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Welcome, nau mai, afio mai, namaste, konnichiwa, nĭ hăo, talofa, komosta, vanakkam, auybowan,
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Newsletter
10 February 2026
Term 1
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Happy New Year to all our St Brendan’s families! It is wonderful to welcome everyone back, and I extend an especially warm welcome to our new students, their families, and our new colleagues. We are excited for the year ahead and all the opportunities it will bring.
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Exciting changes are on the way for St Brendan’s! Rooms 6 and 7 will undergo significant refurbishment. While this project is underway, our Year 2-3 classes will temporarily have to relocate. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as we navigate this temporary adjustment, knowing these upgrades will provide incredible learning spaces for our tamariki, team, and community. You’ll see evidence of this project beginning before the end of this school term, start date to be confirmed.
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I had the privilege of attending the Waitangi Day Commemorations and Celebration on Friday at Ōrongomai Marae. The 2026 theme, alongside the commemoration of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, was ‘Waiatatia - Te Waiata o Mua’ a poetic call to voice ancestral knowledge, memory, or tradition through waiata.
Waitangi Day is a moment to look at our country’s history with an eye to what the future may hold. It is a space to contemplate the full meaning of partnership within one nation, two partners, and many cultures.
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Thank you and farewell Mrs Sara Williams
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We gathered together on Thursday afternoon to thank and celebrate with Mrs Sara Williams. We were especially pleased to have finally held this special event, which had to be postponed from the end of 2025, and we continue to think of Sara as she progresses in her recovery. We acknowledge her dedication and service at St Brendan’s over the past 12 years. Sara’s positive influence as both a professional and a person has created a ripple effect across our school.
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She has always been the "go-to" for her deep curriculum knowledge and a treasured source of support and guidance, reflecting her legendary preparedness, timeliness, and commitment to always going the extra mile. I know you will join me in keeping her in our thoughts and prayers as she journeys into retirement.
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At St Brendan’s, our school identity is deeply rooted in our history and values. St Brendan was a brave explorer who set sail on an adventure to navigate the world. He was the Patron Saint of sailors, travellers, and navigation. We now use these familiar references to reflect who we are as a school and the journey our students go through during their eight years at St Brendan’s. We are also the only school in Aotearoa named after St Brendan and the only school in New Zealand founded by the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary (SMSM), we proudly uphold our unique heritage.
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Our vision: Inspiring Navigators
Our values: God’s irresistible GRACE: Gospel - Respect - Aspire - Compassion - Explore
Our current strategic goals: Collaboration - Curriculum - Character
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Each of our Houses—Tralee, Clonard, Galway, and Annagh—connects us with places of significance to St Brendan’s life in Ireland. Their mottos remind us to treasure life as a gift, grow with knowledge, aspire to make a difference and reflect on today to set goals for tomorrow.
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Our guiding whakatauki: He waka eke noa - we work in unity, we rise, fall and keep going together. This whakatauki talks to the importance of human connection and relationships. This is what creates community and enables people to flourish. We are blessed with an amazing team of professionals and a supportive community, it is working together in partnership celebrating all that is unique about each of us individually that is St Brendan’s strength.
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We are delighted to welcome new members to our team: Miss Amy Allison, our Room 9 teacher, Mrs Katrina Martin, our part-time office administrator and Ms Amber Rainy, student teacher in Room 11. They bring a wealth of experience, enthusiasm, and skills to our school community.
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We continue to welcome new students and their families to our school community. In particular Gabriel, Joey, Finn and Jane to our Room 3 learning team. Also Evalyn to Room 1, Thomas to Room 6, Chloe Lyanna to Room 8, Joef-John and Hayah to Room9, Elizabeth to Room 10, Alexis and Stany to Room 11. To our Room 4 and 5 Navigator team we welcome Kiven, Mila, Jett, Vince and Hanna.
