MARLBOROUGH PRIMARY NEWSLETTER

Learning Power: Being Me

Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua.

I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on my past.

Kia Ora Whānau,

Can you believe we're already halfway through Term 2? The term is flying by with so much exciting learning happening across the school!

We're thrilled to welcome some wonderful new faces to our teaching team and welcome back a familiar one!

Please join us in extending a very warm Marlborough welcome to two new teachers who joined our kura at the beginning of this term:

• Tasmin Jooste, who has taken the reins in Room 4.
• Jela Alcantara, who is leading our transition class in Room 11. Our Transition Class will officially begin welcoming all our wonderful new 5-year-olds starting next Tuesday, 3rd June!

Both Tasmin and Jela have already made a fantastic start, bringing fresh energy and expertise to their classrooms. We are so pleased to have them join our dedicated team and know they will be a huge asset to Marlborough Primary.

And speaking of familiar faces, we are absolutely delighted to welcome back Mrs. Jesse van Sittert! Jesse has returned to our team and is now teaching in Room 13. It's wonderful to have her back with us, and we know her experience and passion for teaching will continue to benefit our students.

Please take a moment to introduce yourselves and make our new and returning teachers feel welcome as you see them around the school.

Last week was International Compost Awareness Week and so the classes are looking carefully at how compost is made and the creatures that help it all to decompose. We are also noticing things that should not be thrown into the compost, plastic and yoghurt cups for instance. It's a smelly job ... but someone has to do it!.

The school was donated some delicious carrots so some lucky classes made carrot salad using our garden herbs and honey as ingredients, delicious! You can try the recipe at home, see below.

~ Mrs. Jones

A huge thank you goes out to Isabella Smith (from Room 15) for her incredibly generous donation of strawberry plants to our school garden!

We were very excited to get these planted, and we can't wait to watch them grow and eventually enjoy some delicious fresh strawberries. This kind of community spirit truly helps our garden flourish and provides fantastic hands-on learning opportunities for our tamariki.

Thank you, Isabella! Your contribution is much appreciated.

A huge congratulations to Chase from our very own Kotare whānau, who recently showcased incredible talent and dedication at the NZ No-Gi Nationals!

Chase competed in the fiercely contested Yellow Belt Under 36kg, 11-12 year bracket, demonstrating remarkable skill and spirit. This achievement is even more impressive when you consider Chase's commitment to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu – he trains an astounding six days a week and can often be found competing most weekends!

His hard work and perseverance are truly paying off, and we are incredibly proud of his accomplishments on the mat. Well done, Chase!

We're thrilled to celebrate Lillian from Room 12, who recently participated in the April Art Exhibition at Hilton Brown Swimming Pool in Albany.

Lillian's artwork truly stood out! It was admired for its incredible creativity, expression, and imagination. Her piece shows a wonderful splash of colour.

We are incredibly proud of Lillian's artistic talent and her contribution to the exhibition!

We're incredibly proud to showcase some fantastic writing from our students! Claire Zhang (Room 2) and Marco Corbett (Room 1) have been working hard on their creative stories, and they've truly outdone themselves. Their imagination has shone through in their wonderful narratives.

Please enjoy reading their stories below. We're sure you'll be as impressed as we are!

We're excited to announce that Marlborough Primary has received brand new basketball and netball uniforms! The new uniforms look incredibly smart and neat, and our teams are wearing them with pride.

A huge thank you to everyone involved in making this happen – our students surely feel extra confident and united on the court in their fantastic new look!

We are thrilled to share some exciting news that aligns perfectly with our goal at Marlborough Primary School: to develop furiously curious learners – whether they are our students or our dedicated staff!

Our Board of Trustees generously granted a small team of our talented staff the incredible opportunity to travel to Italy during the April holiday to attend a conference specifically focused on the Reggio Emilia Approach education. This is a significant step towards gradually implementing elements of this renowned philosophy here at Marlborough Primary.

For those unfamiliar, "The Reggio Emilia Approach is an educational philosophy based on the image of a child with strong development potential and a subject of rights, who learns through the hundred languages ​​belonging to all human beings and who grows in relationships with others."

This approach resonates deeply with our vision for empowering children to explore, discover, and learn through diverse forms of expression and rich relationships. Sending our staff to Italy has provided invaluable insights and practical knowledge that they brought back and shared with all our teachers.

This initial study tour is just the beginning! The Board is committed to fostering continuous growth and development, and is planning ongoing study tours to further enhance our understanding and application of innovative educational practices. We believe that by investing in our staff's professional learning, we are directly investing in the vibrant and dynamic learning environment we strive to create for all our students.

We look forward to sharing updates from our team's experience and the exciting ways the Reggio Emilia principles will begin to enrich learning at Marlborough Primary School.

What an incredible display of creativity and unity we saw for Pink Shirt Day! Our classrooms were transformed into vibrant testaments against bullying, as every class took on the challenge of decorating their doors in fantastic shades of pink.

