Willow Park School Newsletter

• Village Press Olive Oil Trio Gift Pack - on Kindo on Friday 25 September
• Cookie Time Cookies - on Kindo on Friday 25 September
• First day back of term 4: Monday 12th October, 8.55am
• Friday 16th October: Photolife in schools for team photo
• CalArt Last Chance Orders - open Monday 12th October
• Yummy stickers due in by Wednesday 14th October
• Kids Book Donations - bring to office anytime!

As we cross the finish line of another vibrant term, I want to take a moment to reflect on everything our school community has achieved together. It has been a whirlwind of learning, growth, and celebration from day one!

We kicked off the term by sharing student progress through our mid-year reports, and it was wonderful to wrap things up this week with our Open Classroom Whānau Connect. Seeing our learning spaces filled with parents, carers, and whānau was a true reflection of whanaungatanga in action. Our students demonstrated wonderful manawa reka—a genuine curiosity and passion for learning—as they proudly shared their hard work and achievements with you all.

Beyond the classroom, our tamariki have shone in so many arenas. On the sports fields and courts, our teams demonstrated outstanding manawaroa (resilience and grit), representing our school with determination across a myriad of sporting events. On the stage, our choir delivered moving performances that showcased the rich creative talent we are so fortunate to nurture.

A busy term like this is only possible through collective effort. A heartfelt thank you goes to our dedicated teaching team, support staff, coaches, and Friends of Willow Park volunteers. Your manaakitanga—your kindness, generosity, and unwavering support—ensures our students have every opportunity to thrive. The way our entire community continues to practice kaitiakitanga by caring for our school environment and looking out for one another makes our school a place we can all be proud of.

Thank you all for your partnership and energy throughout this term. I wish you all a safe, restful, and happy holiday break with family and friends. We look forward to welcoming everyone back refreshed for the final term ahead!

Ngā mihi nui,

Duncan Millward

Tumuaki

Our recent Junior School assembly was a fantastic showcase of student leadership and talent, hosted with impressive confidence by a brilliant group of kaipānui (presenters) from our Year 2 tamariki.

The hall was treated to two captivating presentations:

• Room 18’s Sign Language Performance: The students performed a beautiful song using New Zealand Sign Language, demonstrating incredible focus, rhythm, and inclusivity.

• Room 9’s Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori Video: We were inspired by an amazing video created by Room 9 in celebration of Māori Language Week, showing off their growing reo skills and creative storytelling.

It was also a moment of immense pride as we celebrated our award winners across multiple areas, handing out certificates for the Walking School Bus, various sports achievements, and our coveted Principal Certificates for outstanding effort and use of our school values.

A warm thank you to all the whānau who camel to support our young learners. Your presence always adds excitement to these events and means the world to our tamariki!

Our Years 4, 5, and 6 students gathered recently for our Senior Assembly, which was hosted by two of our Year 6 kaipānui. They did a great job guiding us through a busy program of student work, performances, and awards.

The assembly featured a presentation from our Year 6 students, who shared what they have learned during their term inquiry into the water cycle. We also enjoyed musical performances from both the Rimu and Kauri Choirs.

A significant part of the gathering was dedicated to acknowledging student effort and achievement:

• Peer Mediation: Mrs Dickins presented our Year 6 Cool Schools Peer Mediators with their Bronze, Silver, and Gold certificates for their service in the playground.

• Certificates: We celebrated our latest Principal Certificate recipients and acknowledged our regular Walking School Bus commuters.

• Sports Achievements: On behalf of Mrs Revell, Mr McArthur presented certificates for student participation and success across cross country, swimming, Flippaball, and Futsal.

To finish off the assembly, the term's Willow count total was announced, followed by a school dance party to celebrate everyone's hard work across the term.

It was a thrilling auction with some last minute bids - we had 140 bids across 11 amazing items, and raised a very impressive $1,295!

The biggest earner was the highly coveted Principal for a Day which went to Chloe Wayman, who will enjoy a day of special Principal jobs, making some important decisions, checking in on classrooms and, of course, plenty of opportunities to remind everyone that they're the Principal!

Thanks to everyone who bid, and a big thanks to our generous donors: Hillcrest Dentist, The Amrein family, Schlage NZ, Total Tools NZ, and Mrs Murphy.

