Kia ora e te whānau,

We are well and truly into the flow of the year now, and I am so impressed with how our tamariki are getting stuck into their mahi. There is a really positive feel around the school, with lots of smiles and happy learners everywhere.

Field Days is always an exciting time for our community, and I hope everyone either enjoyed attending or that it was a successful few days for your business/organisation.

Thank you to all those who attended our Meet the Teacher evening. Understanding what is happening in the classroom, and the role you play in supporting your child’s learning, is incredibly important. In a few weeks we will be holding our Parent–Teacher Interviews on 25–26 February. This is a valuable opportunity to discuss your child’s goals for the year. Please see the School Interviews article for the link to book your interview.

Attendance continues to be a top priority for us. We ask that your child attends school every day unless they are genuinely unwell. Last year, some students had attendance rates around 80%. While this may sound reasonable, it actually equates to one day off school every week. Establishing strong attendance habits and a positive work ethic is important for our tamariki, no matter their age, and sets them up well for the future. So please—get your child to school every day!

Our first major event of the year is just around the corner. School Athletics is only one week away, and our tamariki have been training hard. We can’t wait to see their efforts and achievements next week. Please check your emails and our Facebook page for all the relevant information. This is always a fun day, and we hope to see many of you there. Don’t forget the Staff vs Parents vs Board of Trustees vs School Council relay—the final event of the day—so bring your running shoes and get ready to join in!

That’s enough from me for now whānau. Have a great weekend, and we’ll see you all again on Monday.

Ngā mihi nui

Glenn Puna
Tumuaki/Principal
Te Kura Matua o Māruawai
Gore Main School

We are so pleased to welcome Kriz Bersabal, Poppy Stewart and Henare Aramoana Tapiata to Gore Main School. We hope your first few weeks have been amazing and welcome to the GMS Whānau.

Kia ora everyone

Welcome back to everyone, especially the new families joining the school community this year. 

We are fully into planning mode for fundraisers and events in the overall project of installing a new playground to replace the current well used one. We are 60% there on the target figure but still have 40% to go... we are counting on the school community to help us get this exciting project over the line. 

You would have received our PTA newsletter email this week with lots of info regarding what's up and coming. Thanks for taking the time to read through it. 

Highlights include:

PTA Meeting - Wednesday 18th February - 7.30pm in the school staffroom. 

So Sweet Vegetable Box fundraiser - order forms out now. 

Family Fun Night - Friday 27th February 

Till next time 

Gore Main PTA Committee

This year we will be running the Senior and Junior Athletics on the same day.  They will be held on Friday, 20 February, 2026. The postponement date is Monday, 23 February, 2026. You will be notified on the GMS Facebook page and eTap if we decide to postpone on the day.

All Year 3-6 tamariki will have roll call taken at 9.00am in their class and will then travel via bus to Newman Park.  The senior timetable for events is below. Ages are as of 31st December 2025. 

All children will join together for the final session from 1.30-2.30pm where we will run sprint finals for all age groups. Class teachers will do a final roll call and we’ll bus back to school.  If you wish to take your child home directly from athletics you will need to make sure their teacher is told they are with you. Please ensure they are not needed to run in the 60m, 100m or 200m final before taking them home.

The Year 0-2 tamariki will be heading down via bus, leaving school at 11:45am. 

All tamariki will be in their own class from 9-11am then have their usual morning tea break. We will get on the bus at 11:45am and head to Newman Park. They will be taking their school hat and school bags with them with their lunch and drink bottle. Please ensure your child has a good packed lunch and drink bottle on this day!

The Junior athletics programme will start at 12pm, they will go into their age groups (age as of end of December 2025) and rotate through 4 stations- high jump, long jump, discus and shot put. 

The tamariki will then stop and have lunch from roughly 12:45- 1:10pm. After lunch, we will then do the 60m sprints which will roughly start about 1:15pm.

The Junior School will then stay at Newman Park and watch the Seniors do their sprint finals. 

If you are watching the athletics and wish to take your child home after their running races, please ensure your child’s classroom teacher has been notified before you leave Newman Park. If you are unable to take your child home, they will get back on the bus and be taken back to school till 3pm to be collected as usual.

Ngā mihi

Lana Williams

Kia ora e te whānau

It's Parent Teacher Interview time. Please use the link below to book an interview with your child's teacher.

