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Newsletter #4 | Term 1 Week 7
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From our Principal - Marie Todd
And welcome to our new children and whānau who started with us last week. It is always exciting to see our new beginners at CPS, walking proudly through the school gate in their crisp uniform and carefully chosen school backpack, ready to begin their learning journey. We are delighted to have you join our school community.
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Camp Carey Park is an ideal location to introduce our Year 5/6 students to the school camp experience. The diverse activities are perfectly suited to their age and stage, helping them build essential skills for independent learning. The camp encourages them to step outside their comfort zones through what may seem like high-risk activities but are, in fact, calculated opportunities. This allows them to discover new capabilities and ways of thinking they didn't realise they possessed. While many of our students are familiar with overnight stays, such as sleepovers with family and friends (which also grant parents some well-deserved space!), for a number of them, a school camp may be their first experience of spending extended time away from home. Opportunities like this are an important part of growing up. They allow children to build independence, resilience, and confidence while strengthening friendships and learning to work together in new environments. Being away from the comforts of home, even for a short time, often brings out new strengths in our students and creates lasting memories that become a special part of their schooling experience. Behind the scenes, our teachers put a tremendous amount of time and care into preparing for camp, carefully planning activities, ensuring safety, and providing thoughtful pastoral support so that every student feels confident, supported, and ready to make the most of the experience. Thank you also to our parent helpers who attended camp, we are grateful for your time and assistance in making the camp such a special experience.
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Parenting presents a unique mix of experiences. Some days are wonderfully uplifting, those rainbow and unicorn days, as opposed to the others……. counting down until bedtime! Hearing our children discuss their day, whether it's grappling with learning or dealing with friendship issues, can often be highly emotional. Strong relationships with our students and whānau are the cornerstone of building this resilience, creating a sense of trust, belonging, and support that helps our tamariki navigate challenges and grow in confidence. For valuable support and information, we also recommend The Parenting Place. They promote strong connections with children to help them learn, make good choices, and develop into confident, resilient adults. As a trusted New Zealand voice, they offer tools and encouragement to empower parents in their vital role.
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Next week, on Friday, is our Cultural Day celebration, where students can come dressed in clothes that reflect who they are and their culture (parents and siblings, please feel free to get into the spirit too!). Whether children come in a football attire as Lionel Messi, reflecting Argentina, red band gumboots, and an All Blacks or Warriors jumper, or however you wish to share your culture, we welcome the opportunity to celebrate our wonderful diversity as a school.
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Just a reminder to book a time with your child’s teacher during our Goal Setting Conferences in Week 9 through the Hero app. We recognise and appreciate that, in a nine-week term, these conferences fall in the final week. Thank you for making the time to attend. These conversations are a valuable opportunity for you, your child, and their teacher to come together to share learning, celebrate progress, and discuss next steps.
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Upcoming Events
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NB - Updates and changes can occur as necessary
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2026 Term Dates
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Term 1: Monday 2 February - Thursday 2 April
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Term 2: Monday 20 April - Friday 3 July
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Term 3: Monday 20 July - Friday 25 September
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Term 4: Monday 12 October – Friday 11 December
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Public Holidays (that fall during term time)
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ANZAC Day (Mondayised) - Monday 27 April
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King’s Birthday – Monday 1 June
Labour Day – Monday 26 October
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Thank you Camp Carey Helpers
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A huge thank you to all the parents who attended Camp Carey with the Waitematā whānau last week. The weather played ball and the students were able to complete all of the outdoor activities without interruption. The experiences that students have gained on this camp will remain with them for life.
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On Friday 27th March, we will be holding a
Cultural Celebration day, as part of our "Ko Wai Tatou" topic study for term one.
Come to school dressed in something that represents the culture that you identify with.
There will be a parade on the courts at 9.10 am to celebrate the rich array of cultures that are represented at CPS.
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The groups below are run by our wonderful music teacher, Anna McLeod. Please direct any enquiries to Anna - annam@churchillpark.school.nz
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Thursdays 1.40pm - 2.10pm
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Wednesdays 2.15pm - 2.50pm
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For a full list of Clubs, Lessons and Activities at CPS in 2026, please click here.
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Karaka and Tāmaki Enviro Reps for 2026
Last week we had our first meeting and visited the Trees for Survival shelters in the Junior carpark. We talked about what plants need to survive so that we can plant them out in Churchill Park. Darryll came and turned the watering system on and everyone thought it was raining!
We discussed the rubbish bin system and how we need to take all our lunch rubbish home in our lunchboxes. A very enthusiastic group of budding environmentalists.
Mrs Sharyn O'Brien - Enviro
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Jiu-Jitsu Competition
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Brothers, Noah T and Tyler T competed at the NZBJJF KIDS & YOUTH JJ LEAGUE AUCKLAND OPEN II 2026. Both competed in Gi and No Gi.
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Gi is done wearing a traditional martial arts uniform (called a gi or kimono) with a belt.
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No-Gi is done wearing shorts and a rash guard (tight athletic shirt) instead of the gi.
Both Noah and Tyler made it to the finals and both won Gold in Gi and No Gi. Noah is a 2024 and 2025 national champion. This was Tyler's first-ever competition.
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Well done boys. Pictured here with their big brother, Mason.
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School Payments
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The School Donation remains at $525. Most parents will be entitled to claim a tax rebate - if you are a top tax rate payer a 33% reduction is available.
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Waitematā Whānau - please make your Camp Carey payment through kindo. You can pay in installments if you prefer.
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Please make school payments through your mykindo account. There are several methods to add funds to your account. Add regular topups if you'd like, then allocate to payments when you're ready, or just pay as you go. mykindo is also where you can order school lunches. Set up your kindo account.
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NB: The school no longer has an EFTPOS terminal. All payments are to be made via kindo or DC, please. DC with your child's name to: 12-3027-0387931-000
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Has your child grown out of their CPS uniform?
Please do remember donating it to the second hand uniform shop. But PLEASE ensure zips work, buttons are present, not too much paint/ vivid on shirts and blouses.
HUGE thanks in advance and for your donations.
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School Lunches
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Order school lunches through kindo to be delivered to Churchill Park School on Monday to Thursday. Check out your kindo account for suppliers and menus.
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Independent Notices and Information:
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Although accepted for publication in this section, Churchill Park School does not necessarily endorse, nor accept responsibility for any of the information contained herein:
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Our school is taking part in a Story Store book drive to support children’s literacy across New Zealand. Story Store is a local charity set up by retired school librarians and volunteers that redistributes donated children’s books to lower-decile schools, where teachers and students choose the books they need — at no cost to them. We welcome donations of good-quality children’s books and thank our community for helping make a meaningful difference.
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Please bring donations to the school office by Friday 20th March.
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Book condition: Excellent condition, gently used, no damage or writing
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Talk to Nat Baker (Sports Teacher) for more information about signing up for Junior Hockey!
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