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Newsletter ~ 23 April, 2026
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From the Principal
Kia ora whānau o te kura Waipapa,
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A big thank you from me for the welcome you have given me this week. I even received a welcoming card from a student that was very much appreciated, literally upon arriving! It has certainly been a frenetic beginning with the Car Boot Sale and then the amazing Astronauts function, and an opportunity to meet some of you.
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We have received a great deal of amazing feedback after Monday’s event, including my 93 year old mother, who thought it was all down to me, even though I had been on site for a mere 5 hours! Suffice to say, a massive congratulations to Katrine for her passion and enthusiasm; to the students for their searching, high interest questions; our Staff for coming out on a cold night and presenting kai; the students who performed the vibrant poi show and to our school whānau who turned up in droves. This has been a quality showcase of what learning in 2026 should look like.
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I have 25 years of Principalship at Mapua School (Year 0 - 8), Nelson Intermediate (Year 7/8), and Collingwood Area School (Year 1 - 13). I am married to Cate, who is an Assistant Principal and we have 2 wonderful adult children and an amazing Grandson who lives in Nelson. Cate and I both come from large families, many of whom live in Nelson.
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I live most of my time in Pākawau, Golden Bay, enjoying all that coastal living offers and I am sure the Diamond Harbour Community can relate to that. Suffice to say, when I am not in Nelson on whānau duty, I will be fishing, mountain biking, kayaking, walking and tending to our 3-acre lifestyle property.
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I am an avid Rugby and Cricket fan and will book in the Crusaders home games this term!
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I had never been to Diamond Harbour until Friday, and I have managed to find my way around, exploring on my bike. I am looking forward to navigating ferry rides to Lyttleton and maybe tackling Mt Herbert at some point.
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On another note, we are still actively looking at options to reinstate After School Care and if anyone has any recommendations or ideas to get in touch ASAP. We wanted to make sure you are aware that we intend to get it up and running as soon as we can.
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We recognise it is unsettling with a change in Principalship for term 2. We see this term as an opportunity to continue to build a stable platform that Richard can springboard from. It is important that we can continue to set our Kura up in a way that enables the new Principal to grow and develop into the future. This is an exciting prospect for Diamond Harbour School.
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I will be living in Diamond Harbour, in the magnificent Purau, during my stay.
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I look forward to meeting many of you, and in particular, our Tamariki.
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Information introducing our new Tumuaki/Principal, Richard Goodyear, can be found further down in the newsletter.
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Interview with the ISS
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A small South Island school has been given the opportunity of a lifetime – a question-and-answer session with an astronaut on board the International Space Station.
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Sixteen students at Diamond Harbour School on Banks Peninsula were selected to ask questions to NASA's Jack Hathaway.
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The teacher in charge, Katrina Pringle, told 1News yesterday's meeting was an "awesome opportunity" for the kids.
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"It’s been a year in the making, and we are excited that the night has finally come."
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The signal was relayed through a telebridge ground station in Casale Monferrato, Italy and was all made possible through ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station).
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The programme allowed students to experience talking directly with crew members of the ISS.
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For a school of just 120 students aged between five and 13, the experience was monumental.
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"It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to speak to an astronaut," said 10-year-old Maddy.
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Starting at 8.30 pm on Monday, the starry-eyed students could barely stay in their seats as they did a run-through prior to making contact.
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It was followed by a poi performance under a starry sky and a final technical check in a classroom crowded with teachers, parents and students.
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"It’s a rare occasion that we get to stay up this late at night, but it's not every day that you get to talk to the space station," noted one parent.
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After multiple nerve-wracking attempts to call through to the International Space Station, the connection finally went through around 9.51 pm.
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The students lit up with joy as they heard the long-awaited answers to questions they had been planning to ask for months. These ranged from the commander’s life story to exercise routines and science.
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When asked about the scariest thing to have happened to him in space, Hathaway joked: "Eating the last dessert without asking anyone if they wanted it first."
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Students weren’t the only ones blown away by the event. Parents were fascinated with the work it took to bring it all together.
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"Tonight, we have a teacher who has literally inspired her students by showing them what space is all about. It’s very exciting to see," said parent Matthew Barbati-Ross.
