Tēnā koutou, Tālofa lava, Konnichiwa, Fakaalofa atu, As-salāmu ‘alaykum, Kia orāna, Hola, Mālō e lelei!

30 May 2025

Dear Parents & Whānau,

As you can see by the amazing photos below, it’s been another wonderful week at SWIS! Congratulations to all our ākonga who participated in Kids’ Lit, ShowQuest Toi, Spell-It-Out and the NYLD Student Leadership Conference. We are very proud of how well you represented our kura. We’re also extremely proud of our new Māori Club Exec team – check them out below too.

There are a few things I’d like to draw your attention to. We are still looking for Homestay families for our Chinese students, tickets are now on sale and we need helpers for our school production, we’d love skateboards/scooters, and remember to check out the College Open Days/Evenings that are coming up. It’s well worth going along to check them out to get a feel for which school will suit your child. Also, make sure you have all the upcoming amazing events in your diaries, especially our School Production, followed by our Matariki dawn celebration and then the Matariki Showcase! Full details about all these are below.

Finally just a reminder about the short weeks that are coming up:

• Mon 2 June – King’s Birthday, school closed
• Tues 3 June – Staff Only Day, school closed to students
• Fri 20 June – Matariki, school closed

Ngā mihi,
Toby Stokes
Principal | Tumuaki
Remember to check out the school’s Facebook Page, which has the latest updates about what is going on at school

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Term 2 Dates

Also keep an eye on the school google calendar as dates are added and changed from time to time.

• 2 June – King’s Birthday, school closed
• 3 June – Staff Only Day, school closed to students
• 6 June – ALL Year Y8 boys to Rongotai for a visit
• 11 June – Y7 Vision and Hearing Screening
• 11 June – WRISSA Girls’ Basketball
• 12 June – Kapa haka retirement village event
• 17 June – School Board meeting, 6pm in the Staffroom
• 18 June – WRISSA Boys’ Basketball
• 17/18 June – “Moments That Made Us” SWIS production at the Indian Centre.
• 19 June – SWIS Matariki celebrations – dawn ceremony, shared kai, games and more.
• 19 June – WISPA Speech Competition @ Wainuiomata Intermediate
• 20 June – Matariki, school closed
• 26 June – SWIS Matariki Showcase
• 27 June – Discovery Day @ Massey for Children’s University students
• 27 June – Last day of Term 2
• 14 July – Term 3 starts
• 29/30 July – SWIS school visit for Y6 students
• 6 Aug – SWIS Open Evening for prospective students
• 15 Aug – Staff Only Day, school closed to students

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School Notices

SWIS Kapa haka performing TOMORROW NIGHT (7pm, 31 May)!

We’re excited to have our SWIS Kapa haka group perform TOMORROW NIGHT, 7pm, 31 May at the 2025 NZ Open Dance Championship at Wellington College. As a thank you, performers and whānau will be able to attend the performance and then stay to watch the evening competition free of charge. So don’t miss out, this level of dance talent is phenomenal and we’d love to have your support for our Kapa haka crew too!

Our Kids Online Parent Evening Checklist

Thanks to everyone who came along. Here is the checklist from Rob Cope’s presentation.

We need: Scooters/Skateboards and Art Room supplies

Brown paper bags and egg cartons needed for the art room! Please drop off to Ms Shuker in the Art room, or leave at the office. If you have any old or unused skateboards or scooters we would love to collect them and use them for riding or parts. Please drop these off to Room 20. Thanks, Greg

Homestay families needed!

At the end of July, SWIS will welcome five Chinese international students as part of a school trip. The students will be accompanied by a teacher and some parents, and have a full programme of activities organised, including time in our classrooms and also around Wellington.

We are looking for Homestay families that can preferably take either the two boys or the two girls for three weeks from the end of July (exact dates tbc, but after 21 July). All Homestay families are vetted before the students arrive, and will receive a payment of $55 per student per night.

Hosting an international student with SWIS is a great experience that brings the world into your home. Each hosting journey is unique, creating lasting memories and friendships across cultures.

For more information and to register your interest please email nicola.clissold@swis.school.nz. Note: if you are unable to host this time, but are interested in future opportunities, let Nicola know and we can add you to the list.

Tickets now on sale for SWIS production “Moments That Made Us” – 17/18 June!

We are pleased to announce tickets are now available for our incredible production, “Moments that Made Us!” .

