3 July 2026
Kia ora whānau,
A Great End to the Term
As we come to the end of another busy term, I want to acknowledge all of our staff for the enthusiasm and commitment they continue to show, always keeping our students at the centre of what they do.
A great example of this was last week’s Showquest/Toi performance, involving close to 70 students and representing the culmination of a term’s hard work. At the same event, other students proudly presented their Toi exhibitions, another wonderful showcase of creativity that was so well supported by our staff.
I also hope many of you enjoyed our Matariki Celebration Evening. It was fantastic to see so many students performing and sharing their talents as we came together to celebrate this special occasion.
Looking Ahead
Next term we begin welcoming our 2027 Year 7 students through a range of transition opportunities, including visits from our contributing schools and our Open Evening on 5 August. These are always exciting opportunities to showcase our school and give prospective students and families a taste of life at SWIS.
For our Year 8 families, I encourage you to complete your secondary school enrolment requirements as soon as possible. This helps the secondary schools with their planning, and many of them will be contacting us as part of that process.
Parent Information Evening
Next term we will also hold a parent information evening about our Term 4 Health programme, Navigating the Journey. More information will be shared early next term.
I’ve also been asked whether we will be holding a Market Day this year. As this is part of our two-year curriculum cycle, it was held last year and will return in 2027.
Mid-Year Reports
Our mid-year reports went out via the HERO app, and you should have received a notification. If you would like to discuss your child’s report further, please don’t hesitate to contact their classroom teacher. Printed copies are also available on request. See below for instructions on accessing them in HERO.
Education Review Office Visit
As mentioned in an earlier newsletter, we will be welcoming the Education Review Office to SWIS during the week beginning 27 July. We look forward to their visit and will share the outcomes of the review with our community once they become available.
Thank You
This term has certainly brought its share of challenges, particularly with last week’s severe weather. We really appreciate the communication we received from families regarding student absences.
Improving attendance continues to be an important focus for schools across New Zealand, and we are committed to supporting students to attend regularly while recognising that, particularly during winter, there are genuine reasons why students may occasionally need to be away.
Thank you for your ongoing support throughout the term. If you are travelling over the holiday break, I wish you a safe and restful time with your family. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to school on Monday 20 July.
Ngā mihi nui,
Brendon Henderson
Tumuaki | Principal
Be sure to visit our Parent Portal for helpful information about how things work at SWIS. It’s a great first stop for key details and practical guidance. You can also follow our School’s Facebook Page, where we regularly share news, updates, and stories about the wonderful things happening in and around our school.
Term 3 Dates
Week 1
- 20 July – First day of Term 3
- 23 July – Children’s University Discovery day – All day
Week 2
- 27 July – Term 3 Mihi Whakatau for new starters
- 29 July – WRISSA Netball tournament at Ākau Tangi Sports Centre
Week 3
- 4 Aug – Open Day for Y6 students – Berhampore, Newtown & Others
- 5 Aug – Open Day for Y6 students – Island Bay, Owhiro Bay, Houghton Valley
- 5 Aug – Open Evening for prospective Y6 students and whānau
- 6 Aug – School Board meeting
- 7 August – Te Haruru o te Kāhui Tonga Kapa Event at Taraika
Week 4
- 12 August – WRISSA Rugby Memorial Park | Marist Ground Masterton
Week 5
- 17 August – Staff Only Day, School closed to students
- 19 August – NZCYA Books Alive at Te Matapihi, 8.45am – 2.45pm
- 20 August – Otago Problem Solving set 5
Week 6
- 26 August – WRISSA League and Flag
- 29 August – Tournament of Minds at Victoria University (Saturday)
Week 8
- 7-11 Sep – AIMS Games
Week 9
- 16 Sep – WOW preview show at TSB Arena, 7pm – 9pm
Week 10
- 23 Sep – WRISSA Volleyball Boys and Girls at Ākau Tangi Sports Centre
- 25 Sep – Last Day of Term 3
School Notices
Accessing your child’s School Report
Caregivers can access their child’s School Report directly from the Hero app. When a report is published, caregivers will be notified a new report is ready to view. Follow this notification to go directly to the report or access the reports at any time from your home screen. To view a report and read online, click on the relevant report date.
