Principal’s Message
Kia ora koutou katoa,
Welcome back to Term 3! The year is flying by, and we have some exciting events and opportunities ahead. Term 3 is traditionally a time for strong, focused learning, and our teachers are well-prepared with clear routines and high expectations to support every student.
Our teaching staff have been engaging in professional learning in both Structured Literacy and Structured Maths. As part of our continued focus on high-quality mathematics teaching, students will soon begin using Maths No Problem—a Ministry-funded maths textbook designed to support deep understanding through structured practice and reinforcement. These books will stay at school and be used regularly as part of our classroom programme.
We’re looking forward to a productive and rewarding term of learning!
Ngā mihi nui,
Phebe Rossiter
Principal
Pigeon Mountain Primary School
Student Achievement and Celebrations
Jammies in June:
Jammies in June – Thank You!
A huge thank you to our wonderful community for your generosity during our Jammies in June appeal. We collected 25 pairs of pyjamas and 10 warm blankets, and raised around $450 in donations! Mrs Hosking, Mrs Blest and the Wellbeing leaders will be heading to The Warehouse next week to purchase even more cosy pyjamas. Your kindness will help keep tamariki warm this winter — thank you for making a difference!
Check out the photo of just some of the fantastic items donated!
Mid-Year Reports – We Value Your Feedback
Last term, we sent home mid-year reports. We hope you received this and found it a helpful summary of your child’s progress. Our teachers invested a great deal of time and care into preparing these reports, and we’re always looking for ways to improve how we communicate learning with whānau.
To help us make some small adjustments for the end-of-year reports, we would really appreciate your feedback. Please take a few minutes to complete our short Google Form survey—it includes 11 questions, most of which are multiple choice.
Google form: https://forms.gle/uZuQkW93XtGQow3M6
Thank you for your support and input!
School News and Announcements
Bell times: We are making a small adjustment to our daily bell times to better balance learning across the day. The new structure allows for three even learning blocks and an earlier morning tea, supporting student focus and wellbeing.
New Bell Times (effective from Monday 14 July):
- 8.30am – Classrooms open
- 8.50am – School starts
- 10.30am – 10.50am – Morning tea
- 12.30pm – 1.30pm – Lunch
- 3.00pm – School finishes
Please note that the 8.45am and 2.50pm bells will no longer sound.
Thank you for your support in helping us create a smooth and settled school day for our tamariki.
Update on Specialist Teaching Programme: To create greater consistency for our learners, we are making a change to how our specialist teaching programme is delivered. From this term, each class will attend one specialist subject per term, at the same time each week. This regular schedule will support routines and build stronger connections between students, teachers, and specialist subjects.
We are proud to offer a range of engaging specialist areas including Digital Technology, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), Dance and Drama, Health and Physical Education, and—for our junior students—Learning Through Play. This unique programme includes physical activity, arts, crafts, puppetry, imaginative play, and more.
Classroom teachers will continue to be present each morning for roll call and to ensure all students are settled and ready to learn, even on days when they are released for planning and professional learning. This release time is part of the government’s support for teachers to prepare high-quality teaching, assessment, and professional development.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, your child’s classroom teacher is the best first point of contact.
Road Patrol: We need a volunteer who can help out with the Loloma Drive road patrol on a Monday morning or Wednesday afternoon. The role of the parent is to supervise and support our road patrol team. If you are interested please contact fionab@pmps.school.nz for more information.
Parking and traffic around the school: We are becoming increasingly concerned about unsafe driving and parking behaviours around the school at drop-off and pick-up times—particularly along Marina Heights and Loloma Drive. Parking on yellow lines, blocking driveways, and performing U-turns that cross footpaths are not only illegal but also pose serious risks to our children’s safety.
We understand that winter weather makes these times more challenging, but we ask all families to remain patient, respectful, and mindful of others. Some behaviours have led to conflict between parents, which we all want to avoid in our school community. Let’s work together to model safe and courteous behaviour for our tamariki.
Thank you for helping us keep Pigeon Mountain a safe and respectful place for everyone.
