20th July 2026

Kia ora e te whānau,

Welcome back to school for Term 3! I hope you all had a wonderful, restful winter break and managed to stay warm and dry. It is fantastic to see our tamariki returning with big smiles, full of energy, and ready for another action-packed term of learning and growth.

A Warm Welcome to Our New Faces

First and foremost, I want to extend a huge, warm Whangārei Primary School welcome to all of our new students, their families, and the new teaching staff joining our team this term. We are absolutely thrilled to have you join our school community.

To officially welcome everyone, we will be holding a whole-school Pōwhiri this week:

• When: Thursday 23 July at 10:30 a.m.
• Where: Under the covered area
• Who: All parents and whānau are warmly invited to attend, especially the families of our new students and staff.
  We would love for you to join us as we come together to welcome the newest members of our school family.

What’s Coming Up in Term 3

We have a vibrant and busy term ahead, packed with opportunities for our students to shine, learn, and challenge themselves. Here are a few key highlights to put on your calendar:

• Cultural Celebration (Weeks 1–3): For the first few weeks of the term, our entire school will be diving into a school-wide Cultural Celebration. As part of their topic learning, each class will be focusing on a specific country or culture, exploring its traditions, history, and arts.
• Maths Week (Week 4): Get ready for some brain-teasing fun! Week 4 is Maths Week, where we will be celebrating all things mathematics with engaging activities and challenges across the school.
• WPS Cross Country: Lace up those running shoes! Our annual school Cross Country will take place on Friday 21 August. More details on times and how you can come along to cheer on our runners will be sent out closer to the date.
• "Keeping Ourselves Safe" Programme: This term, we will be running the Keeping Ourselves Safe programme. This is a valuable personal safety programme facilitated in partnership with our local NZ Police, designed to give students the skills they need to stay safe in a range of situations.

Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support, partnership, and dedication to making Whangārei Primary School such a wonderful place to learn. Our door is always open, so please feel free to pop in for a chat.

Let’s make it a fantastic Term 3!

Ngā mihi nui,

Matua Danny

Principal

Whangārei Primary School

Kia Ora,
This is our last newsletter for Term 2, Week 11, 30th of June, 2026.

Please click on the link below to open and view our newsletter:
WPS Newsletter - T02W11 - 30 June 2026

If you would like to view any of our previous newsletters, please click on this link below:
WPS Newsletters and Notices

Nga mihi

Office@WPS
Ph: (09) 438 3186
office@whangareiprimary.school.nz

Kia Ora,
This is our latest newsletter for Week 9 of Term 2, 16th of June, 2026.

Please click on the link below to open and view our newsletter:
WPS Newsletter - T02W09 - 16 June 2026

If you would like to view any of our previous newsletters, please click on this link below:
WPS Newsletters and Notices

Nga mihi

Office@WPS
Ph: (09) 438 3186
office@whangareiprimary.school.nz

15th June

Kia ora koutou,

Later this term, you will receive a report on the academic and social progress of your child here at Whangārei Primary. As many of you are aware, there have been significant changes to the national curriculum, the expected standards of achievement at each year level, and the language used to describe student progress.

In 2026, we are beginning to implement the recommendations made by the Ministry of Education. Our initial focus is on the use of five new progress descriptors specifically for reading, writing, and mathematics.

What to Expect in the Report

As in previous years, your child’s report will include:

• Subject Comments: Specific feedback and "next steps" for Reading, Writing, and Mathematics.
• General Comment: Feedback covering other curriculum areas and social development.
• Attendance Summary: A record of your child’s time at school.
• School Values: An assessment of progress in relation to our school's core values.
• Home Support: Practical ideas for supporting learning at home.

The reports will now also use one of the 5 progress descriptors to describe how your child is progressing in Reading, Writing and Mathematics. In previous years we have used the language of working towards or meeting expectations.

The Ministry of Education acknowledges that these changes represent a major shift in Primary Education in New Zealand. This new language and the accompanying curriculum expectations are also very new to our teaching staff.

We view this first report under the new system as a starting point. It is a learning process for our school, our teachers, and for you as whānau.

Further information regarding these changes can be found via the Ministry of Education Parent Portal: https://www.education.govt.nz/news/new-parent-portal-launched

Ngā mihi,

Whangārei Primary School

Kia ora parents / whanau

This is a reminder about our Whanau Conferences. These will be on Tuesday 23rd of June and Wednesday, 24th of June.

For Tuesday, 23rd of June, school will be closing at 1PM to allow for the teachers to prepare for the conferences that start at 1.30pm.

On Wednesday, 24th of June, school will be running as usual, with it ending at 3pm on this day. With conferences starting at 3.30pm.

To make a whanau conference booking you will need to add the SkoolLoop app to your phone or device. (The SkoolLoop app also allows you to keep up to date with school events and notices, and also allows you to send in absentees if your child will be away.) Please follow the instructions in the attachment below, for adding the app to your device and how to book using this app.

If you have any issues, please get in contact with the office.

Nga mihi

Office
Whangarei Primary School