Note: Downloading a PDF for printing is not currently supported in the Apple app. This is accessible on an Apple device by logging into Hero (go.linc-ed.com) via the web browser on the device.
Needed: Glass jars
We are looking for around 23 small 350ml size ones and then some quite large ones. Please drop to the office if you have any you can spare! Many thanks.
Term 3 Basketball registrations
The competition runs on Wednesday Night at Akau Tangi and costs $70 for the term. New Players will also need to Register with NZ Basketball for the year which attracts a $5 fee. Students wear the School Uniform and will need a mouth guard and appropriate indoor court shoes. If you would like to play basketball in Term 3 and have any questions please contact dan.miller@swis.school.nz.
School News
Congratulations to all our Matariki Showcase participants
What a night! A big thank you to everyone, students and staff alike, who were involved in our Matariki Showcase this week. You did an amazing job! Ka rawe!
If you caught our Matariki Showcase, you wouldn’t have missed the incredible main wall display! Our Te Ao classes this week worked hard creating unique stars, each representing the different whetū of Matariki. Thank you to all the students involved for bringing our celebration to life with your creativity and brilliant teamwork. Mānawatia a Matariki
A huge congratulations to our ShowQuest and Toi participants!
“Showquest was an amazing opportunity for students to participate in music, dance and drama. I was a bit nervous because of all the other schools and their performances, but it was actually fun to get started. Me, Arlo, Jimmy and Jimmy were on lighting. This meant we would make a plot then add flashes and brighter lights. Other people had jobs like student leaders and they had the most important job (out of the kids). They knew when our performance started and our rehearsals ended. This was very helpful for everyone. I think that everyone had such a good time and would like to do it again.“
“On Wednesday 24 June, students from different schools gathered for the regional round of the Junior Showquest/Toi event at the St James Theatre. Toi is a wearable arts competition, like WOW, but for kids. Students worked in teams, or by themselves, to design and make a garment that fits into one of the categories that Toi puts out; this year these were RED, Stories of the South Pacific, Depths and Heights, Open, and Crafted Couture. Only 25 out of 90 entries were selected to compete in the regional round. All 9 SWIS teams made it in, which felt pretty good! Competition day started off with a photoshoot where the models had professional photos taken in their garments.”
“Everyone at Toi had amazingly crafted garments, but I think that SWIS really stood out. We had creative concepts and full teams of skilled designers and crafters. Walking out onto the stage I felt nervous, but soon I was overcome with confidence and excitement.Toi was an amazing learning experience and I can’t wait to do it again.”
SWIS success in World Scholars Cup!
For 2 days from Friday 17 and Saturday 18 June, 20 SWIS students took part in the Wellington round of World Scholars Cup held at Queen Margaret’s College. All the teams did very well, with most people gaining at least 1 medal and several getting more. Everyone also received a complementary alpaca (not llamas, long story). For most students, this was the highlight of the two days! Everyone took part in five events. These were Team Debates, Scholar’s Challenge, a 120-question multiple-choice quiz, Creative Writing on set topics, and Scholars’ Bowl, which involved clickers and questions, with the team with the most correct answers winning. Ari was selected to take part in the Demonstration Debate and did very well. Overall it was an excellent experience that I would recommend to anyone. By Ari
French Café
On Monday 29 June our French class celebrated the end of our cycle of French lessons by having a French Café. We had to research and choose a French recipe to make and share. Dishes included meringues, macarons, madaleines, croque monsieur, limonade, pain perdu (AKA French toast!), pain au chocolat, and profiteroles. It was all delicious and we had a great time. We even delivered some of our efforts to our classroom teachers!
Axel Represents SWIS at Regional Cross Country
SWIS would like to congratulate Axel Crump for his performance coming in a respectable 25th place. Axel was part of the WRISSA (Wellington Region Intermediate School Sports Association) Representative Team at the Regional Cross Country at Harcourt Park. The fastest Year 7 and 8 from Intermediates and Full Primary Schools across the lower North Island meet at this event. Top placed runners go on to represent our region in an Inter Regional event later this year.
Term 2, 2026 Celebration Recipients
Congratulations to all our Term 2 Values Award recipients. Ka rawe! We are very proud of the way you demonstrate SWIS values!
Community Events
Check out what’s on in our area!
Click on the links below to visit the South Coast information website with all the local events and activities on offer.
