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Welcome, nau mai, afio mai, namaste, konnichiwa, nĭ hăo, talofa, komosta, vanakkam, auybowan, ഹലോ
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Newsletter
23 June 2026
Term 2
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This term has been filled with a variety of learning opportunities and events. I thank our teaching team for planning these experiences and our community for your ongoing support. We have two busy weeks ahead to finish the term.
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2026 Football World Cup
We have been following the Football World Cup with extra interest. It has been a joy to watch former St Brendan's student Marco Stamenic on the world stage. His mother, Kalala, served on our school board, and we have kept Marco and his family in our thoughts and prayers since the passing of his father, Nico, last year.
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65th Jubilee Production: ‘Setting Sail Through Time’
The countdown to showtime is on. Please ensure you have bought your tickets for our production. Check the information shared about costume requirements for classrooms and note the arrangements for collecting children from the venue after the matinee performance next Thursday. Everyone is looking forward to the three performances: 5.30pm on Wednesday and 1pm and 5.30pm on Thursday, 2 July. All children will be performing in each performance.
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Farewell and Gratitude
We are farewelling Mrs Ange Puki this Friday afternoon. Ange has contributed greatly to St Brendan’s as our Assistant Principal and Adventurer Team Leader. While we are sad to see her go, we wish her good luck and God’s blessings for her new role as Deputy Principal at Pinehaven School. As schools in Upper Hutt work collaboratively as an education network, we look forward to remaining connected. Please join us at 2.15pm on Friday for an assembly of gratitude.
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Staffing News
We look forward to welcoming Mrs Vanessa Smith-Graham back to Room 4 and the Navigator team soon. We thank Mrs Sarah Chard for her leadership as Acting Navigator Team Leader and Miss Teresa Millar for her work in Room 4. Miss Millar transfers to the Explorer team as our Year 1 teacher and will move to Room 2 when our property refurbishment is complete. In the interim, she will team-teach with Mrs Heather Campbell. We are also grateful to our part-time teaching team, Mrs Rachel Thompson, Mr Chris Parker, and Mrs Sophie Barton, for their flexibility across the school. We are beginning the appointment process for a new Assistant Principal.
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65th Anniversary Logo Refresh
We are creating a new logo for St Brendan’s to mark our anniversary. We want a design that is contemporary and reflects our special character while honouring our unique identity as the only school in Aotearoa named after St Brendan. We welcome your ideas and feedback. You can email these to : office@stbrendans.school.nz.
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Community Opportunity: Kids Do Well If They Can
We invite you to a session hosted by St Brendan’s called ‘Kids Do Well If They Can’. Facilitated by Learning Support Coordinator, Sharyn Spotswood, this session explores how to look beneath behaviour with curiosity and connection. Inspired by the work of Ross Greene and Dr Stuart Shanker, this is an opportunity to explore how we can strengthen wellbeing. This event is free to attend, and bookings can be made via www.uhub.org.nz.
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Variable Speed Limits
Please be aware that variable speed limits operate outside our school from next Thursday, 1 July. These limits reduce speeds to 30km/h during drop-off and pick-up times to keep our children safe. When signs are active, please slow down.
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Further information is at www.upperhutt.govt.nz/vsl.
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We look forward to seeing you at the production next week.
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TE WAKA WHAKAPONO - NAVIGATING WITH CHRIST
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Over the next few weeks, the Church celebrates several important feast days that help us grow in faith and learn from the example of holy people.
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29 June – Saints Peter and Paul: We remember two of the Church’s greatest leaders who shared the message of Jesus with courage and dedication.
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3 July – Saint Thomas the Apostle: Thomas reminds us that it is okay to have questions and doubts as we grow in faith. Jesus meets us where we are and invites us to believe.
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11 July – Saint Benedict: Known for his wisdom and prayerful way of life, Saint Benedict teaches us the importance of balance, community, and putting God at the centre of our lives.
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As a school community, we continue to reflect on how we can live out our faith through kindness, service, prayer, and care for others.
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SCHOOL NEWS - NGĀ MAHI O TE KURA
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CELEBRATING CULTURE AND CONNECTION: MĀORI WHĀNAU HUI
We recently held our first Māori whānau hui of the year. It was a wonderful opportunity to connect, share kai, and engage in whakawhanaungatanga (building relationships). The primary purpose of this first gathering was to strengthen the partnership between school and whānau, and to discuss how we can best work together to support the growth and success of our tamariki. A huge thank you to everyone who was able to attend and contribute to such a positive evening.
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At St Brendan's School, fostering a strong sense of culture, heritage, and identity is incredibly important to us. We love that our school is a rich tapestry of different backgrounds, and we want all of our families - including our Māori, Pacific, and Asian communities, and those who have traveled from all corners of the world to join us - to feel deeply connected and valued here.
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Uplifting each student's unique culture goes hand-in-hand with our shared Catholic identity. Both value the inherent dignity of every person and celebrate the diverse gifts each family brings to our community. Below is the updated Karakia mō te Kai that the children have been learning at school this term, which you might want to use at home with your families.
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We look forward to hosting our next Māori whānau hui in Term 3, alongside other community gatherings throughout the year, as we continue to grow together.
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YEAR 7-8 INTER-ZONE CROSS COUNTRY RESULTS
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Congratulations to all of our students who participated in this year's Cross Country. We were incredibly proud of the determination, perseverance, and sportsmanship shown by every runner. Whether students were aiming for a personal best, supporting their classmates, or pushing through challenging conditions, they demonstrated our GRACE values and represented St Brendan's with pride. A shout-out to Elodie B for placing 13th and Lucy L for placing 11th.
