2025 Newsletter - Week 9, Term 3 | Smore Newsletters for Education

PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

Tēnā koutou kātoa

Nau mai, haere mai

The very busy Term 3 of 2025 starts to draw to a close - just a few more activities and events to be involved with before we wind up three quarters of the year.

But first - some things to celebrate ... GMS students have enjoyed some real success at the Napier schools cross-country on Tuesday. We won the title for the overall champion cross-country school for the fourth year in a row! See the results below.

And last Thursday evening we had students in the annual Mathletics event at Puketapu School - in which our two teams ended up fifth and first!!! So impressive!

We are looking forward to our two cultural festivals next week. The Ōtātara Kapa Haka festival on Monday night, then the Hawkes Bay Pasifika festival on Tuesday.

On Thursday we have entered a Year 5 and 6 team into the Hawkes Bay Touch tournament for the first time. And to end the term we will host two games of rugby against Porritt School—our Years 3 and 4 team will play at noon, followed by the Year 5 and 6 Barefoot 10s team who play at 12.50pm

This will be the last newsletter for Term 3. We wish you all a safe and happy holiday when the school term ends next Friday afternoon!

Ka kite anō,

Mark Johnson

Principal

WELCOME TO GREENMEADOWS SCHOOL

Our school continues to grow - have now had 97 new students start with us in 2025! The past fortnight the following students have started with us:

Zana Jeffares, Rion Wilson, Charlie Pakoti, Tikhan Turnoi, Shraddhaba Parmar and Zaliyah Siddells-Burton.

We wish you the very best for your time at Greenmeadows School.

Our roll is currently sitting at 515.

DRESS UP IN BLUE TOMORROW!!!

Friday 12 September - we will have opportunity to wear blue to school. Come as blue as you like!

Alopecia Areata Awareness Month is a month-long celebration and recognition of all those affected by alopecia areata. During September, the NAAF (National Alopecia Awareness Foundation) community works to increase awareness, reduce stigma, and empower those living with alopecia areata locally and nationally.

Greenmeadows School will acknowledge this with a "dress up in blue day" this Friday and the children can bring a coin donation.

NAPIER PRIMARY SCHOOLS CROSS-COUNTRY

As mentioned we had a spectacular day at the Park Island event on Tuesday this week.

Our runners who finished in the top twenty were:

Y3 Girls Mila Ross (1st), Blake Miller (3rd), Nyla Stewart (8th), Bella McKenzie (12th)

Y3 Boys Noah Carroll (1st), Luca Hohaia-Hall (4th), Max Salmon (8th)

Y4 Girls Novah Matheson (3rd), Maisy Anderson (9th), Presley Roberts (16th), Sophia Bilcliffe (18th)

Y4 Boys Lenny Willing (8th), Spencer Le Bas (12th)

Y5 Girls Isabelle Ball (6th), Issy Knuiman (10th), Zoe Hicks (11th), Willa Enticott (16th), Tiana Wilson (20th)

Y5 Boys Liam Wilson (3rd), Finnian Gudsell (4th), Callan Stewart (10th), Aryan Ghodke (12th)

Y6 Girls Amber Salmon (4th), Abby Chandra (10th), Maddie Ball (13th), Minette Enslin (14th)

Y6 Boys Micah Enticott (7th), Mason Gibbs (10th), Mason Ross (17th)

We had great success in the teams events too:

Winning both Year 3 events, along with the Year 5 boys. We were second in the Year 4 and 5 girls teams competition and third in both Year 6 events.

Excellent effort!

And then a Huge Thank You to those who assisted with the food stall!

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the following generous businesses:

Shelley Gilmartin – Property Brokers

Pak n Save Tamatea

Mary Ferguson – The Property Management Team

Goodman Fielder

Your kind donations helped make our GMS PTA sausage sizzle fundraiser held during the Interschool Cross Country at Park Island on 9 September a great success.

We had a brilliant team of helpers in action! Thanks so very, very much!

Your support helped us raise funds towards the much-needed costs of our Year 6 Camp in Wellington. Your generosity made a real difference, and we’re incredibly grateful!

SENSORY ROOM DONATIONS

Greenmeadows School is wanting to create a sensory room for our students.

