Nau mai, haere mai and welcome whaanau to our 2025 school year. We hope you have had a lovely summer break as a whaanau and we are looking forward to a wonderful year at Glenbrook School. 

There are a few reminders and changes we wanted to give you before you start. For further information about our school please check out our Glenbrook School website We are slowly updating our 2025 class information. 

On  Friday 7th February our gates open to welcome our tamariki and whanau to school. For the first two weeks, parents are able to walk their children to class, if you wish, to see where the class is and greet the teacher. Classes will start promptly at 9am. If your child has forgotten what class they are in, Ms Greenstock, Mr Powdrell and I will be able to assist you.

Stationery

Stationery for your child has already been organised and named. Payment details for stationery are below.

The stationery cost for 2025 is $95 per child and is due by Thursday 13th February 2025.

The stationery cost can be paid at the school office or online. All stationery items stay at school until the end of the school year. They are not covered. 

Years 7 & 8 students have an additional cost for Technology of $75. This is for the Technology programme at View School.
The total cost for years 7 & 8 which includes Glenbrook stationery and Technology fees is $170. Technology is on Thursdays. Year 8s have Technology on February 13th. 

Please note that stationery payments do not include additional activity and sports costs.

Payments can be made electronically to:

Glenbrook School Board of Trustees  
A/c 12 3023 0503093 000
Ref: Student Last Name and Stationery

Glenbrook School Uniform

A reminder school uniforms are purchased online from our supplier Uniform Works  www.uniformworks.co.nz.  You will have the option of requesting your uniform to be couriered to your home or delivered directly to the school for pickup from the office.  School hats are available online, or from the school office and cost $16. 

It is expected that all students wear the school uniform and that it is worn correctly.  The following guidelines should be adhered to:

• The only jewellery allowed at school are earrings, which are to be sleepers or studs.
• Any special jewellery which is cultural can be worn only with the permission of the Principal.  A letter of explanation will aid this decision.
• Shoes should be removed when entering a classroom. 
• A change of clothes is encouraged for lunch time activities on the field during winter.
• All uniform items must be named.
• Any mufti items brought to school will be asked to be removed,  unless it is a mufti day.
• Students are not to wear nail polish, tattoos or make up to school. 
• Plain black shorts, skorts, pants and leggings are plain black. (No basketball shorts with writing etc please). 
• Hats must be worn in Terms 1 and 4.

If for some reason the uniform is not worn on a particular day, then a note or email must be sent to the teacher explaining the reason. 

If you have school uniform items that can be donated back to school we would love to have them. these can be dropped off at the office on Tuesday 4th February. If you need assistance with school uniform please let us know so we can help.

2025 School Office Hours:

The school office will be open to accept in zone enrolments for those not already enrolled and 2025 stationery payments on February 4th and 5th 9.00-200pm. 

2025 Meet the Teacher 

Our Meet the Teacher is on Thursday 13th February from 5.30pm at our school pool.  This is an informal gathering where you can meet our teachers, meet other whanau and your children can enjoy a sausage sizzle and a swim in the pool. Parents must accompany their children. No secondary students are allowed to attend please. A reminder that we do not allow students to bring or use digital devices including phones and smart watches at school events. 

G- Challenge

There will be a G- Challenge (similar to our Weetbix Challenge) on Friday 14th February. There will be a swim, a run and an obstacle course. As the medals did not arrive on time on last term we will use them at G- Challenge. Students will need to bring their whanau colours (instead of a weetbix t-shirt). There is no cost. Sausage sizzle and iceblocks will be available for purchase for $2. This is a fun way to start our year as a school together. Whaanau are welcome to attend. 

2025 Beach Camp

Year 5&6 Beach Camp starts in week 3.  Years 5&6 will attend Wednesday 19th February to Friday 21st  February. Students will arrive back around 4.00 -4.30pm Friday 16th. The cost of camp is $450 per person. This will be due February 1st 2024. If you need to set up a payment plan please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Goodall to set one up goodalld@glenbrook.school.nz Ms Greenstock, Mr Green and I will be attending with Mrs Lambert and Miss Burt. 

Automatic Payment:

Please write your child’s name in the first reference field, followed by 2025 Beach Camp

School Bank Account Details:

Glenbrook School BOT

12-3023-0503093-00

Strengthening Digital Citizenship and Online Safety Together

This year, our school is placing a strong emphasis on Digital Citizenship and Online Safety to ensure our students are equipped to navigate the online world confidently and responsibly.

