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Connect Communication
11 March 2026
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Our Year 6 campers headed away today. I am joining them this afternoon and will stay until tomorrow. Camps, while fun, are a big commitment for the staff and volunteers. We thank you for being giving of your time and energy!
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This road is experiencing heavy traffic due to the roadworks in Lincoln. This does make it extra challenging for our children to get to and from school. Thank you to the parents for their support and diligence in keeping our ākonga safe. Please discuss this with your children. I have met with the travel team from Selwyn District Council and am meeting with Cr Denise Carrick on Tuesday to discuss what can be done. We have some ideas for how you can apply pressure further down in the newsletter.
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Now that children are getting settled into their classrooms, concerns or questions may emerge. Please remember, your first port of call is your child's teacher. Email or pop in to arrange a time to touch base, sometimes a phone call is all that is needed. If you feel your issue has not been resolved, your next step is to the team leader. If it still remains an issue, then email the Deputy Principals or Principal. All contact and email information is on the 'our team' tab of our website.
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We have planned our learning conversations nights, so save the date for them! The information is below.
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Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to camp I go!
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Our learning conversations will happen in Term 2. These conversations may include:
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Reviewing Term 1 learning and settling in, friendships, self-management, strengths and challenges
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Goal setting for the remainder of the year - what do you want out of 2026?
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Discussing potential areas of concern re Reading, Writing and Maths achievement
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Share students’ Ready to Learn Plan or gather ideas
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Strengthen the home-school relationship
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Empower ākonga to work towards their goals.
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Please keep in mind the following dates.
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Year 1-6 - bookings open Monday Week 9, Term 1
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- Wednesday 29th April 3:15-8:00pm (no Year 1)
- Thursday 30th April 2:00-6:30pm (Year 1 on this night)
Year 7-8 - bookings open Monday Week 6, Term 2
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- Wednesday 10th June 3:15-8:00pm
- Thursday 11th June 2:00-6:30pm
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Senior leaders will supervise Kaunuku students from 1:40pm to allow teachers to begin conversations at 2pm.
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From the Office
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Emergency Food - Reminder
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As part of our planning procedures, we need to keep a supply of snacks in each classroom in case of an emergency.
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Could each child please bring 2-3 individually wrapped snacks (eg. snack pack of chips or crackers, muesli or snack bar, etc.). If your child has special dietary requirements, please provide snacks for your child in a clearly named ziplock bag so they can be easily identified.
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Please drop these in at your child's class as soon as possible.
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Keeping Our Kids Safe on Southfield Drive
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A recent near miss involving one of our students has highlighted some serious safety concerns on our doorstep. We need to take action as a community to make it safer round our school — here’s what we’re doing:
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The Council has agreed to prune the foliage at the Liffey river walkway exits. This will significantly improve visibility for both drivers and students.
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Discussions with our Safe Travel Co-ordinator have occurred around erecting ‘School’ signs on Southfield Drive to alert drivers that they are approaching a school as there is currently no signage on Southfield Drive.
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Adult supervision at Southfield Drive/Liffey River Path crossing. Our caretakers are going to be down at the crossing to help supervise children in the afternoons crossing here.
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The roadworks in the village have pushed heavy construction vehicles and high-volume traffic onto Southfield Drive, this is making getting to school more hazardous for our students who are on foot or on wheels. We have voiced our concerns to our Safe Travel Coordinator but we need a bigger community voice to amplify the message.
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If you spot road hazards (tree roots pushing up pavements, potholes, overhanging branches that might impede visibility or safety, report them on the Snap, Send Solve app. Report dangerous driving to the police via *555.
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We have emailed Cr Denise Carrick to ask her to advocate for us and will meet with her hopefully next week.
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Children Cycling on footpaths
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Should kids be allowed on the pavement?
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Please make your voice heard to keep our children safer.
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NZTA is considering a major change to the Road User Rule, and they need your input.
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The Problem: Current laws mostly ban bikes from footpaths, even for kids.
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The Fix: Allow children 12 and under to cycle on footpaths legally to keep them away from heavy traffic.
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The Catch: Consultation closes 25 March 2026.
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Lane Use Survey: It’s a 5-minute "tick-the-box" situation. If you care about safe streets (or just want the law to make sense), jump in and let them know what you think.
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Here is an opportunity for your talented young person to put their artistic and design skills to work and win not only the chance to have your artwork seen and handled by thousands of Cantabrians, but also to… win $100 for you and another $100 for your school!
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Schools are invited to submit students’ poster designs to the CSMFA Poster competition, to advertise the 2026 Music Festival season.
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Children participating in the Festival are Primary and Intermediate School pupils and the judges look for entries which reflect, in some way, both the choral and instrumental aspects of the Music Festival.
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The theme for this year is about Dreams and Dreaming, so the concerts will be called: Just Dream - Moemoeā noa.
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Songs will be about Dreaming – this could include dreams for the future, dreaming of a better world or just dreams we have when we are asleep, so we would love the poster that will be used to advertise our concerts to be a work of art that reflects our theme. The theme can also include a link to music in some way but it does not have to. Posters chosen in the past have often been quite simple but effective and not too busy. We love bright colours and the poster can also be digitally created if you wish.
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Entries can be digital or on paper. For more information and the conditions of entry click here.
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Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
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Music Festival Representative Groups 2026 - AUDITIONS!
