2026 Newsletter - Week 1, Term 1 | Smore Newsletters for Education

PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

Kia ora koutou,

Welcome back to everyone! An especially warm welcome if you are a new family to Greenmeadows School. This year promises to be a very exciting one with a couple of significant changes for our school. We have a short week ahead of us of only four school days. Our school will obviously be closed on Friday with it being Waitangi Day. Thursday promises to be a big day with our planned waharoa blessing at 6.00am that morning. We also hold our mihi whakatau for new families to our school community.

We are producing this newsletter as a ONE PAGE DOUBLE SIDED hard copy - it will be the only whole school newsletter that appears in a paper format this year. Today your child will also get a notice outlining all the sport choices for Term 1 2026. If your child wants to play sports this term, getting registrations back ASAP (ie this week ) is vital.

Below there are some brief instructions for parents and whānau how to be able to access our new software for sharing information - HERO. This will have school newsletters in the future. We will also publish newsletters on the gms.school.nz website. HERO allows us to send messages directly to families and links into the actual activities that their children are specifically involved in.

From this point on we will be discontinuing with the GMS App, as well as Seesaw. The GMS Facebook page will still continue as it has. Our website will be a continued source of information about our school, including the school calendar of events. Big changes I know!

WAHAROA AT GMS

This Saturday just gone a keen crew, led by school parent Bernie Kirton, assembled and put in place the school's newly carved waharoa. The waharoa is now covered until a blessing ceremony, which will take place this coming Thursday.

WAHAROA BLESSING

Thursday 5th February 2026. 6.00am

If you are able to join us for the karakia and blessing, please meet outside the school gates on Osier Road at 5.50am.

MIHI WHAKATU FOR NEW STUDENTS AND WHĀNAU

On Thursday 5th February we will have a mihi whakatau to formally welcome new students and their families. The mihi whakatau will commence at 9.10am. If your whanau is new to our school, or a younger sibling has enrolled this year, we wish to invite you.

If you are able to attend, you are invited to assemble in front of the main gate between 9.00am and 9.10am. The welcome will take place in the hall.

Kai will follow the welcome ceremony in the staffroom, which you are warmly invited to.

We look forward to seeing you along if you are able to make it.

HERO

This year our school has switched to a new way of sharing information with our community. A number of local schools also use HERO, as well as many throughout New Zealand. We have decided to make this change for 2026, and as of today it is in use.

These are changes for you to be aware of:

- you can download the HERO app to your phone

- the HERO app will give access to school newsletters, other notices and information about events

- you can notify absences through the HERO app

- canteen orders can be made via a KINDO link in the HERO app

We will activate other functions in time. Follow the instructions in the graphic to get connected.

GMS CANTEEN REOPENS FOR 2026

Mrs Batt will be opening the famous GMS canteen this Wednesday 4th February. Use KINDO to make your purchases. Make sure you have your child's new class setup in Kindo.

Neat to have you back Kim!

Enjoy the short week.

Ngā mihi

Mark Johnson

Principal/Tumuaki

Full School Calendar

School Website