Porritt School Press

Kia ora e te whānau,

Unbelievably, with the leaves browning and falling, we are almost at the halfway stage of this first part of the 2026 school year already. How noticeable it was today that the seasons are changing once again! It will soon be time for the flannel pyjamas and firewood once again.

It has been a fantastic first term with our school roll growing at a rate of knots and new tamariki and whānau joining us all the time. It has been awesome to welcome our new kura whānau members and our new staff. A mihi to Whaea Bernie Lawrence is below. We had the chance to farewell Bernie recently after more than five years of dedication to the kura. We wish Bernie all the best. We're grateful for your mahi!

We have enjoyed some fantastic chances to get to know one another this term, including our Kaiako Connect hui. The opportunities continue in the second part of this term with field trips onto the whenua and lots of in-school learning like our swimming sessions. We'd love to share these skills with our whānau on Thursday! If you haven't had a chance to connect with your child's kaiako just yet, I encourage you to reach out and pop in to catch up.

It has been a bright and enjoyable start to 2026. We look forward to a great second half of Term 1 where we can really get into our learning and growth with your tamariki.

Ngā mihi whakamiha - respectful regards,

Maaka Papuni - Tumuaki/Principal

Our schoolwide Learning Kaupapa is Kāuru ki te Moana - From the Mountains to the Sea.

Our tamariki are making connections between the te taiaō, the natural world, and the new names of our learning teams, and indeed the school. There is learning centred around the water cycle, histories of our area and the conservation of the natural and native environment.

We look forward to seeing this learning play out on the whenua as our tamariki learn both at school and out in amongst it. It was great to see our teina, our youngest learners, out and about last week visiting the Taipō Stream and the tuna (eels) and learning about Te Umuroimata Pā.

Ka rawe te mahi, e ngā tamariki mā, e ngā kaiako mā! Ngā mihi nui ki ngā mātua mō tō koutou tautoko. Great work tamariki and teachers! Many thanks to the parents for your support.

Our Ākau and Moana tamariki will get out on the whenua later in the term.

Whaea Clare and Kōkā Michelle having a kōrero with Kāuru about our new school tohu - our narrative is woven through this.

Oakley and the tuna (eels) we saw in the Taipō Stream

Kāuru and Mātāwai visiting the Taipō Stream

Honour-Rhythem and Jayda exploring the Kāuru mauri taonga.

We have a HUGE day planned on Thursday 5 March! Please see reminders below about our different events this coming Thursday! Thanks to Whaea Hannah and our coordinators in our kura for your organisation of this swimming celebration!

This term, our tamariki have been practising and sharing short kōrero about themselves and their whānau. This has been part of getting to know one another and our kaiako and kaimahi - the adults in the room! The tamariki have also been given the opportunity to weave this in to a whaikōrero - a more layered kōrero.

On Thursday 19 March, we will join together to hear from selected kaikōrero (speakers) from each area of the kura. There will be house points earned by all that contribute. More info soon!

Last week, the Home and School group met for their AGM. Chairperson Shannon Church tabled a report summarising their combined fundraising efforts in 2025.

Some of the numbers were astounding!

This year the school held a separate fundraiser for a playground upgrade. Home and School collectively agreed to donate $10,000 towards this project.

Home and School total funds raised for 2025 was $16,127 and our total cash contribution back to the school totalled a whopping $23,813.75. This wouldn’t have been possible without using the residual funds raised from previous years.

Thank you to our wonderful and helpful committee for all their effort throughout the year. This dedicated group of whānau members continues to support our tamariki and our school in a number of ways.

Your mahi does not go unmissed! A huge thank you to Shannon and the team for the work you continue to do!

If you can give some of your time to support the Home and School Group, please ask at the school office or email office.manager@porritt.school.nz, and we will link you with the group.

