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Tēnā koutou katoa, Kia orāna,
Term 3 has got off to a great start as we welcomed new staff, students, and their families to our school whānau. We’re delighted to have Laura Cooke joining Room 17 and Emma-Lee Sheppard in Room 6. A warm welcome also to Jorgia Sparks and Tracey Walsh, who joins our Mainstream Teaching Assistants team, and Victoria Park, now part of the Motuora Teaching Assistants team. We also welcome Kirsty Hodd and Cindi Meyer to our RTLB team – we’re excited to have such passionate educators and support staff joining us.
This week we’ve also been celebrating Epetoma o te reo Māori Kūki ‘Āirani – Cook Islands Māori Language Week. It’s been wonderful to see our students engaging with the culture, language, and stories of the Kūki ‘Āirani. Meitaki ma‘ata to everyone who has taken part.
As Board of Trustees nominations close today, I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge and thank the outgoing Board members who are not seeking re-election: Jon Walton (2016 - 2025), Conan O’Reilly (2016 - 2025), Neicia Persson(2022 - 2025), and Andrew Waller (2022 - 2025). Your collective service to the school has been outstanding. The current Board will hold their final official meeting next Tuesday evening – please join me in saying a heartfelt thank you.
Ngā mihi nui,
Julie Hepburn
Principal
Julie Hepburn
Principal
Red Beach School
ACROSS THE SCHOOL
Junior School Y 0/1
The Year 0/1 classes have enjoyed some ball skills coaching from Kelly Sports coach over the last 3 weeks. They have become more confident and accurate in their dribbling, catching, throwing and shooting skills. They have taken risks and shown resilience when completing the activities.
It has been great to see these skills transferred on to the courts at breaktimes too. “Use your chicken wings. Step. Now push!”
Kā pai team.
Numicon in Action
This term, our Year 2 & 3 children have been using Numicon—a fun, hands-on maths resource designed to help children develop a deep understanding of number and pattern. Numicon uses colourful, structured shapes to represent numbers, making abstract concepts more concrete and easier to grasp.
It’s especially effective for helping children:
- Visualise number relationships
- Understand place value and number bonds
- Build strong foundations in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
Children across the team have been enjoying the opportunity to explore numbers in a practical and engaging way. We love seeing their confidence grow as they build, compare, and problem-solve with Numicon!
Year 4 / 5
Team Sports in Full Swing for Year 4/5!
We are excited to kick off our Term Sports Rotation with the Year 4/5 team! This term, students will dive into a range of thrilling team sports, including hockey, netball, basketball, rippa rugby, football, and ultimate frisbee. Over the course of term 3, the students will participate in 3 different sports. They will build essential skills, develop teamwork, and learn the rules and strategies of each game. It's all about active participation, growing confidence, and most importantly, having fun!
Year 6
Genius Hour
Over the past three weeks, our Year 6 students have been taking part in a creative and student-driven initiative known as Genius Hour. During this time, each student selected a project from four options: Digital Technology, Visual Art, Science, or Visual Poetry. These options were not only designed to spark curiosity and engagement but were also intentionally linked to our ongoing Inquiry learning about New Zealand’s native and endemic animals. Whether driven by a personal passion, a developing talent, or simply a willingness to try something new, every student had the opportunity to dive deeper into an area of genuine interest.
Some students chose to program robots to mimic the movements of animals like the tuatara or kākāpō, while others created detailed artworks capturing the uniqueness of Aotearoa’s fauna. Budding scientists investigated adaptation and survival traits, and our young poets crafted imaginative verses inspired by birdsong and forest life. This freedom to explore has not only reinforced key learning across the curriculum but also nurtured independence, creativity, and personal expression.
Genius Hour has proven to be a meaningful and memorable experience — one where students could truly follow their curiosity while deepening their understanding of the natural world around them.
Upcoming Community Committee events for your diary:
Dad’s Day BBQ - September 5th from lunchtime. An awesome afternoon of sports games with your kdis.
Beats ‘n’ Bingo - Friday September 12th from 6:30pm - Our adults only event returns this year! With DJ Tido leading us through a fun night of music and bingo. Tickets on sale soon - keep an eye out and get your table together.
Twilight Fair - Friday October 17th - details to come
Link below for our uniform, to order visit: www.argyleonline.co.nz - find Red Beach School in the Upper North Island region schools.
For all sports enquiries, please email Julie Bluck - julie@redbeach.school.nz
COMING UP THIS TERM
Year 5/6 Inter-school Hockey Thursday 21st August (save date Thurs 28th August)
Year 5/6 Inter-school Cross Country Thursday 4th Sept (save date Thurs 11th Sept)
INTER-SCHOOL HOCKEY
Good luck to our four teams who will be competing in the HBC Primary Schools Hockey Tournament on Thursday 21st August at Metro Park, Silverdale.
SPORTS UNIFORM
The Red Beach School unisex sports uniform is available for purchase through the school. Our RBS sports shirts are $40 and the sports shorts are $22. The sports shirt is compulsory for students involved in a Red Beach School sports team however, the sports shorts are optional. Both items are available through KINDO.
YUMMY STICKERS
Keep on chomping and collecting those stickers then return your completed sheets to the school office. Remember, the more Yummy Fruit you eat, the more free sports gear we receive for the school! - forms below.
The promotion finishes at the end of this term! Please send all Yummy Sticker sheets to school, completed or partially completed, by Friday 19th September.
CONGRATULATIONS TO:
Courtside Magic and a Golden Goal! 
The Northern Mystics Netball team were playing the Southern Steel in their ANZ Premiership match on July 6th, so Red Beach School’s Year 5 Mystics and Steel netball teams decided to have a fun day out to watch their professional namesake teams.
And what a day it turned out to be.
RBS Steel 5/1 won an awesome competition to sit courtside and take part in the SkyCity halftime entertainment during the big game. Eme Gornall, along with teammates Anna Steenkamp, Lucia King, Maddy Watson and Isla King, had one minute to shoot as many 2-point goals as they could against Willow Park School.
Lucia got Red Beach on the board with the first goal, and Anna followed up with a second just before the buzzer!
But it didn’t stop there, Willow Park School tied it up at 2-2. It all came down to a golden goal shootout. With the crowd watching and the pressure on, Eme stepped up and sank the winning shot!
What a fun and exciting evening of netball and teamwork.
Big cheers to the rest of the team and the RBS Mystics for their sideline support, and a huge thank you to all the parents cheering from the stands.
It was a night to remember!
Whangaparaoa Rotary Needs You -
Teachers, Parents, Guardians.
Have you thought about what you can do to give back to your valued community? Maybe this is the time to take a moment to read on.
We have given back more than $2million to the community over the last 35 years. We are always needing new members. Bring a friend and come and join us for a meeting to see how we operate and ask questions. We meet on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month at the RSA, 6.30 for a 7pm start. Generally, have a speaker of interest. All over just after 8pm.
Rotary has the contacts, Rotary has the programs, Rotary has access to funds for the Community, we just need YOU to come and help. Every cent raised goes back into the community.
If you feel the urge to contribute and have some fun along the way, then please get in touch:
Contact Dan Healey: Mb 021 055 5220 OR Tim Brooks Mb 027 292 7170