MENPS News

Kia ora koutou

These are always a highlight, and an opportunity not only for oral language, but also experience of many aspect of The Arts that continue to be essential foundations within the curriculum. We look forward to sharing more about these performances soon!

There has been recent media attention and political debate around the government's proposal to ban social media for under 16's, in a Policy that would echo similar moves in Australia.

The study found that younger children tend to use YouTube, gaming and streaming, while social media becomes much more prominent from about 12–14 onwards, and is particularly prevalent among 15–17-year-olds.

There are many who would argue for some potential benefits, including friendship and connection, belonging, creativity, information, learning and participation, but parents would be well aware of the identified risks and issues of cyberbullying, harmful content, contact with strangers, exploitation, mental health issues, misinformation, privacy concerns and confirmation bias built into algorithmic content by design (as is also true of emerging AI models).

There is also no doubt that mitigating these concerns can be very challenging for parents, with online safety becoming considerably more difficult as children enter adolescence. Peer pressure can mean that children who do not participate in popular platforms can feel excluded from online environments popular with so many young people.

For children of Primary School age, however, the problem has a simple answer. No child should have access to any social media platform under the recommended age (usually at least 13), or unsupervised access to the internet more generally (including YouTube).

Aside from the age recommendations and any policy debate, it is clear that use of social media requires a degree of digital citizenship, maturity and resilience that young children are not well equipped for.

Whatever your own views on the pros and cons of social media, the key message is that no children at this stage of their development should be using Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat or similar platforms (or age-inappropriate video games), with particular caution also taken with access to YouTube without supervision and/or age controls.

With some of our students entering the Auckland Primary & Intermediate Snowsports Championship this year, we congratulate Everleigh (2nd Place Y0-2) and Ashley Zhong (1st Place Y3-4) for their outstanding performance - a very impressive result!

Ka kite anō i a koutou

Alan Jackson, Principal

Please be advised that Friday, 23rd October (before Labour Weekend) has been designated as a Teacher Only Day this year. This day is a government-mandated Curriculum day to continue work integrating new curriculum changes.

School will be closed for instruction for this day, so you will need to make alternative arrangements (SKiDs available).

Friday 4th September:

PTA Second Hand Uniform Shop - 8:15am - 9:15am

Tuesday 8th September:

Choir Rehearsal at ANI - 9:30am - 1:00pm

Year 4-6 Senior Assembly - 2:15pm - 2:45pm

Saturday 12th September:

PTA Parent Social and Online Fundraiser - see details under MENPS PTA

If there is a MENPS family who visits Mt Roskill local library, next time you go if we could kindly ask you to please collect one of our readers that has been returned there by mistake and bring it back to us.

This would be much appreciated.

Walking to school is a wonderful New Zealand tradition and a great way to connect with others in the community, start the day with some fresh air and exercise, and help reduce morning drop off congestion. Most importantly, our walking school bus provides children with a safe and supervised way to walk to school alongside their friends.

In collaboration with Auckland Transport, MENPS currently has a ‘Henley Route’ walking school bus running 4 times a week in the morning only. A huge thank you to our wonderful parent volunteers, who give their time to make these routes work.

Thinking of joining?

We'd love to welcome new walkers, but please be aware that joining a Walking School Bus also means being willing to support the route as a parent volunteer from time to time. This might only be an occasional morning, depending on the number of parents who are able to help, or if you are unable to give your morning, we are in need of someone to manage the admin side of things. The more volunteers we have, the less frequently each person needs to do a walk.

To sign your child up:

1. Please collect a Walking School Bus sign-up sheet from Shannon at the school office.

2. Complete the form and return it to the office.

3. The completed form will be passed on to Lucy, who liaises with AT and our current Walking School Bus whanau.

4. We will then confirm your child's place once we have ensured that we have a safe and appropriate parent-to-child ratio on the route.

If you have any questions or are keen to start up another route, contact Lucy at lucym@mteden.school.nz .

Year 5 and 6 parents - the wait is over!! 🥳🥳 The online auction is now live for the Year 5 & Year 6 showcase VIP seats. 🪑✨ Spread the word!

👉 Start bidding here: https://galabid.com/menps26

Feel free to share the link with other MENPS PTA parents who might want to get in early.

🏆 Happy bidding! And shout if you have any questions. Thanks!

Looking for amazing activities, experiences and offers for the whole family? Check Galabid every week for exciting new listings and fantastic deals.

🎉 Get your holiday programme sorted — with amazing offers for the whole family!

Don’t miss amazing offers updated weekly!

👉 Explore this week’s listings on Galabid ( https://app.galabid.com/menps26/items )

Lost the artworks code?

Not to worry, The artworks initiative has been extended. New flyers went out last week with individual codes.

If you already placed your order, all is well and it will likely go out during early term 4.

Want to place another order? You can still do so with your previous code. Perfect Christmas gift ideas!

Meet the entertainment by “the Conartists” who have created a fun comedy show for our themed event!

It’s time for parents to let their inner child out! Join us on Saturday 12 September, 7–11:30pm at Rocky Nook Irish Club for a fun night of dancing, entertainment, pizzas, raffles, spot prizes and live auctions — all while fundraising for MENPS.

Come dressed as your childhood dream and bring your friends along! 🎟️ Tickets are now available via myKindo — simply log in, select Mt Eden Normal Primary School, choose Parent Social Event, and purchase an individual ticket or book a table of 8. Everyone is welcome!

Our second-hand uniform shop is urgent need of all sizes to be donated.

If your child has outgrown any clean, good-quality uniforms in these sizes and others, we’d be incredibly grateful for your donation. Your generosity helps keep school uniforms affordable and supports families in our school community.

Donations can be dropped off:

* At the school office during school hours

* At the hall during late afternoon/evening pick-ups

* At the PTA room during Uniform Shop opening hours

Thank you for helping us keep our Uniform Shop stocked and supporting our MENPS whānau!

Please bring in your Yummy Apple sticker collection sheets! Please hand them in to your child’s classroom teacher by Friday, 4th September.
All sheets received by this date will count towards our 2026 total.

Note: Sheets do not need to be full — every sticker collected makes a difference!

Thank you for your help and support with collecting stickers this year!

• 8.15 - 9.15am (4TH SEPT.)
• In the PTA Room: follow signs from Valley Rd gatesR
• Order by emailing Kitty at menpspta@gmail.com.
• Pay via Cash or Bank transfer

Email menpspta@gmail.com I Follow us on Facebook

Refer to the PTA website for information on the various fundraising and community activities

Co-Chairs Svantje Reiber and Sunny Nathu

Secretary Chantal Brunner

Treasurers Minaxi Chandra and Victoria Couto

PTA Advisor Chantal Brunner

Communications Gina Miao

School Representative Hilary Edwards

Full team of amazing parents/caregivers listed here

Are you a former student or staff member of Ellerslie School? We welcome you to be a part of our Alumni community!

Please join us in celebrating our history - share your memories with us and connect with past whānau of Ellerslie School.

If you would like to be kept up to date on all the festivities to celebrate our special 150th birthday occasion to be held in 2027, please sign up to our database by completing this form:

https://forms.gle/X1QTFxnRcNGpPyfK9

Please sign up to our Ellerslie School Alumni Facebook page with an Instagram page coming soon: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61582768932221

If you have any queries please email: alumni@ellerslie.school.nz.