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We hope you have had the opportunity to connect with the Hero app and read your child’s 2025 end-of-year school report. Hero remains our main communication and reporting tool, providing regular updates on your child’s progress and achievement. Learning posts, combined with curriculum information and goal-setting, will continue to form an ongoing digital record of learning, with written posts, images, videos, work samples, and helpful resources all in one place. Please email the office if you have not been able to access your Hero account yet.
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Family-Teacher Conversations, Partnership Hui
Monday, 23 February and Tuesday, 3 March
Our Family-Teacher Conversations (Partnership Hui) provide a valuable opportunity for parents and teachers to connect early in the year. These meetings are a time to discuss your child’s learning style, strengths (academic, sporting, and social), areas of challenge, and interests. Bookings can be made through Hero by clicking on ‘School Bookings.’ If you experience any difficulties, please reach out—we are happy to help.
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Please do not hesitate to contact any of our St Brendan’s team via email.
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We have had a positive and settled start to the new school year. Thank you for your continued support—we look forward to another year of growth, learning, and community.
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REMINDERS
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A friendly reminder to please bring in your child/ren’s medication along with the completed Medication Agreement, to the school office as soon as possible.
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We are unable to administer any medication without the correct documentation in place. Medications must be handed directly to the office — please do not send them in your child’s bag.
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If you have any questions or need another copy of the Medication Agreement, please visit or contact the office.
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- If your contact details have changed, please update them ASAP.
- On days when you need to pick your child/ren up from school, (e.g. for an appointment) please inform classroom teachers and the office via email and come to the office to collect your child/ren.
- We continue to work with the Ministry of Education and the Archdiocese of Wellington to review our enrolment policy and procedure. We have been overwhelmed with interest in enrollment and continue to carefully manage our roll maximum of 290 as set by the Integration Agreement. If you have a child already attending St Brendan’s who has a sibling turning five this year, please let us know asap.
- Families are very generous with their offers of sweet treats for classes to share as part of birthday celebrations, but due to the increasing number of allergies across our school, this continues not to be a safe practice. When we have special events involving food, our team plans appropriately.
- As per our school policy, available on SchoolDocs, phones, and other personal digital devices must be handed into the office in the morning, they are secured and returned to students at the end of the day. We invite you to visit the site at https://stbrendans.schooldocs.co.nz (note that there's no "www."). Our username is "stbrendans" and password "navigators". We will continue to draw your attention to policies under review each term.
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St Brendan’s Uniform Guidelines
Families must ensure these uniform guidelines are observed.
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- All students must be in full school uniform every day.
- Plain black school shoes are required for winter (no canvas or ballet shoes).
Plain black sandals or plain black school shoes can be worn in summer.
- Year 7-8 students are required to wear covered shoes for health and safety at Technicraft.
- Students must wear wide brimmed school hats outside during Terms 1 and 4.
- Hair longer than the shoulders must be tied back. Permitted hair accessories must be plain navy, black, or bottle green hair ties, clips, or headbands. No fashion accessories are to be worn (e.g. oversized bows).
- Coloured hair and extreme hairstyles are not permitted.
- Only plain, small stud earrings may be worn with our school uniform.
- Necklaces of religious or cultural significance such as crosses, bone carvings, or greenstones may only be worn under uniform clothing, and must be removed for PE.
Make-up and nail polish is not permitted.
- School staff will make contact with families if the uniform is not being worn appropriately.
PE UNIFORM REMINDER - Students in Years 4 to 8 need to bring St Brendan’s PE uniform to school daily.
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Students are reminded to wear our St Brendan’s school uniform in a way that reflects our GRACE values. It is a health and safety expectation that all students wear a wide-brimmed hat daily during Terms 1 and 4. Students without a wide-brimmed hat are required to play in the shade.
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TE WAKA WHAKAPONO - NAVIGATING WITH CHRIST
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Tuesday, 17 February, 5.30pm at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, 40 Hill Street, Wellington.
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You are warmly invited to attend the Archdiocese of Wellington’s Commissioing Mass. We will celebrate the Eucharist and whanaungatanga, and all who serve within our school communities will be commissioned and blessed in their ministries.
