ECS Update Term 3, Week 10 – Friday 25th September 2026

Emmanuel Christian

School Newsletter

Kia rite tā koutou haere ki tā ngā tamariki o te mārama – Walk as children of light

ECS Update Term 3, Week 10 – Friday 25th September 2026

Kia ora Parents, Caregivers and Whānau,

As we reach the final day of Term 3, I want to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude to everyone; our students, staff, and families. Term 3 is often known as the “marathon term,” filled with busy academic events, winter sports, cultural events, and unpredictable weather! Yet, through it all, your continuous support, energy, and dedication have kept our school community thriving.

A highlight for the last week was the return of our Kapahaka group to the Tūhono Kapa Haka Festival. Our rangatahi took to the stage with pride, passion, and mana. The hours of practice, the dedicated tutors, the supportive whānau behind the scenes, and the beautiful performance on the day truly reflected the heart of our school.

This spirit of giving your all brings to mind a short passage from scripture that feels especially fitting as we close out the term:

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Colossians 3:23-24

Whether on the kapa haka stage, in the classroom, on the sports field, or behind a desk, doing things “with all your heart” changes the nature of our work. When we pour heart and purpose into what we do, it ceases to be just a task. It becomes a service to God, others and a reflection of our values. Thank you for bringing your heart to our community every single day this term.

Thank you once again for a memorable Term 3. We look forward to welcoming everyone back refreshed and ready for Term 4!

Ngā mihi nui,

Alistair McKinnon
Principal
Emmanuel Christian School

This email contains information about:

Important Dates
Te kupu o te wiki – Word of the week
Special Evening of Worship, Music & Farewell for Mrs Simone Thomas
Board Update – student representative
Tūhono Kapahaka
Winter Sports
Rotary Speech Competition
Cops vs Kids
Car Parking at school
Monster Music – Colouring Competition
KiwiSchools Connect App – Update
Ezlunch orders
Hot Chocolate Stand Thank You
Kiwi Lunchbox Resource
School Holiday Program Notice – St Silas

Important dates

Friday 25 September: Final Day Term 3

Monday 12 October: First day Term 4

Monday 26 October: Labour Day

Wednesday 11 November: Special Evening of Worship, Music & Farewell for Mrs Simone Thomas

Friday 13 November: Canterbury Anniversary (Show) Day holiday

Monday 16 November: Teacher Only Day

Wednesday 9 December: End of Year School Prizegiving

(The School Calendar including 2026 Term dates can be found here)

Te kupu o te wiki – Word of the week

This week’s te reo Māori word/phrase of the week.

We would encourage you to try to use these at home.

This weeks word/phrase is: “Kia tau rā!” – “Calm down“

Special Evening of Worship, Music & Farewell for Mrs Simone Thomas

An invitation to join us for a special evening as we come together as a school community for a time of worship, music, and to give thanks and bid farewell to Mrs Simone Thomas after 25 years of faithful service to Emmanuel Christian School.

When: 7:00 PM – 8:15 PM

Wednesday 11 November 2026

Where: La Vida Centre (34A Hansons Lane, Upper Riccarton)
Who: All families and students across the school (Both current and past) . We are eager to involve as many ECS students as possible in this memorable evening! Please feel free to extend an invitation to the wider Emmanuel Christian School Community.

Further details will be shared early next term. Please save the date in your calendars, we look forward to worshiping and celebrating together!

Board Update – Student Representative

Over the last few weeks our Year 9 and 10 students have gone through the process of nominations and an election for the student representative on the Emmanuel Christian School School Board. For the first time in seveal years it was good to have some real interest in this position.

We want to thank all of those who were willing to serve the school in this important role.

We are pleased to be able to let you all know that Eden Bell was elected to join the board for the next year.

Tūhono Kapahaka

Last Saturday our tamariki took to the stage at the Tūhono Kapa Haka Festival, representing our school with outstanding determination, grace, and passion. They stood together and performed with such confidence, heart, and vibrant energy. The excitement and months of hard work were evident in every single movement on stage, the joy and light of Christ in our children brought a whole different level of awesomeness to their performance!

A huge thank you to everyone who helped make this opportunity possible:

Mr Hitchens: Thank you for getting the ball rolling, pouring your time into our students, and inspiring them to give it their absolute all. Without your leadership, our kids wouldn’t have had this incredible experience.
Ruth & Lucy: A special mihi for your dedicated work, our tamariki looked absolutely beautiful in their kākahu!
To Our Supporters: Heartfelt thanks to all the teachers, parent helpers, and whānau who supported, cheered, and encouraged our team every step of the way.

