Newsletter Term 3 | Week 6 2026
From the Tumuaki/Principal
Kia ora e te whānau,
A heartfelt tautoko (acknowledgement) to our amazing teachers and learning assistants for their dedication in keeping our school running smoothly, even with high levels of winter illness across Aotearoa at the moment.
Arts & Sports Highlights
A huge thank you to our student leaders for helping drive sports and arts across our school. We have had an action-packed fortnight filled with fantastic opportunities:
Dance NZ Made: We are so proud of our amazing Year 6–8 dance team!
On Wednesday, our dancers took part in Dance NZ Made, spending the day sharpening their dance skills in workshops and delivering fantastic performances on stage. Their dedication, practice, and energy throughout the event were inspiring to watch. Congratulations to all involved, you represented our school with excellence! Ka Pai
View a video of the performance here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LsDP993tx4XR6ucNR6VNVSqS19w8IFKh/view?usp=sharing
HPPA Netball: Two teams attended the HPPA Netball Fun Day this week. It was a fantastic day out, and it was great to see several students giving netball a go for the very first time!
Daffodil Day Fundraiser
Thank you to everyone for supporting our Daffodil Day fundraiser today! We would especially like to acknowledge our Student Council and Ivy Good for their hard work helping organise and run this event for such a great cause. Please donate via our fundraising link - https://www.daffodilday.org.nz/maraetai-beach-school
Auckland Champs Cross Country
All the very best to our top cross-country runners who are competing at the Auckland Championships today! We know you will give it your absolute best:
Year 7 Girls (3000m): Siena Coupe
Year 8 Girls (3500m): Isla Vickers
Year 8 Boys (3500m): Landon Smith
Key events coming up:
Fathers day breakfast 4th September - 8-9.00am (father figures are welcome too)
-Hero Dress-Up Theme: Dress like your favourite hero—whether that's dad, a grandfather, an uncle, or a superhero!
-Gold Coin Donation Drive: We are raising funds for the Westpac Helicopter. Our student leaders will draw an outline of a helicopter on the ground outside the hall, feel free to drop your gold coin donations inside the outline to help fill it up!Intermediate evening Tuesday 1st September
Parenting Talk: Tackling Technology 8th September
Parent teacher conferences are on the 15th of September
End of term of 25th of September
Art Exhibition Week 9
Thanks again for being such a supportive community, with so many kind people volunteering and helping our staff and leadership to create meaningful opportunities for our students.
Arohanui,
Lou
Message about sickness in our community
As you may be aware, there is currently a high level of sickness impacting communities across New Zealand. This increase in winter illness is directly affecting schools, leading to higher staff absences at a time when there is a severe shortage of relief teachers nationwide.
To ensure our school remains open and fully supervised, we may need to split classes more frequently over the coming weeks. Please know that splitting classes is always our absolute last resort after we have exhausted every option to secure cover.
When a class is split, students are placed into other rooms across the school with clear work to complete. While these days look a little different, they provide valuable opportunities for our tamariki to:
Join active learning environments and stay engaged with regular class routines.
Build new relationships with peers and staff outside their standard classroom.
Embrace tuakana-teina by taking on responsibility—older students step up to support and guide younger ones, while younger students benefit from peer mentoring and encouragement.
We are doing everything we can to maintain consistency and a positive learning environment for all students during this challenging period.
You can support us immensely by keeping sick children at home until they are fully recovered. Minimising the spread of illness in our classrooms helps keep both our students and our teaching staff healthy.
Thank you for your ongoing patience, understanding, and support as we navigate these illness spikes together.
School Notices
Looking to attend Maraetai Beach School in Term 4? Enrol now!
Out of zone enrollments for term 4 2026 close 1st October.
Donation and Activity Costs
As a school, we endeavour to provide an exceptional programme whilst keeping the costs as low as possible. If you have any questions with regards to paying these school costs, please contact accounts@maraetaibeach.school.nz; or in regard to the event itself please contact your classroom teacher.
Donation and Activity Costs have been uploaded onto your Kindo accounts. If you are as yet to set up an account on Kindo, please go to the Parents tab on our website and select the School Shop. Please ensure that you register with the same email address that we have on record for you at school.