The effort put in by all our students and teachers was truly outstanding. Each door was beautifully decorated, showcasing unique designs and powerful messages promoting kindness, inclusion, and respect. It was clear that a lot of thought and teamwork went into every single creation, making the judging a very difficult task indeed!

We are thrilled to announce the deserving winners of our Pink Shirt Day door decorating competition: Room 10! Their outstanding artwork will now be proudly displayed on Mrs. Wotton's window for everyone to admire. Congratulations, Room 10, on a magnificent job!

A huge thank you to all our classes for participating with such enthusiasm. Your dedication to making Marlborough Primary a safe and welcoming place for everyone shines through in everything you do. Let's continue to stand together against bullying, not just on Pink Shirt Day, but every day!

Our annual Matariki Breakfast will be held again this year! This cherished event is a wonderful opportunity for our school community to come together, share kai, and celebrate the Māori New Year. As always, our dedicated staff will be hosting this special breakfast for all our tamariki and their whānau.

More information regarding the date and time will follow.

We have a Breakfast Club running in the hall every morning. We welcome any students that might just need a top up before school starts. Please join Mrs. C in the hall from 8:15 till 8:45.

A reminder to parents that we have a number of different companies that supply lunches at school, particularly on Thursdays. We love to support our community and your patronage is appreciated.

Sushi Day - Sushi

· To order weekly sushi lunch, please visit www.sushiday.co.nz and if you are a new parent, you can go to the link www.sushiday.co.nz/sushi-login to register under Marlborough Primary School.

· Don’t forget – Order cut off time is 9pm (Wednesday) for THURSDAY order delivery.

· Any question, please contact Dan on order@sushiday.co.nz or 021 339 700.

Vietnamese Summer Rolls only.

Summer rolls can be prepared in a packet of 2 pcs for $6. The ingredients are as follow.

- Rice Paper

- Mixed green salad including cabbage

- Carrots

- Capsicum

- Cucumber

- Chicken Katsu (Crumbed Chicken)

- Honey Mustard and Sweet Chili

Please call 09-442 2040 to place your order.

Online Subway orders

Most of the communication going out goes through our Skool Loop and Facebook apps. Please make sure to join these.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Marlborough-Primary-School-112129594831867

A reminder to parents that we are open for enrolment applications for Term 2 to 4 of 2025 and Term 1 and 2 of 2026. If you have a child that is due to start school between now and Mid April 2026, please complete your enrolment forms so we're able to plan appropriately.

Enrolment can be done online (the link is on our website) or on paper, with application packs available from the office.

Out of zone enrolments:

Term 4 2025

Deadline for receipts of applications - Monday 18 August 2025 at 15:00

Term 1 2026

Deadline for receipts of applications - Monday 17 November 2025 at 15:00

Term 2 2026

Deadline for receipts of applications - Monday 23 February 2026 at 15:00

Please contact the office if you have any queries regarding enrolment - office@marlboroughprimary.school.nz

2025

Term 2

28 April - 27 June

30 May - SCHOOL CLOSED

2 June - King's Birthday - SCHOOL CLOSED

5 June - Rippa Rugby

6 June - Jnr Assembly - Piwakawaka hosting

13 June - Snr Assembly - Kereru hosting

18 June - BOT Meeting 15:30

19 June - Matariki Breakfast

20 June - Matariki - SCHOOL CLOSED

25 June - Science Fair

26 June - 2025 Disco

27 June - Snr Assembly - Piwakawaka hosting

Term 3

14 July - 19 September

16 July - BOT Meeting 17:30

20 August - BOT Meeting 15:30

17 September - BOT Meeting 17:30

Term 4

6 October - 19 December

15 October - BOT Meeting 15:30

24 October - SCHOOL CLOSED

27 October - Labour Day - SCHOOL CLOSED

11 November - photo day (class / portrait / sibling)

19 November - BOT Meeting 17:30

17 December - BOT Meeting 15:30

Just a friendly reminder that Marlborough Primary will be closed on Friday, May 30th 2025, for a staff professional development day. Additionally, please note that school will also be closed on Monday, June 2nd 2025, for the King's Birthday public holiday. We hope you enjoy the long weekend with your whānau!

From time to time ‘accidents’ may happen or clothing gets wet/muddied. For this reason, it is important that ALL STUDENTS have an extra set of clothing in their bag at all times. Non-uniform items of clothing are acceptable.

Does your child love to dance? Are you looking for a comprehensive school holiday program for the July school holidays? The Classical Collab have an incredible opportunity for you! For dancers aged 7 and up, come and join our youth company and see what it’s like to dance and create in preparation for a performance at the incredible Q Theatre on the last day.

https://www.theclassicalcollab.co.nz/projects/current

🌿 Your MPS Team 🌿