MENPS News

Kia ora koutou

Welcome to Term 1

I trust the first week of the school year went well, and you should hopefully by now have had an opportunity to meet your child’s class teacher.

You should also have access to our Key Dates for the term, and will see that we have a number of highlights to be aware of, including Swimming Sports, Zone Cricket and Touch tournaments, mid-term Parent Conferences, Year 5 Camp at Motu Moana and a significant cultural event in our inter-school Kapa Kahui Festival, which will be an opportunity for a number of local schools to come together in celebration of Kapa Haka, hosted here at school on the last day of Term 1.

To keep up to date, please ensure you have the HERO app installed and that you have enabled push notifications, as dates and activities can change, in addition to important communications about your child.

Colour Run '26!

Our PTA volunteers have been busy organising many exciting events for the year ahead, beginning with the much-anticipated ‘Colour Run’, which will take place on March 20. This promises to be a lot of fun for the children, and is also a significant fundraiser for the school as we continue to work towards the Board’s investment priorities (which include the playground renovation project).

Welcome to Mrs Kestle in the School Library!

In staffing news, I’m pleased to announce that Jessica Kestle has joined the team this term as our new Library Manager, following Amanda’s retirement at the end of last year. Jessica brings a wealth of expertise and literary enthusiasm, and I'm sure you will join me in welcoming her to the MENPS team.

Parking issues - kiss and go!

Parking continues to be a significant issue after school, so another reminder of the following key points:

Do not park on double yellow lines
Do not leave vehicle/park in the drop-off zone before/after school
Do not park in school driveways
Do not block or park in neighbours’ driveways

We appreciate how challenging it can be at the school gate, but these rules apply to everyone, and we appreciate your support with this at peak times.

Walking School Bus - Volunteers Wanted!

On a related note, as part of our ongoing enviro and sustainability goals, we are currently looking for volunteers who may be interested in coordinating a ‘Walking School Bus’ for children to join before and after school. If this is something you might be keen to support, please contact Aone Laufili on aonel@mteden.school.nz for further information.

Ka kite anõ i a koutou

Alan Jackson, Principal

Wednesday 18th February:

Board Meeting - 6:00pm - 9:30pm

Friday 20th February:

Second Hand Uniform Shop Open - 8:15am - 9:15am

- Colour Run fundraising coordinator - follow everything that worked in 2025 to get this crucial fundraiser set up for promotion in week 2. The fundraising partner/platform does all of the hard work - we just need someone to liaise with them on set up and then promote the event to the school community in the lead up to the run.
- Colour Run event coordinator - over the first two years the run course has been tweaked, lots of the equipment is in storage to be repurposed. We need a coordinator to own this in the weeks before the run and to lead a team to set up the course, oversee the event and help with pack down on 20 March. This is literally a messy job as you’ll get covered in colour but seeing the kids have an amazing time on the day will make it all worth it!
Annual Menps Cultural Festival& Matariki Celebration

Our annual festival has become a community staple, whether you’d like to perform, dance, sing, share a craft or food from your country, let us know and we will weave it in to the fabric of the

festival.

When: Sunday 21st June 2026

Where: Mount Eden Normal Primary School

Time: TBC

Interested in volunteering your time in any capacity or showcase your culture? Please email the

team on menpspta@gmail.com

[Kapa Kahui food coordinator& volunteers. ] Menps is hosting this years Kapa Kahui for the Auckland Central School’s Kapa Haka showcases! It’s a big honour for Menps to host and a great opportunity for the pta to feed the expected crowds.

📅 Date: 2nd Apr 2026

📅 Time: afternoon to evening

Would you like to get involved? Please reach out to: menpspta@gmail.com

Great meeting yesterday. Really appreciate everyone that could make it. We have some direction also for the AGM. The detail will share in further newsletter.

Co-Chairperson - We need a new parent/caregiver to bring their enthusiasm and energy to the role as we look ahead to a new year of events. The team are keen to repeat what has worked before but open to how things can be improved. This role is perfect for a Year 3 or 4 parent and is a commitment that is very flexible around your other commitments - you can lead remotely via whatsapp and the PTA inbox. There are only 5 meetings a year on site.
PTA Secretary - The PTA meet once a term(second Tuesday of every term).The PTA secretary's role involves: 1. Sending out a meeting agenda and meeting invite one week prior to each PTA meeting. 2. Recording meeting minutes and distributing after the meeting. 3. Maintaining a contact list of PTA members and making sure they are notified of regular PTA meetings. Time commitment is approx. 1 hour per mouth. No experience required - any questions,please email: menpspta@gmail.com