VOGELTOWN SCHOOL TE KURA O HUATOKI

In our efforts to nurture and support all of our tamariki at Voegltown School, we are fortunate to have some involved in the Big Brothers Big Sisters programme. It has been wonderful to see the impact that these connections can have on a young person.

Here is what Big Brothers Big Sisters have to say:

Many young people in Aotearoa face challenges in life and need the support of a positive role model. Our mission of is to enable life changing mentoring relationships to ignite the power and potential of young people/taiohi. For 18 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Taranaki has been committed to establishing long-term mentor friendships that create lasting, positive impact on the lives of our taiohi/youth. In that time we have supported nearly 600 matches! We pair children aged between 6 - 10 with a caring adult mentor. Each match is looked after by one of our professional Mentor Coordinators/Kairuruku, who provides ongoing support for the mentor, young person and their whānau. While the programme is a one-year commitment, matches can often last many years. Our volunteer Bigs spend time each week with their Littles, building strength and creating hope. Mentoring is a proven model that enhances and develops resilience, reduces risk factors, builds confidence, and provides young people with perspectives and opportunities for a better future. We offer both Community Based and School Based mentoring programmes, to meet the needs of our mentors and young people.

Are you our next Tuakana (Big Brother/Big Sister) and want to make a difference? Contact taranaki@bbbs.nz or visit our website bigbrothersbigsisters.org.nz/taranaki

We are really grateful for their involvement and it always brings a smile to our faces to see our children connecting so nicely with their Big Brother or Big Sister.

Have a great weekend and we'll see everyone back at school next week!

One of the things we are continuing to focus on in 2026 is student attendance.

All students are legally required to attend school every day and it is a shared responsibility to make sure students attend and engage in learning from when they first start school.

If a student misses one day of school every two weeks, they miss more than a whole year of school by 16 years of age. As a parent or caregiver, you, alongside our school, play a key role in building strong habits of regular school attendance.

Coming soon, you will be receiving an attendance summary via email from us. This will happen three times a term. These attendance summaries support the Stepped Attendance Response (STAR) initiative from the Ministry of Education, which places a stronger focus on regular monitoring and early support to help improve student attendance across Aotearoa. The STAR framework encourages schools to share clear, consistent information with whānau so we can work together to support positive attendance habits. For more information on the STAR framework, including how it works and why it has been introduced, you can visit the Ministry of Education website: https://www.education.govt.nz/stepped-attendance-response-star

At Vogeltown School, we promote regular attendance by:

• Providing a safe, welcoming environment for all

• Building strong relationships with students and whānau

• Valuing each child’s identity, culture, and background

• Working in partnership with families to support attendance and learning

• Having clear attendance procedures in place

If you are finding it hard to get your child to school, or have any questions about attendance then please contact us so we can work together.

The tug of war competition between the whānau groups was full of energy and excitement, with students giving it their all and showing great team spirit. Cheers and encouragement echoed across the court, with both children and teachers getting right behind their teams! It was a fantastic way to bring everyone together and finish another week of learning at Vogeltown School on a high.

This week we hosted Woodleigh School for the first interschool fixture of the season. It was lovely to have Jeremy onsite too! We were really impressed by the sportmanship shown by everyone, the quality of the powhiri from the Paetoki team, and the behaviour of everyone out there watching.

The results were as follows:

• Rugby: 52-51 to Vogeltown
• Football: 3-1 to Woodleigh
• Netball A: 31-1 to Woodleigh
• Netball B: 13-10 to Vogeltown

A big thanks to Mr Goodwin for his superb organisational skills. Our next game is on Tuesday 12th May vs Oakura, here at Vogeltown.

Last Friday we were fortunate to have a visit from some rugby players ahead of the ANZAC Day Classic match between the 'The Classics of New Zealand' and 'Classic Australia'. They spent time with our Paetoki and Huatoki kids, taking them for some drills and talking to them about their time playing rugby.

Kia ora e te whānau.

The Vogeltown Home and School Committee AGM will be held on Wednesday 13 May at 6:30pm in the senior school staffroom. All are welcome to attend and we love to see new faces. The Committee has several key roles vacant that we need to fill (Chairperson and Secretary) - if you would like any information on this please email us at vshomeandschool@gmail.com.

The Committee's purpose is to fundraise for the school, allocate the funds raised to projects recommended by the school and to assist the school with parental support where needed.

We love celebrating the individual efforts of our children who are reading outside of school hours. It’s been fantastic to see so many of our tamariki earning certificates!

We award certificates for every 25 nights of reading completed. These certificates are handed out during syndicate assemblies, with special recognition given in whole school assemblies to milestone achievements like 100 and 200 nights.

A night is a minimum of 10 minutes reading for children in the Taranaki syndicate, 15 minutes for children in the Huatoki syndicate, and 20 minutes for students in the Paetoki syndicate. With certificates being regularly given out it is important that children are having their reading signed off by a parent at home on a daily basis.

We are still on the hunt for some keen parent helpers for our pedestrian crossing!

If you have some free time in the mornings or afternoon to help get our kids safely across the road then please contact Laura (laura.seed@vogeltown.school.nz) or the school office.

Road patrol in the morning is from 8:15am - 9:00am and ideally, we're looking for parents and whānau who can commit to this for the term. Times we are looking to fill include Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings; and Monday and Thursday afternoons.

TERM CALENDAR

Put all these dates in your diary or your phone! Remember we will put all updates on Facebook, Skool Loop and Seesaw.

TERM 1 2026

5 May: BOT Meeting

12 May: Interschool Sports vs Oakura School at Vogeltown School

13 May: Home and School Committee AGM, 6:30pm, senior school staffroom

15 May: Four Year Old Friday, 10:15am - 11:15am

29 May: Four Year Old Friday, 10:15am - 11:15am

2 June: Cohort #2 New Entrants start school

3 June: Young Leaders Day, Palmerston North

9 June: Interschool Sports vs Welbourn School at Vogeltown School

12 June: Four Year Old Friday, 10:15am - 11:15am

17 June: Interschool Sports vs West End School at Vogeltown School

26 June: Four Year Old Friday, 10:15am - 11:15am

2 July: Final day of Term 2

3 July: Teacher Only day - School Closed

Thank you for the ongoing support of Vogeltown School, we really appreciate the efforts everyone makes to ensure our kura is such a great place to learn and work!

On behalf of the Vogeltown team, ka kite ano! Have a great weekend!

The VS team

Email: office@vogeltown.school.nz
Website: www.vogeltown.school.nz
Location: Vogeltown School Huatoki Street, Vogeltown, New Plymouth, New Zealand
Phone: (06) 753 6843

Our school policies, like many schools, are now in an online system through a portal called 'Schooldocs'. Any time you want to bring up a school policy, just log in to schooldocs and you can access the policies.

The login is: vogeltown

The password: huatoki

Website link to Schooldocs.

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