Your tamariki will have brought home their raffle sheets for our Home & School Easter Raffle 🐣🍫

Remember;

🎟️ Tickets are $1 each
📄 There are 20 tickets per sheet
📅 Raffle sheets need to be returned by Wednesday, 25th March
🎉 The draw will take place on Friday, 27th March at our school assembly.

If you would like extra raffle sheets, these are available from the school office.

Ngā mihi,

The Home & School Team

And a big thank-you to everyone who has already donated Easter goodies - please keep those donations coming and place them in the Easter box in the office. The more raffle prizes we can create, the more winners out there!

All funds raised go directly back to our Porritt tamariki. Ngā mihi - many thanks!

Our first Te Tai Whanake - Porritt School Board meeting took place last Wednesday evening. We are very grateful for a capable and committed school board!

At the first meeting of the year, we confirmed our roles and responsibilities for 2026. Those are;

1. Presiding Member (Chair) - Ken Marshall

2. Deputy Presiding Member - Pōhatu Paku

3. Health and Safety Portfolio - Kane Nepe Apatu

4. Finance Portfolio - Kevin Walsh

5. Personnel Portfolio - Puhiwahine Nepe Apatu

6. Property Portfolio - Ken Marshall

7. HR Portfolio - Lee-Ann Grant

8. Staff Representative - Gail Shine

9. Tumuaki - Maaka Papuni

10. Minutes Secretary - Jo Hayes

The policies for cyclical review this term are;

• Sun Protection
• Digital Technology and Online Safety
• Cellphones and Other Personal Digital Devices
• Alcohol, Drugs, and Other Harmful Substances Policy

Our school board reviews policy each term, and we invite any community member to review as well.

To complete a review, follow these steps;

1. Go to https://www.schooldocs.co.nz/

2. Click ‘Search for your school’.

3. Start typing the school’s name and then select it from list

4. Enter username (porritt) and password (pride).

5. Click on 'Current Review' in the top toolbar.

6. Complete the review.

This is the year! We are focusing our energies on the construction of our 'Jubilee Playground' after some awesome fundraising efforts in recent years, and a generous 10k koha from Home and School.

We have established a great little Jubilee Playground Committee. The awesome bunch so far are;

• Jubilee Playground Committee Chair - Marsha Keesom
• School Board Committee Rep - Kane Nepe Apatu
• Home and School Committee Rep - Lauren Moore

This group will also be supported by a newly formed Student Council.

We are definitely interested in more support. Please see below if you are a tradesperson or have trades experience that could assist us...we are so excited to bring this playground to life!

We would love a tradesperson or tradespeople from within our community to assist us in this project. This is to give us some practical guidance and a professional perspective, rather than manage the project.

If you might be able to help us here, please email committee chair Marsha Keesom on marsha.keesom@porritt.school.nz

The new school uniforms look great!

They are available for purchase via the NZ Uniforms website. Hit the button at the foot of this article

Our new uniform has been more popular than our supplier anticipated, particularly with our original school uniform available at 25% off.

There are delays in stock availability in several sizes. We have been informed that stock has been ordered in bulk from suppliers in China, but the delay has us waiting until for polo shirt stocks in sizes 12, 14, 16, Medium and Large. These backorders are forecast to arrive in late April, but could be as far away as early May.

When ordering online, you should now receive an email updating you on stock availability and forecasted delivery times.

At this stage, this stock update does not affect school polar fleece jerseys, but with the cooler weather appearing, it might pay to get in and grab a polar fleece ASAP.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we transition here e te whānau. While it is not ideal, there is a solution on the way.

Once again, we have LOTS of stock of older style uniforms if you prefer, with two years to wear this uniform, so feel free to buy the older stock.

1. The new uniform features our new logo, and the school ingoa Māori Te Tai Whanake on the rear.

2. You may buy the black skort or black shorts online, or find black trousers, shorts, leggings or tights from other suppliers and places. However, your child must wear black bottoms - and only black.

