Newsletter 10 - Term 3
Principal’s Message
Dear Parents and Whānau,
A very warm welcome back to school for Term 3. I hope you all had a refreshing break and are ready for another productive term ahead.
Once again, our focus remains firmly on high-quality learning. Our teachers have prepared structured, engaging programmes designed to ensure that every single one of our learners makes excellent progress and achieves success over the coming weeks.
We are incredibly excited to begin the term with our school-wide celebrations for Matariki. This year’s national theme, Matariki herenga waka, is all about inclusion, unity, and encouraging people from all walks of life to celebrate together. It has strong connections to multiculturalism and the sharing of cultural practices.
In the spirit of this theme, I would like to extend a very special welcome to the International students who are joining our Pigeon Mountain Primary School family for the next few weeks. We have some wonderful trips and experiences booked for our international students, their families, and their Kiwi buddies to help them connect, share their cultures, and create lifelong memories.
Thank you for your ongoing support as we kick off another fantastic term of learning and togetherness.
Ngā mihi nui
Phebe Rossiter
Principal
Pigeon Mountain Primary School
Student Achievement and Celebration
School News and Announcements
PB4L: To start the term off, classes are revisiting their classroom matrix. Students are looking at what positive behaviour looks like, feels like and sounds like through exploring different scenarios during the school day from group work to morning routines.
School Culture:
At Pigeon Mountain Primary School, we are committed to maintaining a safe, supportive, and positive environment for all our students. As part of this commitment, we actively encourage a "culture of telling."
This means that if a student sees or knows that something is not right, they are encouraged to speak up and tell a teacher or a trusted adult straight away. A culture of telling is not about getting others into trouble; it is about looking out for one another. By speaking up, our students help keep everyone safe and ensure that positive, respectful behaviour remains at the heart of our school community.
What does a ‘Culture of Telling’ look like?
We teach our students that speaking up is a sign of leadership and care. Here are some examples of when students should tell a trusted adult:
If someone is feeling left out or lonely: "I noticed someone sitting by themselves every lunchtime."
If someone is being unkind: "I saw someone pushing on the playground, or using words that hurt a classmate's feelings."
If property is being damaged: "Someone accidentally broke a piece of sports equipment and walked away."
How to discuss this at home:
To help your child understand the difference between "snitching" and "seeking help to keep others safe," you might discuss these scenarios with them:
If a classmate is repeatedly ignoring the game rules just to win, that is a good time to practice problem-solving or compromise.
If a classmate is hiding someone else's school bag, using mean words, or making someone feel unsafe, that is always a time to tell a teacher immediately.
Keeping our school safe and happy: At PMPS, creating a safe and welcoming environment is a team effort, and we appreciate your ongoing support. To keep our school a safe space for everyone, we kindly remind families to ensure unsafe items stay at home. Sometimes, items that seem exciting to a child, such as pocket knives, matches, or realistic 3D-printed toys, can cause accidental harm or worry at school.
We ask that parents please do a quick routine check of your child’s school bag and ensure any unsafe items are stored securely out of reach at home.
Matariki: We hope you had a wonderful opportunity to celebrate Matariki over the school holidays. This first week back, our school is keeping the celebrations going as we welcome the Māori New Year.
Throughout the week, students will engage in special Matariki activities in their classrooms. In the afternoons, we will come together in our house groups to practice the concept of Tuakana-Teina. This foundational Māori concept refers to the relationship between an older or more experienced person (tuakana) and a younger or less experienced person (teina). In our school, this creates a beautiful mentorship dynamic where our older and younger students collaborate, share knowledge, and support each other's learning in a truly reciprocal way.
To wrap up our celebrations, we warmly invite our school community to join us for an early morning hīkoi (walk) up Ōhuiarangi / Pigeon Mountain this Friday, followed by a shared breakfast back at school.
To help us with catering, please log onto KINDO to register your attendance. We would love to have you there to celebrate with us!
Proposed change to cohort entry: Please take time to complete the survey around cohort entry that was sent out at the end of last term.
Enrolment - Important: If you have a child in Year 6 please ensure that you have enrolled either in-zone or out-of-zone for intermediate school. In zone enrolments help the school to know how many out of zone places may be available.
If you have a younger child turning 5 in 2027 please can you complete an enrolment form for them so that we can start planning staff and classrooms.
We have some out-of-zone places (see below) available at Pigeon Mountain Primary School for 2027. Please complete the Out-Of-Zone applications form on our website before Wednesday 14 October.
Year 0: 50 places
Year 1: 18 places
Year 2: 15 places
Year 3: 9 places
Year 4: 13 places
Year 5: 8 place
Year 6: No places available.
Property
Have you seen the beautiful new garden by Room 18 and 19? Spruced up over the school holidays, it is part of our ongoing efforts to ensure our school remains tidy, welcoming, and a true reflection of our commitment to excellence.
Important Dates and Reminders
Term Dates
Term 3: Monday 20th July - Friday 25th September
Term 4: Monday 12th October - Tuesday 15 December
Curriculum Day (Teacher Only Day) Friday 23rd October
Labour Day – Monday 26th October
Important event dates at Pigeon Mountain Primary School:
Please check our school website which has a link to our Pigeon Mountain Community Calendar
Community Notices
Art with Janet
PMPS Wednesday after school art class
Art class: drawing. painting. oil pastels drawing
Day: Wednesday
Time: 3.15pm-4.15pm
Fee: $17 per hour
Classroom: Room 23
Please phone: 027-6555574 Janet
Email: janeto@xtra.co.nz
