Term 2 Week 6 Newsletter #5 2026

Term 2 Week 6                               28 May 2026                                           Newsletter #5  

Principal’s Message

Special Catholic Character

Values Awards

Aroha 

Bruno Gonzalez Guia – for setting up the classroom for him and his peers every morning meaning he often loses his free play time to ensure we are ready for learning.
Dayton Kemp-Brownlee – for helping other students to settle into the classroom and feel happy at school.

Ako

Callan Jamieson – for using their own time to compete in the MissioNZ Design a Box Competition
Anna Gibbons – for using their own time to compete in the MissioNZ Design a Box Competition

School Assisted Mass-Pentecost Sunday

Our School Assisted Mass on Sunday was a wonderful celebration of Pentecost. It was a true reflection of our school values in action and it was heartwarming to see such an amazing turnout from our school. You all looked stunning in your school uniform or cultural outfits. We are incredibly proud of all our students, especially those who served during the Mass like our readers, prayer and offertory leaders, Filipino choir, AV, altar servers and singers. You all showed confidence and reverence. The feedback from our Parish Community has been extremely positive and it makes us proud to be the DRS’s for St Joseph’s Pukekohe. A big thank you to Silvy Sutanto-Lane for her support with the music and to all those families who contributed to the bake sale. 

We are very grateful to our school families who supported a recent request to help out one of our families. Your generous gift has made a real difference. They very much appreciated the donation of baby clothes for their prem baby.

God bless your missionary spirit.

Key Dates

Term 2 Key Dates

Please note these dates are subject to change For further dates see calendars on the website  at: www.stjosephs.co.nz or the eTAP app   

School Board News

At St Joseph’s, we know that regular school attendance is essential for every child’s learning and success. 

Our goal is for 80% of our students to attend school at least 90% of the time.

Reality: There is no safe level of non-attendance – even missing just a few days a term without a justified reason, e.g. illness, can have an impact on achievement.

St Joseph’s School Pukekohe Attendance Management Plan

For any questions or concerns regarding attendance, your child’s teacher should be the first point of contact. Requests for holidays during term time or for extended periods of absence should be submitted to the principal – Principal@stjosephs.co.nz

School Notices / Upcoming Events

School Attendance Dues

Unless you have a regular payment plan set up,Term 1 and Term 2 Attendance Dues should now have been paid in full. If paying by instalments, please ensure all dues for the year are paid in full by 30 November. Thank you to all parents who have already paid their compulsory Attendance Dues for the whole year.  We collect and forward Attendance Dues to our Proprietor, The Catholic Diocese of Auckland. (See our website Information/Fees & Contributions/Financial contribution). 

If you are experiencing financial difficulties in paying your attendance dues you are welcome to make an appointment to see the Principal in confidence or contact Carol at Auckland Common Fund 09 360 3040.

Bank Account: St Joseph’s School (Pukekohe) Board 12 3023 0338374 01 Ref: student name

Understanding Your Child’s Mid-Year ReportI

Supporting Your Child’s Learning

The Ministry of Education is inviting parents and whaanau to help support improvements to their Parent Portal. The Parent Portal is a website designed for parents so they can help their tamariki at home with their learning. The survey should only take a few minutes and will help shape future updates. The survey closes on 20 June.

Parent portal survey – Survey Monkey

Helping in the classroom

If you have the time and energy, we welcome parents or grandparents to volunteer to work alongside some of our youngest children for an hour a day. If you are interested, please contact Lesley Wallace – lesleyw@stjosephs.co.nz 

Scholastic Book Club Issue 4

Issue 4 brochures were sent home during this week. Orders must be placed by Tuesday 2 June, either by online ordering or returning a completed order form, along with cash, to the classroom teacher.

Second-Hand Uniform Shop

The Second-hand uniform shop is open on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons 2:30 – 3:00 pm. 

All students should be in their winter uniforms.  Boys should be in the darker winter weight short, there are still some boys wearing summer shorts.  

New items can be purchased from The Uniform Shoppe on Glasgow Road, Pukekohe

To order for these special lunch days you will need to follow the instructions below and order from www.dollarforschools.co.nz

Celebrations 

Aroha

In Aroha we have been busy learning how to take good care of our bodies and our overall health. We have covered personal hygiene and how important washing our hands is to stop the spread of germs.  Aroha JK/AC loved talking about what food we can eat that is good for our teeth and how we can clean them properly. We are very excited for our upcoming visit from life education where we will be learning about the importance of food and nutrition. 

Ako

Ako has been diving deep into Social Sciences and Science. Ako JL/NF and Ako EJ have learnt all about the stone age and have created beautiful cave paintings which are displayed in their classroom caves. Ako JW and Ako SD have learnt all about Ancient Egypt, including how to walk and write just like they did. Ako LS have learnt all about magnets and have created some wonderful magnetic games to share with each other. As we enter the second half of the term we will rotate our resources and continue learning more from each other. 

Arahi 

Year 6 has been fortunate to have the lovely Mrs Parkinson joining us to teach Technology. Students have been learning all about electrical circuits, which links beautifully with our Science studies. This term, they are working on designing and creating their own toys using circuits that light up.

Blake Schultz competed in the Eagle DS combat series for kickboxing over the weekend (which was his first competition) and he took home the gold medal !!! Congratulations Blake

Year 5

The Year 5 class has been learning about simple machines through an engaging hands-on activity involving Solar Racing Cars. Students explored how the cars were constructed by carefully assembling the different parts to create their own models. They then investigated how solar energy works by using sunlight to power and operate their racing cars. This activity helped students develop their understanding of simple machines, energy, and teamwork through practical learning experiences.

We have had a very exciting book week so far. The children have been eagerly answering book week quizzes, creating book marks, jacket covers and filling in a class Reading Passport. The Book Character Costume Parade was the highlight so far with many creative costumes. It is always special getting together as a school to celebrate a love of reading, sharing our favourite characters and promoting a love of reading. Books truly can take us anywhere. 

Community Notices

PTA/Friends of St Joseph’s School Notices

PTA – Annual General Meeting

Tuesday 23 June 7:00 pm in the school staffroom 

All are welcome to attend. 

Yummy Stickers

One of our wonderful PTA members has offered to collect YUMMY sticker forms on behalf of our school. This will help to earn our share of $200,000 worth of sports gear. All you need to do is either print a sticker sheet to keep at home or use the sheet in the classroom. Once a sticker sheet is fully completed drop it into the PTA box in the office. 

You can use the small individual fruit stickers or the labels from the Yummy fruit bags. 

 COMMUNITY NOTICES

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