3. Your child DOES NOT need to replace their existing uniform. There is a two year grace period here for transition to the new uniform. Don't worry if you have recently purchased new uniform. Your child can wear this until the end of the 2027 school year 👍

4. We are offering our original uniform at a reduced rate of 25% off. Go to the NZ Uniforms website and click on 'Old Uniform - Discounted' to order.

5. Our current uniform is no longer available at The Warehouse in Napier.

6. From the beginning of 2026, both Tamatea Intermediate and Tamatea High School will also use NZ Uniforms to produce and supply their uniforms.

7. NZ Uniforms are offering us $2000 a year to spend on sports uniforms and staff uniform. Our sports teams will look amazing!

8. Uniform is couriered directly to your house.

We're excited to see this new uniform in use! Please reach out to the school office if you have any questions or queries.

Last Friday at kura, we farewelled Whaea Bernie - Bernie Lawrence. We were able to mihi to Bernie at our first assembly of the year and we were joined by Bernie's whānau also for a shared morning tea.

Over the past six years, we have been privileged to have such a vital and dedicated member of our learning support team working alongside our tamariki and staff. Whaea Bernie most recently had become our kaikaranga extraordinaire with her beautiful voice, and our first kaiawhina in Kōkiri as well.

Kia ora Bernie! Your care, patience, and commitment have made a lasting difference in the lives of many ākonga, and your contribution to our kura has been deeply valued and appreciated. Thank you for the countless ways you have supported our school community through your hard work and genuine aroha for our tamariki. As you move on to the next chapter at William Colenso College, we wish you, Paul, and your whānau all the very best for the future.

Ngā mihi nui ki a koe mō tō mahi nui me tō tautoko – he mihi maioha.

Whaea Hannah farewelling Whaea Bernie at our first school assembly.

Kōkiri haka for Whaea Bernie

Please look out for a 'Settling In' post on HERO shortly for your child. This post is crafted and shared by your child's teacher to update you on how the first five weeks have gone for your child.

HERO is our way to share both individual stories about your child and their learning, and wider posts about groups and whole school posts.

Keep an eye out on HERO and if you need help to get connected there, check the infographic below.

You might have noticed the container in the Pick Up and Drop Off Zone. This has been lovingly named the 'Wait Crate' by a few of our more inventive older tamariki. This is a safe space for our tamariki to wait for their loved ones at pick up time.

This is a part of our staged development of this vital health and safety focused zone. The next step is signage and steel bollards. There is even an art project in the wind. Watch this space for further info!

Tamariki waiting for pick up at 3.00pm.

There are some awesome events coming up in the next few weeks at kura;

• Wednesday 4 March - Physical Activity Leaders Training Day

• Thursday 5 March - School Swimming Sports and Extravaganza. Details feature above.

• Wednesday 4 March - Physical Activity Leaders Training Day (Selected Y5&6 tamariki)

• Monday 9 March - Friday 13 March - Year 6 to Optimist Yachting

• Thursday 19 March - Pīpī Kōrero House Whaikōrero Celebration

• Thursday 26 March - Mitre 10 Tough Kids for Year 5

• Thursday 2 April - Term 1 Ends

Please note: We're yet to set two Ministry of Education required teacher-only days for 2026. We will share these dates ASAP.

Term 1 2026:

Tuesday 3 February - Term 1 begins: All tamariki return - Term 1 Pōwhiri

Friday 6th February - Waitangi Day: School Closed

Thursday 2 April - Term 1 Ends

Term 2 2026:

Monday 20 April - First day of Term 2

Monday 27 April - Anzac Day Observed: School Closed

Monday 1 June - Kings Birthday: School Closed

Friday 3 July - Term 2 ends

Term 3 2026:

Monday 20 July - First day of Term 3

Friday 25 September - Term 3 ends

Term 4 2026:

Monday 12 October - First day of Term 4

Friday 23rd October - Hawkes Bay Anniversary: School Closed

Monday 26th October - Labour Day: School Closed

Tuesday 15 December - School year ends at 1.00pm