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PARISH PICNIC AND FAMILY MASS
Our annual tradition of Parish Picnic will be held on Sunday, 22 February 2026. The picnic will follow the 10.30am Family Mass in Our Lady of Grace Church, Heretaunga. There will be a simple programme for everyone to enjoy and games for the kids and the kids at heart. Bring a picnic to share.
Everyone is welcome!
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OUR CHARISM JOURNEY — WALKING IN THE SPIRIT OF THE SMSM SISTERS
This year, our staff began a special journey to deepen our understanding of our school charism — the unique spirit and mission that shapes who we are as a Catholic school.
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Our charism is founded in the legacy of the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary (SMSM), the women who established our school. These sisters travelled far from home to serve others with great faith, courage, and compassion. Inspired by Mary, the mother of Jesus, they believed in responding generously to God’s call and caring for those most in need.
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A charism is a gift of the Holy Spirit given to a community. It guides how we live, teach, and grow together. At our recent Teacher Only Day, staff gathered in prayer and reflection to recommit to this mission and to consider how we continue the work begun by the SMSM Sisters.
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Together, we are called to:
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- recognise the dignity of every person
- serve with compassion
- act with courage and hope
- build a welcoming, faith-filled community
This journey belongs to all of us — staff, students, and whānau. Throughout the year, our tamariki will experience our charism through prayer, learning, service, and leadership opportunities.
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By living this charism each day, we honour the legacy of the SMSM Sisters and continue to grow a community where every person is known, valued, and loved.
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BISHOPS' LENTEN APPEAL
The beginning of Lent marks the start of the Bishops’ Lenten Appeal. Donations can be made to Caritas directly via direct debit or credit card through the Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand website https://www.caritas.org.nz/ways-to-give . The bank account for Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand is 03-0518-0211216-000. Please use “Lent” as the Code and your first and last name as particulars.
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SCHOOL NEWS - NGĀ MAHI O TE KURA
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Year 0-3: Explorers
Room 3 Heather Campbell, Year 1, Explorer Team Leader
Room 1 Zelda Nel Year 1
Room 6 Kathy Cutler Years 2-3
Room 7 Amy Perkins Years 2-3
Room 8 Yvonne McElwain Years 2-3
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Rachel Thompson, release teacher in the Explorer team
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Year 4-6: Adventurers
Room 9 Amy Allison Year 4
Room 10 Rosie Hopkins Years 5-6
Room 11 Angela Law Years 4-5
Room 12 Damien Don Years 5-6
Sophie Barton, release teacher in Room 10
Ange Puki, Assistant Principal and Team Leader will release teachers in the Adventurer team.
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Year 7-8: Navigators
Room 4 Teresa Millar Years 7-8
Room 5 Sarah Chard Years 7-8, Director of Religious Studies (DRS) and Acting Team Leader
Chris Parker, release teacher in the Navigator team
Vanessa Smith-Graham Years 7-8, Team Leader on leave in Term 1.
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Deputy Principal and SENCO - Kerstin Wagner, supporting literacy in the Explorer team.
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Learning Support Coordinator - Amanda Reid, at St Brendan’s Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
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Kimi Ora Outreach Teacher - Kirsty Van den Kerkhof, at St Brendan’s Thursdays.
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Support Staff - We have a wonderful team of Support Staff: Deena Sumner, Katrina Martin, Clare Owen, Sandra Keane, Michelle Wos, Tilau Tufue, Lauren Staats, Tam Osterkamp-Parks, Laura Bates, and Steve Keegan.
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All Curriculum Days/Teacher Only Days scheduled in the 2026 school calendar have been approved by the Ministry of Education. St Brendan’s will be open for the required number of school days across the year, ensuring our students receive the full educational entitlement.
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PREFERENCE FORM SIGNINGS AT OLOG
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Father Maleko will be continuing to do Preference form signings at Our Lady of Grace Church on Tuesday afternoons between 3-4pm.
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Book Club orders close at 3pm, Wednesday, 18 February 2026.
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Lunch deliveries are now through Ezlunch.
