ECS Update Term 3, Week 1 – Friday 18th July 2025

ECS Update Term 3, Week 1 – Friday 18th July 2025

Kia ora Parents and Caregivers,

Blessings,
Ngā mihi nui,
ECS Team

This newsletter contains information on the following:

• Important Dates
• Year 3-10 Parent Teacher Interviews
• Student Drop off and Collection
• School Board Elections
• ICAS Assessments
• Swimming Lessons Year 1-6
• School Photo Orders
• Cultural Day
• School Accounts

Important Dates

Monday 14th July – First day of Term 3

First two weeks of Term – Swimming Lessons Year 1 – 6

Thursday 17th July and Tuesday 22nd July – Year 3-10 Parent Teacher Interviews

Tuesday 5th August – Book Character Day

Thursday 7th August – Year 3 & 4 Swimming Sports

Wednesday 27th August – Cultural Day

(The School Calendar including 2025 Term dates can be found here)

Year 3-10 Parent Teacher Interviews

Student Drop off and Collection

We would like to remind you about a few things with regards to dropping off and collecting your children from school.  We are very aware that things will occur that make normal processes difficult. When this does occur can we ask that you please let us know so we can support your children.

Drop Off:

We ask that where possible you do not drop your children at school prior to 8:20am.  Where this is not possible, we need to be clear that before this time we do not have supervision available for them. Also on wet and cold days they will likely need to wait outside.

We aim to have the Middle School block and a number of Year 1-6 classrooms open at 8:20am, so if your child’s room is not quite open they can wait quietly inside a neighbouring class on a cold or wet morning.

Pick Up:

At the end of the school day we have duty staff on the gate areas until 3:05pm.  After this time any Year 1-6 students who are not being supervised by their own parents (or involved in a formal rehearsal / practice) will be asked to wait in the office area to be collected.  Our expectation is that all students should be collected by 3:05pm.  If you are unable to make it by this time please call the Office.

We are aware that at times children are waiting for their sibling to finish a rehearsal or practice.  We understand this, however, we can not provide supervision outside for them when this occurs.  At 3:05 they will either need to be with you or will be sent to the office to wait.  On a number of occasions they indicate that their parent is already at school waiting in the car, if this is the case they will either need to wait in the car with you or can we ask that you come into the school and supervise them as they wait.

Wet Days:

On wet days can we please ask that where ever possible you collect your children as close to 2:45pm as possible.  When they can not wait for you at the gate due to the weather, they will be able to wait either inside the K5  classroom or on the edge of the junior deck close to the Papanui Club carpark.  Please come in and collect them from these locations.

Thank you

School Board Elections

Kia ora ECS parents and community,

We want to continue to keep you updated about what the ECS Board is focused on.
We have two BOT meetings each team – dates for these are in the school calendar and they are open meetings.

A range of activities happen between meetings. This is particularly busy right now as we work through an exciting time of roll growth over the next few years. There are a range of school curriculum areas being adjusted and introduced by the government right now, so we are keeping close to this as it happens.

The next round of BOT elections will be held later in Term 3, when two parent representative roles (out of four) will be up for election. We will run the election online again this year. Please prayerfully consider if you would like to be nominated for these elections. You are welcome to contact either the Board Presiding Member or the Principal to talk about what serving on the Board involves.

Nominations are now open for the election of 2 parent  representatives to the Emmanuel Christian School Board. Schooled Election Pilot have been  appointed as the Returning Officer for this election. 

All eligible voters will receive a nomination form by email, or if we do not have your email  address it will be sent to you by post. The nomination pack will include a cover letter  explaining the nomination process as well as a nomination form. You can use this form to  nominate yourself, or you can nominate someone else in the community. (If you are going to  nominate someone else, ensure they are aware of your nomination and are willing to accept  the nomination). Information on who is not eligible to be a School Board member is provided  with the nomination form. 

If you need additional nomination forms, or forms in Te Reo Māori of a different language,  please contact the Returning Officer directly on 0800 VOTENZ (0800 868 369) or  election@electionpilot.nz. 