Buy your ticket online here. Alternatively, students can buy tickets with cash or Eftpos (no credit card) at the school office at the start of lunch next week and the week after. If students buy a ticket at school, they won’t get a physical ticket but will be added to the list. Show starts at 7pm, the doors will be open from 6.30pm.  

Feel free to share this with whānau and friends, our production is open to all which is why we have two shows to allow as many whānau to attend as possible.

We are still looking for whānau support with:

• Theatre lighting and sound experience
• Adults to help at the door on the performance nights – checking tickets and door sales
• Adults to help with the bake sale table on the performance nights
• Do you have a business that could sponsor the production in return for advertising in the programme?

Please contact hannah.quince@swis.school.nz or roshni.parbhu@swis.school.nz if you can help!

Celebrate Matariki at dawn with your SWIS whānau!

Save the Date: SWIS Matariki Showcase – 26 June

College Open Evenings on now!

The following list includes whānau Open Days/Evenings – some which you have to book directly through the colleges (see below for this info), and visits where our students go to the colleges.

June

• 6 June (Fri)
  • All Year 8 boys visit Rongotai College (9–11:30am, bus from SWIS)
• 9 June (Mon)
  • Wellington High School Open Evening – 4:30pm & 6pm (ticketed)
• 10 June (Tue)
  • Rongotai College Open Evening – 6:30-8:30pm – no booking necessary
• 11 June (Wed)
  • St Catherine’s College Open Evening – 6pm (book online)
• 12 June (Thu)
  • Wellington East Girls’ College Open Evening – 3-4:30pm and 6:00-8:00pm – RSVP online
• 16–17 June (Mon–Tue)
  • Wellington College Open Mornings – 9–11am – see website
• 17 June (Tue)
  • Wellington Girls’ College Open Day – 9am, 9:45am, 11:45am (book online)

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School News

Congrats to our Māori Club Exec team

Our Māori club exec team were awarded their badges at assembly last Friday. Congratulations to Sapphire, Lily, Carl, Aqua, Isla-Rose, Mia A, Escher, Mac B, Aaron R, Aria T, Aurora, Zaw Zaw, Armeresa, Korus, Mette, Billie, Joe W and Mareikura. Each of these students holds a particular role – see the list of roles here and what they are responsible for.

Ka pai koutou katoa! Kei te harikoa mātou ki te kite kei hea koe e kawe ai i tā mātou rōpū.

ShowQuest Toi – a fantastic experience!

Myra ~ I was the model for TOI! It was really fun to see a bunch of amazing dresses and create your own! It was quite a lot of hard work making the garment, but worth it for the experience. Being up on the stage was scary but also cool! I recommend that you Year 7s give it a try!

Palla ~ Toi was a great experience and also super fun! If you’re thinking about Toi next year, Year 7s, I’d say you should be prepared for work, trial and error, and also fun! I’m so glad SWIS has these options for us.

Eva ~ There were tons of categories to choose from but they change every year. It was so fun with a group of friends to just work on a dress together for like 10 weeks.

Charlotte ~ I helped make the mask and the design of our garment. I liked how our dress turned out and it was really fun participating in TOI. All the dresses were all well made and they all just looked great! It’s a fun experience and it requires a lot of creativity. Even if you’re not that creative you can sign up for it with your own group. 

Our winning garment

Spell-It-Out

Spell It Out this year was great! We started the day by driving out to Maidstone Intermediate in Upper Hutt for the team competition, where each team would go through five topics, including mad gabs, ancient civilisations, baby animals and more. Next, we had the individual challenge where we each were given 20 words, and had to spell them. The people with the highest scores went to the final round: a classic spelling bee. 

This was one of our best years in a while! Miles, from the Year 8 team, tied third in the spelling bee, and both the Year 7 and Year 8 teams came first in their categories. It was super fun, and we all enjoyed it. ~ Gabe

SWIS represents at the Kids’ Lit National finals!

Our SWIS A Kids’ Lit team came second in the Wellington round of the competition and were invited to compete in the NZ finals at the National Library. 18 teams from Stewart Island to Whangarei. 5 rounds of 15 questions. Playoff for 4th place between SWIS, Pompallier College and Berkley Int. We came 5th equal! Pretty good result as the other top schools had all been to national finals before. Four very happy students and very proud whānau. It was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon! Congratulations to Maisie, Chloe, Dora and Miles!