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If you had an account with lunchonline, you should have received an email to confirm that your account is now with EZLunch.
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Order online, or through the app.
Sushi Planet is available on Wednesdays
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Pita Pit is available on Fridays.
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Please make sure to order before 9am.
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NGĀ WHAKAARO A TE POARI - BOARD NEWS
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As we embark on a new year, we extend my warmest welcome back to our school community. We're excited to see our dedicated staff, passionate parents and wonderful children back on the school grounds.
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Our Catholic GRACE values Gospel, Respect, Aspire, Compassion, and Explore, guide everything we do. We're ready to see our students grow in faith, friendship, and academic achievement.
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As always feel free to reach out to anyone on the board, we're happy to help - our emails are on the school website. Let's support each other and our amazing students as we journey together this year.
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God Bless,
Jennifer on behalf of the St Brendan’s Board
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j.mcclure@stbrendans.school.nz
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TE ARA O NGĀ UARA - LIVING OUR VALUES THROUGH PB4L
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Welcome back to a brand-new school year! For the first three weeks of the term, our Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) focus is all about setting the stage for a successful, supportive year. It’s a wonderful opportunity for students to unpack our GRACE values—Gospel, Respect, Aspire, Compassion, and Explore—alongside their new classmates and teachers. We’re asking the big questions that help us thrive: What makes me feel happy, safe, and ready to learn? and How can I help my peers feel the same way? By defining positive behaviours together, we ensure everyone starts the year on the same page.
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To help put our values into practice, students are also diving into the Zones of Regulation. This approach helps us understand our emotions and learn the best ways to care for ourselves when things feel a bit "big" or overwhelming. It also helps us understand the feelings of others. A core message we are sharing is that there is no such thing as a ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’ emotion. Whether we are feeling focused in the Green Zone or frustrated in the Red Zone, all feelings are valid! The "magic" happens in how we recognize those feelings and what we choose to do with them to stay on track.
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We warmly encourage you to chat with your tamariki at home about what they are learning. You could ask which GRACE value they have been showing in their class or in the playground - or at home. Have they noticed being in different emotional "zones" throughout the day? By sharing expectations and a common language between home and school we can work together to empower your children, our students, to be their best selves!
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COMMUNITY NEWS - NGĀ PITO KŌRERO O TE HAPORI
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UHUB IS BACK AND READY TO CONNECT!
Here’s what’s coming up at UHub:
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This week, our UHub team is connecting with Learning Support Coordinators (LSC) and Resource Teachers of Learning & Behaviour (RTLB). This helps us strengthen relationships and work together to better support whānau and tamariki across Upper Hutt.
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Next week — Thursday, 19 February we’re excited to offer our first Empower U session for 2026 being hosted at Oxford Crescent School! Bookings open now! We also have a session popping up at Tōtara Park in March.
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Thursday mornings, Megan from Atareira is available for phone connections to support your child’s mental health, bookings open now!
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As we pop up around the community throughout 2026, keep an eye on our social media and refreshed website (we hope you love it) to see where we’ll be next. Visit our website for more information and click the yellow “Connect With Us” tab to book a U Connect conversation or view upcoming Empower U sessions as they’re confirmed.
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MILO FANTAILS
MILO Fantails is a new football programme for girls turning 8-11 this year.
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This new 7-week programme is perfect for girls who want to give football a go. Starts Monday, 16 February 2026, 6pm-7pm at the training turf at Maidstone Park (Upper Hutt City Football Club), so there's still time to register. Cost is $35 for the term.
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Please share with any friends and family who may have a keen female footballer in this age group.
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Find us on Facebook at UHCF Fantails for more information. Looking forward to seeing you soon for some football fun!
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The Learning Connexion are excited to share their Kids After-School Art Classes for this term! These fun, creative classes give tamariki the chance to explore drawing, painting, sculpture and more in a supportive, skill-building environment.
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You can find more information HERE.
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56 Palmer Crescent, Heretaunga, Upper Hutt 5019
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office@stbrendans.school.nz
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