13 February 2026
Kia ora whānau,
What a great start we’ve had to the 2026 school year! The pōwhiri was blessed with fine weather and a wonderful turnout from the whānau of our new and Year 7 ākonga. Thank you for being there. We were genuinely humbled by your support — not only at the pōwhiri, but also at our Meet the Teacher interviews.
It was also lovely to see so many of you at the Meet the Teachers BBQ on Wednesday evening. It turned out to be a beautiful night, and more importantly, a great opportunity to connect informally, share a few conversations, and continue building the strong partnerships that support our young people.
I’d like to acknowledge the work of all our staff in preparing for the start of the year and making it a success for everyone. On 26 January, staff took part in a Structured Literacy professional learning day with an external facilitator. This learning will continue throughout the year, with our next session scheduled for Friday 27 February. Please note that the school will be closed on this day for a Teacher Only Day.
As many of you will be aware, we are currently in the midst of significant building works on the lower level near the hall. These works are planned to be completed by the end of the year, ready for use in 2027. Site safety is our top priority, and we are working closely with the builders to ensure this, with ongoing monitoring in place.
Finally, congratulations to the organisers of the Island Bay Festival on Sunday. The great weather, wide range of stalls and music, and the fantastic community turnout made for a wonderful day. I was especially pleased to see our own SWIS representatives out in force. Congratulations to the students who helped with sorting rubbish — it’s great to see our students making a real difference in the community. Congratulations also to our SWIS band, Cavemen — your performance was fantastic — and to our own Greg Kyle (Room 13), who wore many hats on the day as Festival MC, DJ and more!
Have a great weekend, ngā mihi nui,
Brendon Henderson
Tumuaki | Principal
Be sure to visit our School Whānau Admin webpage 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 1 Dates
- 23 Feb – SWIS Athletics Day – Newtown Park
- 27 Feb – Staff Only Day
- 2 – 4 March – Camp 1, Rm 2, 9 & 15
- 4-6 March – Camp 2, Rm 1, 3 & 8
- 9 – 11 March – Camp 3 – Rm 4, 12, & 13
- 11 – 13 March – Camp 4, Rm 10, 11, 14 & 16
- 8 March – SWIS Kapa haka & Poly Club performing at Newtown Festival
- 28 March – SWIS Kapa haka performing at Cupa Dupa
- 2 April – Last day of Term 1
Note: Easter is in the April School Holidays
School Notices
Reminders: Camp forms, Camp parent helpers, ICT agreements
A reminder to return your camp permission forms to your Homeroom Teacher as soon as possible so we can finalise planning. We’re also waiting for ICT user agreements to be returned before allocating school Chromebooks to students. Please make sure these are submitted promptly so your child can access their device when needed.
Parent Helpers Needed for Camp
We are still looking for a number of parent helpers for each of our four upcoming camps. These incredible experiences simply wouldn’t be possible without the time, energy, and generosity of parents who volunteer to support them.
If you are able to help, we would greatly appreciate your support. Parent involvement is essential to making these camps happen and ensuring they are safe, successful, and memorable for our ākonga.
If you are willing to attend camp, please download the 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.
Thank you for considering being part of this special experience for our students.
School Camp
A big thanks to those of you who came along to our Camp Presentation on Wednesday night, it was a great turnout. FOr those of you who were unable to make it, here are the slides.
Here is a reminder about which classes are going to camp when! See more information about our school camps here on our website.
| 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 |
So many opportunities to try something new and get involved!
The start of Term 1 brings lots of new opportunities for our students. For our new Year 7 ākonga especially, it can feel a little overwhelming when there are so many options — particularly when they’re not always sure what each activity is all about just yet!
Sports teams for Team 1 are now entered (except Basketball 3×3 – see below), thanks to everyone for your prompt sign up – we acknowledge that the closing dates were particularly tight!
Basketball 3 vs 3 Registrations
- When: Wednesday 3.30pm – 5.30pm
- Where: Kilbirnie Recreation Centre
- Term 1: 18th February 2026 – 25th March 2026 (6 Weeks)
- Cost: $30 (fee will be charged via HERO upon registration and payment can be made through HERO or organised separately through the office).