We warmly invite you to a Parents’ Evening with the team from “Kids Online” on Thursday, 27th February, in our school hall from 7:00–8:00 PM.You can book your free ticket here through eventbrite: Glenbrook School Digital Safety

To maximise the impact of this important initiative, we kindly request that at least one parent or caregiver from each household attends. Coffee and tea will be available. No students are able to attend. Your presence is essential in helping us create a safer digital environment for our children. We look forward to seeing you there!

All students in our school are required to sign a Digital Use Agreement. 

All students in years 4-8 are required to have a digital device. We are a BYOD school. Students must have headphones and a hard cover for their device. All items must be clearly named. BYOD and all Digital Citizenship information and contracts will be sent home via the portal. 

No devices will be allowed to be used at school until agreements have been signed. 

Kai Time and Takaro Time

Kai Times 

Glenbrook School has two Kai Time breaks. These are 11.30-11.45 and 1.20-1.40. Kai time is after Takaro Time.  During kai times we encourage healthy lunches and morning tea. Teachers will monitor kai to ensure students are eating. No sweets, lollies or chewing gum are allowed at Glenbrook school. Parents will be notified if their child has no food. 

Snacks

Brain food time is a chance for the children to have a small snack and refuel their brains for learning. Please make sure that your child has some brain food packed into their lunchbox every day. This will go into a tray so students can eat their snack at their table while working. It is a good idea to cut fruit such as apple and pear up so that they are quick and easy to eat. Students can also have, nut, fruit or muesli bars, an Up and Go drink or a couple of biscuits or baking. 

Takaro Times

Takaro Times are 11.00-11.30 and 12.45 -1.20pm. During these times students get to play, hang out with friends, be involved with clubs or just chill. Takaro time is a chance for students to get outside and move. Traditionally this was called lunchtime and morning tea, however we are growing our students to think of this time as play, sports and social time. 

Water Bottles

We encourage children to bring a named water bottle to school every day. Please make sure that their drink bottles are filled with water only. There is a water fountain outside the classroom if children do not bring a bottle. Juice, flavoured milk or fizzy drinks are not to be brought to school.  This is a water only school.

Sun Sense

Our health teaching programmes make constant reference to the need for sun sense and the children are frequently reminded to wear hats, shirts and sun-block creams when playing outdoors.  Sun block is available in all classrooms.  Our school has adopted a ‘no hat, no play’ policy for terms one and four.  Each student is required to purchase a blue sun hat from the school office to wear. We ask that all children apply sunscreen before coming to school. 

Swimming

As part of the school’s aquatic programme, students are expected to bring named togs, rash shirt and towel, in a waterproof bag, to school each day during the swimming season. 

The swimming programme will begin from week 2, Monday 10th February.  Students are not allowed to swim if they have open cuts or school sores. Years 4-8 are able to have fun swims during Takaro Time, however if a student does not swim during their class lesson they will be unable to join in the fun swim on that day. 

All students must bring suitable togs and a rash shirt for swimming. All students with long hair need to have it tied back. Girls must wear a one piece. We are very lucky to have a pool available here at school, and it is a great opportunity for tamariki to learn how to keep themselves safe in the water and it also links to the Health and Physical Education curriculum. We teach students through the Kiwi Swim Safe Programme. Coach Thorby is our swimming teachers. If students are not able to swim, please send in a note or email to the class teacher explaining why. 

Assemblies

Friday assemblies will not start until week 7, Friday 21st March as need the hall for gala preparations and to set up for the White Elephant.  

Glenbrook School Gala – Call for Help

Preparations for our highly anticipated school gala are well underway, with Mrs Rachel Gardiner leading the charge. To make this event a success, we are seeking enthusiastic parents to take the lead in key areas such as Raffles, Entertainment, Stalls, Vegetable Stall, Cake Stall, White Elephant, Sweet Stall, and more.

If you are able to assist by leading one of these areas, we’d love to hear from you! Please email pta@glenbrook.school.nz to let us know how you can contribute. Further calls for items, roster assistance, and general support will be shared early in the term. Thank you

2025 Term Dates 

Term dates are set by the Ministry of Education and circulated to the community.

Term 1 Friday 7th February Friday 11th April

Term 2 Monday 28th April to Friday 27th June

Term 3 Monday 14th July  to Friday 19th September

Term 4 Monday 6th October to Wednesday 17th December

Parents Cybersafety Evening Thursday 27th February 2025 7.00-8.00pm

Glenbrook Swimming Sports Y4-8 Friday 28th February 

Gala is on Saturday 15th March  9.00 -2.00

Franklin MultiCultural Festival Saturday 29th March

Teacher Only Day Tuesday 5th June

Calf Club is on Saturday 20th September.

Enjoy these last few weeks of summer break with your beautiful tamariki and we look forward to seeing you and our beautiful children soon. 

Nga mihi nui,

Ms Lysandra Stuart