Winter Sports

A congratulations to all our Winter Sports Teams who did a fantastic job of representing the school across all year levels and all sport types this season. Your hard work and dedication really paid off.

Here is a small selection of team pictures. Well done to all involved.

A huge thank you to all the parent helpers, teachers, and whānau who supported, cheered, and encouraged our teams throughout the season.

Rotary Speech Finals 2026

Congratulations to Karsten and Jessica, who represented our school with distinction at the 2026 Rotary Speech Finals. Competing against 88 students, both students achieved Highly Commended awards and placed in the top three students in their respective year groups.

This is an outstanding achievement and reflects their confidence, preparation, and ability to communicate their ideas clearly and persuasively. We are incredibly proud of their hard work and the way they represented our school at such a high level. Well done, Karsten and Jessica!

Cops vs Kids Basketball

Today – the last day of term, we hosted the local police in a “Cops vs Kids” Basketball game. A lot of fun was had by players and spectators alike. Praise God for holding off the rain!!

Car Parking at School

Can we please remind you to ensure when you are parking at school you only park in the appropriate marked carparks.

This includes:

Not parking in the marked accessible carparks (unless you are ceritified to do so) so these are available for those who need them.
Not parking in the area beside the admin block where student bike parking and the minivan is stored.

Thank You

KiwiSchools Connect App – Update

For those who are unaware, Emmanuel Christian School has a Mobile App for access by the school community. To download the app click this link (or use the QR Code): link

This App allows school:
· Student Absences – this is our preferred method for notifying absences – it’s easy for you to use.
· Communications – school communications all in one spot at one time and you can be connected at all times.
· Calendar – links to our school calendar.
· Links – to our newsletter and school website.
· Alerts – The app also allows us to send out an Alert really promptly if something is happening at school that you need to know about urgently.
We encourage parents to download the app today to stay up to date with what is happening in and around the school.

We are aware that there is currently an issue for new users trying to register with the APP. KiwiSchools is aware of this issue and are working to resolve it as part of their APP rebuild. They hope to have a resolution to this soon.

We thank you for your patience as we work together on this .

Monster Music Colouring Competition

We’re excited to let you know that Monster Music is running a colouring-in competition over the coming school holidays, and it’s open to all students at the school!

How it works:

Students colour in the attached Monster Music design
Entries can be submitted by scanning the QR code on the sheet
Entries close 8th October
The top 5 winners will each receive a Monster Music T-Shirt

Feel free to print off the attached PDF and share it with your students — whether that’s popping copies in the office, sending it home, or putting it up on a noticeboard. The sheet includes spaces for the student’s name, school, and age, plus the QR code for submitting entries.

We can’t wait to see what the kids come up with!

Download: MM Colouring Comp.pdf

Ezlunch orders

Our school now uses Ezlunch, part of the Kindo platform, for all online lunch orders.

Ezlunch offers a simple, mobile-friendly way for families to order fresh, tasty lunches from the same local providers you already know and love (Sushi Factory on Wednesdays & Subway on Thursdays).

The ordering process is quick, payments are secure, and delivery to school is reliable and easy.

Parents can order using the Kindo app (iPhone and Android) and choose from a range of convenient payment options including card, bank transfer, Google Pay, Apple Pay and more. The system also includes helpful allergen alerts and automated reminders, so no one misses out on lunch day.

Marshmallow Mayhem – Thanks

Marshmallow Mayhem has finished up for 2026.

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to our fundraiser.

We hope the hot chocolates brightened up your cold Thursday mornings!

Between the hot chocolates and our stall at the Matariki hāngī, we raised over $600. We really appreciate all your support.

A special thank you also goes to our Year 9 helpers- you guys had the stall sorted!

We’ve loved running Marshmallow Mayhem this year and look forward to doing it all again next year!

Kiwi Lunchbox Resource for Busy Parents

Feeling the pinch on lunchboxes?

Kiwi Lunchbox is a FREE tool built by an Auckland parent. It plans a week of school lunches around whatever is on special at Woolworths and New World, shows what the week will cost, and gives you a prep plan.

No account needed, nothing for sale! It’s completely free and available to anyone.

https://www.kiwilunchbox.co.nz