Newsletter April 29 2026

Term 2, Week 2 – 29 April 2026

Last Week’s Special MANA Assembly

Kia ora Whaanau,

We hope you all enjoyed the long weekend commemorating Anzac Day and if you were up early attending a dawn ceremony, we hope you were wearing lots of warm layers.

Our Waterlea MANA assembly last week was a very special one because we formally thanked Sel Dixon and Bex Hoeft for their long standing mahi and leadership of the PTA. Our PTA is vital to Waterlea because their fund raising efforts support lots of our must-haves and nice-to- haves in terms of our tamariki’s learning. With Bex and Sel standing down it leaves quite a gap in our PTA so if you are a new parent at Waterlea and would like to get involved in the PTA, please phone the office on 09 6364233 and check out Michelle’s blurb below.

We also welcomed the team from Kidscan and Kashin the elephant to our MANA assembly. Kidscan is a wonderful charity who provide food, clothing and health products to Kiwi kids across NZ. We have been very fortunate to partner with Kidscan this year and are benefitting from this greatly as they are supporting Waterlea with kai for students who need it during the day, as well as offering a free jacket to every student in our school.

Enjoy the rest of this week.

Ngaa mihi,

Andrea Jamieson and the Waterlea Team

A note from PTA Michelle 

We need your help!!

Our PTA is losing four members. We love what we do, however we can’t support an entire school community without more help.

The PTA plays a big role behind the scenes. For instance, we:

• Recently paid for the entire year 5 and 6 classes to attend Outdoor Education after their funding was cut.
• Contribute to classroom resources so teachers aren’t reaching into their own pockets for basic supplies.
• Manage the second-hand uniforms to keep things affordable for families.
• Paid for the teacher’s recent numicon professional development and equipment.
• Organise fun, whole school activities too like sausage sizzles, casual clothes days and an annual disco. 

But we’re stretched thin. Events that bring our community together, like quiz nights and the Brick Show, may not happen in the future because we don’t have enough hands to help.

We know everyone is busy. We are too. Many of us take annual leave from work just to run events and support the school. That’s why we need to share the load. Even a small contribution of your time can make a real difference.

You don’t need special skills or lots of free time – just a willingness to pitch in when you can. Whether you’d like to join the PTA committee or help out occasionally as a parent volunteer, we would love to meet you.

This is your school community too. With more people involved, we can keep doing the things that make our school special and do them even better.

We’d really love to see you at one of our upcoming events in May.

Regards,

The Waterlea PTA

Waterlea MANA Assembly Certificates

Junior School MANA Cerificates Recipients

Middle School MANA Certificates Recipients

Senior School MANA Certificates Recipients

Playground MANA Certificate Recipients

2027 School Dates

Term 1

First Day of Term 1 – 1 February 2027, Waananga Day

Last Day of Term 1 – 9 April 2027

Term 2

First Day of Term 2 – Tuesday 27 April, 2027

Last Day of Term 2 – Friday 2 July, 2027

Term 3

First Day of Term 3 – Monday 19 July, 2007

Last Day of Term 3 – Friday 24 September, 2027

Term 4

First Day of Term 4 – Monday 11 October, 2027

Last Day of Term 4 – Monday 13 December, 2027

All dates including school holidays and public holidays are on the Waterlea School Calendar

Learning in the Senior School – Parent Workshop

Next Wednesday 6 May at 3.15-4pm we are holding a parent workshop looking at the learning that happens in the senior school. Come along if you are a parent new to having tamariki in Year 5-6 ot if you are wanting further information. If you have younger children who need supervision during this time after school, drop them off in Room 22 and we will take care of them. A seesaw post will be sent out towards the end of the week and if you have any further questions talk to the classroom teacher or Camilla Jackson, camilla.jackson@waterlea.school.nz.

Year 4 – 6 Swimming Timetable

Important Parent Information- Free Nit Treatment Products

We have some free Nit Buster, the nit treatment shampoo and combs, held in our school office. We have the opportunity to order more if the uptake is good. If this is something that you are interested in, please let the office know and Anita will package it up to pop in the schoolbag or to be picked up. We have sent a nit notification to several classes already this term so please check your child’s hair and tie it back if it is long.

Last week to bring in pods….

3,007 Pods Collected, 

Ka pai Waterlea!

Important Dates

04 May – Rms 18 & 19 Ihumatao – More information coming from teachers

06 May – Wednesday, 3.15pm – 4pm – Learning in the Senior School Parent workshop

07 May – Ihumatao Rm’s 25 & 13 – More information coming from teachers

8 May – MANA Assembly – 9:45am – 10:30am

12 May – Rms 14 & 15 Ihumatao – More information coming from teachers

13 May – Year 4 – 6 Weekly swimming begins

14 May – Royal Oak Visiting Waterlea – 2027 Intake – 2:00pm – 2:30pm

15 May – Ihumatao Rm’s 24 & 12 – More information coming from teachers

20 May – Year 4 – 6 Swimming

21 May – New Cohort Visit 1

22 May – MANA Assembly – 9:45am – 10:30am

22 May – Ihumatao Rm’s 10 & 11 – More information coming from teachers

28 May – New Cohort Visit 2

01 June  – Kings Birthday – School Closed

01 June – Samoan Language Week

 Weekly Noticeboard

You can download your sticker collection sheet here if you would like your own one, or pick one up at the office