Newsletter 15 May 2026

Tēnā Koutou, Talofa Lava, Malo e Lelei, Namaste, Ni sa bula, Noaia’e mauri, Fakalofa lahi atu, Kia Orana, Ni Hao, An Nyung Ha Sai Yo, Nay Ho, Hej, Hallo, Sawat Dee, Cześć, Goeie Dag, សួស្តី, Здравствуйте, Hola, Ola, 안녕하세요, Ayubowan, Vanakkam. Greetings to our school families.

Term 2 is now well underway, and it certainly feels like our children have been having a fantastic time with their learning lately. So much happens across the school that we can’t always fit it all into our newsletters, so be sure to follow our digital channels for more regular updates. We use these platforms as our digital newsletters, sharing snapshots of life at SBS, celebrating student learning, and keeping you informed about upcoming events. You can find us on Facebook and Instagram.

I’ve also been showing a number of new families around the school recently. Many are relocating from the city and are excited about the opportunity to enjoy a more peaceful lifestyle in our beautiful area. They’re often surprised by just how many opportunities there are for children and families across the Mahurangi East, Warkworth, and Matakana communities. As a reminder, please keep an eye on the Community Notices section of this newsletter, as well as our social media channels, so you don’t miss out on new local opportunities and developments. This week, for example, you’ll find details of a local piano teacher.

We also had a wonderful Values Assembly this morning, where we talked about Pink Shirt Day. Who knew there were so many shades of pink! See below for more information about this special day.

Ngā mihi nui,

Kathryn Ramel

Principal

School Diary

Week 5 Mon 18 May – Fri 22 May:

• Tues 19/5 Trees for Survival Planting Day – Puriri 1, New entrant visitors in Rimu 1, Year 6 Jump Jam Auditions 2:00pm (hall), Junior School Parent Info Evening 5:30pm (details below)
• Fri 22/5 9:10 am Junior Kapa Haka in the hall (till 10am), Inter School Netball (Yr 5 & 6), Whole School Assembly 2:00pm Class – Kauri 1, Pizza Day fundraising for Yr6 camp 

Week 6 Mon 25 May – Fri 29 May:

•  Tues 26/5 Te Whau Tree Planting – Year 6 only, New entrant visitors in Rimu 1, Year 5 Jump Jam Auditions 2:00pm (hall)
• Thurs 28/5 Year 5 & 6 Jump Jam Lunchtime final Audition (invite only)
• Fri 29/5 Yr 3 – 6 Kapa Haka 2:00pm, Pizza Day fundraising for Yr6 camp

Week 7 Mon 1 June – Fri 5 June: Tues – Fri Year 6 Camp Tongariro 

Samoan Language Week

Mon 1/6 Kings Birthday Weekend

• Tues 2/6 New Entrant Mid Year Cohort
• Fri 5/6 2:00pm Junior Kapa Haka in the hall, Year 5 Skateboard lessons – one class per block

Junior School (Year 0 – 2) – Parent Information Evening next Tuesday at 5:30pm – 6:30pm

Come along and find out what has changed in the curriculum, and some practical ideas for how you can help your child at home. We will start in our staffroom, before heading to break out sessions in classes.

Pink Shirt Day Today – when we celebrate our differences, everyone belongs

Pink Shirt Day has become an international phenomenon. It started in Berwick, Nova Scotia, Canada, back in September 2007. Grade 12 students David Shepherd and Travis Price organized the protest at Central Kings Rural High School after a ninth-grade student was bullied for wearing a pink polo shirt on his first day.

Pink Shirt Day has grown to focus on inclusion and celebrating our differences. We all have different families, cultures, appearances and beliefs – that is what makes us unique and helps the world interesting! Many tamariki, including disabled and neurodivergent children, may sometimes feel left out or misunderstood simply because they experience the world differently.

Today at our Values Assembly, we talked about the 3 points below – you could help build our home/school partnership by talking about these at home too.

1. Be Curious. Everyone is different and that’s part of what makes our homes, schools, and communities interesting, creative, and special.
2. Look Out For Others. Everyone wants connection and friendship. If a peer looks lonely, ask them if they’d like to sit with you at lunch or join in a game.
3. Celebrate being yourself. Remind tamariki they don’t have to fit in perfectly to belong. Our differences are often the things that make us shine.

Here’s our SBS Whānau at Values Assembly this morning:

Trash Free Tuesdays – written by Marnie and Dan with input from all of Totara 2

Kia ora Snells Beach Community, 

Trash free Tuesdays, a School wide competition, to keep our school clean. Totara 2 were inspired by two young girls called Melati and Isobel from Bali who helped to ban plastic bags from their island. We wanted to make a change before leaving for Intermediate and knew reducing lunchbox waste would solve the problem. 

Trash free Tuesday is about reducing the litter we pack in our lunchboxes so that it is not polluting our environment. We noticed that our rubbish was flying around and going into the drains to the ocean, and that is not good. 

We wrote letters to our Principal and Deputy Principal to ask for help to make a difference in school. Then our brave class presented at an assembly to share our ideas and motivate kids to be brave and be kaitiaki of our whenua. 

Totara 2 collected data on Tuesday to find out which classes were the most litterless. We saw that there was a big difference in the amount of litter in lunchboxes, on the school grounds, and in our playgrounds. We feel very happy that we are making a change at school. 

All of the classes are busy working hard to win the prize for being the most litter free class. The class that wins gets an extra 30 minutes of playtime, that’s something worth making a change for. 

On 12 May 2026 Totara 2 collected the percentages of trash free kids in each class. It was pretty close!  In 3rd place was Rimu 2 with a total of 80% of people litterless in their class, in second place was Rimu 1 with a percentage of 83%, and the winner of the first week of Trash free Tuesdays was Kowhai 2!  

Kowhai 2 is set to have a lot of fun out in the playground. The other classes are definitely trying hard for that extra play time.  Having an extra 30 minutes of playtime will help with their exercise!

Thank you to all the families that have helped to reduce pollution at SBS.

Year 3 Museum Trip

Manawa 1 & 2 and Kahikatea 1 headed off to the Warkworth Museum this week as part of their Social Sciences learning. The Museum is such a great resource in our community. Our Year 3’s have been finding out about about history and what life was like in the “olden days”, washing clothes on wooden boards, using pedal powered machines and playing old fashioned games.

Fundraising for Year 6 camp

Every year around this time you will see Year 6 parents busy fundraising to get their kids to Tongariro. The next event they are planning is a bake sale outside Harcourts Warkworth on Friday 22nd May from 9am until sold out. Pop along and grab some home baking for the weekend or enter the raffle for a beautiful gift box. Big thanks to Studio Matakana for their generous donation.

Yummy Stickers at SBS

Eat Yummy apples for your school’s share of $200,000 free sports gear. Collect the ‘Yummy Stickers’ and ‘cut-out labels’ from Yummy 1.5kg apple bags and bring into school. Each teacher has a sticker collection sheet in their classroom.

 

Occupational Therapy at Snells Beach School

 

Community Notices

Piano Lessons in Snells Beach

There is a piano teacher offering lessons very close to our school, in Foster Cres. You may have even heard him playing in some of our local eateries. His contact details are: Kane Steves 021-027-15847

Parenting Place’s Building Awesome Whānau course in Warkworth

Keeping in touch – communication is key

Keeping in touch is important. We need to be able to contact whānau quickly and efficiently. If you have changed address or contact details, please let us know asap, either via email admin@snellsbeach.school.nz, or by calling the school office 09 425 6058.