Thank you to those parents who have paid their school costs for the year already. If you did not receive a tax receipt for your donation and you would like one, please contact accounts@maraetaibeach.school.nz
Community and Fundraising
Sponsorship - Partner with Maraetai Beach School
We are offering the sponsorship package options to be made available for 1 year from the date of signing and payment for our new sponsors this year.
Sponsorship funds will go directly to supporting the key strategic goals of the school, such as developing existing programmes and implementing a range of new initiatives to empower our student learning and development.
Through our school values - Manawaroa (Resilience), Whakaute (Respect), Rawe (Excellence) and Ngākau Tapatahi (Integrity), our students are given the opportunity to reach their full potential academically, culturally and within the sports arena.
Gold Sponsorship | $600–$1,000 PA
Perfect for consistent, multi-channel local reach.
Digital Presence: Dedicated features on our school website and Facebook page.
Print & Media: Fortnightly newsletter advertising and a prominent spot in the school yearbook.
Events & Perks: Free entry and advertising slots at all major school events.
Community Pride: A Certificate of Appreciation to proudly display at your workplace.
Platinum Sponsorship | $1,000+ PA
The ultimate spot for unmatched, daily local visibility.
Includes all Gold benefits listed above.
Prime Physical Signage: High-traffic, year-round advertising signage placed right on our front fence by the bus bay-putting your brand front and center for commuting locals every single day.
Ready to Join Us as a Sponsor?
We invite you to check out our proposal to learn more. If you would love to become a valued sponsor or want to discuss which option fits your business best, please reach out to us at:
Learning Spotlight
Phase 1b
Our bird feeders have been Printed!
Our clever Hub 10 buddies brought our bird feeder designs to life. We were so impressed that our designs we last saw on the computer screens are now an object we can hold. They included all the little details we discussed, including our name. We have now added them to the trees near our classroom, and enjoy watching the birds come and visit.
Exploring Van Gogh’s Starry Night.
With the help of our student teacher, Mrs T, we have been exploring Vincent van Gogh’s famous Starry Night as part of our weekly art explorations from around the world. Our little artists experimented with foil transfers, swirling, and bold colours, they then added black paper silhouettes to bring their night skies to life. We were so impressed with the creativity and unique detail in each piece!
Garden Adventures with Mrs Betts, Mrs Katie & Mrs Hayley!
Our school garden is growing! Last week, students spent time planting seeds for new vegetables and flowers. It was a great opportunity for them to learn about planting techniques and seedling care. Everyone loved getting their hands dirty, and we can’t wait to watch our new sprouts grow over the coming weeks. Check out the photos to see our future garden taking root!
Tuesday was all about keeping our garden happy and hydrated! We spent our session giving a deep, thorough watering to our citrus trees, blueberries, and roses to make sure they have all the nourishment they need to thrive.
Mathex
Last Thursday evening, Maraetai Beach School was proud to send two teams (Year 7 and Year 8) to the Auckland Mathex competition. Competing for the first time alongside 140 other school teams, our students tackled every problem with enthusiasm and determination. We extend a huge thank you to Mrs. Revie for supporting our young mathematicians throughout this fantastic experience!
International Students
Hosting international students at MBS is a wonderful gift. It gives us all the opportunity to learn from one another, deepen our empathy and respect for different cultures, and build friendships that cross oceans.
Sadly, we have farewelled many of our incredible international students and their whānau, who have travelled far to live and learn in paradise. We hope they have all had a sweet time with our community. We are immensely proud of our international students - stepping into a new school, a new language, and a new culture takes extraordinary bravery and resilience. It has been a true privilege to host you, and you will always have a home here at MBS.
We would also like to acknowledge our brilliant students, our staff, and the wider school community. Your kindness, leadership, and warm hospitality have made a world of difference. You welcomed our visitors with open arms and showed what true manaakitanga looks like.
Finally, we would like to acknowledge our hardworking agents who have supported us throughout this process. Thank you for all of your support; we look forward to working with you again soon.
Ka kite anō i a koutou - we will see you again!
Gymnastics
CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS, HERE WE COME!
