25 September 2026

Kia ora koutou,

We have almost arrived at the end of what has been a biggie!

I'm one of those re-framers when it comes to the typical school year. When the common perception can be that the upcoming Term 4 is all about slowly trekking down the other side of the maunga - this is not what happens here - next term is the biggest uphill piece. Thankfully the days are warmer and longer! It is the term where much of the heavy lifting and nitty gritty happens. It's all about reporting, evaluation and planning for the following year. It feels like the most intense term. Of course there are all the transition programmes, Education Outside the Classroom opportunities and our delightful Year 6 events culminating with the infamous School WRAP! We will also welcome a pile of new five-year-olds which will be fun and like setting up a whole new class for Autahi!

My head is often forecasting well into the future - but I need to reflect on Term 3 which is where this newsletter piece began. It has its flavour. During this term there is a lot of assessment going on behind the scenes, the Arts is always highlighted, everyone is well into their stride, expectations keep rising as teachers start looking to what benchmarks look like the following year, we have learning celebrations, we juggle winter illnesses, we basically knuckle down and we keep a close eye on what aspects of the programme need a boost! Alongside this there are the waves of change all whirling around the educational landscape. That's why it's also important that we have a solid strategic direction and our local curriculum sings loudly. This context is the difference between schools and we are so fortunate to have had your strong community voice in this. What I am equally loving as I show parents with upcoming school starters around and through our guiding documents - they get it too. It's refreshing amidst the many confused messages out there in media land in an election year. It's both/and - we can absolutely do what we need to do to implement the expected changes and do that well AND we can give our children something special in their six years of primary. That's what ERO saw - that's what we need to keep!

OK - I need to get off my bandwagon and have a bit of a break so I'm ready to face the Term 4 music. I hope the tunes are plentiful!

Big appreciation for our staff for really digging in this term and giving the children great learning experiences. Thanks to you for your thought and care for the staff - I know you realise how much they give.

Ngā mihi nui

Jude