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Newsletter ~ 3 September, 2026
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From the Principal
What a busy couple of weeks!
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I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the amazing whole school events we’ve had at school over the last week or two — Daffodil Day last week and Book Week this week.
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As I write this, we’re really only halfway through Book Week, with many more events still to come before the weekend. I’m particularly looking forward to getting my onesie on tonight and settling in to read to the kids!
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A special thanks is due to Lorna for organising Book Week, and to Karen C, Ursi and the Student Council for Daffodil Day last week. These events are such a great reminder of the energy, generosity and community spirit that our students and staff bring to school.
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Our changing curriculum
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Last week I attended a principals’ meeting that included discussions with the Ministry of Education about the significant changes currently taking place across the New Zealand Curriculum. This is something I’ll talk more about over the coming months as the new curriculum areas become embedded in our teaching and learning.
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We’ve been working with the new English and Mathematics curriculum areas over the past couple of years. The new Science and Social Sciences areas were released just last month, and next week the final areas, including Technology and the Arts, will be released.
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There is a lot I could say about the new curriculum, but perhaps the three most important things for parents to know are:
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It is quite different from the curriculum we have worked with previously.
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The expectations are generally more ambitious.
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It is much clearer about what children should know and be able to do at each year level.
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That last point is both a strength and a challenge. The previous curriculum gave teachers more flexibility around what they taught and when. The new curriculum gives us a much clearer picture of the expected learning at each year level.
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The challenge is that children don’t all learn at the same pace. A child may be working towards a particular year-level expectation while another child of the same age may already be well beyond it. Our job as teachers is to respond to those differences while also ensuring that every child is making good progress.
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As was discussed at our curriculum and assessment meeting last term, there may therefore be a period where it looks as though a child’s progress has slowed or their achievement level has dropped. This does not necessarily mean that they have gone backwards. In some cases, it simply reflects the fact that the benchmark we are measuring them against has become more demanding.
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There is a huge amount of work happening behind the scenes as we make this transition — finding and developing appropriate assessment tools, making sure they give us accurate information, adapting lessons and classroom programmes, and working out how best to respond to these new expectations for children who are all at different stages of their learning.
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I want to acknowledge our teachers for the incredible work they are doing through all of this. They are navigating a very significant period of change while continuing to do what matters most: knowing their children well, supporting them as individuals and providing engaging and purposeful learning every day.
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For parents, the most important thing to know is that we are keeping a close eye on each child’s progress. We won’t be relying on a single assessment or simply comparing children against a year-level benchmark. We’ll be looking at the whole picture — what your child knows, what they can do, how they are progressing and what they need next.
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There will be some adjustment as we get used to the new curriculum and assessment approaches, and we won’t have everything perfect straight away. But we are taking the time to understand the changes, work together as a staff and make thoughtful decisions about how they are implemented at our school.
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Our goal remains the same: to know every child well, challenge them appropriately and make sure they continue to make meaningful progress.
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It is a big job, and our teachers are doing it incredibly well.
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Richard Goodyear
Tumuaki | Principal
Te Kura o Te Waipapa Diamond Harbour School
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Te Kōhanga Police Visit
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Te Kōhanga had a very exciting visit from Constable Jeff and Constable Mark, who came along to talk to our ākonga about the important work that police do in our community.
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The children learned about when and how to dial 111, what information to give when making an emergency call, and the different ways police help to keep people safe and support our community.
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Constable Jeff also talked about what it is like to be a police officer and answered lots of questions from our curious tamariki.
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But the best part of the visit was getting to experience some police equipment up close. The children had the opportunity to try on parts of the police uniform, hop onto a police motorbike, and even have a go at turning on the sirens in the police car. There were certainly some very excited faces when those sirens started.
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A huge thank you to Constable Jeff and Constable Mark for taking the time to visit Te Kōhanga and make learning about safety, emergencies and our local community so much fun. It was a memorable and exciting experience for our ākonga.
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Te Wiki o nga pukapuka - Book Week
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Monday was the first day of Spring and… it was also the start of Book Week. Our amazing librarian Lorna organised all of the activities. We are so lucky to have such an awesome librarian.
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Monday was an illusion day. We made illusions, and I made one too. On Tuesday, was book dominoes. I didn't do it, but I watched from the field. Sadly, I missed it when all the books fell, but I watched kids building the Book dominoes. Book dominoes are when books are stood up like dominoes.
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Wednesday was book character day. I dressed up as a bear, with three baby bears from the book ‘I Love You all The Same’. There was a parade in the morning. I didn't win a prize, but the most important part is that I had FUN!!!!! I loved other people's amazing homemade costumes, like Ayla’s and Obie’s
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Today is Thursday. We are having a surprise author coming. I'm soooooo excited! In the afternoon, we will be going to hot chocolate at 5:15. Sadie can't serve hot chocolate anymore, so I am now with Ayla. Also, my mum is the secret reader. The reason why she was a secret is that it used to be Gemma, but she can't anymore she is busy now.
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I AM HAVING SUCH A FUN WEEK!!!!!
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At Diamond Harboour School its book week this week. Everyone dressed up in costumes from books for book character day, everyone loves book week.
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Lorna our librarian organises everything with the library assistants.
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I came as a lost boy from Peter Pan, it was by J M Barry. Everyone got dressed as their favourite book character from a book, some people came as Harry Potter.
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My favourite day was book dominoes, we made a really long line of books, sometimes it fell over but we did eventially make it and know it over.
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Tonight we are going to hot chocolate and stories, I'm going with my family.
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I love book week its a great week. Lorna was kind to organise everything.
