same time and to a high standard for our students. To make this possible the Board made a targeted contribution to cover the shortfall.
- In Term 1 work was carried out to rescrew the roofs of classrooms in our junior block. We hope this work ensures these are weathertight come the winter months.
- Using a top-up of Property Maintenance funding, we have completed a Security Upgrade to ensure our systems continue to function effectively.
- Our property manager, JT, has been working hard on a number of projects around the school, ensuring the pool, grounds, and facilities are all in good condition.
Continuing projects:
- The landscaping work you may have seen near the stage is being completed using the remaining Stanley Goodwright grant funding which was provided for this landscaping project. All students have also been given opportunities to get involved in maintaining our garden spaces and helping to keep them looking their best.
- The Covered Outdoor Learning Area (COLA) project is progressing. Due to the required consents, Ministry approvals, and fundraising model, this will necessarily be a long-term project to ensure sustainability for the school. The Board would like to convey our grateful thanks to the PTA for their input and amazing fundraising efforts, and our community for their donations, to begin Stage 1 – Design and Consent.
Finance & Stewardship
We continue to exercise prudent financial management and ensure that resources are allocated responsibly. Significant initiatives are subject to Board oversight to confirm they are appropriately planned and financially viable. Despite increasing operational expenses, the school remains in a sound and stable fiscal position. The 2026 Budget has been approved by the Board.
Our 2024 Auditors recommendations reflected no high risks and have been accepted by the Board. The 2025 Audit is currently underway.
Our Amazing Staff
Our year so far has brought challenges, but our focus on growing our community, building resilience, and striving for excellence has remained steady. Thanks to the strong teamwork between staff, the Board, and our wider community, Paraparaumu Beach School continues to be a place where everyone benefits from kindness and inclusion, and can learn and achieve. On behalf of the Board, we want to thank our dedicated staff and our supportive school community for everything you contribute.
We look forward to keeping you updated.
Nga mihi nui
Sarah Hinder-Boyd (Presiding Member) on behalf of Paraparaumu Beach School Board
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.
Here are some essential kupu that you may hear ia ra (everyday)
Give these phrases a try this week:
Hei ākuanei tāua kōrereo ai – Speak soon
Ngā manaakitanga – All the best
Tēnā koe i ō whakaaro – Thank you for sharing
He mea nui tēnā – That means a lot
Pulse Wellbeing Check-in Tool
At PBS, we’re always looking for ways to keep our tamariki safe and support their emotional wellbeing as part of their overall hauora. To strengthen this, we’ll be introducing Pulse in Week 8 of Term 2 for our Year 4-8 students.
What is Pulse?
Pulse is a regular wellbeing check-in tool that gives our tamariki a simple, private, and consistent way to share how they’re feeling. It supports the development of mindfulness and emotional awareness, building on the work we already do to nurture these skills as part of our school values.
Pulse also strengthens our focus on the social and emotional learning curriculum, which helps children recognise and self-regulate their emotions.
Through Pulse, we aim to support:
- Students to feel safe seeking help and sharing how they feel
- Increased understanding and vocabulary around feelings and emotions
- Opportunities for students to have a voice and offer feedback to the school
- Development of self-regulation, reflection, and calming strategies
- Greater understanding of gratitude and empathy
Why are we using Pulse?
Through building strong emotional foundations and teaching our children to communicate and express themselves, Pulse will help our students with life-long skills, supporting them to recognise, share, and manage their feelings. Pulse uses an evidence-based framework to help schools understand and support student wellbeing. The data it provides, visible only to selected staff, will help us offer more timely and targeted support to individual students, classes, and year levels.
For further detailed information about Pulse and how it works, please refer to the HERO post sent out Thursday, 28 May.
Parenting Corner
The organisation Real Parents have created a resource for parents around emotional regulation. Many tamariki are navigating big feelings right now – frustration, disappointment, excitement, worry, friendship struggles, tiredness, and overwhelm.
And sometimes when we talk about “emotional regulation”, it can accidentally sound like we expect children to always be calm, compliant, quiet, and never show emotion.
The resource below explores the idea that emotional regulation is not about never feeling angry or upset. It’s about learning, over time, how to express emotions safely, recover after hard moments, reconnect, ask for help, and feel supported through those emotions.
Road Safety
Unfortunately, there has been an increase in the number of vehicles who are using the school driveway and our neighbours’ driveways in the mornings to either turn around or drop-off children.
PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS as it is highly unsafe for pedestrians, our road patrol team and other drivers. What are the dangers?
- Young pedestrians using the footpath might walk behind your car, without your awareness, making them more susceptible to serious injury.
- Your vehicle may block the vision of road patrol students, impacting their ability to make safe decisions.
- A vehicle backing out of a driveway can cause additional traffic congestion, especially for other drivers who are pulling into the ‘drop and go’.
- Turning in the school driveway, impedes staff from accessing the staff carpark, causing a hold up in traffic.
Thank you in advance for adhering to this request for safer driver behaviour.
Te Motu Camp 2027 - Roti & Sauce Fundraiser
Thank you to all of those that have purchased Roti and Sauce. These will be available for collection on Wednesday, 10 June. More information will be sent out closer to the time.
Te Motu Camp 2027 - Hotdogs (Note Change of Date)
Hotdogs are available for sale on Kindo again and will close on Wednesday, 10 June at midnight for lunch on Friday, 12 June. Cost is $4 each.
Lost Property
There is a lot of lost property in the lost property room. If your tamariki are missing anything please check. All unclaimed lost property will be donated at the end of term.
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
