Monday 3rd February - Friday 11th April
Thursday 6th February Waitangi Day
Monday 28th April - Friday 27th June
Friday 30th May Curriculum Day (Teacher Only Day)
Monday 2nd June Labour Day
Friday 20th June Matariki
Monday 14th July - Friday 19th September
Monday 6th October - Tuesday 16th December
Our weekly school newsletter comes out every Thursday. This newsletter contains general, whole-school information. A link gets published through Hero and will appear in your feed in the app.
Sports newsletters are usually published twice a term. Like the school newsletter, a link gets published through Hero and will appear in your feed in the app.
Studio Updates are published weekly on Fridays. They are a snapshot from the team about what your child has been working on in their studio/class that week and anything that is coming up.
Trips and events are advertised in these updates as well as requests for parent volunteers.
At Westmere your child has the opportunity to take part in a wide variety of extra-curricular activities.
Playing sports is a great learning opportunity for children.
Some sports have traditionally been organised through schools, while others are entirely club-based. When teams are organised through a club, they establish fees and teams. When teams are organised through school, parents are responsible for coaching and managing teams. The school supports players by organising the teams and supplying equipment for parents who volunteer to coach. Most volunteers arrange a time to practice on our school grounds.
The fees are established annually by the school based on the number of players that we expect to play. We don’t aim to make a profit. If there is an excess when fees have been paid to the club this is used to buy coaching equipment, uniforms and to sponsor students to participate in sporting opportunities.
Most codes follow the research that playing in teams with friends and engagement in play are the most important factors in retaining participation. Whatever sport they play, your child will have fun, and develop fitness and skills to help them work as a team.
Here are our school's extra-curricular sports. Click on an item to see more details.
In 2024 we would like to offer students the opportunity to take part in the Auckland Marathon. The special race for school-aged children is 2.2km and there are lots of viewing opportunities for parents. If you would like to help out with supporting this event please contact office@westmere.school.nz
Registrations for basketball open in Term 1. Information is published in the sports newsletter. Basketball is played at Ponsonby Intermediate School after school. It is a venue that is easy to get to and games are fast-paced with lots of court time for all children.
Basketball is a fast-growing sport and an entry point into other team sports for many children.
Flippa Ball and Mini Polo are sports that have an entry requirement. Children can register from Year 3, but they need to be strong swimmers to participate (can easily swim 25m without needing to stop to touch the bottom). Children play in the Atlantis League.
As this is a sport that is organised through school it relies on parent support for coaching and managing. Participation requires practice on a Saturday afternoon (Epsom Girls pool) for 1 hour then games on a Sunday afternoon (either Dio or St Cuth's pool). The games are 20 minutes in duration and can be played in a shallow pool where the children can touch the bottom (Flippaball) or a deep pool where they need to tread water (Mini Polo).
Teams will be entered into the league starting in Term 2. Leagues are available in Terms 3 and 4, but we do not always have enough players for the Term 3 leagues as some children prefer to play other sports at the weekend during the winter.
Like netball, the fees are set by the school and are set based on the number of children expected to play. Details on registrations will be in sports newsletters as dates become available.
Key Information:
At Westmere, we support netball at Windmill Road in Mount Eden. The club supports Auckland Netball's approach. The youngest children play small games on modified courts. There are fewer rules with an emphasis on having lots of ball contact.
The season starts in late May and concludes in early September (depending on any weather cancellations). There will be information in sports newsletters about registrations.
The philosophy at the club is that children play in social groups so there are no trials for any of the age groups. This link takes you to the website.
The future FERNS competition at Windmill Park, Mt Eden is divided into four key stages of development, from the youngest children in Year 1 right through to intermediate-age children in Year 8. The modified game transforms and becomes more challenging as the players get older and continue to develop their netball skills. The competition is open to both boys and girls.
If your child is new to the sport you may also want to consider a holiday or coaching program as a way to build skills and confidence.
Netball is organised through school. This means that it is much cheaper than many other club sports, but it does rely on parent volunteers to coach and manage teams. The cost of playing covers registration and training.
What you can expect from the school:
What helps us:
Details of the games will be made available in the sports newsletter.
The school has traditionally supported a ski team to enter the North Island Schools competition.
Please check sports newsletters for updates.
Playball is a specialised sports and movement programme aimed at 2-8 year olds.
Ponsonby Rugby Club is the most local club.
Junior registrations are advertised in the community in autumn. Please contact the club for fees and there may be reductions for additional siblings enrolling. There is also a requirement for the kit and boots, jersey’s are provided.
There are options for boys, girls or mixed. Children can play rippa or tackle. As with soccer, the club does its best to place children in teams with some children from their school. There is no trialling for teams, although for some older children, there are weight restrictions.
Western Springs is the club closest to our school. The grounds are on Meola Road. Registrations are year round. Children need boots, shin pads and the Western Springs kit which can be purchased from the club. Fees need to be paid as part of registration but, like many clubs, payment options are available.
Games take place throughout the weekend, depending on the grade.
Children usually get to play on a team with some of their peers from Westmere as well as children from other schools so it is a great way to broaden friendships.
