Term 4, 2025 Week 7

Kia ora e te whānau,

Our highlight of the week was undoubtedly watching our students perform at the Onepoto Cultural Festival. They represented Ridgeview with excellence, passion, and whakakake (pride). Several people in the audience commented on how impressed they were with our group of 30 students—your tamariki shone on stage, and we are incredibly proud of them.

We want to say a big thank you to Tina and Wayne for supporting our students in their learning and practice, and for giving up their own time to help them be successful. We also want to thank Albany Senior for lending us their school van, and the parents who came along on the day to help the kids get there.

Important Upcoming Events – Please Add These to Your Calendar

Sanders Reserve Trip – Friday 28 November

Our rescheduled trip to Sanders Reserve will take place this Friday. We do require some parent helpers, if you are available, please let your child’s classroom teacher know. An updated notice will be sent home on Monday. Please pack togs and a towel, as we will make use of the school pool in the afternoon.

Year 4–6 Athletics – Tuesday 25 November

Our Year 4–6 athletes will be heading to Kirsten School to compete with other local schools.

We would greatly appreciate parent helpers who can:

• assist with transport
• help with organisation on the day
• cheer on our students

If you can help, please email Cassey.

Whole-School Sports Experience – Wednesday 3rd December (Week 9)

All classes will be travelling to Albany Arena for a sports experience, including Pickleball and time in the indoor playground.Please let us know if you are available to help with transportation.

Surf Lifesaving – Water Safety Sessions – Friday 5 December

Surf Lifesaving instructors will be running both dry and pool-based water safety lessons. This is an essential safety programme for all students. Please ensure your child brings togs and a towel or a note to explain why they can't be in the pool.

Week 10 End-of-Year Events

Wednesday 10 December

• Year 1–4 Water Fun Day: Mrs Hawkins will send out a notice with details of what children will need to bring.
• Year 5–6 Trip to Mt Albert Wave Pools: A fun and active celebration of the year. Ms Prentice will send out the details for this event.

Thursday 11 December – End-of-Year Prizegiving, 6pm

We warmly invite all families to our Prizegiving at 6pm.(Weather permitting, this will be held outside—otherwise we will move indoors.)

We will have:

• a BBQ, with burgers and sausages for sale
• a $2 Christmas Gift Raffle (tickets available from the office)

If you are able to sell raffle tickets at your workplace or with whānau, we would greatly appreciate the support.

We look forward to celebrating a wonderful year together.

End-of-Year Reminder

The final three weeks of school can be a very tiring time for students. To help them finish the year positively, we appreciate your support in:

• ensuring they come to school with the right attitude and readiness to learn
• discussing appropriate behaviour and strategies for managing emotions
• maintaining good routines around sleep and rest

We will be teaching right through to the last day, and your encouragement makes a huge difference.

Term Dates for 2026

Thank you to the families who have provided feedback about the school year starting too early or ending too early. We also recognise that a number of our students do not return until after Waitangi weekend.

In response, we have adjusted our 2026 dates to meet the needs of our community.

Term 1

First Day of School for Students: Monday 9 February 

Final Day of Term: Wednesday 1st April 

Teacher Only Day: Thursday 2 April (Curriculum & Assessment) Easter Friday-3rd April.

Term 2

Monday 20 April – Friday 3 July

Term 3

Monday 20 July – Friday 25 

Term 4

Monday 12 October – Wednesday 16 December 

Teacher Only Day: 27 October

Celebration of Learning:

We are very proud of our new enrance students who have been working really hard to learn and remember all their letter sounds.

Congradulations to Maya for getting up and talking for the first time in front of Assembly

The senior students are learning about taste and created Bliss balls this week and will be creating some recipes that are healthy and delicious and creating a video to share with others.