Week 8 Term 3 2026

🌿 Kia ora koutou,

It is hard to believe we are already at Week 8! As we move towards the end of Term 3, our school continues to be a busy and vibrant place, with so many opportunities for our learners to create, celebrate, serve and come together.
Over the past few weeks, we have seen our school values shining through in so many ways. From the incredible generosity shown through our Daffodil Day fundraising, to the creativity and fun across the school this week, there is plenty to be proud of.
Thank you, as always, to our students, staff and whānau who get behind these opportunities and make St Pius X the community that it is.

🌼 An Amazing Daffodil Day Effort

A huge congratulations and thank you to our St Pius X community. Together we raised over $800 for Daffodil Day!

This is a wonderful reflection of the generosity and compassion within our school. Thank you to every family who donated and helped us support those affected by cancer.

🎨 Creativity Everywhere!

Monday was a fantastic celebration of creativity across the school. Our learners were challenged to think differently and create using all sorts of materials, including recyclables, nature and even food!

It was wonderful to see the imagination, problem-solving and creativity happening throughout the school.

🤪 Crazy Hair for a Great Cause

There were some incredible hairstyles around St Pius X for Crazy Hair Day! Thank you to everyone who got into the spirit and helped us raise funds for cancer charities that support people experiencing the effects of chemotherapy.

The creativity was amazing—and there were definitely some hairstyles we won't forget in a hurry!

💙 Celebrating Our Fathers

Our Father's Day Assembly will be held this Friday in St Pius X Church, beginning at 2.10pm.

We warmly invite our dads, grandads, uncles and other important father figures to join us as we celebrate and give thanks for the wonderful role they play in the lives of our children and families.

🗣️ Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori

Next week we celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori – Māori Language Week.

Te reo Māori is a taonga and a language unique to Aotearoa New Zealand. We encourage you to talk with your children about the language, the words they know and what they are learning at school.

Throughout the week we will celebrate with opportunities to hear and use te reo Māori, including performances from our Kapa Haka and cultural groups.

👕 Uniform Reminder – Wearing Our Uniform with Pride

Our school uniform is an outward sign of the pride we have in being part of St Pius X School. We ask families to please support us by making sure students come to school wearing the correct uniform each day.

For our winter uniform, students should be wearing grey or navy blue long socks, black shoes, school shorts or skort or the new school track pants, black shoes, school polo, and the school jersey or jacket.

☀️ Moving to Summer Uniform

Students may begin wearing their summer uniform from the start of Term 4. We know that early spring weather in Hamilton can be unpredictable, so winter uniform may continue to be worn during the first weeks of the term.

From Tuesday after Labour Day, all students are expected to be in full summer uniform.

The upcoming school holidays are a great opportunity to take stock of uniform items, check what still fits and purchase anything your child may need for summer.

Thank you for helping our students look smart and wear their St Pius X uniform with pride.

📞 Have Your Contact Details Changed?

Over the last few weeks, we have discovered that quite a few of the phone numbers and addresses we have on file are no longer up to date.

Having the correct contact information is really important, particularly if we need to reach you quickly regarding your child.

If you have moved house, changed your phone number, or updated any of your contact details within the last year, please let the school office know as soon as possible so we can update our records.

Even if you think we already have the new details, it is worth checking with us.

Thank you for helping us make sure we can always get in touch when we need to.

🚗 A Reminder About Our School Driveway

A reminder that families are not to drive up the school driveway before school to drop children off. With children and families walking through this area, vehicle movements create an unnecessary safety risk.

We appreciate that mornings can be busy — you may be running late or have a little one in the car — but we still need everyone to follow this expectation to keep our children safe.

There are a small number of families who have permission to use the driveway due to particular circumstances. If you feel your circumstances mean driving in is your only practical option, please come and have a conversation with us at the office.

Thank you for helping us keep the start of the school day safe for everyone.

🪩✨ School Disco – Get Ready to Dance!

The countdown is on for our much-anticipated School Discos!

