I’m sure, as parents, you are well aware that there have been plenty of bugs around recently.  We’ve had a run of vomiting bugs making themselves present at school – not a fun thing for anyone.  Making the right call about when a child is all good to attend school, or really should be home in bed, can be difficult as a parent.  Health NZ has recently released a document for parents to support you with these decisions.  That document can be downloaded by following this link.  In addition we have used our friendly AI tool to create this visual summary.

Another day out at Waipuna Park for the Western BOP Cross Country Championships. The conditions were wet and slippery but that did not dampen the spirits of our courageous young competitors. They pushed themselves in a fiercely competitive event. Massive shout out to Remy for taking out 1st place the Year 4 boys event!

Again it was great to see so many of our whānau out there supporting not only their own children but all of our tamariki, thank you so much!! Equally cool to see the Matua kids supporting each other. It was a hugely successful day and we have 9 qualify through to the BOP Champs to be held on the 30th June.

Thanks again parents and Miss Thompson for making it such a fun and successful day.

What a day at Waipuna Park for the East Cluster Cross Country. The sun was shining, the kids were singing on the bus and gave it everything when they ran!! We are super proud of all of them!

It was great to see so many of our whānau out there supporting all of our tamariki, thank you so much!! Equally cool to see the Matua kids supporting each other. We had a number of winners and placings and a huge 15 qualifiers for the WBOP champs.

Special thanks to Miss Thompson, Sarah Brown, Alastair Maclean, Angie Smith and Chris Heaton for marshalling, organising kids and keeping things tidy. Way to go everyone.

In Week 2 next term, we have school photos.  The photographer will be at school during the week starting Monday, 27th July.  We will send out a confirmed timetable letting you know which day your child’s photo will be taken and how to arrange individual and family photos in the first week of Term 2.

We would like to wish Jacob Crawford the very best of luck as he heads to Australia to represent New Zealand at the BMX World Championships! Jacob will be competing during Week 1 of Term 3. We are incredibly proud of his achievement and look forward to hearing all about his experience when he returns. Best of luck, Jacob!

Road safety is a significant area of concern for us at Matua School.  The start and end of the day are very busy times around the school with bikes, scooters, walkers and cars filling the roads and footpaths.  To help keep children safe, the staff carpark gate is closed in the morning between 8:20 and 8:50 am.  It is closed again between 2:50 and 3:20 pm.  We have recently started locking the gate during these times, as we often have people open the gate and then leave it open, putting children at risk around the Levers Road entrance to the school.  Please support us by not using the staff carpark at the beginning and end of the day.  If you park in the carpark before the gate closure times, please be prepared to stay until it is reopened.

TERM DATES 2026

Term 1, 2026 – Wednesday 4th February – Thursday 2nd April

Teacher Only Day – Friday 20th March (MoE Curriculum Training Day)

Term 2 – Monday 20th April – Friday 3rd July

Teacher Only Day – Friday 29th May (MoE Curriculum Training Day)

King’s Birthday Public Holiday – Monday 1st June

Matariki Public Holiday – Falls in school holidays

Term 3 – Monday 20th July – Friday 25th September

Term 4 – Monday 12th October – 16th December

Labour Day Public Holiday – Monday 26th October

Last Day of School – Wednesday 16th December