Term 4, 2025 Week 1
🌺 Principal’s Update – Term 4
Bula Vinaka, Ridgeview whānau! Welcome to our final term of the year! A term full of sunshine, exciting learning, and community connections
This week we were very lucky to have Latai, Storm, and Thunder’s whānau join us to share some beautiful words, food, and traditional dance from Fiji. Our tamariki absolutely loved the experience!
A huge vinaka vakalevu (thank you) to the Turaga, Turagaiviu, and Gerard families for supporting Fijian Language Week at Ridgeview. It’s always so special to see our students’ natural curiosity and enthusiasm as they learn about different cultures and the many ways people live, celebrate, and connect across the world.
We also want to give a big thank you to Pam and Dawn, who led this week’s assembly and spoke confidently about life in Fiji and how schooling there is a little different. Both girls showed incredible confidence and pride in sharing their language, culture, and personal experiences with us all — a true example of our Ridgeview value of Excellence | Hiranga.
Bula vinaka Ridgeview whānau — we loved celebrating Fiji with you!
🥗 Term 4 Learning Focus – “Behind the Bites: The Science and Story of Food”
This term we’re exploring how science shapes what we eat and how food is produced, preserved, and sold. Students will investigate chemical processes that influence the taste, texture, and nutritional value of our food.
We’ll also be exploring the big question:
How do we ensure that our food supplies are sustainable?
Our learning is guided by the whakataukī:
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi
With your food basket and my food basket the people will thrive.
This speaks to community, collaboration, and the idea that we all bring something valuable to the table. See the 'Learning this term' page for more about this exciting inquiry.
🥧 Oxford Pie Fundraiser
A huge thank-you to everyone who supported our pie fundraiser! Orders will be sent home next week on Tuesday - Please collect from the office at the end of the day. Although the total raised was slightly lower than last year, every contribution helps fund extra learning opportunities and resources that small schools like ours don’t receive enough funding for.
Keep an eye out for our Christmas Raffle later this term — all funds go toward enriching our curriculum and student experiences.
🚧 Driveway Upgrade
Our driveway is being resurfaced soon — exciting but a bit disruptive! During this time, no vehicles can park on the driveway, so staff will be parking on the roadside. We appreciate your patience while this work is completed.
🌿 Wāhi Pakari Update
We acknowledge that Term 4 brings change with Mrs Hart on leave. I’m closely supporting the class and working alongside relievers to ensure learning remains calm, consistent, and engaging. The students have been settled and positive. If you have any concerns, please contact me directly — together we can keep things steady and successful.
⏰ Morning Preparation Time (8:30 – 9:00 a.m.)
Mornings are a vital time for teachers to set up, connect with students, and prepare for learning. Please avoid raising concerns during this time with classroom teachers — instead, email your child’s teacher or book an appointment after school. Teachers will always respond as soon as possible once teaching duties are finished. Please remember we are working hard to ensure the best possible outcomes for all our students and that this is our top priority.
After School
If you are onsite in the afternoon, we really appreciate it when parents wait outside the gate. This helps keep our office free for genuine questions or concerns and ensures our awesome Office Manager, Kalene, is available to support students who may need her.
This is a particularly busy time of day for Kalene, and keeping her free means that if you’re running late, she can make sure your child is safely supervised and in the right place.
A reminder that all adults onsite during school hours (between 8am–4pm) must sign in using the iPad in the office. This is part of our Health and Safety procedures to ensure everyone can be accounted for in the event of an emergency.
🚌 Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC)
We have several exciting experiences planned this term:
- 🌳 Sanders Reserve Trip 22nd October: Exploring the Kai Rākau Project, a heritage fruit tree initiative led by local legend Savannah Carter-Green, who helped establish Ridgeview’s original gardens nearly 20 years ago.
- 🏃♀️ Athletics: Our School Athletics Day is Friday 7 November — families are warmly invited to come, help, and cheer! Selected students will also compete in Interschool Athletics.
- 🏓 Albany Arena Trip 3rd December: Later this term, students will enjoy the indoor playground and learn the fun new sport of pickleball — a great alternative to our usual gymnastics programme.
We’ll finish the year with our End-of-Year Prizegiving on Thursday 11 December, and our final school day is Friday 12 December. More details to come soon.
🥬 Pātaka Kai – Community Pantry
Our Pātaka Kai (outside the gate) will be stocked with produce from our gardens and eggs from the chickens — pātaka meaning “storehouse” and kai meaning “food.” Please do not pick directly from the school gardens so our students can experience the full learning process from planting to harvest. This week’s harvest includes kohlrabi — great roasted, in soups, or grated in salads! Share your recipes with us — we love seeing what you create.
🌱 Pare Planting Club
A huge thank-you to Phoebe, our local sustainability hero, for establishing the Pare Planting Club. This community group meets on weekends to grow seedlings in our school tunnel house. These plants will support both our gardens and the wider community. This partnership perfectly reflects our belief that schools and communities thrive together. Send me an email if you are interested in getting involved and I will connect you with Phoebe.
🧢 Hats On!
Summer is here — from Monday, all students must wear a hat to play outside. Hats can stay at school in classroom hat bins (please label them). New school hats are available from the office for $15. To help reduce the spread of nits, hats are not shared.
We’re also collecting Yummy Fruit Stickers — send them in to help us earn new sports gear!
🏊♀️ Swimming – Week 6
Swimming begins in Week 6! Teachers will send out class swimming days soon. Students will need their togs and towels ready. We’re also hoping to offer pool key hire this term — details about costs and policy will be shared once confirmed.
✊ Strike Action – 23 October
Ridgeview School will be closed on Wednesday 23 October as many staff will be participating in national strike action. Please support our teachers and support staff as they advocate for fair pay and better learning support for students. Currently, it can take anywhere from 9 weeks to 6 months for a child to receive essential support — we know we can do better, and this action aims to make that change.
Learning Celebration
One of the very best parts of being a principal is when students come to my office to proudly share their learning. This week, Piper brought in her writing — and it was absolutely wonderful to see the amazing progress she has made this year.
At the start of the year, Piper was copying sentences; now, she confidently writes whole stories independently! Her latest piece shows clear effort and pride — she’s working hard to sound out words correctly, use punctuation, and create stories that make sense and flow beautifully.
Ka rawe, Piper! Your determination and growth are something to be very proud of — keep up the fantastic mahi!
🌻 Ngā mihi nui
Thank you for your continued support as we move into this exciting term of learning, connection, and celebration. Together, we make Ridgeview a place where our people truly thrive.
Ngā manaakitanga,
Cassey Prentice
Tumuaki | Principal, Ridgeview School