Swim League is dependent on a parent coordinator. If you are interested please contact the office. Teams are usually a mix of Year 5-6 swimmers, but strong swimmers from Year 4 are also welcome. Teams are between 8 (minimum) and 16 (maximum) swimmers. Events include individual racing and relays. To take part children need to be able to swim one length of 25m pool for the stroke entered in.
All sessions are run out of Trent Bray Swim School on a Saturday afternoon in Kingsland.
The Auckland Swim League is held in Term 2.
The Primary School League is Saturday afternoon, normally a 1:30 start (TBC), and runs for 30-45 mins.
Herne Bay Ponsonby Rackets Club is a local club with lots of options for junior players. Children need to be age 7 before they can join.
Outside of club nights there are opportunities for taster sessions, group coaching, individual coaching, and holiday programs.
Family options are also available. Club nights are free for club members and $10 for non-members.
Summer touch rugby is starting and there are still some spaces free if your child is keen to join a Yr 3/4 or Yr 5/6 team.
The season starts on Tuesday, 7 February, and runs for seven weeks.
Games are 30 minutes and are played at Coxs Bay fields.
Yr 3/4 grade plays at 4.30 pm and Yr 5/6 grade at 4.30 pm or 5.05 pm.
No touch experience is necessary.
Please get in touch with our touch co-ordinator, Sarah-Jane Lawson, on 021 710 897 or sarahjanepuch@gmail.com
Here are our school's extra-curricular arts. Click to see more details.
Fridays drama club continues with well-known Shortland Street/Celebrity Treasure Island actor/teacher/ motivational speaker Lynette Forday.
Lynette became a household name on NZ television and was a pioneer in getting a minority face onto mainstream television.
Her passion lies in helping children believe that they are enough, that they are extraordinary and they can take on the world no matter what.
Lynette grew up being the only little Asian face in the playground and knows from her childhood the importance of feeling enough and having the skills to stand up and be heard.
In her class there’ll be drama games, charades, improvisations, public speaking practise and script work but most importantly lots of fun learning.
All in the name of self-confidence, positive body language, creativity, and confidence speaking in front of others. $153 a term.
These lessons run on Friday during school.
By design, it’s a small club so if you’re interested get in touch with Lynette at ljforday@icloud.com or 021367329.
While updates are emailed out to you from Hero there is more to see when you log on. Or avoid the emails altogether and download the app and you can set notifications to your preferred method.
You'll be able to see their posts from the year (and previous years) which over time will allow you to see how much your child has changed and grown as a learner. The kids love to look at work they have done the year before! You can also see the goals that have been set for your child and how much progress they have made through the curriculum for the year (via the goal wheels).
This is also the place to go if you need to print off reports from previous years.
We are constantly working on improving Hero to provide you with up to date information on your child and their progress so you will notice changes as the system is further embedded into our school.
The Hero app can be downloaded from your app store or if you prefer you can log in from your desktop/laptop at app.linc-ed.com
You should already have a log on as this is the system we use to push out newsletters and progress updates to you (if you have forgotten your account details your username is the email address you gave us for contacting you as a school and you can use the Forgot Password button to receive a new one).
If you are new to Westmere or don't have an account click on the New User button and enter the email address that you registered with the school when you enrolled your child. They will email you with the rest of the details for logging on for your first time. The whole process takes about a minute. If you have more than one child, they will all be linked to the one account.
Not to worry if your phone is too full for another app or you want a closer look at the photos - you can access Hero from your computer by going to https://app.linc-ed.com
Absences can be reported via the Hero app.
There is a "Report an Absence" button right on the homepage of the app
We also use Hero to report to you on your child’s progress. For more information please see Reporting to Parents.
The school does not have a canteen/tuck shop but we do have a lunch order service that delivers to school.
Orders are handled by the Kindo website & phone app.
Orders must be made by 9am each day.
Lunches are prepared by a local caterer Mondays through Thursdays and by Pita Pit on Fridays. Enter our school name into the search bar on the website to see the menu for our school.
If you would like to make a lunch order please go to ezlunch.co.nz
sKids is a nationwide after-school care provider. They run their programme after school from 3-6pm in Te Whare Kotahitanga, our school hall.
Younger children are collected from their classes until they are ready to walk with a friend or by themselves down to the hall.
They also run a holiday programme during term breaks. It is either run at our school or another local school.
Every sKids site is accredited by MSD and MPI auditors, complying with all industry standards. Their MPI registration allows them to legally serve fresh food for afternoon tea and breakfast. In addition, they have their own internal compliance framework and systems, in-depth staff training and policies and procedure protocols.
Social Sector Specialist Accreditation Standards
Registration under the Food Safety Legislation
OSCAR Level 3
Industry compliant
sKids are also an approved accreditor for WINZ subsidies.
All bookings/absentees need to be communicated with sKids directly.
For all enquiries/enrolments, please contact:
Mobile: 027 257 5437 or 0800 274 172
To book or find out more, visit: https://www.skids.co.nz/locations/westmere/
Jayde Pinto Senior Program Leader - Mobile: 027 218 3962
Web: www.sKids.co.nz