The Gala Committee is already hard at work planning next year's Gala (read more about it in the FOWP newsletter below) and are on the look-out for good quality second hand kids book donations (anything from baby through to intermediate/high school). If you're doing a spring clean these holidays, please consider donating to us - you can drop these off to the Office during school time next term.

Due to popular demand, there'll be a second and final round of Calendar Art orders from 12-28th October. This will be your last chance to order this year, and orders cannot be extended. Flyers will go home on the first day of Term 4, though the codes and instructions will be the same as last time.

We had such a wonderful time at our Year 0–3 Fun Run on Monday! The tamariki were so excited and eager to tackle every single obstacle. The field was filled with endless smiles and lots of laughter—many students shared that they had heaps of fun, especially enjoying the bubbles and skittles along the course!

Our Year 2 and Year 3 competitive races went fantastically well. It was inspiring to see so many students showing true manaakitanga and manawaroa throughout, encouraging one another and really pushing themselves to do their best.

A big thank you to the entire team and all our supporters who came out to cheer the kids on and make the day so special!

Congratulations to the following top 12 competitors from year 2 and 3

Year 2 Girls

1. Poppy Wilkinson

2. Ella Murray

3. Thea Snookes

4. Sienna Huesser

5. Chloe Zhuang

6. Imogen Lund

7. Ella Hong

8. Eliana Wu

9. Esther Thai

10. Kyla Emslie

11. Ava Avenant

12. Paige Ball

Year 2 Boys

1. Benji Pachon-Rubiano

2. Leo Dos-Santos

3. Fox Jennett

4. Joon Liu

5. Yibai He

6. Beau Harris

7. Luke Milina-Fowlie

8. Kemo Liang

9. Tom Willmott

10. Riley Moore

11. Leonardo Zhang

12. Miles Plumb

Year 3 Girls

1. Jasmine Weitz

2. Selena Tran

3. Alie Edera

4. Petra Liew

5. Alice Gao

6. Yumyin Liu

7. Anita Chiechelski

8. Phoebe Whittington

9. Jane Zhu

10. Divine Koroheke

11. Bianca Newman

12. Jessica Haynes

Year 3 Boys

1. Lewis Tomasik

2. Archie Mackle

3. Herman Hu

4. Archie Beardsley

5. Yan Koyfman

6. Colin Hao

7. Toby Hawken

8. Charles Pegg

9. Luna Clarke

10. Jackson Gerrard

11. Noah Zhang

12. Leopol Kubiak

A huge congratulations to our Mini-rockets Year 1/2 futsal team, who wrapped up an incredible first term of play by securing 2nd place in the league! What an outstanding effort for their very first season together. Bravo to team members: Isaac Baigent, Caoimhe Mala Murphy, Heaven Narbey, Darian Torrey, Leonardo Zhang, and Boyu An.

We also want to give a massive shoutout to the Year 3/4 Dynamos, who came out as runners-up after a hard-fought final match against Campbells Bay (Grade 4) yesterday. Way to battle hard right to the final whistle! Congratulations: Tiger Xu, Leopol Kuibiak, Yan Koyfman, Archie Beardsley, Riyansh Kolluru, and Carl Geronimo.

A huge congratulations to both of our amazing Flippaball teams, who both earned 3rd place in their respective leagues after a thrilled-packed end to the season!

• Year 4 Dolphins: Had an absolute nail-biter of a finish against the Belmont Seals! With the game tied at the end of the game, it went down to a dramatic golden goal—and the Dolphins delivered under pressure to secure the win! Spectacular effort by: Pippa Harper, Teddy Draper, Indie Thomas, Liam Liebenberg, Maisie Todd, Camryn Dawson, Alice Edwards, and Nicholas Davidson.

• Year 5/6 Stingrays: Saved their best performance for last against their long-time rivals, the Campbells Bay Makos (who had beaten them in every matchup earlier this season). After falling behind early, the Stingrays fought back with a vengeance! Displaying exceptional teamwork and razor-sharp shooting, they clinched a memorable 4–3 victory. Awesome job team: Micah Fischer, Charlee Sneddon, Phoebe Cox, Harry Love, Sam Revell, Toby Snookes, and William Davidson.

