Principal’s Message
Kia ora koutou katoa,
I hope that you were able to take some time to rest up and recharge over the long weekend. We have four weeks remaining till the end of term and a lot of exciting things to look forward to, please make sure you have the dates in your calendar.
We will finish this busy term with Mid-year reports. The reports will be sent home via email on Wednesday 25 June. As many of you know, there’s a refresh of the New Zealand Curriculum underway, and we’re excited about the opportunities this presents for our learners.
While we’re implementing the updated learning areas, you’ll find that our approach to reporting to parents and whānau will remain very similar to what you’re accustomed to. We believe that high-quality reporting is absolutely essential for us to develop a clear and shared understanding of your children’s progress, achievement, and success.
Our reporting will continue to provide you with timely and meaningful information about the progress your child is making in line with the curriculum, their areas of strength, areas for improvement, and their next steps in learning. We’ll be making some tweaks to our existing reporting framework to seamlessly incorporate the new curriculum content. As the curriculum refresh continues and new resources become available, we’ll keep you informed of any further updates.
Ngā mihi nui,
Phebe Rossiter
Principal
Pigeon Mountain Primary School
Student Achievement and Celebrations
HPPA Sport
Hockey: It was a beautiful day at the Lloyd Elsmore hockey grounds for the Year 4, 5 and 6 competitions. Both teams showed their school values on and off the pitch, they improved during the course of the day and were rewarded with some hard fought wins.
Ripper Rugby: The team had a great day out last week competing against local schools in the Rippa Rugby competition and have our second day of competition on Friday. Good luck team!
Dodgeball: We sent a keen team of students to compete at dodgeball. It was a great competition and the students learned the rules and new skills. We were pleased to come away with second place.
Samoan Language week
We are excited to celebrate Vaiaso o le Gagana Sāmoa – Samoan Language Week! This year’s theme is ‘Alofa atu, alofa mai – Love receives, love gives’, reminding us of the power of reciprocity and connection. Why not try learning a few Samoan greetings with your child, or explore some Samoan music and stories together?
Fa’afetai tele lava for your support in making our school a place where all cultures are valued and celebrated.
School News and Announcements
We have a new pigeon at PMPS!
Thank you to all the students and families who made suggestions for our new bird. We have some finalists for our students to vote on:
Keri
Tahi – Together as one
Kiki tupu – full of growth
Jade
EWAH – Education with a heart
Parent teacher Association (PTA): Let’s Build a Stronger School Community Together!
We had an excellent turn out of parents for our first PTA meeting and it was so successful we will hold a Special General meeting on 7.30pm pm Thursday 12 June to elect the key positions for our PTA executive committee. Please consider if you would like to take on one of these roles. Our PTA will meet on Thursdays at 7.30pm approx twice per school Term. Meeting in the staffroom.
The PTA had some great initial ideas at our first meeting including a second hand uniform shop, support school events like disco, family lunch at school, sushi making, Fruju Friday or cake sales. Once we have an elected committee and team we will share updates with the community.
Chairperson/President:
- Leads and guides the PTA.
- Chairs all meetings.
- Acts as the public representative of the PTA to the school community
- Ensures the PTA operates according to its constitution.
- Often has a casting vote in the event of a tie.
- Secretary:
- Prepares and distributes agendas for meetings.
- Takes and keeps minutes of all meetings.
- Handles correspondence for the PTA.
- Keeps records of organisational notes for fundraising events.
- Assists with communication to the school community (e.g., newsletter inserts).
- Treasurer:
- Manages the financial affairs of the PTA.
- Keeps proper books of account for all money received and expended.
- Presents financial reports at each meeting and an annual financial statement.
- Operates the PTA’s bank accounts, including authorising payments.
- Ensures compliance with Charities Commission requirements if registered as a charity.
- Vice-Chairperson/Deputy Chairperson (optional but common):
- Supports the Chairperson and steps in when the Chairperson is absent.
- May take on specific projects or areas of responsibility.
In Zone Enrolments
If you have a child who is 4 years old please enroll them as soon as possible as we are planning our staffing and classes for 2025 and 2026.
Out-Of-Zone applications
Sports Dress-Down day: Friday 13 June
Just a reminder about our Sports Dress Down day. Students will be able to wear sports gear in exchange for a donation towards our play space upgrade. Please make a donation on KINDO. The Junior class and Senior class that raise the most money will win an ice blocks treat for the class.
Before and Afterschool care
BizzyBodz is a great programme that supports our students before and after school. Bizzy Bodz’s After School Care Programme has been established to provide on-site after school care for children from Pigeon Mountain Primary School between the hours of 7.00 – 8.30am and 3.00 – 6.00pm. The completion of an enrolment form is necessary before a child can enter the programme.
It is Bizzy Bodz’s intention to provide a professional service, which will give your child a safe, secure environment and enjoyable care experience. See our school website for more information.
Pataki Kai
A huge thank you to all our families that donated to our cans drive for our Pataki Kai. Our wellbeing leaders were pleased to be able to collect in nearly 800 cans. The classes that donated the most cans and had a dress down day last Friday were room 1 and room 11. We feel really proud that our Pataki Kai now has lots of lovely canned goods for those in need.
Student Council Event:
The PMPS Student Council is thrilled to announce an exciting, neon-themed disco for the whole school will be held on Friday, June 6th. Juniors 5pm until 6 pm and seniors 6.15pm until 7.30pm
Property
Fencing project:
Hopefully the concrete for the ramps at the entrance to the school will be in this week. Once the gates are installed, they will need an adult to open them. Each gate has a pull lock at the top. Please make sure that you are walking students to the office if they are arriving after 9.00am.
Court markings
Over the weekend we had all the court markings redone and it is looking great. You are always welcome to come and play at the school over the weekend and in the afternoon and enjoy a game of snakes and ladders or hopscotch.
Important dates
Term 2: Monday 28 April – Friday 27 June
Term 2 dates:
Friday 6th – HPPA Rippa Rugby and Disco
Friday 13 June – Sports Dress Down day
18-19 June – matariki Noho and Hiko
Thursday 19 June – Salvation Army Food Drive
Friday 20 June: Matariki (Public holiday)
25 June – Reports to go home
Friday 27 June – Last day of school for Term 2
Monday 14 July – Term 3 commences
Reminders
@school parent app
Please ensure that you have downloaded the @school parent app. The @school parent app is our preferred method of reporting absences, accessing student reports, receiving newsletters and school notices. When setting up your app please make sure that you enter yes to notifications – this will mean that you will get an alert each time a notice/newsletter is available. Please contact the office if you are unable to access the @school app.
Absences from School
Please use the @school parent app to report an absence or the school website
Collecting Students during the school day
If you need to collect your child for an appointment during the school day please contact the office 09 534 9765 or email general@pmps.school.nz to arrange. If possible please arrange to collect your child before or after the morning tea and lunch breaks, as it is difficult to find children during these times. Morning tea is 10.50am until 11.15am, lunch from 12.45pm until 1.45pm.
Current Contact Details
It is important that we have current contact details for our students. If you have moved house, changed your email address or mobile number, please contact the school office to have our records updated. You can check the contact information that we have for your child on the parent app.