NYLD Student Leadership Conference

NYLD was an incredible event that featured a variety of performances and speeches. It included motivational talks, discussions on mental health, dance performances, and music, culminating in a rap finale that closed the event with a bang! We took notes during the speeches, documented the speaker’s journeys, their paths to success, and importantly, their vision for the future. I would like to extend a massive thank you to my school SWIS for organizing such a wonderful event! – Dhilan RM 5

I loved going to National Young Leaders Day. My favorite part about it was how inspiring all the stories of the speakers were. I also liked how it was organized pretty well, and how the crowd was so involved with cheering, clapping and a bit of screaming. I also loved the games we played between speakers. – Livie RM 19

Our second speaker was Eteroa Tusipepa Lafaele. She is an amazing woman who really believes in the power of self confidence. She is a software engineer, an AI teacher and a scientist! She enjoys her job and helping others. Two of her quotes were, ‘Hard stuff doesn’t last forever but strong people do’, and ‘I’m a diamond, shine bright like a diamond’. – Sara D RM 11

One of the things I liked about NYLD is the leaders. Not just that I thought their talks were inspiring, but their journeys were all so diverse. All of their paths were so different, but they all had similar and positive outcomes. One of the things NYLD taught me was that to make the best of any situation or problem and never to be afraid of mistakes. No matter who you are or what the circumstances, you can be a diamond. – Maia RM 21

From our Writers Toolbox “-ED” poems

Room 10 has been creating poems as a fun and creative way to learn our Writers Toolbox Writing Styles. The -ed poem incorporates the -ed start sentence (An -ed sentence starts with a verb ending in -ed.) Please find Anne’s creative example.

Thank you to WF Anderson Fund

We would like to say a big thank you for the generous grant provided by W F Anderson Educational Foundation. This funding
will play a crucial role in advancing our educational initiatives and supporting our mission to enhance learning opportunities for our students. The grant will be allocated towards the following educational purposes:

1. Technology Infrastructure – We will be using part of this grant to further support the Technology Curriculum at SWIS. We are currently redesigning the programme to meet the latest, 21 century needs of our learners and this includes adding digital tools, such as 3D printers and laser cutters to our workshop. Students use the computers to design practical solutions to their problem as and then use these tools to build them.
2. Film Infrastructure – Similar to the Technology focus, our film programme is being reconfigured to best suit the needs of our students. We will use part of this grant to purchase iPads and programmes that students will then use to write, record and edit their films on.

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Wider Community Notices

Youth Mini-Term: A 4-Part Taster Series to Dip Your Toes into the World of Clay. ​Got a creative kiddo aged 10 to 15 who’s keen to explore clay but not ready for a full term? Our Youth Mini-Term: A 4-Part Taster Series is the perfect way to dip their toes into the world of hand-building pottery!

​This short and sweet series is all about experimenting, playing, and discovering the magic of turning raw clay into something totally unique. It’s relaxed, fun, and designed to give young makers a taste of the pottery process—without the pressure. See here to register and for more details.

Calling All Kids!
Whether you’re a dancer, an active go-getter, or just love to move – Enhance Your Skills at Bigair with Gym and Tumbling Classes!

• Pocket Rockets Gym Classes (3-4 years) – Start building coordination and confidence early!
• Gravity Busters Gym Classes (5+ years) – Perfect for beginners looking to develop fundamental gym and tumbling skills.
• Team Extreme Gym Classes (Advanced) – For those ready to take their skills to the next level.
• Free Running (5+ years) – Enhance agility and aerial awareness through parkour and flips.
• Trampoline (5+ years) – Boost spatial awareness and acrobatic abilities.
• Recreational Cheerleading (5+ years) – Build strength, flexibility, and performance skills.
• Tumbling (5+ years) – Focused on mastering walkovers, handsprings, aerials, and more – perfect for dancers, mastering fundamental tumble moves like walkovers, aerials, and handsprings which can significantly enhance performance, flexibility, and overall stage presence.

Hurry – Book Now Before Spots Run Out! Don’t miss out on the chance to help your child grow, learn, and have fun at Bigair Gym! Contact us at: Bigair Gym Owhiro Bay: ph.383 8779, e.wgtn@bigairgym.co.nz at 14 Landfill Road, Owhiro Bay.