Thank you to all our coaches, managers, and parents for supporting our players throughout the season! 🏊‍♂️🤽‍♀️

Gymnastics Glory! 🤸‍♀️

A huge congratulations to Poorvi Wickramapathirana, who recently competed at the North Harbour Gymnastics Club Championships.

Poorvi delivered a stellar performance, taking out 1st place in the Still Rings event in the competitive 8+ Advanced Gymnastics age category. What a fantastic achievement—we are so proud of your hard work and success, Poorvi!

Sports Registrations now open on KINDO- Netball and Hockey are closing this Sunday 27th September.

🤸‍♀️ Gymnastics - Artistic & Trampoline Primary School Competition

• Date: Wednesday 4th and Thursday 5th November 2026 - Artistic & Trampoline
• Venue: Eventfinda Stadium, NHG Gymnastics
• Wednesday 4th November
• Session 1 - Year 1 & 2 Boys & Girls, All competitive 9am - 11.30am
• Session 2 - Year 3 & 4 Boys & Girls 11:45am - 2.15pm
• Thursday 5th November
• Session 1- Year 5 & 6 Boys & Girls 9am - 11am
• Uniform: PE gear or leotards
• Cost: $26 entry fee
• The children must have a high level of skill and have attended gymnastic classes and preferably competed at a club level.
• All children who compete in the NHG Squad or NHG performance club programme, who train 2 hours plus a week must enter the competitive division.
• Parents are to take their own child to the event.
• Copies of the routines will be sent through once you have registered.

⚽ Futsal Term 4 Year 1-6 (Sunday afternoons via North Harbour Futsal website)

• Please see the HERO posts for all the details on how to register for Term 4 Futsal.
• Register and pay directly with North Harbour Futsal on the website:
• https://harbourfutsal.org/registration-harbour-schools-futsal-league-metro-league/
• Team registrations as follows:
• Select: Willow Park Mini Rockets for EXISTING AND NEW Year 1 and 2 players.
• Select : Willow Park Dynamos for those in the EXISTING Dynamos Year 3 and 4 team.
• Select : Willow Park ROCKETS for those in the EXISTING Rockets Year 2 and 3 team.
• Select : VIPERS BOTH EXISTING VIPERS AND NEW Year 3 and 4 players.
• Select: THUNDER for NEW YEAR Year 5 and 6 players.
• Teams will be capped at 7 players and allocated on a first come, first served basis. North Harbour Futsal reserves the right to move players/create extra teams to meet the demands of registrations.

🏓 Term 4 Table Tennis - Year 4,5,6

• Teams of three/four ( 1 reserve to cover sickness)
• Played at the Harbour Table Tennis Stadium Akoranga Drive Northcote - behind the YMCA. This is a Primary and Intermediate league so teams play both types of schools and are graded accordingly.. No experience is necessary but previous racquet skills are helpful. Training will be at school on Tuesday lunchtime.
• Wednesday 14th October- Wednesday 9th December 2026
• Games - singles and doubles played between 5pm - 7pm. This is a 2 hour commitment. Parents are expected to stay and supervise. Students are expected to play and self umpire.
• $40 per player
• Play in the Willow Park sports uniform and sports shoes
• (Please note that basketball and netball (Yr5/6) are also on Wednesdays, so please commit to one sport only to avoid game time clashes)
• Registrations and payment due by Sunday 4th October 2026

🏐 Spring Netball League Year 4, 5 and 6

• Venue: NNH courts Northcote Rd
• Date: Thursday 22nd October 2026 - Thursday 26th November 2026
• Time: Between 4pm and 6:00pm.
• Years: 4, 5 and 6
• Uniform: School sports polo shirt, sports skirt or skort for girls, sports shorts for boys. White socks and sports shoes.
• Cost: $30- this includes team registration and umpiring fee
• Trainings will be optional and up to the coaches. Year 4 play with the 2.6m goals and year 5 and 6 play with the 3.05m goals. Games are two 15 minute halves and no rotation of positions. No experience is necessary.
• For games, hair is to be tied back, no jewellery can be worn and nails cut.
• Registration and payment due: Sunday 27th September

🏑 Summer Hockey open to boys and girls in Year 1-6 - We really need more Year 1 and 2 players and Year 5 and 6 players please.