Nominations close at noon on Wednesday 6th August. Nominations can be submitted  by email, through the Election Pilot system at www.electionpilot.nz or by returning the  completed nomination form to the school office. You may provide a candidate statement and  photograph with your nomination. 

Voting closes at 4pm on Wednesday 10th September 2025.

You Board can be contacted by email board@emmanuelchristian.school.nz
Warren Rosser – ECS BOT Presiding Member 

ICAS Assessments

As we have in the past we will be offering the opportunity for students to sit the ICAS assessments in English, Science and Mathematics.  Thse are available for students in Years 3-10 and are designed as a chance for students to enter a competition style assessment.  These are computer based assessments and the students will be supervised at school to complete these. 

Please be aware these are not part of our regular school assessment programme  and do have a cost associated with them.  The 2025 cost is $22.50 per subject for each student.

To register for these assessment you can place an order at: https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/parent-payment/KSW584

If you need to enter a code it is KSW584

We will hold the assessment on these dates, while we will try it is possible that there will be no catch up times available if students are away.

English: Tuesday 12 August

Science: Tuesday 19th August

Mathematics: Monday 25th August

Orders must be placed by 28th July 2025

More information can be found at: https://www.icasassessments.com/products-icas/

Swimming Lessons Year 1 – 6

We are one week into the Year 1-6 swimming lesson programme at Graham Condon Recreation Centre.

Please continue to ensure students swimming bags, gear and clothing is well named (including socks and shoes). If Year 1 – 6 students would find it easier they may wear their PE uniform for the first 2 weeks of term as this is often easier for getting changed at the pool. 

Students are travelling in class groups by bus.  If students are late and miss the bus they will not be able to swim.  Parents are most welcome to come watch their children make progress in their swimming lessons.

For more information on what the lessons will cover please see the flyers below.

School Photo Orders 

By now you will have received a code from PhotoLife to order your child/children’s school photos.  Please check your spam folder if you haven’t seen the email from Photolife.  Some codes have been sent to one parent’s email address and not the other so please also check your spouse’s emails for this.

Just a reminder that free delivery back to the school will expire on 27 July 2025.

You are more than welcome to contact the Office if you have not yet received your code.

Cultural Day

On Wednesday of Week 7 (27th August), we will be celebrating Cultural Day — a wonderful opportunity to recognise and celebrate the rich diversity within our school community.

The day will begin with a parade in the morning, and we encourage students to come dressed in traditional clothing or something that reflects their cultural identity. If your child prefers not to dress up, they are welcome to wear their regular school uniform. Students with special or delicate traditional clothing may change back into their school uniform after the parade if they wish.

In the afternoon, from 1:15 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., there will be cultural stalls set up for students and teachers to visit. These stalls might include things like food, crafts, traditional clothing, games, or cultural displays—a wonderful way to share and celebrate the many cultures in our school. Family and whānau are warmly invited to join us from around 2:30 p.m., leading up to pick-up time, to enjoy the stalls and celebrate with us.

To make this day a success, we need your support. If you are able to help—whether by contributing ideas, materials, or helping to run a stall—please fill out the form below and return it to your child’s classroom teacher or drop it off at the school office by Monday 4 August.

We will hold a planning meeting for all volunteers on Wednesday 6 August at 2:50 p.m. in the former K3 classroom, where we’ll discuss plans together.

If you have any questions about Cultural Day, please feel free to contact us.

Ngā mihi nui,
Bronwyn Van Mechgelen & Christine Ng (Liu)

School Accounts

School Account ‘Requests for Payment’ were sent out this week.  These are emailed monthly by the School.

We would appreciate if anything currently owing could be paid by the end of Term 3 or that a payment plan be set up to clear anything owing by the end of the year.  This includes items such as sport teams, stationery, sunhats, production t-shirts.

Please note: The Activities Donation of $90 per year, which is requested by the Board of Trustees, is a voluntary payment.

Please contact the Office if you have any queries.