Dates: 25th-26th February from 3.10pm-6pm

School Interviews

Code- k2hbs

Booking Link

Use this link https://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/code/k2hbs

Booking QR Code

Ngā mihi

Room 1 -  Elisha Manlunas - for being a superstar helper with all our new friends in Ruma Tahi. Tino pai!
                  Finn Van Loon - you are becoming more confident each day & trying new experiences out all the time. 
                  Ka rawe.
Room 2 -  Peyton Takurua - for being a Room 2 superstar & showing kindness everyday!
                  Hamuera Waikare-Parkes: for being an amazing helper who always looks out for others in Room 2!
Room 3 -  Carter De Groot - for setting an exceptional standard for handwriting and already achieving Gold for Glory!
                  Hannah McNamara - for perserverance in athletics practice and working hard daily to improve your jumping
                  skills!
Room 4 -  Kaydence MacKay - for showing excellent behaviour and being a great example to others.
                  Bonnie Falconer - for settling into classroom routines so well. You are having such a great start to Year 3.
Room 5 -  Isla Goodwin - what a fabulous start to the year you have had! Well done for working so hard and being such
                  an amazing role model to others.
                  Elly Polstra - I am so proud of how well you are settling into Room 5!
Room 6 -  Shayna Fletcher - what a great start to the year. Following the rules to keep yourself safe.
                  Sadie MacKay - great imagination in your writing.
Room 7 -  Isaac Raymond - a great start to Year 5 and fantastic work on your visual pepeha.
                  Leo McDougall - excellent work ethic! You are always organised for your learning and work hard in Room 7.
Room 8 -  Ben Christie - excellent start to Year 5. Your math thinking skills are excellent!
                  Jesse Falconer - a seamless arrival to your new school and class. We are so happy you have joined us.
Room 9 -  Micaela Bruce - settling into Room 9.
                  Taylor Patterson - for showing great basic fact knowledge and being organised for math each day
                  
                 
                  

Room 1 -  Saydee Miller - you have started school with so much confidence and you are keen to do your best and show
                  excellence each day. Tu meke!
Room 2 -  Frankie Mackintosh - you have had a fantastic start to the year, being an awesome role model and striving to
                  be your best!
Room 3 -  Luka Tree - for managing yuorself without being reminded and taking responsibility for your own learning.
Room 4 -  Lucas Fletcher - for taking such pride in your work and keeping your book neat.
Room 5 -  Brock Roberts - you have had a fantastic start to the year, working so hard in all areas and always showing
                  excellence in all your work!!
Room 6 -  Harlow Kerr - You do ordinary things, EXTROIDINARY WELL!!
Room 7 -  Shelby Baxter - you show excellence in everything you do! You are such a hard worker.
Room 8 -  Janina de Waal - your mature behaviour is excellent. Your work efforts are also excellent.
Room 9 -  Isla Scott - quietly shows excellence through out the whole day.
Well done everyone, keep it up!!!

Room 1 -  Narla Whelan 
Room 2 -  Thomas Sanders
Room 3 -  Ayla Tamblyn
Room 4 -  Georgia Hughes
Room 5 -  Pip McLeod 
Room 6 -  Amelia McLeod 
Room 7 -  Demetrius Avramenko-Edwards
Room 8 -  Bethany Assen 
Room 9 -  Ivy Stevens 

This year our Inquiry topic is Animals so most of our Kupu for 2026 will based around kupu related to animals. 

 

Here is the Kupu we have done so far this year.

Kararehe - Animals
Kaiao - Living things

The next fornights kupu challenge is:
Manu – Birds
Ika – Fish and marine life (including whales)

Ngārara – Reptiles and insects

Try saying these at home with your tamariki.

Ngā mihi 

What a blast we are having in Rūma Tahi getting to know each other! We may be a small class at the moment, but the tamariki are big on personality – which is awesome!

The tamariki are becoming more and more confident as they transition into our GMS whānau and are quickly becoming engaged learners. We are sure to have amazing future readers, writers, spellers, and mathematicians – tino pai koutou!

We have been busy practicing for our upcoming Athletics Day, and have started our Marvellous Mondays and Mini Movers sessions. The tamariki are also creating some fantastic crafts based on the letters and sounds we are learning! Numicon continues to be a hit with our New Entrants as a tactile tool for learning maths – it’s engaging, universal, and fun!

In regards to all the Junior Syndicate, the tamariki are very excited about their new classrooms and Kaiako. Tamariki can feel a little nervous anticipating the change before starting in the new year, however we have many opportunities to work as a team and get to know upcoming students when they participate in Marvellous Mondays, combined classroom games and many other opportunities. This has worked well to support and settle tamariki into 2026. The Kaiako are also excited about getting back into learning routines and our structured learning approaches.

We are all looking forward to an exciting 2026.

Kia pai te mutunga wiki,
Whaea Cathy

Kia ora from Ruma Rima,

Wow—what a fabulous start to the year!