• Fun Sticks Hockey- Year 1 and 2 - 4 aside - 13 mins skills session ( led by coach) first followed by 13min game
• Summer Mini Sticks Hockey - Year 3 and 4 - 6 aside
• Summer Kiwi Sticks Hockey - Year 5 and 6 - 6 aside
• Venue: North Harbour Hockey Stadium Bush Road Albany
• Commences: Monday 12th October- Monday 7th Dec 2026 ( No play Labour Day)
• Times: 4pm - 6pm
• Fees: $35 ( team fees and umpire fee)
• Uniform: WP sports polo shirt, WP sports skirt or skort for girls, WP sports shorts for boys, Hockey socks, shin pads, mouthguard and sports shoes.
• Equipment needed: Correct size hockey stick. ( we have limited sticks available to borrow)
• We will need coaches for the teams, so please volunteer if you can help.
• Registration and payment due: Sunday 27th September

⚽ Summer Football 7 aside - Year: 3 - 6 boys and girls

• Games: Played on Wednesdays , Shepherds Park Beach Haven
• Time: Anytime between 4:30pm - 6pm. (Yr 3 - 4:30pm, Yr 4 - 5pm, Yr 5 - 5:30pm, Yr 6 - 6pm)
• 7 aside (including goalie and rolling subs) maximum 10 players per team. Teams can be mixed boys and girls and mixed grades Yr5/6 etc. 12 mins per half, quick turn around.
• Uniform: WP sports uniform - Willow Park Sports polo shirt and sports shorts or skort for girls. Football boots/ sports shoes and shinpads are compulsory.
• Games Commence: Wednesday 28th October - until Wednesday 9th December 2026 (7 weeks). Cost: $15
• Trainings; To be confirmed by the coaches once teams are finalised
• Registration and payment due by: Sunday 6th October 2026

PLEASE NOTE- Year 5 / 6 boys miniball and Touch rugby all run on Wednesdays in Term 4. It is highly recommended to enrol your child in ONE of these sports to avoid game time clashes.

Sports X Basketball X

Starts Friday, 23 October (Week 2), 8 Week Programme, ENDS Friday, 11 December. (Week 9)

3-4pm on the junior basketball court

Ages 0-6 $144

Register here:

https://sports-x.nz/auckland/product/willow-park-school/

As always, please email me if you have any questions or queries

Thanks,

Becky

becky.r@willowpark.school.nz

2026 - School Term dates

Term 4 - Monday 12 October - Monday 14 December

For events check the Calendar on your HERO app.

Phone: 09 480 9236

Email: office@willowpark.school.nz
Location: 13 Compton Street, Hillcrest

Website | Facebook

Shannon Vincent & Co – Our Real Estate Sponsor

We’re delighted to have Shannon Vincent partnering with our school in an ongoing sponsorship role. As our exclusive real estate agent sponsor, Shannon provides generous support to our community through the following contributions:

• $1,000 donation each term - $4,000 per school year!

• 10% discount on Ray White commission rates* for school staff and families who list their property with Shannon.

• $500 donation to the school on every successful sale of a staff or family property.**

We would love to invite the students, staff, and families of Willow Park School to join us for the NIS Annual Community Colour Run!

It’s going to be a fantastic, high-energy afternoon filled with colour, delicious food, and fun for all ages.

• When: Thursday, 29th October 2026, 4:30 PM – 7:00 PM

• Where: Northcote Intermediate School

What’s happening on the day:

• Free Entry: Free for all Willow Park students, friends, and families.

• Fun Activities: A warm-up session hosted by AbleKids, a local Fire Truck visit, and Face Painting.

• Food Truck Line-up: Kiwi Cream, Cream, Manila Eats, Amaranto, Pang Malaysian, 2 Hungry Wolves, and The Coffee Guy.

• Donation Buckets: Donation buckets will also be available on the day if you wish to support our fundraising efforts!

How to join in: Entry is 100% free, but we ask that everyone register online in advance to pick their preferred running wave. You can also grab an official NIS Colour Run T-shirt for $15 during registration if you’d like!

Sign up here: https://shop.kindo.co.nz/app/community-shop/Northcote%20Intermediate%20School