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With ARISS only choosing 60 to 100 schools from across the globe annually, Pringle described the event as a career highlight.
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"It meant everything to be able to give the students this kind of opportunity. It’s not something you can offer very often in your career."
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Here is a link to the video of the call
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On the 20th of April at exactly 9:52 pm, Diamond Harbour school had an incredible chance of talking to NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway, accompanied by an ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) radio ground station in Italy.
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Sixteen students at Diamond Harbour school asked a question to NASA pilot Jack Hathaway. The students were very excited and had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.
About an hour before the connection, the year sixes got the opportunity to show us their long poi performance which lit up under the stars, and it was extremely beautiful.
Two minutes before the scheduled call, we tried to call them but it didn't seem like it was working, so they tried again, and the connection finally went through! You could see
everyone's faces with a smile on it. So up came the first person and asked their question, and then after about eight to ten minutes, the connection was lost and it was all over so quickly.
The students had worked so hard, and it had finally paid off having to think of questions and of course having to stay up so late.
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South Island Primary Tournament
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Eight games in three days meant sore legs and plenty of tired players, but the girls showed incredible determination and were thrilled to come away with a hard-fought win in the finals.
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Winning 7 out of their 8 games, the team played exceptionally well together, learning and growing stronger with each match. They’re already looking forward to next year.
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Carboot Sale Fundraiser
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Last Sunday’s car boot sale was a fantastic success, with an amazing turnout from our school and wider community. There were so many great bargains on offer, and it was wonderful to see everyone out enjoying the day and supporting the event.
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A huge thank you to Gabby and the DHSECT team for organising such a successful day, your hard work made it all possible. We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to Laura and James from the Four Square for generously allowing us to use your car park. We couldn’t have done it without your support.
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Thank you to everyone who came along, supported, and helped make the day such a success!
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Introducing our new Tumuaki/Principal
Richard Goodyear
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Kia ora, Diamond Harbour whānau,
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I'm beyond thrilled to start as the permanent principal from term 3. I've now visited your school several times and met many of the teachers, some of the kids and of course the Board of Trustees. I felt at home right from the beginning and knew that Diamond Harbour would be the place I could bring my absolute best leadership self. I've been in educational leadership for over a decade, most recently as principal of a rural school in Wairarapa. This year, I moved to Lyttelton and am loving getting to be part of the community. My interests in boats, arts and music, sports (currently tennis) and Te Ao Māori certainly have a great home here! I have two grown up children and recently learned I am to be a granddad later in the year.
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I have an endless fascination with education and have had a varied career in mainstream and special character schools, city and rural, large and small. I'm focused on great teaching and learning and on a school being the vibrant, welcoming hub of a community. I can't wait to get started at Te Kura o Te Waipapa Diamond Harbour School and meet you all in a couple of months. Have a great term 2, and I'll see you soon!
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Huxster Mountain Bike Race
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On Tuesday, I drove with my dad to McLean's Island Biking Park. When we got there, the year 5/6 race was just finishing up. I was greeted by Matthew and Awa. In the year 5 & 6 race, there were 4 teams from Diamond Harbour School. Elsie and Obie, Awa and Jack, Will and Hunter, Rowen and Matthew, and Jonty and Bobby.
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The general idea was that one person would do a lap of a 5 kilometre course, they would tag the next person, and they would do a lap. As an option for the year 7/8’s only, you could race solo.
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The 5/6 race was 1 and a half hours, and the 7/8 race was 2 and a half hours. In the year 7/8 race, there were no teams, and both Finn and I were racing solo. When the race started, everyone was all rammed up together, with people all crashing and bumping into each other. As the race went on, people moved apart. I was going to get food on my third lap, but I kept missing, so I eventually got it on my sixth lap. Finally, the race finished. I was exhausted.
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I completed 12 laps in 2 hours, 28 minutes and 30 seconds. Just in time!
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Zoom call with Mark Rocket
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On Wednesday of the final week (week 9) of school, we had a Zoom call with Mark Rocket.
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He talked first about Aerospace New Zealand. Mark is the CEO of Kea Aerospace, a Christchurch based company who focus on promoting and growing aerospace across New Zealand by hosting events, promoting skills and launching satellites into the stratosphere. This company develops solar powered stratospheric unmanned aerial vehicles.