- Register: Please indicate if your child would like to register via the survey on HERO.
Other activities starting up
Each morning during homeroom, notices are read out, including lunchtime meetings and sign-ups for activities that are getting underway. We often find that when students come along and simply give something a go, they discover new passions and meet like-minded friends along the way. Sometimes the best experiences are the ones they hadn’t even considered trying!
If your child missed out on signing up for any of these activities this week, they can come along on the days below and check in with me then. For more information on these activities, have a look at the details and links here on our website.
As of next week, I will be starting the following groups on the following days:
- Monday lunchtimes – World Scholars’ Cup. It would be helpful if students could bring their own laptops, as I don’t have any available in the Textiles Room!
- Tuesday and Thursday mornings, starting at 7.45am – Future Problem Solving. The first topic is Invasive Species, and again, having their own device would be very helpful, as the competition booklet is done online.
- Board and Card Games Club – Thursday lunchtimes (open to anyone keen to play)
- Wednesday lunchtimes – Kids’ Lit Quiz. Encourage your child to read as much as possible, including books you enjoyed at their age, as well as books their grandparents enjoyed!
- Every two weeks, Children’s University students will be able to meet at lunchtime with Miss Bush to get their passports stamped.
- Thursday lunchtimes and Fridays from 12.30 until 2.50pm – ShowQuest Toi. The group will be an Enrichment group.
- Tournament of Minds will start next term once Kids’ Lit Quiz has finished.
I’m really looking forward to working with these groups! It’s shaping up to be another highly successful year. Ngā mihi, Christine Sangster
Scootering and Skateboarding at SWIS – a helmet reminder!
Students are enjoying the opportunity to skateboard and scooter at morning tea and lunchtime, and we appreciate the respectful way they are using the school ramps.
To support student safety, from Monday 16 February, all students skating or scootering on school grounds must wear a helmet. Students without a helmet will not be permitted to use their skateboard or scooter at school. Our goal is 100% helmet use. We would also appreciate any donations of spare helmets or skateboards to support the equipment used during school hours. Parents and caregivers are asked to ensure students wear helmets when skating or scootering to and from school on footpaths and cycleways.
Thank you for your support.
Come along and support our Kapa Haka & Poly Club!
We are incredibly proud of our Kapa Haka and Poly Club groups and would love to see our whānau out in the community supporting them at these upcoming performances. Please pop these dates in your diary and come along to cheer them on!
📅 Sunday 8 March – Newtown Festival
Our students will be performing as part of this vibrant community festival.
- Kapa Haka
More information:
https://www.newtownfestival.org.nz/kapa-haka-o-te-kura-o-te-hautonga-kapa-kakariki/ - Poly Club
More information:
https://www.newtownfestival.org.nz/20774-2/
📅 Saturday 28 March – CubaDupa
- Performing on the Ngā Toi O Te Aro Stage
- From 12.00pm
These events are always a highlight on the school calendar and a wonderful opportunity for our students to share their talent, culture, and hard work with the wider community. We hope to see many of you there supporting them! Get these dates in your diaries and come along to support our Kapa Haka and Poly Club Groups!
Netball Chair – can you help?
Motu Kairangi Netball is a community base organization that requires volunteers for it to run and allow kids in the Eastern and Southern suburbs to play netball. They are urgently seeking a new chair to allow planning for the upcoming winter season to progress. If you know someone who may be interested or would like more information, please contact them directly at mknetballchair@gmail.com. Thank you in advance for your support. It is greatly appreciated.
School news
Island Bay Festival featuring some of our own!
Big shout-out to the students helping with rubbish sorting 💚, to our band Cavemen 🎸 for an awesome performance, and to Greg Kyle (Room 13), an all-round legend! Ka mau te wehi, SWIS — you did us proud ✨
Nau mai haere mai ki Te Kura o te Hautonga!
It was an absolute pleasure to welcome our new ākonga and their whānau to our school at the Term 1 Pōwhiri!
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.
