2025 Newsletter - Week 9, Term 4

Kia ora koutou,

The end of the year is getting closer ... so all those annual things are now upon us.

One of the highlights of the year is the senior camp to Wellington. The Year 6s had a wonderful time away last week, and it was a pleasure to be part of the group. They had a great time and got compliments everywhere they went!

This newsletter contains plenty of information with a number of events coming up, so take your time to digest everything that is included ...!

We will have one more newsletter to send out in Week 11.

Enjoy the remainder of your week.

Ngā mihi

Mark Johnson

Principal/Tumuaki

Venue: He Kapua, Greenmeadows School

All children are expected to attend the prizegiving ceremony which lasts approximately one hour. They need to be lined up in class groups on the school field by 6.20pm.

Please note that parking gets difficult with the large numbers of vehicles a school of our size seems to require, so please plan to get here with time to spare.

All children need to wear their school uniform to the prize-giving, but do not need their hats for the evening.

If the weather does not allow the prize-giving to go ahead on Monday evening, we will communicate it in the following ways:

* via the GMS Facebook page

* an alert on the GMS App

If the prize-giving does get postponed, then we will make a decision on an alternative date and time. This will be weather dependent, as well as not wanting to avoid a clash with Taradale Intermediate School's breakup (this is Tuesday evening). Hopefully we will be enjoying stunning weather ...

End of year reports will be sent home on the afternoon of Monday 15th December. Our teachers have put an incredible amount of time and care into the preparation of these reports. We hope these will give you a clear summary of how each child has progressed over the 2025 year.

Also on Monday 15th December, the children will be given a stationery list for next year. Stationery packs are available at Hawkes Bay Office Products Depot in Wakefield Street, Onekawa.

If your child's stationery list gets mislaid or doesn't find its way home, there are copies of these on the school website www.gms.school.nz

One of the features of the reports being prepared at the moment is the inclusion of an attendance percentage for the year, calculated for each child.

The goal is for a child to attend school more than 90% of the year - and this means missing no more than twenty school days of school, over the year.

I totally support the focus to keep improving attendance rates at our school. This is especially so when we look at the statistics in this form:

95% attendance - means a child missed two weeks of school this year

90% attendance - means missing four weeks of school this year

85% attendance - a child missed six weeks of school this year

80% attendance - missed eight weeks of school this year (equals one day every week)

75% attendance - missed out on a whole school term

Here are the Greenmeadows School figures of children attending 90% of each term:

Term 1 84% of our students (one of the highest in Hawke's Bay/Tairāwhiti)

Term 2 61% (a lot of illness this term)

Term 3 57% (major numbers of children unwell)

Term 4 ... as at today we are 81% - with ten days left, we are hoping for this high rate to continue!

During the afternoon of Monday 15th December all the children will get the opportunity to meet their new teacher for the 2026 year and visit their new classroom. We do this to give them a chance to settle in, and get used to knowing who their teacher will be, prior to the holidays.

The role of the parent is critical on this day, as well as leading up to this time. This is especially so if the classroom that the child ends up in, may not be the one they have imagined that they wanted. For some students it can be a stressful time at the thought of leaving particular friends, classroom or teacher.

Please be aware that the streets around our school will be filled with parked vehicles for those attending the Reignier Catholic School breakup and prize-giving on the afternoon of Friday 12 December. This includes the church car park, so please do not attempt to enter this space.

Reignier School usually hold their prize-giving in an evening time slot, but this year can not do so. We will send out a reminder next week, but best to plan ahead ...

Hopefully this is all behind us ...

Last week we were informed of the test results of the kinetic sand samples we had at school, as well as the surface and wall testing in and around the classrooms where the sand had been used. We were very relieved to be informed that all tests were negative, meaning no presence of asbestos was detected. After consulting with the Minsitry of Education we made the decision to return to the classrooms - and life returned to normal.

The canteen is closing for the year next Friday 12th December. Thank you for your continued support throughout the year and thanks to Mrs Batt for her hard work keeping our tamariki fed.

If you have a child who is going to turn five at any stage next year and they are going to attend Greenmeadows School, please let us know as soon as possible.

This also applies to any relatives, neighbours or friends you may have who live in our zone and wish for their children to come to our wonderful school.

Even if you think we may already know, there is no harm in telling us (again).

You can either phone the school or email Sara at saraa@gms.school.nz

Many thanks for your help.

Year 5 GMS student Emerson Deihl is a golfing sensation in the making!

Here are just some of Emerson's golfing achievements over the last three months:

* in September she won the Hawkes Bay under 13 boys and girls 36-hole division. This is Hawkes Bay’s biggest junior event of the year, where other players from outside the region travel to play in.

* Emerson was then selected for the Hawkes Bay under 21 Girls squad to play in the National Interprovincial tournament in Rotorua. At 10 years of age she was youngest girl ever to be selected for the Hawkes Bay squad and went on to win 4 of her 6 games (her 2 losses went down to the wire and both went to the 18th hole). She played a total of 126 holes in 5 days, which is approximately 49 km of golf - all with no caddy.

* after that performance, she was then selected for the Hawkes Bay Women’s squad to play in an annual quadrangular tournament and became the youngest ever female player in the 40-year history of the event to represent any of the four provinces at this tournament. The tournament was held in Otaki, where Hawkes Bay beat Taranaki 6 games to 2. Emerson lost her match but had lunch and quickly shook it off for her second match of the day against Manawatu/Whanganui, where she won convincingly. This helped Hawkes Bay to a 6.5-1.5 victory and retain a memorial plate that the two teams play for each year.

On the final day they played Wellington, who were also unbeaten for a winner-takes-all. The weather turned nasty early on, and it was raining sideways with gale winds. Unfortunately, Wellington was too good and won 6.5-1.5 with Emerson being the only one to get a win for Hawkes Bay. Her managers, coach and selectors have spoken very highly of her maturity, stamina, amazing sportsmanship, and outstanding results.

* and just this past weekend Emerson won the Hawkes Bay Under 19 championships at Pōrangahau!

Amazing stuff Emerson! Can't wait to get some tips ...!

Friday 5th December 9.30am - Kōwhai Tabloids

Wednesday 10th December - Year 6 Social

Thursday 11th December - Kōwhai Big Day In

Monday 15th December - Sports Awards Assembly - 12.00pm

Monday 15th December - School Prize giving

Thursday 18th December - Last day of school - 12.00pm finish

Monday 2nd February - First day of Term 1 2026

There are 13 amazing prizes up for grabs! Every full sheet sold the child will also be entered into the draw for spot prizes.

It’s wonderful to see the sold raffle sheets coming in. Just a reminder that all sheets need to be returned to the school office by Monday, 15 December.
The raffle will be drawn on Wednesday, 17 December.

A huge thank-you to the following businesses for their generous donations to our Christmas raffle — your support is truly appreciated!

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.

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.

Below is a link to download our school App if you haven't already.

This is how we communicate with the school community any importmant messages or reminders.

https://www.smore.com/app/reporting/out/ktaxf?u=https%3A%2F%2Fschoolappsnz.co.nz%2Finstall%2F&t=install%20link&w=w-5610919473&i=&l=l-7600403145

Email: admin@gms.school.nz
Website: http://www.gms.school.nz/
Location: Greenmeadows School 45 Osier Road, Greenmeadows, Napier, New Zealand
Phone: +64 06-844 7024
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gmsnapier