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In 2010, he was the first New Zealander to book a ticket with Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin. He flew on the NS-32 mission in 2025. The flight lasted around 10 minutes. Mark described the feeling of micro gravity, G-forces and also described how he felt a mixture of excitement and nerves during the trip. He also coincidentally brought up the Cosmic View perspective, also known as The Overview, where astronauts develop a sense of Earth stewardship after seeing the fragility of Earth from space. We had learnt about this in English.
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He then answered questions; Pioke (Year 7 and 8) had read a little about him and made up some questions to ask him. Unfortunately, all Zoom calls have to come to an end, so we waved goodbye to him, because that's fun, and we left the call.
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Library News
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I am sure the exciting opportunity to make contact with the International Space Station this week is very much in the front of our minds. If our future astronauts, astronomers, scientists, engineers and learners would like to learn more about the International Space Station, be sure to visit our library where we have some fantastic dedicated books which can be borrowed.
We always like to have a bit of fun in our school library. Two mystery books need to be found, and each week new clues will be given in the library about what they might be. Library Assistants will be alerted by the library computer when a mystery book is issued. The lucky finder of each book gets to choose a new book from the Scholastic Book Club magazine for the school to order for our library. We use reward dollars earned from Scholastic Book Club orders to obtain these new books, so thank you for purchasing books from Scholastic Book Club. It means we can bring more student-led new reads into our library collection.
Our school is participating in the Hell Pizza Challenge again this year. For those students who would like to participate, a pizza wheel is allocated, and once each book is read, a segment of the wheel is signed off by the school staff. Once 7 segments have been signed off and authenticated with the Diamond Harbour School stamp, students can exchange their completed pizza wheel for a FREE 333 kids' pizza from any Hell Pizza store!! This runs for the year, and students must redeem their pizza wheels in person by 31 January 2027.
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Basketball Singlet Return
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As we prepare for the upcoming basketball season, we kindly ask that all school basketball singlets be returned to the office as soon as possible.
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Having all uniforms back promptly helps us get organised and ensures every player is ready to go for the new season. Please check at home for any singlets that may still be tucked away.
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Thank you for your support, we’re looking forward to another great season of basketball!
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Parents' Evening with Brett Harvey from Tāima Kōrero
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DHYCT is hosting another evening event for parents from around the Harbour.
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We are bringing back Brett Harvey from Tāima Kōrero. If you came along to his session 2 years ago you will know what important and practical information he brought around mitigating the effects of harmful online content for young people.
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We encourage you to come along again to hear the updated session and bring a friend who missed it last time. If you haven't attended a session before this is a great opportunity.
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What's Coming Up at Diamond Harbour School
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- Monday 27th April - Anzac Day Observed, School Closed
- Tuesday 28th April - Year 4 & 5 Living Springs Day
- Tuesday 5th May - School Photos
- Wednesday 13th May - Food Fairy Fun Run
- Friday 15th May - Pink Shirt Day
- Wednesday 20th May - Food Fairy Fun Run Postponement Day
- Tuesday 26th May Zone Cross Country
- Monday 1st June King's Birthday - School Closed
- Tuesday 9th June - EnviroAfternoon
- Friday 19th - Sunday 21st June- 40 Hour Challenge
- Tuesday 23rd June - Zone Basketball
- Thursday 2nd July - Matariki Night Makete
- Friday 3rd July - Last Day of Term 2
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What's Up In The Local Community
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Join our friendly locals down at the community hall each Wednesday (starting 22nd April) at 7.30pm for badminton. Guaranteed to keep you warm and make you laugh.
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For absolute beginners we can offer you the first Wednesday (7.30-8.30pm) of every month completely dedicated to you to learn the art of playing badminton. So if you haven’t played before or you’re just a bit daunted by it all, come along on 06 May and one of the regulars can introduce you to the game.
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We provide racquets, shuttlecocks, the net and friendly encouragement.The first 3 sessions are free.
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Discounts for families and attending more than one of the indoor winter sports games. Message me for more info.
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What's Up Outside Diamond Harbour
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