All the early mornings and relentless practice have paid off for our incredible gymnasts! We are beyond proud to celebrate these outstanding results:
Year 5 Girls (Team 1): 2nd Place!
Year 6 Girls (Team 1): 2nd Place!
Boys Team: 100% placement-every single boy placed!
A huge shoutout and heartfelt thank you to Claire Hendricks and Jo Sharpe for their exceptional coaching, energy, and dedication.
Next stop... Champion of Champions!
Staff Profiles
Mrs Megan Harris-Hub 5
Hi MBS Whānau,
I'm Megan Harris and I teach Year 4 in Hub 5. I love living and working in the paradise that is the Pohutukawa Coast. A huge bonus is getting to share our wonderful school with my twins, Ruby and Joe, who are in Year 2.
Having grown up locally myself, I think we'd be hard-pressed to find a better spot to raise a family!
I've been teaching for over 20 years, split between Auckland and a wonderful 10 year stint in London. When I'm not at school, you'll usually find me out enjoying our local area or walking our naughty little dog, Willis.
Mrs Jessica Forde-Room 5
Kia Ora, I am Mrs Forde and have had the pleasure of teaching at MBS since 2022. I have been teaching for 15 years and my passion has always been with the new entrants and year ones. I think it is a privilege to teach this year group and see so much growth that is gained in their first year of school. It’s incredible!
I grew up in the heart of Beachlands and love living on the coast. My family and I make the most of what we have on our door step and spend our days fishing, swimming, biking and exploring. In the winter months our children play rugby and in summer we play touch rugby as a family.
My two children William and Poppy are twins and love getting amongst everything the community has to offer. All of my wider family also lives on the coast so count myself very lucky to have all my relatives close by.
If you ever want to have a friendly chat, you can find me in Room 5.
Community Notices
Speech & Drama Lessons
Imaginaire Speech & Drama at Maraetai Beach School – Term 3
Give your child the opportunity to build confidence, creativity, and communication skills through our fun, engaging and dynamic Speech & Drama programme at Maraetai Beach School.
At Imaginaire, we love inspiring the next generation of young performers while also supporting students to overcome shyness and express themselves with confidence.
Each lesson includes:
• Public Speaking skills
• Drama and Acting skills
• Improvisation and Impromptu Speaking
• Communication, Conversation, Listening, and Teamwork skills.
Students from Year 4+ also have the option to work towards nationally recognised Speech & Drama exams through Speech NZ.
Class details:
Small group sessions (max 6 students)
30-minute lessons on Thursdays (during school hours)
No-obligation Trial lesson available
Limited spaces available
Secure your child’s place today:
Please contact Nicole at nicole@imaginaire.co.nz for more information.
Or complete our enrolment form here: https://www.imaginaire.co.nz/speech-and-drama/enrolmentform/
Music Lessons
Musiqhub offers guitar, keyboard and drum lessons onsite during school hours.
Mako Year 4 Rugby Team
Are you in Year 3 or Year 4 with a passion for playing rugby? Or interested in trying it out? Mako Year 4 Orange is searching for a few more players to complete the team. For more information please contact Lani (team manager) 027 276 6299 or Jp (coach) 02108808956
Direct from the USA comes the next sensational show from the creators of Cirque du Soleil’s Mad Apple and the Broadway smash-hit The Illusionists. Don’t miss Cirque Alice, as it reimagines Lewis Carroll’s classic adventures with breathtaking twists and astonishing, gravity-defying feats, starring some of the greatest circus performers on earth. Join us at The Civic for a spectacular adventure down the rabbit hole!
Read more about Cirque Alice here.
We The Young returns these September School Holidays, with a festival created especially for children in Auckland’s city centre. This festival of arts, imagination and adventures has over 25 performances, events and workshops, with over half of them completely FREE.
Expect magic, DIY robots, cardboard creations, immersive light worlds, sensory play, circus feats and unforgettable theatrical journeys.
Whether you're a toddler, tween or somewhere in between, there's something for every age, stage and creative spark. And grown-ups, you're invited too.
Sponsors
Thank you so much to our sponsors! We appreciate the support to enhance the learning of our children.
