It is hard to believe we are already in Week 4 of the term. The weeks are moving quickly, and our students continue to settle into routines, learning and new opportunities. Thank you for your ongoing support at home — it makes such a difference.

Our students will soon be taking part in Moving March — an exciting challenge to see how far they can travel as a class without using a car to get to and from school.
Every journey out of a car counts! Whether students walk, bike, scooter, or park and stride, they will go into a draw to win prizes. It’s a great way to encourage healthy habits, independence, and environmental awareness.
📄 Keep an eye out for the challenge sheet coming home next week with all the details.

We are also launching our Wednesday Challenge this week.
For all of Term 1, we will compete against other Hamilton schools every Wednesday to see how many students can:

🚶 Walk

🚲 Bike

🛴 Scooter

🚗 Carpool

Each Wednesday, we will also run this as an internal school challenge, with classes competing against one another. We look forward to seeing which class shows the most participation and school spirit!
Let’s work together to make Wednesdays count!

We are now in the season of Lent, a special time in the Church year when we prepare our hearts for Easter.
During Lent, we focus on three key practices:
🙏 Prayer – Growing closer to God
🍞 Fasting – Making sacrifices and practising self-discipline
❤️ Almsgiving – Giving to others in need
This year, we are placing a special focus on almsgiving through our support of the Vinnie's Food Bank Drive. This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to put their faith into action by helping families in our wider community who may be struggling.
Every donation, big or small, makes a difference.

Loving God,
 During this season of Lent,
 help us to grow closer to You.
 Teach us to pray with open hearts,
 to make small sacrifices with love,
 and to give generously to those in need.
 May our actions reflect Your kindness
 and bring hope to others.
 Amen.

Thank you for your continued generosity and support of this important initiative.

 
🚗 We would also like to thank everyone for the care and consideration we have seen in the carpark during the first weeks of school. Your patience and support help keep all of our children safe—thank you for working together to make drop-off and pick-up times run smoothly.

 
Families are warmly invited to attend the Commissioning Mass at the Cathedral on Thursday 26th February at 6:00pm.
 
🙏 This is a special celebration as we begin the year together in faith, and we would love to see as many of our school community there as possible.
 

 
Please save the date for our annual Cultural Evening on Friday 20th March. This is always a wonderful celebration of the diversity and richness of our community.
 
🎶 Students are encouraged to start thinking and rehearsing now about what they may like to share or perform. More details will be sent out closer to the date.

 
As we continue through the summer term, we would like to remind families of our summer uniform expectations:

👕 Short-sleeve school polo
👖 School skort or school shorts
🩴 Sandals (please note: Crocs are not part of the school uniform)

🧢 Sun hats
 

☀️ Wearing the correct uniform helps promote pride in our school and keeps students comfortable and sun-safe during the warmer months. Thank you for your support in maintaining our uniform standards.

We are pleased to let our community know that our school policies are available online through SchoolDocs.

SchoolDocs provides access to our school’s policies and procedures, ensuring they are up to date and aligned with current legislation and best practice. We encourage families to review our publicly available policies at any time.

Each term, selected policies will be placed under review. We value community voice and welcome your feedback. If you would like to comment on a policy under review, please follow the prompts on the SchoolDocs website to submit your feedback.

To access SchoolDocs, please visit:

🌐 https://stpius.schooldocs.co.nz
Username: stpius
Password: pineave

If you have any questions about our policies, please feel free to contact the school office.

With the beginning of 2026 all schools in New Zealand have been asked to have an attendance response plan based on the government STAR attendance structure. This plan is found on our Website in the Board document area. It outlines the steps of intervention and response. Please be aware that across the term students may have up to 5 days of absence without activating intervention. However even when an absence is explained, communication and action will still be triggered at 5, 10 and 15 days away from school.

Being at school every day and on time helps your child learn and do well.
Why this matters
• Away 1 day each week = 10 days missed in one term
• Late 15 minutes every day = almost 2 days of learning missed
School times
🕣 Start: 8.45am
🕝 Finish: 2.45pm

Please make sure your child arrives on time and stays for the full school day.
You are welcome to wait at school for the 2.45pm bell. This is a nice time to talk with other parents.
⚠️ Please do not pick up children before 2.45pm unless there is a special reason (for example, a doctor’s appointment).
If your child leaves early, please sign them out at the office.

Attendance is important
The Government takes attendance very seriously. The school must follow up when children are often away or late. To promote attendance St Pius X School has signed up for the Show up and Shine campaign with Ninja Valley. This campaign rewards the school for increased attendance by giving classes the opportunity to win a session at Ninja valley by having the fewest absences in the school. Come on St Pius X you can do it!!

✈️ Holidays
Please plan overseas travel in school holidays.
Taking one week before or after the holidays, with no other absences in the term, means your child does not need attendance support, although any holiday during term time is highly discouraged.
Thank you for helping your child be at school every day.
Every day counts.

 
We are pleased to share that our First Holy Communion and Confirmation programme will take place in the second half of the year.

The programme will begin on 9th August, following the 9:00am Mass, and will conclude with the Rite of First Holy Communion and Confirmation on 15th November.
 
This is a very special milestone in the faith journey of our students and their families. We look forward to walking alongside those preparing to receive these sacraments.
 
📖 Please watch out for further details and registration information later in the year.

Ngā mihi nui,
Erin Clayton

ERO’s research centre wants to hear from parents and whānau about their children’s use of AI, as part of a national project. Here is the link to a 5-min survey: Parent survey_AI in schools

Welcome Aiden - Kiwi Class

Watch this space in the following weeks.

Watch this space for updates!!

Below are our 2026 term dates

February
27th - Ashel - Ruru

March
1st - Luke  - Ruru
3rd - Ryan - Takahe
4th - Aimy - Kakapo
5th - Joshua - Ruru
5th - Evan - Tara Iti
10th - Ethel - Kea
14th - Adriana - Ruru
19th - Samantha - Tara Iti
19th - Angela - Tui
21st - Johan - Hoiho
24th - Angela - Ruru
25th - Kyra - Ruru
29th - Jiya - Kakapo
30th - Te Ori - Tara Iti
31st - Johan - Kea