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Nau Mai, Haere Mai ki te Te Kura o te Hautonga | Welcome to South Wellington Intermediate School for 2026!

Below is all the information your whānau need to know for a smooth start to the year.

2026 School Terms | Holidays

• Term 1 – 9 weeks | 4 Feb – 2 April
• Staff Only Day – 27 Feb
• Term 2 – 11 weeks | 20 April – 3 July
• Term 3 – 10 weeks | 20 July – 25 Sept
• Term 4 – 10 weeks | 12 Oct – 17 Dec

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School Notices

Important dates for the start of 2026

2 February (Monday): Meet the Teacher

This opportunity is primarily for new students and whānau to meet with their homeroom teacher. Students are welcome to wear either their school uniform or non-uniform to this meeting. A booking link for these meetings will be emailed to you. If your child is in Room 9, you are welcome to book a time with Estea Uini through Hero. 

This 15-minute meeting for our new students gives them the opportunity to:

• find out which room they will be in,
• learn how the class operates, and
• get to know the homeroom teacher.

3 February (Tuesday): Returning Year 8’s day

Year 8 students will be onsite (in uniform) for a leadership day. School starts at 8:45am. 

4 February (Wednesday): Pōwhiri – all students

All students must be at school by 8:45 am, wearing the correct green school uniform. The day will begin with a pōwhiri in the Hall. Please put your bags in your classroom then head down to the Hall for our official welcome. After the pōwhiri, students will go with their teacher and classmates for the remainder of the day, while parents are invited to the staffroom to break tapu with kai.

5 February (Thursday): Homeroom day

All students are at school. Students may arrive from 8:30am through the gates into the playground. Homeroom teachers are in their classrooms to welcome students from this time. The school day starts at 8:45 with the roll, notices and karakia. We expect all students to be in their homerooms by 8:45 am.

6 February (Friday): Waitangi Day – School will be closed.

11 February (Wednesday): SWIS Whānau BBQ & Camp information Session 5:30pm

Bring the whānau and join us for a BBQ where you will be able to chat to staff members and meet other families. Everyone is welcome to join us. 

Class Placements

Students stay with their current Homeroom Class for their second year at SWIS and will be joined by the new Y7 cohort. Rooms will be changing and renumbered – see map below:

We are please to inform you that Eseta Uini has accepted a Classroom Teacher Position and will the Homeroom teacher for Room 9 (Previously Room 13).

Map for 2026 –

Room Changes 

Room 2026	Previously Room	Homeroom Teacher
1	5	Stephen Moli
2	11	Rebecca Amos
3	10	Hannah Quince
4	12	Alex Radovanovic
8	3	Alida Middlebrook
9	13	Eseta Uini
10	18	Nadia Abdul Syafieq
11	2	Morgan Jamieson
12	1	Josh Hinman
13	20	Greg Kyle
14	14	Cole Hangfling
15	15	Aaron Kling
16	19	Kelly Bush

School Communication, Payments & Permission using HERO, our Student Management System

A reminder that SWIS uses the HERO Student Management system for parent communication, payments and permission. We encourage all parents to sign up. Please follow the link provided for instructions.

SWIS Uniform

A reminder that all students are expected to wear the SWIS school uniform. Uniforms can be purchased directly from NZ Uniforms or through the second-hand uniform sale on 2 February 2026. 

Second-hand uniform items can be purchased for a koha on Monday, 2 February. Signage in the bottom court will direct you to the new Library space, which will be open from 9am – 3pm for second-hand uniform purchases. Please bring your own bag.

Also a reminder that all students must wear a wide-brimmed hat in Terms 1 and 4 when outside, particularly during breaks. Students are welcome to wear a hat from home, or SWIS sunhats are also available from the Uniform Shop at a reasonable cost.

Stationery

This year we have three options for stationery partners and we encourage you to choose what works best for your needs. Alternatively, see the list here. 

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

SWIS is a BYOD school, and students are strongly encouraged to bring devices to school to assist with their learning. You will be asked to sign a user agreement before students can use ICT here at SWIS. 

Opportunities will always be provided for those students who do not have a device, with classrooms having a small supply of Chromebooks for student use. 

If you are considering purchasing a device for use at school then we recommend that you read the information on the Netsafe website as they are helpful in ensuring that devices are as safe as possible.

What device should students have?  We recognise that students are only at SWIS for 2 years so parents should also take into account any requirements that potential Secondary schools may have if you are buying a brand new device. 

SWIS recommends Chromebooks for student use. They are good value for money, reliable and support the apps that are used at SWIS. 

BYOD Devices should have:

• A screen greater than 10”
• Be WIFI capable (recommend WiFI N minimum)
• A working battery with a rated 6-hour use
• A keyboard
• Up to date operating system and antivirus software
• Must be able to run Google Chrome

School Camp

School camp provides a fantastic opportunity for students—who all arrive from different schools—to build new friendships and settle into our school community. It is also a valuable chance for teachers to get to know their students in a setting outside the classroom, helping to foster strong, positive relationships from the beginning of the year. This year we will be going to Forest Lakes Camp – see more information about our school camps here.

Forest Lakes	Rooms	Dates
Camp 1	Room 2 – Rebecca Amos Room 9 – Eseta Uini Room 15 – Aaron Kling	Departs: Monday, 2 March Returns: Wednesday, 4 March
Camp 2	Room 1 – Stephen Moli Room 3 – Hannah Quince Room 8 – Alida Middlebrook	Departs: Wednesday, 4 March Returns: Friday, 6 March
Camp 3	Room 4 – Alex Radovanovic Room 12 – Josh Hinman Room 13 – Greg Kyle	Departs: Monday, 9 March Returns: Wednesday, 11 March
Camp 4	Room 10 – Nadia Abdul Syafieq Room 11 – Morgan Jamieson Room 14 – Cole Hanfling Room 16 – Kelly Bush	Departs: Wednesday, 11 March Returns: Friday, 13 March

We need parent support to make these Camps happen and would ask that if you are willing to attend that you please download and print a Police Vetting Form here and return it to the school office with suitable Photo ID as soon as possible. See more details here on the Whānau Admin page of our website. Note If you have already been police vetted by SWIS in the past two years then this does not have to be done again.