Heron Herald Term 2 Week 2

2 days ago

Kia ora Matua families,

We love celebrating the wonderful staff at Matua School. Our team are passionate about teaching, and is committed to providing the best they can for the children and families we serve. While all staff continue to learn and engage in professional learning, there are times when they pursue higher levels of formal learning. This term we are celebrating Gemma Petterson, who has recently graduated from Waikato University with a Masters in Educational Leadership (with first class honours no less). Gemma is a quality teacher and clearly a capable academic too! Congratulations Gemma on this significant achievement, no mean feat while parenting and working at the same time.

EARLY ARRIVALS

At Matua School, we are big fans of children arriving at school before the start of the formal school day so they can transition well from home to the classroom. Having time to play with friends, overlap with teachers, kick a ball or get creative in the classroom before the bell starts supports children in their mental and physical readiness for learning. This is why not being late for school is so important.

On the flip side, with school being such a popular place for children, we are seeing an increasing number arriving too early, well before 8:30 am. The school’s expectation is that children won’t be on school grounds until after 8:30 am, as teachers are in meetings and preparing for the day before then. It isn’t appropriate for children to arrive, sometimes before 8:00 am, and be unsupervised for such a long period of time.

We appreciate that there are a number of reasons why children may be coming to school too early. Please support your child in arriving at school within the sweet zone, between 8:30 am and 8:45 am.

IMPORTANT TERM DATES

This year, Term 2 has an extra week, so it will feel like a long run by the time we hit the next school holidays. Please keep an eye on the school calendar for key dates and important events. A few key dates we would like you to be aware of are:

School Cross Country – Wednesday 13th May (details next week)
Teacher Only Day – Friday 29th May (SCHOOL CLOSED)
King’s Birthday Public Holiday – Monday 1st June (SCHOOL CLOSED)
Learning Expo, Open Classrooms – Thursday 2nd July (details later in the term)

In addition to these key dates, there are lots of other wonderful things happening around the school, all of which help create a fun and engaging learning environment for our children. Look out for the upcoming Book Fair and Book Character Dress Up Day, Pie Day Friday, Coaching Course for Parents and the basketball world cup!

SCHOOL CALENDAR

The school calendar is also available in Hero. Please use this calendar to stay in touch with upcoming events.

The Ministry of Education has included two Teacher Only Days in the 2026 school year. Please take note of these dates. They are on Friday, 20th March, and Friday, 29th May. They are listed on the school calendar.

Helen is Matua School’s Premium Sponsor

Want to buy or sell a house? Give her a call – she’s really nice!

LIBRARY UPDATES

Donate a Book Fair and Book Character Day

We are excited to have our annual Book Week events coming up later this term. Mark these dates on your calendar!

Book Character Parade – Tuesday 26 May 2026

Donate A Book Fair – Wednesday 27 May (before and after school) and Thursday 28 May (before school)

The Matua Book Fair is held annually and is one of our school’s longest-running events. During the fair, students and families can contribute to our school library by purchasing a new book from a selected collection. Books will be priced at $5 or $10 each. Donated books have a special donation certificate placed inside, recognising the student who gifted it to the library. The student has the privilege of being the first to read the book before it is returned to the library for all students to enjoy. Funds raised are used to buy further library books, enabling our library to be an evolving and comprehensive reading space.

We appreciate the support of parent helpers during the bookfair to assist with sales and to welcome families into the library.

Wednesday 27 May – 7.45am – 9.00am (3 helpers)
Wednesday 27 May – 2.45pm – 4.00pm (3 Helpers)
Thursday 28 May – 7.45am – 9.00am (3 helpers)

If you are able to help, please contact Tracey on 07 576 9027 or by email library@matua.school.nz

This year, our Book Character Day will be held before our Book Fair. Children are asked to come dressed as their favourite book characters. A fun and slightly crazy parade is held on the morning of the Book Character Day to share and marvel at all the book character creations. Judges look for originality of ideas, student-led costumes and the use of materials recycled from home to hand out some fun prizes.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Lexi’s Update!

Lexi competed at the NZ Waterski Nationals held at Lake Kereta in South head in the school holidays representing the Waikato tournament team in the Under10 division with girls and boys.

She had a successful tournament achieving personal best scores in both her trick and slalom coming away with 4th overall in the Under10 division for both trick skiing and slalom skiing.

Lexi has also finished the local Waikato/BOP interclub waterski competition this weekend for the 2025/26 season coming first place overall, and winning the youngest skier trophy demonstrating consistent participation and progression of her slalom waterskiing throughout the season.

Matua School is very proud of your achievements Lexi!

BIKE HELMET COMPETITION WINNER

Congratulations to Laura from Room 12, who entered the Tauranga City Council’s “Design a Bike Helmet” competition. This week, Laura had a surprise visit from the team at TCC, who shared the news that she had won the Year 3/4 category! As a prize, Laura received a brand new bike helmet with her own design printed on it! Congratulations Laura!

