ST JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC
SCHOOL
TAKAPUNA

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Tena koutou katoa

This morning we welcomed seven children and their families to our school community. Our school welcome prayers are always a very special celebration for both those children being welcomed and our children welcoming them.

Yesterday was St Joseph’s Day, our parish feast day. Our Year 6 children attended the morning Parish Mass. Our school feast day is St Joseph the Worker which is celebrated on the 1st of May.

At the beginning of this year, the Government announced their reporting expectations, which they are still developing. Our reporting programme for 2026 will be as follows:

All Year:

Teachers are available throughout the year to meet with you to discuss your child’s progress and achievement with you. You are welcome to contact them either by email or through the office to arrange a meeting

Term 1:

We began the year with Whānau Hui. This was an opportunity for you to meet with your child’s teacher in order to meet them and to share your child’s talents.

Term 2

Week 9: Monday 15 June – Wednesday 16 June:

Sharing the Learning – Whānau are invited in to view the learning that their child has done throughout the year to date.

Week 10:

Written Report – Through the ‘HERO’ app you will receive your child’s progress (mid-year) report.

Week 11: Thursday 2 July

Whānau Hui – Whānau book a time to meet with their child’s teacher to discuss their child’s progress for the first half of the year and their next steps in their learning journey.

Term 3

Week 9: Monday 14 September – Wednesday 16 September:

Sharing the Learning – Whānau are invited in to view the learning that their child has done throughout the year to date.

Term 4

Week 10:

Written Report – Through the ‘HERO’ app you will receive your child’s achievement report.

While we do have our reporting programme for 2026, please do remember that you are always welcome to meet with your child’s teacher and have a chat about their learning progress at any time through the year.

Ka manaakitia e te Atua

Alister Bridgman

Principal

The Principal’s Message will cover the following topics:

Welcome
Hero App
Holy Week Liturgy
Stations of the Cross at St Joseph’s Parish on Good Friday
Hot Cross Buns
Attendance
Pick-Up/Drop-Off
Rippa Rugby Registrations
Shore-to-Shore Fun Run/Walk
Kakariki Swimming
Parish News
sKids Holiday Programme
Community Notices

WELCOME

We would like to extend a very warm welcome to our new students who joined our St Joseph’s community in Week 6 of this term:

Amelia, Cevi, Charlotte, Ciari, Esra, Evie and Jacob

Here’s hoping you thoroughly enjoy your education journey here at St Joseph’s.

HERO APP

Have you loaded the HERO app on your cell phone?

This year we are moving to a new Student Management Platform (SMS) – HERO. This is where you can record your children’s absences, receive notifications from the school and view your child’s progress and achievement reports.

This term we are asking parents to record their attendance on the HERO app. Through this app you will be able to view your child’s attendance data for 2026.

Please read the information below as to how to load the HERO app on your phone.

Hero Parent Help Guide

HOLY WEEK LITURGY

STATIONS OF THE CROSS AT ST JOSEPH’S PARISH ON GOOD FRIDAY

HOT CROSS BUNS

ATTENDANCE

In October last year the Government informed all schools that they are required to write an Attendance Management Plan and put it on their school website. This is our school’s Attendance Management Plan.

The Government is very focused on improving attendance rates of students throughout NZ. Regular attendance improves a child’s learning progress and achievements.

We appreciate that there are a variety of reasons why your child arrives late and if you need to take them early. If at all possible, it would be good if they could be on time; and able to stay for the full day.

If at any time you are considering a holiday through term time please be aware that this is not an acceptable reason for their absence. Parents need to send an email to the principal and the teacher informing them of the dates and the reason for intended absences in term time, other than illness.

Thank you!

PICK-UP/DROP-OFF

Thank you again for your patience this week when a hearse was parked in front of the church on the church driveway.

We are fortunate to have the ability to do pick-up and drop-off away from the public roads, as well as being able to use the parish carparks and drives.

There are funerals that occur during drop-off time. Whānau are perfectly entitled to have a funeral for a loved one at a time that works for them.

When a funeral happens at this time, we ask that you be patient through the pick-up process.

An additional complication this week was parents parking in front of the closed gate. Please do not park in front of the closed gate. This means cars are unable to enter and exit the parish and court car parks.

It is important that parents are mindful of cars around them when coming to collect their children or dropping them off in the morning. There are approximately 300 families joining you in this exercise. Please be considerate as you access the school property via the roads around the school. Thank you.

RIPPA RUGBY REGISTRATIONS

Rippa Rugby sign ups are now on the Sports website – available to Years 5/6 only. Registrations close on 17 April. For all details and to register please click on the link below:

Rippa registrations