Room 5 have already blown Mrs Williams away with their amazing work ethic and behaviour. I am so proud of how everyone has settled into classroom routines, and it’s shaping up to be a fantastic year ahead.

We have been busy practising athletics each afternoon when the weather allows. With Athletics Day only a week away, we are making the most of every opportunity to get outside and prepare. We look forward to seeing some whānau supporting us on Athletics Day, Friday 20 February.

In the classroom, we are well underway with our learning. During whole-class reading, we have read our first chapter book and have finished listening to Esio Trot by Roald Dahl. In Maths, we have been focusing on estimating and grouping numbers, place value, and adding two or three numbers together.

During Writing, we have been learning all about sentence fragments and run-on sentences. The students are becoming experts at identifying fragments and fixing them so they make complete sentences.

Once Athletics Day is complete, we are very excited to begin learning all about the Animal Kingdom.

Thank you for your continued support.

Ngā mihi,
Mrs Williams
Room 5

Kia ora,

Family Works is offering a free parenting programme for parents and caregivers of children aged 2–8 years. This programme is designed to support you in strengthening your parenting skills and developing practical strategies for managing challenging behaviours.

The programme runs for 14 weeks, from 10am-12.30pm at the Gore Kids Hub, beginning on 11 March 2026.

If you would like more information or are interested in taking part, please email iy@familyworkssld.nz or pop in and see Whaea Cathy.

Ngā mihi

If your child is sick and staying home or you have something on then please let Jan in the office know. Please don’t just email the teacher. If you let Jan know then she will pass it on. You can use your @school app, text the school phone (0274562495), ring or email Jan directly: office@goremain.school.nz.

STAR - Stepped Attendance Response https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BKb6_My_zX9K_9RPd5S0ds1VvKLRGr2e/view?usp=sharing

Bible in Schools (Terms 2-3 Only)
Bible in Schools is every Thursday at 2.30pm. If your child is not attending then they must be picked at 2.30pm.

Every Friday (only) children can bring an item of food that can go into our heat up oven so that it is nice and warm by lunch. All food should be pre-cooked and only require heating (No raw meat). Pies, mini pizzas, savouries, mac n cheese etc etc. All items must be clearly named (first and last name and class number). No plastic wrapping please. All items go straight to your classroom each morning and get placed into your class's heat up container. 

Road Crossing
Safety and role modeling is top priority. Please use the crossing at all times. We have seen a few parents crossing the road up by the middle gate. Other children see you and may follow you. It's only an extra 50 metres so please come to the crossing and cross there. Also please be at school before 8.50am as this is when road patrol finishes.

This is a friendly reminder that school starts at 8.55am. Please ensure that children are at school before this time so that they are ready to start class at this time. Road Patrol also finishes at 8.50am so for safety reasons please make sure children are here before that time so that they can cross the road safely.

8.30am -   Kids allowed in class

8.55am -   Off to class

9.00am -   Session 1 starts

11.00am - Morning tea

11.30am - Morning tea ends

12.30pm - Spelling time

1.00pm -   Lunch time

1.45pm -   Lunch time ends

3.00pm -   Home time

School Docs Policies and Procedure
Go to https://www.schooldocs.co.nz/ then search for Gore Main School. Enter the user name and password.
Username: goremain
Password: GMS39Ardwick

School Bank Account
Please take note of the Gore Main School and PTA Bank Account numbers. These are 2 different account numbers. Please remember to add the child's first and last name as a reference.

03 0915 0253014 00 - Gore Main School BOT. Please add the student's name as a reference - This account is for things like after school sports, camps, payment of school accounts etc.

03 0915 0255562 00 - Gore Main School PTA. Please add the student's name as a reference - This account is for all things related to the PTA, Xmas raffle money etc.

Merino jerseys are available to order and will now be the black merino jersey. The price is $90.00 per jersey. 

If you still have the blue merino or purchased a  second hand one these are still able to be worn as part of the school uniform. There is a sample of the new jersey along with sizes for anyone to view at the office.

Sun hats
Sun hats must be worn when outside during Term 1 and Term 4.

Be sure to stay up to date with what is going on at Gore Main School by liking our Facebook

If you don’t have the @school eTap app setup then please contact the office asap!

Gore Main School

39 Ardwick Street, Gore

Email: office@goremain.school.nz 

Phone: 03 208 7615

From time to time you may have concerns about things happening at school. Discuss your concern with the class teacher. Most concerns can be addressed at this stage.

If you are still unhappy, contact the school principal to arrange a meeting to discuss your concerns.

email: principal@goremain.school.nz