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NZSSAA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPS 2026
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Congratulations to former St Brendan's student, Madi Wos, who placed 6th in the Senior Girls section of the New Zealand Secondary School Cross Country Championships at Trentham Memorial Park on Saturday. Madi has been selected to represent New Zealand in Australia next month.
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St Brendan's School Book Fair 2026 will be held in our school library, next door to Room 9. The Book Fair will be open before and/or after school on weekdays between Tuesday, 28 July and the evening of Monday, 3 August. More information about Book Fair opening hours will be advertised next term.
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All purchases from the Book Fair help to earn free books for our school library.
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Looking forward to seeing you there.
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On Saturday, we sang "Music Is The Gift," which is a song our singing teacher, Michael, wrote for Stella.
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We also danced to a mix that we performed at last year's cultural day. We sang and danced at the KCC (Kerala Cultural Club). We didn't think we would win a prize, but we did! We won third place for the group dance. When they called our name, we got so excited that we started jumping up and down! Our parents took videos, and we were all so happy. After the competition, our parents even talked about throwing a party for us! We got home at 10:00 PM but were still too excited to sleep.
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By Olivia, Mikhaela, Anna Rose, Elaina, Angel, Eliyah, and Irene.
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GRACE AND GRATITUDE - HE KŌRERO AROHA
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- Thank you to Service Foods, and especially Bob, for donating all the Sausages for our Navigator camp fundraising.
- Supporters and helpers on the Year 7-8 St Carlo Acutis Relic visit to Wellington.
- Everyone who supported our Non-Uniform Day on 11 June. We raised $296.50 for Navigator Camp 2026.
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- Supporters and helpers at the Year 7-8 Interzone Cross Country last week and the Year 7-8 Netball Centennial Cup today.
- Everyone who has supported and helped with the production.
- The PTF and volunteers for our Term 2 Winter Warmer Pizza Lunches.
- All who have helped with Road Patrol this term.
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TE ARA O NGĀ UARA - LIVING OUR VALUES THROUGH PB4L
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Our current PB4L focus is Be Kind. Inspired by Suzanne Aubert's words, "Above all things, let us be kind," students are learning that kindness is more than being nice—it is noticing others, showing compassion, taking responsibility for our actions, and treating others as we would like to be treated. We are encouraging students to recognise when someone may need support, include others, use kind words, and follow Jesus' example of caring for those around us. Through small everyday actions such as inviting someone to join in, helping a classmate, listening carefully, and using words that build others up, we can help make St Brendan’s a place where everyone feels loved, included, and that they belong. He aroha whakatō, he aroha puta mai – if kindness is sown, then kindness will grow.
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NGĀ WHAKAARO A TE POARI - BOARD NEWS
Kia ora St Brendan's whānau,
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We hope you are all looking forward to the St Brendan's School production. I am certainly looking forward to seeing St Brendan's School through the decades!
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As part of our 65th Anniversary celebrations, we will be creating a new logo for St Brendan's School. Our logo is an important part of our school identity, and we would welcome any thoughts or feedback from you, our school community.
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The new logo will be contemporary, reflect the special character of our school, and serve St Brendan's School for many years to come. Like our current logo, it will appear on our uniform, website, stationery, signage, and other school materials. Our anniversary year provides a wonderful opportunity to refresh the logo with a view to the future honouring our unique identity.
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St Brendan was a special saint and remains an important part of our identity. We are the only school in Aotearoa named after him. As a sailor, explorer, and navigator, his story connects with our school vision of "Inspiring Navigators." The new logo will reflect both our Catholic character and our unique place in Aotearoa.
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If you have any thoughts, ideas, or feedback, we would love to hear from you.
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On behalf of the Board, thank you for your ongoing support of our school - all that you do makes our community a wonderful place to be. As we approach the end of Term 2, we wish you and your whānau all the very best. We also extend our sincere thanks to our wonderful staff for everything they do to support our tamariki each day.
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julie.stewart@stbrendans.school.nz
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COMMUNITY NEWS - NGĀ PITO KŌRERO O TE HAPORI
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THE LEARNING CONNEXION - KIDS HOLIDAY ART PROGRAMME
Running throughout these upcoming school holidays, these fun, hands-on art days are designed for children aged 5 – 13 years and include painting, sculpture, clay, mixed media, Matariki-themed projects, and more.
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✔ WINZ OSCAR subsidies available for eligible families
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NEW ZEALAND MEN'S U19 FLOORBALL TEAM
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This August, eight young men from Upper Hutt colleges have been selected for the New Zealand Men's U19 Floorball Team and will travel to Singapore to compete at the AOFC Qualification Tournament.
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The team will face Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore, competing for one of three qualification spots available for the 2027 Men's U19 World Championships in Latvia.
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Many of you may know some of these students through your schools, sports, or local community connections. We are incredibly proud of what they have achieved and the commitment they have shown to reach this level.
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As with many international sporting opportunities, there is a significant financial commitment for each player and their whānau. The team is currently fundraising to help cover travel and tournament costs, and we would be grateful for any support you may be able to offer.
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Details, quiz tickets, pie orders, event information, and other ways to support can all be found on our website:
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Thank you for supporting local young people as they represent both our community and New Zealand on the international stage.
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56 Palmer Crescent, Heretaunga, Upper Hutt 5019
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office@stbrendans.school.nz
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