Middle School West Auckland

Kia ora – With Ms Asafo away this week, I have the privilege to share a few words. Ms Asafo is now a proud grandmother/nana with the arrival of her first granddaughter. Tis the season for grandchildren - Mr and Mrs Cook are expecting the arrival of grandchild number two this weekend and will be heading up north for the auspicious occasion. Congratulations to both!

We are very blessed at Middle School West Auckland to have such a wealth of opportunities to offer our students. As I write this, we have students excitedly engaging with the E-Sports programme and a large number of our year 7 & 8 students participating in the inter-school CM games. More on that to come.

We had the instructors from the Blake Foundation with their virtual headsets here on Tuesday complementing our work on oceans for the year 8s and last Monday we had a trip to the zoo for the Matai year 7s. Last week our year 7 & 8 students also attended a performance by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra at the Aotea Centre. And that's just the last two weeks!

Next week we have a visit planned for the Matai and Rimu year 10 students to the Waitakere District Court, which will supplement their work on law in New Zealand.

We also have some exciting trips planned as part of our education outside of the classroom focus for the second half of term 4, but more on that later.

We have said to the students that their participation in these trips is conditional on attendance and engaging well with their class work, so would appreciate your full support in encouraging and facilitating your children to attend all classes and to be punctual to school at the start of the day.

Nga Mihi

Mr Todd

Thursday 12th November

Mobile Library

Year 10's from JR Court visit

SAVE THE DATE

Thursday 10th December - Prizegiving

Kia ora e te whānau,

We are planning some improvements to our Main Campus to help keep our students, staff and visitors safe.

Improved fencing

With our campus surrounded by carparks and ongoing vehicle traffic, we will be upgrading and extending our fencing. This will create clearer boundaries between our school grounds and nearby traffic, helping students stay within safe areas during the school day.

CCTV installation

We will also be installing CCTV to help monitor areas of the campus that are secluded or outside the usual movement of staff. This will provide another layer of safety by helping alert staff when someone enters an out-of-bounds area, allowing us to respond more quickly.

These improvements will support our everyday supervision and help us maintain a safe, welcoming environment where students can focus on learning.

We will keep you informed as the work progresses, including any temporary changes to campus access. The improvements are expected to take place at the beginning of next year. If it is going to be in place any sooner, you will be informed.

Thank you for your ongoing support in keeping our school community safe.

Last Tuesday we went to the zoo to see some animals. We saw the Kiwi and the Kea. It was really dark, but I saw something move and I think it was a Weta. My favourite animal was the Tiger and the cute little Otters who swam around looking for food - Noah

We saw lots of different animal species. The most fun part was seeing the cheetah and lions. We love their patterns. We also loved seeing the meerkats because the babies were fighting. We were learning about structural, physiological and behavioural adaptations looking specifically at the Kiwi, Tuna and Kea. -Emika and Bahiyyih

Kia ora! I'm Clint Archer, and I'm delighted to be part of the team! I've been teaching for over 20 years, with my adventures taking me from South Africa to the UK, the UAE, and now beautiful New Zealand. Along the way, I've taught everything from primary school to secondary English and History, and I've learnt that a good sense of humour, plenty of patience, and a strong cup of coffee are essential classroom survival tools!

I'm passionate about making learning engaging, encouraging students to believe in themselves, and proving that English can actually be fun!

I'm also a proud husband and dad to a very energetic four-year-old who keeps me on my toes. Speaking of fashion, I have a rather impressive collection of ties and take great delight in entertaining (or possibly embarrassing) staff and students with my daily choices. Some are stylish, some are questionable, but they're always a talking point!

I'm looking forward to getting to know our school whānau and making plenty of wonderful memories along the way!

The New Zealand Ministry of Education has introduced SMART, a new assessment system designed to provide a clearer understanding of students' learning and progress.

Over this week and next week, students in Years 7–10 will complete SMART assessments in Reading, Writing, and Mathematics during their regular class time.

These assessments will help teachers identify students' strengths, recognise areas for improvement, and plan future learning to better support each student's progress.

We encourage all students to do their best!

Our Year 7 and 8 students across all three hapori had the exciting opportunity to take part in a BLAKE VR experience at school.

The session focused on ‘Threats to Our Moana’, where students explored the challenges facing our oceans and marine environments through virtual reality (VR).

Using VR technology, students were able to experience the underwater world and learn about the impact of pollution and human activities on marine life.

It was a fun, engaging, and educational experience that encouraged students to think about how we can protect our oceans for the future.

