Newsletter Week 5, 11 November 2026

Waterlea School

Newsletter

Term 4, Week 5 – 11 November 2026

Kia ora Waterlea Whaanau

Last Thursday the Ukulele Group went to visit Mt Roskill Primary School to participate in the 2026 Auckland Puketaapapa Ukulele Jam. It was an amazing trip. Everyone was well prepared, having learned 14 songs. Two of these songs were played with no music, confidently leading the rest of the 130 or so children attending on the stage. You may have heard a few of these songs at our MANA assemblies or wafting from Room 10 early every Thursday morning.

If your tamariki are interested in joining the Ukulele Group next year, a few places will become available and there will be a sign up early in 2027. Weekly rehearsal attendance is expected and it is helpful if tamariki have a ukulele at home to practice with.

Unfortunately, due to the weather, the PTA Glitter and Glow Disco was postponed last Friday. The new date for this is Friday 20 November. This is also the day tamariki can wear casual clothes and it is sausage sizzle day so a fun time to be had by all!

Have a good week.

Ngaa mihi

Andrea Jamieson & the Waterlea Team

Ukulele Group

Message from Waterlea School’s Board

Kia ora koutou,

I just wanted to share with the Waterlea community a quick update on the principal recruitment process. Short version…it’s going very well! We had a good number of excellent applications and have now made a shortlist of the best candidates. We will be doing interviews over the next couple of weeks, and we are feeling very confident that we will be able to announce the new principal of Waterlea School by late November, ready for them to start with the new year in 2027.

Once everything is official, we will be communicating with the whole community to let you all know who our next amazing principal will be!

Ngaa mihi,

Chris Porteous

Presiding Member of the Waterlea Board

Attendance

Our regular attendance rate as a school for the fifth week for Term 4 is at 89%.

As always, please remember to let the office know if your child is going to be away and the reason for the absence. This information will allow us to enter the correct attendance code for your child. You can phone the office on 096364233 or email reception@waterlea.school.nz.

If your child is going away during the school term please email principal@waterlea.school.nz with the details for the absence and the dates your child will be away.

Keep up this great mahi in ensuring your children are coming to school each day!

Permission slip has been sent home for Colour Run

Please check your child’s bag and return the signed form to the

Classroom Teacher

Waterlea Weekly Notices

13 Nov – MANA Assembly 9:45am

16 Nov – New Cohort start school

16 Nov – Middle School Athletics 11am – 1pm

17 Nov – Senior School Athletics Day – 9am – 1pm

18 Nov – Senior School Sprint heats and finals – 11am – 1pm

18 Nov – Junior Games Day 9am – 10:30

20 Nov – Casual Clothes Day

– Sausage Sizzle @ Lunchtime

– PTA Glitter and Glow Disco

24 Nov – Mangere Bridge Mini Zone Athletics Day 9:30am, Years 4, 5 and 6

Waterlea, Mangere Bridge and Mountain View Schools

26 Nov – Year 6 Pool Party

27 Nov – PTA Colour Run

– No MANA assembly

4 Dec – PTA Sausage Sizzle

4 Dec – Year 6 Dine and Dance 5:45pm – 7:45pm

8 Dec – Year 6 Graduation – 11am – 1pm

– Board Meeting 7pm School Staffroom

10 Dec – Year 1 Waiata Whaanau Performance 2pm

11 Dec – Final Whole School Assembly 11am

14 Dec – Last Day of Term 4

Sickness

We have noticed some vomiting illness among our tamariki and kaiako across the school. We are actively encouraging all children and adults to use hand sanitiser regularly. If your child is unwell with vomiting or diarrhoea, please keep them at home for 48 hours following their last symptom to help prevent the spread of illness. Thank you.

Other Important Notices

Pform After School Sessions

‘Just Drama’ Classes (Ages 7-12)
When: Tuesdays, 3:15 PM – 4:15 PM
Where: Waterlea School – Room 22

This class is structured purely for fun. Our focus is to encourage students to explore their creativity, build confidence, and develop interpersonal skills by focusing on each child’s unique strengths.

There are no tests, grading or rehearsed performances – just a space to relax, grow, laugh, and learn through doing. It is ideal for kinesthetic learners who enjoy hands-on developmental activities.

‘Just Drama’ Free Trial

To enrol or book your free trial – click the link.

https://www.pform.nz/auckland/class/just-drama/

Community Nurse

Waterlea is really lucky to have a community nurse called Farisha who will be working in our school every Monday morning. She will be able to provide advice and care for lots of those itchy, scratchy, raspy, drippy childhood issues that affect our tamariki, without you needing to take a morning off work to book a visit to the health centre!

The kind of things that Farisha can help with are things like school sores or scabies, repeated head lice, ongoing coughs and runny noses. You are welcome to get in touch with the teacher if you would like to self refer, and Farisha will always contact parents before seeing a child.

Week-Bix Kids Tryathlon

South Auckland Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon

The South Auckland Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon will be held on Tuesday 24 November at Mountford Park, Manurewa. Our school has registered for this event, but please note that parents are responsible for entering their child and supporting them with training. It’s a fantastic opportunity for tamariki to give it a go, build confidence, and have fun being active! We will have the school marquee set up so athletes have a central meeting place and can support each other.
You can join the school team by visiting the Weet-Bix TRYathlon website: https://tryathlon.co.nz.

Entry Options

Splash & Dash – 6 year olds only. Swim and run.
Individual TRYathlete – 7-15 year olds. Swim, cycle and run.
Teams of Two – 7-9 year olds (Juniors) and 10-15 year olds (Seniors). One team member does the swim, the other does the cycle, and both do the run.