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITY – FRONT OFFICE

Every day, children, parents and visitors to our school sign in at the school office using our VisTAB tablet. This tablet has space for a business to advertise. This is the first thing people see when they go to use the tablet. An opportunity has come up for a new sponsor to take this space. If you would like to inquire about this, please contact Marcus Norrish at marcusn@matua.school.nz

SCHOOL UNIFORM

Thank you for ensuring your children are in the correct school uniform at the start of the year. We are coming to the end of a three-year transition to our new uniform, and so at the start of 2027 the expectation is that all children will be wearing the new items. Old designs and fabrics will not be acceptable from then.

For this year the older style polos, hats and pants are fine. However, we want to ensure that children are wearing one version of the school’s uniform set. At the start of the year, teachers will ask children to speak with their parents if they are wearing the incorrect uniform. We often see children with dangly earrings, socks with big brands on the side, bike shorts that are for weekend sport rather than school or hats in the wrong colour or style. New uniforms can be purchased from NZ UNIFORMS and some secondhand uniforms are available through the PTA.

SCHOOL DONATIONS

School donations are an important part of how we can add extra value to our school and learning environment. We are excited to have opened up a new fitness trail, which is a direct result of donations from last year. This year, we are working towards extending outdoor play areas for our growing school and would love to see a new play-space developed near the Clivedene boundary. Your support with donations will enable this to happen. Full and partial payments of school donations can be paid now through Kindo.

An important note: School Donations are tax-deductible, so if you pay your donation soon, you can claim a one-third rebate from the IRD at the end of the financial year! Check out the flyer below, which has more information about why we have School Donations.

ROLL GROWTH CLASS

We are in the process of looking at our roll growth classes.

If you have a child who is turning 5 within the next 12 months, please can you complete an Intention To Enrol Form by clicking on the following link.

https://www.matua.school.nz/enrolment/

SKIDS

What’s Happening At sKids – Term 2

We have a jam-packed programme of activities this term including creative recycled play , Mother’s Day crafts , Global Games Week , dance and movement , and finishing off the term with the Great sKids Bake Off

Plus, two more exciting new programmes launching at our Stay and Play sessions on Wednesdays!

From 6 May, Move Masters brings energy, confidence and skill-building together as we explore active play , sport foundations and movement challenges. We’ll build strength , coordination and resilience through fun drills, teamwork games and creative motion activities.

Then, from 10 June, Taste Trek is a hands-on learning experience through planting, cooking and tasting activities. Children will learn about food groups, where food comes from, seasonal produce , healthy choices and how it supports wellbeing

And of course… we’re celebrating our birthday all year round!

To celebrate 30 years of sKids, sites will enjoy themed celebrations including talent shows , art projects , dress-up days , cultural events and sports challenges .

There will also be opportunities to share photos, videos and stories nationwide

Check out the sKids website for more details!

UPTON MUSIC SCHOOL

Welcome to Term 2!

We wanted to start the term by sharing a quick update after an incredible Holiday Programme. It was a huge success – students made awesome progress, built confidence, and had a great time making music together. We are planning on running more of these each term, so keep an eye out for information regarding the next one.

We also received some really special feedback from one of our families:

“This has been the first holiday programme Zane has attended without any anxiety, which is such a big milestone for him. Each morning, he was genuinely excited and eager to get there, which speaks volumes about the welcoming and supportive environment you’ve all created.”

Moments like this are exactly why we do what we do, and we’re incredibly proud of the environment our team creates for students.

Looking ahead, we’re excited for a big term, with our upcoming concert (1st–3rd July) giving students a great opportunity to showcase what they’ve been working on. We can’t wait to see everything come together on stage.

As we get underway:

Private lessons begin in Week 1
In-school programmes begin in Week 2

Timetables and invoices will be sent out later this week, so please keep an eye on your inbox. School timetables will be released next week, as we gather any new signups.

We’re looking forward to building on the momentum from the holidays and continuing to see strong progress across all our students.

Thanks again for your ongoing support – it’s shaping up to be a fantastic Term 2.

Ngā mihi,
Upton Music School

SCHOOL HOURS

A friendly reminder that school is not open until 8.30am. If you require childcare before these hours, please contact SKIDS either by email – matua@skids.co.nz, phone – 027 586 0408, or book online – www.skids.co.nz/Matua.

SCHOOL INFORMATION

LUNCH ORDERS – EVERY FRIDAY

Lunch orders are available for delivery to Matua School each Friday.

SUBWAY

Simply order your SUBWAY lunch online through you myKindo account by CLICKING HERE

Order (or cancel) any time before 9:00am on the day or schedule in advance.

Help? Visit support.mykindo.co.nz or call 09-869 5200 Mon-Fri, 8:00am to 4:00pm.

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

SETTING UP KINDO

Setting up with Kindo

Kindo is our prefered payments system. To help you learn how it works, we’ve added their new help sheet and video. We hope it helps.

Kindo Help