Our Student Leaders have been busy planning this year's events and have chosen two fantastic themes:

🚀 Years 0–3: Space
🎭 Years 4–8: Masquerade

These themes are simply for fun and to spark a little creativity. Children are welcome to dress up as much or as little as they like, or simply come along in comfortable clothes ready to enjoy a great night with friends.

The discos are also an important fundraising event for our school. Entry is by gold coin donation and there will be plenty available to purchase on the night, including:

🌭 Sausages
✨ Glow sticks
🍬 Lollies, drinks and other treats

Please remember to bring a little spending money if you'd like to purchase food or other goodies.

A huge thank you to our Friends of the School, Student Leaders and parent volunteers who are giving their time to make these evenings possible. Your support helps create memorable experiences for our tamariki while raising valuable funds to support learning opportunities across our school.

We can't wait to see everyone there for an evening of fun, friendship and dancing! 💙💛

To learn Love, To learn Wisdom, The way we are.

Ngā mihi nui,
Erin Clayton
Principal

Office News

General Information

Tommo's Bakery
As our school is growing, so are our Friday lunch orders from Tommos' and they have asked that I ring through the orders before 10:00am on Friday. Can you please tell your child to put their lunch order in before school or even the day before. Make sure they have the right change. Unfortunately, if they put in a late order (after 10:00am) , they will not be able to get their lunch for that day.

General Information
Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Welcome to St Pius X School. Whether you are new to our school, or already part of our community, we hope this information helps answer your questions.

School Times

School starts at 8:45am and finishes at 2:45pm.

Please make sure your child arrives on time. We begin each day with prayer. If your child is late, they must go to the school office to sign in.

If you need to take your child out of school during the day, please sign them out at the school office. If your child returns after the appointment, you must sign them back in at the office.

Absences

We use an electronic roll to mark who is at school each day. Because of this, it is very important that you tell us if your child will be late or away. You can report an absence in these ways:

School website: stpius.school.nz (click on Absences)

Skool Loop app: You can download this onto your phone.

Phone message: Call 07 843 6554 and leave a message on the absence line.

If your child arrives late and does not sign in at the office, you may get a text message saying they are not at school.

If you have not reported your child’s absence by 10:00am, I will send you a text message. If we do not receive a reply from you, your child will be marked Truant, which means they are marked as away from school without a reason.

Extended Absences / Holidays

If you are taking your child out of school during the term for any reason, you must email the office a term in advance. Please include your child’s name, class, and the dates they will be away. We must report this information to the Ministry of Education.

Driveway Safety

Please do not drive down the school driveway at any time. The only exception is if the school has asked you to pick up your sick child or you have permission from the office.

Stationery

You can buy your child’s stationery online at myschool.co.nz. Choose the year level your child will be in (the room name is not important). Please make sure your child has all their stationery ready for the first day of school.

Lunches

Fridays—Children can come to the office on Fridays (or Thursday afternoon) to order lunch from Tommo’s Bakery. This is cash only, and they must bring the correct change.

Kebab Stop – Tuesdays & Wednesdays—You can order lunches from Kebab Stop on Urlich Ave.—Order online at: orders.kebabstop.co.nz. Lunches will be delivered to the school office. This is a convenient option and supports a local business.

School Uniform

St Pius X uniforms are sold by The Brand Makers. You can buy uniforms at their store:- 6 Latham Court, Frankton. Monday–Friday, 8:00am–5:00pm. (You can also order uniforms online at: tbm.co.nz (click Find My School). A school hat is compulsory during summer months, a cap is for years 7 and 8 only.

Attendance Dues

These fees are paid directly to the Catholic Schools Integrated Schools Office, not to St Pius X. We send your contract to them and they will contact you about payments. For 2026 - Fees are $536.00 per child and there is a Catholic Character fee of $60 per student as well.

We hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions, you can contact the school office by email, (info@stpius.school.nz), phone (07 8436554) or SeeSaw.

Mrs Maree.—St Pius X School Office Administrator