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This week at Diamond Harbour School it is book week. Our Librarian Lorna organised activities for each day. Our Library assistants also helped with the activities too.
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It was book character parade on Wednesday. I was dressed up as a mummy, I paper mached my head, this is how I did it, dad put glad wrap on my head then we mixed flour and water to make the paste, next I put long strips of paper on the gad wrap then we put it on a balloon, we did it a couple of times then we took it off the glad wrap and wrapped it up in bandages. We wrapped bandages on the leggings , shorts and a t shirt. I alwasy love book week!
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I am really looking forward to book week next year. I am going to go to story time on Thursday night.
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Pīoke’s History Detectives Trip
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On the 24th of August, Pīoke was treated to a fun and interesting trip concerning the history of Canterbury. In class, we have been learning about the Industrial Revolution and how some inventions, such as the steam engine, were brought over to New Zealand and impacted how life developed here in Canterbury.
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We were given a tour of Ferrymead Heritage Park, looking at fire engines which used a steam engine to pump water and some of the first steam trains from the 1800s. We were also shown one of New Zealand's oldest Printing Presses, which was used to print the Lyttelton Times and expand means of communication in earlier colonial times. We also had an experience of what school was like at that time, writing on a slate board and with ink pens.
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Afterwards, we ate lunch on picnic benches and drove to Lyttelton. We then proceeded to have a walk around Lyttelton, viewing many items of historical interest from the 1800s. This included the Time Ball station, where we saw the ball drop at 1 pm in the way it used to help sea captains set their watches before navigating a big ocean voyage. We also saw Pilgrim's Rock, where the European settlers first set foot, and the sites of the first telegraph and Lyttelton Times offices. We were then driven back to school, having enjoyed the trip thoroughly.
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Kiwanis First Aid course
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On two Wednesdays and a Tuesday, Pīoke did a Kiwanis First Aid course, led by Rick and Georgia. On the first Wednesday, we learnt how to stop someone from choking, and we also learnt how to bandage someone with a scarf. To practice stopping someone from choking, we used a fake baby, and we had to pretend it was choking. We also learnt the acronyms to help us remember how to respond if we find a casualty.
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On the second Wednesday, we learnt how to bandage different wounds properly, including burns, and we also learnt how to make a sling from a scarf. We also recapped what we learnt the session before.
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In the final session, we recapped everything, then we put a blanket on the floor, and someone lay on it, and we picked them up and did obstacles around the school. After that, we learnt how to use an AED or defibrillator. Two people demonstrated it, one person did CPR whilst the other turned on the AED and put one pad on the upper left and the other on the lower right of the mannequin. The other person continued CPR until the AED said to ‘stand clear’ so it could emit an electric shock. At the end, we each got a first aid kit with everything we learned how to use. We are very grateful to Kiwanis for funding and running such a brilliant programme that has taught us so many useful life skills.
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Bunnings Sausage Sizzle
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A massive thank you to everyone who came along, volunteered, cooked sausages, served customers, or simply stopped by to support our Bunnings Sausage Sizzle on Sunday!
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It was an amazing day, and the support for our Diamond Harbour School community was fantastic. We are so grateful to everyone who gave up part of their Sunday to help make the day such a success.
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We are thrilled to share that we raised an incredible $1,100
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This was our last big push for fundraising for the school pool, so reaching this milestone is extra special.
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Thank you again to every volunteer hour, and every donation that has helped us keep our pool available for our tamariki and community.
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Daffodil Day
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What an amazing Daffodil Day we had at Diamond Harbour School
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We kicked off the day with a colourful Daffodil Day parade, followed by an impromptu dance party that had everyone smiling, dancing and showing off their fabulous moves.
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We then celebrated our Best Dressed winners, who certainly went above and beyond with their creative hats and colourful outfits.
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Thanks to the incredible generosity of our whānau and community, we raised an amazing $232 for Daffodil Day. We are now just $49 away from reaching our school team fundraising goal to support the Cancer Society
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A huge ngā mihi nui to everyone who donated, dressed up, joined in the fun and supported this important cause. Your generosity and enthusiasm made the day so special.
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If you would still like to donate, here is the link to our school team
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Ever wondered if you like Karate? Want to build confidence, strength, balance and speed ? Give Karate a go!
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First two lessons are free, no clothing or cost, just come along and give it a try.
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What's Coming Up at Diamond Harbour School
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- Monday 31st - Friday 4th September - Book Week
- Wednesday 2nd September - Book Week Parade
- Tuesday 8th September - EnviroAfternoon
- Friday 11th September - Tipu Year 1 Assembly
- Monday 14th September - Choir Rehearsal
- Thursday 17th September - Jonah Project - Whale (inflatable life-size whale) St Andrew’s Church Hall
- Thursday 17th September - Po Whakangahau
- Friday 18th September - Disco
- Monday 21st September - Teachers Only Day
- Wednesday 23rd September - Senior Athletics Day
- Friday 25th September - Last Day of Term 3
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What's Up In The Local Community
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LEARN TO SAIL – TERM 4
Is your child showing an interest in sailing, boats or being out on the water?
Learn to Sail starts in Term 4 at Charteris Bay Yacht Club, and registrations are now open!
The programme is a great way for children aged 8+ to learn the basics of sailing, build confidence on the water, make new friends and, most importantly, have fun!
If your child is always asking to go sailing, loves boats, or simply enjoys being around the water, this could be the perfect opportunity to give it a go.
Starting Term 4
Ages 8+
Charteris Bay Yacht Club
Monday/Tuesday and Saturday programmes (subject to demand)
Have questions or want to know more? Get in touch — we're happy to help!
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Expression of interest form
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What's Up Outside Diamond Harbour
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