A sensory room is a calming, supportive space designed to help children safely regulate their emotions. It provides students with equipment and experiences that meet their individual sensory needs—calming lights, soft seating, withdrawal spaces, tactile resources, or movement equipment. These spaces are especially valuable for children who may feel overwhelmed in the classroom, as they offer a place to reset before they return to their classrooms ready to learn.

We would love your support in creating this space for our students. If you have any of these items around your house or garage, that are in good condition and are not currently being used, it would make a big difference in helping us bring this vision to life for our children.

· Soft furnishings: bean bags, floor cushions, soft rugs, weighted blankets, muscle mats

· Comfortable seating: hanging chair, bean bags, large cushions & bookshelves

· Lighting: lava lamps, bubble tubes

· Tactile items: fidget toys, stress balls, textured cushions

· Movement equipment: wobble cushions, balance boards

SOFT FURNISHINGS

LIGHTING

MOVEMENT EQUIPMENT

UPCOMING EVENTS

Tuesday 9th September - Napier Interschool Cross Country

Monday 15th September - Otatara Kapa Haka Festival

Tuesday 16th September - HB Polyfest

Friday 19th September - Last day of term 3

Monday 6th October - First day of term 4

PTA FUNDRAISER - LAST DAY OF TERM

Next Friday, the 19th September, the PTA are going to run a small fundraiser to celebrate the end of term!

PTA will be selling barbecued sausages, drinks, lollies and chocolate bars.

Sausages, drinks and lollies need to be ordered through Kindo, the same as they did for cross country.

Chocolate bars will be sold as cash sales on the day for $2 a bar.

Kindo orders are now open and will close on Wednesday 17th September at midnight.

Funds raised from the sausage sizzle will go towards the year 6 camp to Wellington in November.

The canteen will also still be open for lunch orders on that day.

UPCOMING PTA EVENTS & FUNDRAISERS

Calendar orders will be available online – more information to come in Term 4.

School Disco on Friday 17 October (save the date)

Christmas raffle – sheets handed to the children in December.

LUCKY BOOK CLUB - ISSUE 6 CLOSES TOMORROW 12TH SEPTEMBER

Thank you to the parents that have placed their order on Issue 6 of Book Club! There is still time to order if you haven't already.

Did you know that every purchase you make on Book Club earns our school 15% of the order value in Scholastic Rewards? We use these to purchase more books and educational resources for the school. It all helps!

Issue 6 of the Scholastic Book Club closes at 9am on Friday, 12th September.

All orders must be completed online through the LOOP app, no cash orders.

The catalogue can be found here:

https://www.scholastic.co.nz/schools/book-club/

The library is open from 8:30 to 8:55am Monday - Friday. The keen student librarians are happy to return, issue, and recommend books for your children.

HELLS PIZZA READING CHALLENGE

The Hell Pizza Reading Challenge is running in the Greenmeadows School library again this year.

Complete the pizza wheel by reading seven different books, then go to any Hell Pizza store and redeem it for a FREE kids 333 HELL Pizza.

Read a book, record the book title and sign on the sheet. When you have completed your seven books, leave it in the box in the library to receive your pizza voucher.

COFFEE FUNDRAISER - GMS BRAND!!! 'FUNDRAISE OVER COFFEE'

Time to stock up the coffee supplies? You can choose between 250g, 500g, or 1kg sized coffee beans or plunger style grounds. The coffee is available in strong, medium, mild or decaffeinated blends.

Sales from the Greenmeadows School coffee will go towards funding sport and athletic related activities/equipment at our school. For a large 1kg bag, which sells for $52.50, the school will receive around $15.00 back.

Ordering is open so head to our purchase page to get your bag delivered tomorrow! Please EITHER scan the QR code or click on the link below to order. Orders will arrive at the school reception office and can be collected or sent home with students. Please select ‘Pick Up’ at checkout for this option. Delivery is also available via the shipping option.

UNISONS DIGITAL SAFE SPARKS PROGRAMME

Unison’s Digital Safe Sparks Programme is now open to all families across Hawke’s Bay, Taupō and Rotorua.

This short online challenge is designed for children aged 5 to 11 and helps them learn how to stay safe around electricity through animated videos, interactive activities and real-world tips.