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The Christchurch Schools Music Festival is looking for applications to audition for one of the Representative groups. They are looking for the best singers for the Junior Choir (Yr 5 & 6) and Senior Choir (Yr 7 & 8), and for talented musicians (Grade 3 equivalent and above) to audition for the Orchestra and Concert Band.
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The audition process takes only 5 minutes and each student is auditioned individually. Information on what is required in the audition is on our website.
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The Representative groups are on stage in the Christchurch Town Hall for every performance of the Festival (4 nights). With more than a thousand people in the audience and 900 children in the choir stalls watching every night, it is an amazing experience they will never forget.
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Participation in one of the Representative Groups of the Music Festival is like being selected for a Canterbury representative sports team and brings with it a great store of enjoyment, new friends and exciting opportunities for new learning in music making. Parents need to make the application so that they are aware of the rehearsal and performance commitments.
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Our talented singers and musicians get a chance to not only participate in a life-changing learning opportunity but also to represent Ararira Springs while doing it!
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To find out more information or to register your child click here:
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Be quick, registrations close 01 April.
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IMPORTANT DATES
- 15 March - THT Hot Cross Bun Fundraiser Orders Close
- 17 March - Whānau Hui, 6-7.30pm
- 20 March - Hui (Pūrei), 9.15am in the Hall
- 25 March - THT Meeting, 7pm in Tahuna | Staffroom
- 26 March - Wear Purple for Epilepsy Awareness Day
- 27 March - THT Hot Cross Buns Distributed to Students
- 31 March - Coffee with Whaea Claire, 9-10am in Tahuna | Staffroom
- 01 April - School Board Meeting, 6.30pm in Tahuna | Staffroom
- 29 April - Yr 2-6 Learning Conversations, 3:15-8:00pm
- 30 April - Yr 1 Learning Conversations, 2:00-6:30pm
- 10 June - Yr 7-8 Learning Conversations, 3:15-8:00pm
- 11 June - Yr 7-8 Learning Conversations, 2:00-6:30pm
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School Board
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Next meeting Wednesday 01 April, 6.30pm in Tahuna | Staffroom
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Kia ora e te Ararira whānau,
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We review our school policies on a regular basis, and invite feedback from our families. Our first policy review for the year includes the following policies:
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- Alcohol, Drugs, and Other Harmful Substances Policy
- Sun Protection
- Digital Technology and Online Safety
- Cellphones and Other Personal Digital Devices
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Your feedback on these policies would be really appreciated, to make sure we are giving the school and by extension our tamariki the best foundation for an environment that nurtures and protects them. Many eyes see different things and we would value yours.
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You can choose whether to provide feedback or simply indicate you have no feedback. Both are actually very helpful so please take the time if you can. This review should be done before 22 March 2026, to give us time to review and collate feedback.
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Username: ararira
Password: russdrive
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Te Hapori Tautoko (THT)
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Next meeting - 25 March, 7pm in Tahuna | Staffroom
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Thank you to all our tamariki who volunteered to come along with Matua Blair and me for our swimming sports this year. We had a great day with competitive races, fun races and a few rides on the hydra slide!
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Well done, particularly to the Year 6’s who came and swam but had to make a tough decision about swimming or camp! We look forward to seeing you in the pool next year!
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The following children will be representing us at Zones this year:
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Year 5: Frankie M, Aiva H, Harper C, Ollie K and Aiden D.
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We wish you all the best!
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Huxster Mountain Bike Race
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This year, we have had the biggest response to this event. Unfortunately, it fills up really quickly, so many of our hopeful bikers are now on a waiting list. If there are any openings, I will let you know if you have been selected. If you do not hear from me, then unfortunately, you will have to wait until next year to enter.
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I hope you have had a good sporting start to the year, and we wish all our tamariki who are taking part all the best.
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The closing date for Issue 2 is 02 April 2026.
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All orders will be delivered to school in batches and distributed to the classrooms as they arrive. Any orders marked as gifts, we will put to one side and contact you when they are ready to be collected.
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Attendance at Ararira
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The Importance of Attendance We all recognise that education is the pathway to the future. The key to educational success relies on being present at school. Consistent routines and practice are a big component of learning. Neurological pathways in our brains require repetitive exposure to strengthen and cement learning and develop mastery. We also create these neural pathways for resilience, …
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Attendance Monitoring at Ararira The government has publicly stated that it wishes to lift attendance rates at New Schools so 80% of all children are attending 90% of the time by 2030. We have set this as a target for our kura|school in 2026. All schools are required to have an attendance management plan (AMP) in place that follows stepped …
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2025 End of Year Progress Graphs The end-of-year progress graphs for students (English Year 0-6 and Maths Year 0-8) will be live on Friday, 12 December. English progress in Years 7-8 will be released in a statement at the bottom of Year 7-8 children's reading and writing comments. The Overall Teacher Judgements (OTJs) regarding progress that your child will receive …
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Te Mātaiaho | The New Zealand Curriculum Curriculum Update - English, Term 3, 2025 Kia ora, Earlier this year, we held a successful whānau hui regarding the refreshed Maths curriculum for Phases 1-3 (Year 0-8). We are unfortunately still waiting on Phase 3 (Year 7-8) of the English curriculum, which is due to be released in Term 4 of this …
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