For our investigation into the Oceans and ocean scientists, Year 8 are looking at the New Zealand Artist Peter James Smith and his many paintings of how the ocean changes and can be so wildly different. Here are some awesome images of their fabulous painting work in progress.

Continuing with their own investigations on the Ocean, the Year 8 class are examining and manipulating recycled model.

These are some of our early experiments in progress, to lighten your recycling bin one bottle at a time!

Year 9 are finding out about some amazing New Zealanders and their lifelong contributions to our community and are creating painted portraits.

Here are some images of work in progress

Come and drop off your old Computers laptops or any batteries in the dedicated bucket at our school this weekend. See you on Saturday!

This term, we’ll send out three surveys inviting whānau to help shape our school’s future.

The first will seek your input into our strategic plan. The second will ask for your thoughts on a complete school rebrand, which we’re working towards for the start of 2027. This could include a new name, vision, uniform and emblem. Most of all, it’s an opportunity to begin the new year with a fresh identity as our own school.

The third survey is part of our Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) work. We want to hear what you think we can do to better support student behaviour and wellbeing.

Every survey you return will put your name into the draw for a fantastic prize. Three surveys returned means three chances to win!

Have your say, have a win.

Kia ora e te whānau,

Enrolments are now open at Middle School West Auckland, and we are welcoming new students now as well as applications for 2027.

We encourage whānau to enrol early, as this helps us plan effectively for the year ahead. Early enrolments provide valuable information about expected student numbers, allowing us to prepare staffing, classes, resources, and learning programmes to best support our students. The sooner we know your child is joining our school, the better prepared we can be to ensure a smooth and successful start.

If you have a child entering Years 7 to 10 in 2027, or know a whānau seeking a caring, supportive, and engaging learning environment, we would love to hear from you.

To enrol:

• Email: admin@westauckland.school.nz
• Complete the online enrolment form at www.westauckland.school.nz
• Phone: 09 972 1744
• Visit us at either:
  • 287 Lincoln Road, Henderson
  • 24 Waipareira Avenue, Henderson

We look forward to welcoming new ākonga and whānau to the Middle School West Auckland community and partnering with you on your child's learning journey.

Please find attached the 2027 Confirmation of Place letter. We kindly ask that you complete and return the letter to the school office either by hand or via email by Friday, 25 September.

Email: admin@westauckland.school.nz

Phone: 09 972-1744

This information is important for our planning and preparation for the 2027 school year.

Thank you for your support and prompt attention to this matter.

If you have changed phone numbers or moved house recently, please let the school know so that we have updated records of every student. This is vital should there be a need to make contact with you in an Emergency.

STAR ATTENDANCE – EVERY DAY COUNTS

At our school, we are committed to supporting every ākonga to attend regularly and thrive in their learning. The STAR Attendance framework helps whānau understand how we work together to support attendance and wellbeing.

It shows what happens at each stage of absence:

🔹 1: Less than 5 days absence
Whānau keep the school updated, establish routines, and ensure daily attendance.

🔸 2: Up to 10 days absence
Our tumuaki will make contact and share attendance data so we can work together on any barriers.

🔶 3: Up to 15 days absence
A hui may be organised with whānau, the school, and support services to create a plan that meets the student's needs.

🔴 4: 15+ days absence

The school is required to escalate the issue, and legal processes may be considered if absences continue without valid reason.

✨ Key message: Regular attendance is crucial for your child’s learning, progress, and wellbeing. We are here to support you every step of the way—please reach out if you need help.

Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow

Waitematā Table Tennis Association is inviting Primary and Intermediate aged students to register for a ten week after school programme starting in the fourth term, from the 9th Oct to the 14th Dec.

Details are provided in the attached flyer, and we would be grateful if this could be distributed via your parent newsletter to all students.

With kind regards

Denise Kent

On behalf of the WTTA Committee

‘Breakfast Club’, ‘KidsCan’ and ‘Fruit in Schools’ support our school whanau by supplying cereals, milk, bread, morning tea snacks and fresh fruit.

Breakfast runs from 7.30am - 8.10am daily

Parking at our JR campus (Lincoln Road) is very limited. When visiting can you please only park in the spaces that are labelled SCHOOL.

DROP OFFS: If you are doing a drop off or pick up, this needs to be done at the back of our school along the right of way. This will then help us in preventing congestion in our front carpark area as this is a shared space.

Email: admin@westauckland.school.nz
Website: www.westauckland.school.nz
Location: 287-289 Lincoln Road, Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand
Phone: 09 9721744
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Middle-School-West-Auckland-664746236980176