We hope to open a Second hand uniform shop in the entrance to our library early in Term 3. If you have any good quality uniform that you would like to donate please can you send it to the office and we will use funds raised from the uniform shop to improve the outdoor learning areas at school. The shop will be run by parent volunteers from our Kereru Crew (PTA).
Out-of-Zone Enrolments – Now Open
The Board has confirmed that we will be accepting Out-of-Zone enrolments for the following intakes:
- Term 4, 2025 – Year 0 / New Entrants only
- 2026 – Year 1, 2, 3, and 4 students
If you are interested in a Year 0 place for Term 4, 2025, please email enrolment@pmps.school.nz to receive the link to be included in the ballot process.
We look forward to welcoming new families to Pigeon Mountain Primary School.
Property
Property Update – Fencing Project
Our school fencing project is nearly complete, with just a few final adjustments to come. As part of this improvement, please note that the main school gates will be closed after 9.00am each day.
If your child is arriving late or returning after an appointment, you will need to open the gate for them. This change supports the safety and security of our school environment—thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
In addition to the nearly completed fencing project, we’ve made some smaller improvements around the school, including fresh paint for Rooms 23 and 24 and general garden tidying and maintenance. These updates help keep our environment welcoming and well cared for.
The Board is committed to ongoing improvements in line with our Property Plan, and we look forward to continuing this progress to support a positive learning environment for all.
Attendance Information
One of our school goals is for 80% of students to attend more than 90% of the term. This term, we’ve fallen slightly short of that target, reaching 75%. The main reasons for absence have been illness and holidays. While we understand that some absences are unavoidable, regular attendance plays a key role in supporting strong learning progress and social connection.
We are also seeing a number of students arriving late to school. A reminder that school starts at 8.50am, and any student arriving after this time must sign in at the office. To support a calm and settled start to the day, we encourage students to arrive between 8.30am and 8.45am. This gives them time to get organised, connect with friends, and check in with their teacher if needed.
You will notice that student attendance is now recorded on both mid-year and end-of-year reports, so whānau can monitor attendance patterns and see the impact of regular presence at school.
Thank you for supporting your child’s learning through regular and timely attendance.
SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS 2025
The School Board is an important part of our Pigeon Mountain Primary School as they set the strategic direction for our school, consult with our school community about our Pigeon Mountain Primary School, ensure the schools funding is spent wisely and
ensure that we are giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi within our Pigeon Mountain Primary School.
The current board have made the decision to appoint Election Pilot as the Returning Officer for our election and for the election
to be provided online. They have been assisting schools with elections for over 20 years and have been the only election provider accredited by the Ministry of Education to provide online election services since online elections started in 2022.
Nomination and voting forms will be sent to all eligible voters by email directly from Election Pilot. If we don’t have an email address for you, nomination and voting papers will be sent by post so no one will miss out.
School Board Elections must be held in accordance with the provisions in the Education and Training Act 2020 and the Education (Board Elections) Regulations 2022. Your name and contact details have been provided to Schooled Election Pilot
to enable the provision of elections services for our Pigeon Mountain Primary School as required by legislation. They will use your contact details for the provision of election services for Pigeon Mountain Primary School only and your details will be deleted 60 days after the election date as required by legislation.
If you have any questions about the election process, please contact the Returning Officer directly on 0800 VOTENZ (0800 868 369) or election@electionpilot.nz.
We will continue to keep you updated through the various stages of the election process, and our election date is Wednesday 10th September 2025.
Important Dates and Reminders
Term 3 – Monday 14 July – Friday 20 September
Term 3 dates:
18 July – Senior school cross country
1 August – Junior school cross country
1 August – Game and PJ night
4-8 August – Year 5 and 6 Cycle skills
6 August – ICAS Digital technology
6 August – 2025 School Elections Parent Nominations close at 12pm
13 August – ICAS English
21 August ICAS Science
22 August – Grandparents Day
28 August – ICAS Maths
28 August – Daffodil Day
1 September – Curriculum Day (Teacher Only Day)
4 September – Maori and Pasifika Whanau Hui
10 September – 2025 School Election Day
11 September – Chinese Parent meeting
11 September – Silly Socks day and Pizza lunch day
15- 19 Maori Language week
17 and 19 September – Student Led Conferences
