Newsletter: Start of Term 2 2026
Newsletter: Start of Term 2 2026
Tēnā koutou katoa
I hope your whānau enjoyed the April break from school and is ready for a productive Term 2.
ANZAC Day Commemorative Service: Saturday 25 April
Northcote College prefects will represent our school at the ANZAC Day Commemorative Service at the Northcote War Memorial Hall at 10.45am following the parade. All are welcome.
Pathway Meetings for students in Year 13 and their whānau: 12 and 13 May
Students in Year 13 and their whānau will be invited to a Pathway Meeting with the student’s form teacher to review progress towards academic and pathway goals and to discuss any further support required to ensure successful transitions from school. Charles Wallace, Deputy Principal, will send an email with further information and booking details.
There will be Pathway Meetings for students in Year 12 and their whānau in July.
Peer tutoring
Peer tutoring is led by a group of prefects and is an excellent way to support student learning. This tuakana-teina model of students helping students with specific subjects or literacy and numeracy has reciprocal benefit. Any student keen on either being a tutor or being tutored is encouraged to register their interest in the school library.
Attendance
The Ministry of Education’s Stepped Attendance Response (STAR) system encourages regular student attendance. We continue to monitor attendance as a priority. It is essential that your child is at school on time and that if your child is absent, the Attendance Officer is notified with an explanation either by emailing attendance@northcote.school.nz
Charity fundraiser
A Student Council initiative is the Winter Warm Up, a donation drive for De Paul House. De Paul House, on Onewa Road, provides transitional (temporary) housing for homeless or poorly housed families and senior citizens. Currently they have 43 houses and apartments housing 58 adults and 93 children. Their aim is to rehouse people in affordable, secure housing. De Paul House is currently in particular need of warm bedding and child/teen clothing in new or nearly new condition, especially sweat pants, jackets, t-shirts, shoes and sneakers.
Students can drop off items before school this week and next week (Monday 20 - Friday 1 May) at the Deanery.
Sport Highlights & Achievements
Congratulations to our incredible athletes for their outstanding performances in our school events at the end of last term!
School Swimming Sports:
- Junior Champions: Robyn Opperman & Noah Telara
- Intermediate Champions: Evie Martin & Finley Newman
- Senior Champions: Bella Corscadden & Jeremy Christie
School Cross Country:
- Junior Champions: Olvia Butler & Rory Duggan
- Intermediate Champions: Kayleigh Limu & Blake Nancekivell
- Senior Champions: Moa Pendred & Joseph Plaistowe
As we head into the new term, we wish all our teams and athletes the very best of luck with their winter codes. If you have specific questions regarding a sport, please contact the relevant Teacher in Charge:
Basketball: Aik Ho ho@northcote.school.nz
Cricket: Paul Hewson hw@northcote.school.nz
Football: Paul Hewson. For the first two weeks of Term 2, please contact Tom Monro while Paul is on leave mro@northcote.school.nz
Hockey: Anne-Maire wby@northcote.school.nz
Netball: Tayla Smith-Tohu sth@northcote.school.nz & Sophie Lindfield Ind@northcote.school.nz
Tag and Touch: Louise Inwards ins@northcote.school.nz
Volleyball: Stephanie Beattie bte@northcote.school.nz
For any other sport inquiries, please contact the Sports Department sports@northocte.school.nz
Students required to leave class early for sports fixtures must collect a Leave Pass from the Sports Office during lunchtime on the day of their game. Please note that this pass must be shown to the classroom teacher before departing. Students without a valid slip will not be permitted to leave class.
Our sports programmes rely on the support of our community. If you are able to get involved as a coach, manager, or van driver, the Sports Department would love to hear from you. Please get in touch: sports@northcote.school.nz
Follow us and stay connected for the latest updates, photos, and results. Instagram & Facebook: @NorthcoteCollegeSports
National Sport Success
A huge congratulations to Yeva Butler, who took home first place in both the Open Women’s Skateboarding Park and Vert events at the Nationals in Mt Maunganui in late March. This is an outstanding achievement on the national stage - well done, Yeva!
A huge shout-out to our 3x3 Boys Basketball team - Sam Strudwick, Luke Buckley, Harlow Hepi, and Cruz Tugaga - who secured 9th place at the National Championships in Wellington during the school holidays. Breaking into the top 10 in New Zealand is a superb achievement. Congratulations on your hard work and success, boys!
Road safety
The safety of our students is always a priority. In assemblies and at form time, messages and resources are shared with students to support road safety awareness. Please urge your child to cross Onewa Road responsibly at the lights, to always triple check for cars before stepping out to cross Kauri Glen Road, and to never jaywalk. Kauri Glen Road becomes very congested before and after school particularly on rainy days. If you are dropping off or collecting your child from school, we strongly encourage you to use Gladstone Road. Please do not park on yellow lines or across our neighbours’ driveways.
School uniform
Please support your child to wear the correct uniform which should all be named. In the colder weather, black shoes with black socks or tights are encouraged. Socks may not be worn with sandals. The school jackets and the wool jumpers are warm, as are the long pants and long skirts. All uniform items are available at Yarnton’s, and there are a limited number of second hand items at Harakeke | Student Reception.
The Uniform Guidelines are posted on our website and are here for your reference: https://www.northcote.school.
Complaints Procedure
While we receive very few complaints, it is important that our school community knows the process to follow if they want to raise a concern over their child’s education or something that is happening at the school. To ensure that these matters are dealt with effectively and fairly, we have procedures for people to follow if they wish to bring these matters to our attention. This is outlined on our school website: https://www.northcote.school.
School donations and Kindo payments
We are grateful to families who pay the school donation; without these payments we would not be able to offer the variety of learning opportunities our students currently enjoy. All payments to Northcote College can be made in one place with your myKindo account. Kindo allows partial payment so families can make the donation with the amount they are comfortable with at any time suitable for their situation. 33% of the value of the donations made to schools through Kindo can be claimed back from IRD. Kindo automatically generates IRD-approved donation receipts to make the process simple and efficient.
There is a link to Kindo on the top bar of our school website: https://www.northcote.school.
Thank you for your ongoing support of our school. We encourage you to stay in contact; if you have any queries, please contact your child’s Dean in the first instance.
Ngā manaakitanga
Vicki Barrie
Tumuaki | Principal
Key dates for Term 2
Week 2
- Monday 27 April: ANZAC Day Holiday - school closed
Week 3
- 4 - 10 May: New Zealand Sign Language Week
Week 4
- Tuesday 12 and Wednesday 13 May: Year 13 Pathway meetings
- Friday 15 May: Pink Shirt Day - this is not a non-uniform day nor a fundraiser. However, students are encouraged to wear pink to celebrate diversity and promote inclusion
Week 5
- Monday 18 May: NCEA Literacy (Reading) Common Assessment Activity (CAA)
- Tuesday 19 May: NCEA Literacy (Writing) Common Assessment Activity (CAA)
- Wednesday 20 May: NCEA Numeracy Common Assessment Activity (CAA)
Week 6
- Friday 30 May: Ministry of Education Teacher only Day - no students at school
Week 7
- Monday 1 June: King’s Birthday - school closed
- 2 - 6 June: Samoa Language Week
Week 8
Week 9
- Monday 15 - Friday 19 June: Senior Assessment Week
Week 10
- Tuesday 23 June: Group photos
- Thursday 25 June: Sports photos
Week 11
- Wednesday 1 July: Matariki Hautapu
- Friday 3 July: Last day of Term 2