 Floyd Beale attends the Horse Riding program each week.
This year at their break-up, Floyd was presented with the Dawson Family Memorial Trophy for Animal kinship and connection. This is a very special award and Floyd is the very first recipient of this trophy. Well done Floyd. Keep up the good work, we are all very proud of you.  What a day it has been for you Ayden and Fletcher. All of your planning, fund raising and hard work has come to fruition with the handy work and skills of Ayden’s Poppa Gary. This scooter ramp exceeded both of your expectations with you both saying, “this looks way better than our prototype”. So much learning in this Exploration. You will get to enjoy your project for your remaining years at West Gore School, and so will all of the other tamariki.
 We started an exploration to fundraise then donate gifts to the Gore & Clutha Whānau Refuge team.
Throughout this exploration we have faced many challenges such as a lack of communication, rough teamwork, and obstacles that can push us back. We thought about what we wanted to sell and we landed on ice creams and ice blocks. Surprisingly everyone wanted only one of the two things for sale. We had a lot of support and we are very grateful for that. This was tricky for everyone but we all learnt something: Teamwork makes the dream work. Along the journey we formed stronger friendships and bonded as well. Last week we were able to donate sports gear, toiletries, treats, socks, board games, balls and outdoor games for teenage boys and families to enjoy. The Refuge team was very grateful for our donation and we felt very proud to support them. hank you to everyone who purchased an ice cream or ice block. Your support means everything. Issy, Laya, Grace, Danel, and Ella  You cannot survive school unless you are friends with everyone.
If you see smoke, RUN!!! Fire, Fire! If you hear someone scream Markus, that means something is broken. Never get in the way of Kristine’s vacuum. Leave your chocolate at home. Beware of all the noise, bring earplugs so you can survive. Don’t wear muddy shoes in class you will get on the teacher's bad side. You can’t survive when everyone has a better lunch than you. In order to survive school stay away from Room 12, nah just joking but still run for your life. Don’t waste tape…it’s a waste of money. Never bring up 67, follow my advice. Do not leave your classroom sports equipment out or the PE shed takes it! Make sure that you know when anything bad or mysterious happens, it was Markus! Have fun and treat others with kindness. Try not to tighten your sunhat too much or you will get a red mark on your forehead. Stay away from the attacking bees and wasps! Don’t question Mrs Pasco or Miss Prattley…you have been warned. Stay away from trouble. Don’t climb the skinny branches, your legs have been warned. Stay away from bees! Don’t backchat or you will get on the teacher’s bad side. Beware of Mr English’s lawn mower!  Year 6 Graduation / School Break-Up
Monday 8 December Calvin Church – 6.00pm start (Students should arrive from 5.45pm when the doors open.) Our Graduation evening is a significant occasion where we come together to recognise and celebrate our Year 6 learners as they complete their time at West Gore. We warmly encourage all families to join us in honouring our leavers as a school community. Every child plays a part in the ceremony, and class awards are also presented. It is always a shame when students are absent and miss receiving their acknowledgements. The Choir has been practicing so we would love everyone to be present on the night. Meet the Teacher On Thursday students will be told who their class teacher is and will have a class visit with their teacher and classmates. They will be given their class and stationary lists for 2026. School Rumble Thursday 11 December, 2.00pm–3.00pm (Year 6 students will begin setting up from 1.30pm.) This is always a favourite event for our students. Our Year 6s can purchase a desk space for $5 and use it to sell homemade items or personal treasures to other students. Prices range from 10 cents to a maximum of $2 per item. While commercially produced goods are not included, items such as homemade headbands, books, toys, sweets, and drinks are welcome. Children may bring a few coins if they wish to buy something—around $2–$5 is usually plenty. A small wallet or purse and a bag for their purchases is helpful. Money will be kept safely by teachers during the morning. Each year, Year 6 students choose a charity to receive the proceeds from the $5 desk fee, while they keep any profit they make. It’s a wonderful chance to see their creativity and entrepreneurial spirit in action. Families are invited to come along and share in the excitement of this enjoyable afternoon. Final Assembly - Wednesday 10th December 2.15pm At this assembly we will be: > Farewelling Megan Johnstone , Sarah Cruickshank > Presenting Road Patrol Certificates < Presenting the Main Freight Duffy Book Award We would love to see lots of parents / whanau along for our final assembly for 2025. Final Day of Term A reminder that school finishes at 12.00pm on Friday 12 December. Please note that buses will not be running at midday, so families who use bus transport will need to arrange pick-ups. Start of School – 2026 School begins again on Wednesday 4 February 2026. School Uniforms If you have uniforms your child is finished with we would love if you donated them to school so we can on- sell them to others families. We charge a nominal fee as our aim is to ensure all families can access a uniform at a reasonable cost. Our school office will open late January so you are welcome to bring in uniforms and purchase at this time before school starts. Enjoy your weekend. Nga mihi Linda Fraser Principal
   Ayden and Fletcher from Room 14 have turned a simple learning-through-play idea into an inspiring real-world project! It all began with a prototype skate ramp they built during class. Excited by their design, the boys decided they wanted to create a full-sized ramp for our school.
What followed was a huge amount of hands-on learning: drawing up detailed plans, pricing materials, writing emails for permission, and organising a fundraising strategy. They settled on hosting a sausage sizzle, created order slips to send home, and today proudly ran their very own BBQ. Lunchtime was full of happy faces—and full tummies! The boys made an impressive $125 profit, which will go directly toward building their real ramp for all students to enjoy. So watch this space! A big thank you to Ayden’s grandma for her wonderful help on the grill. Well done, Ayden and Fletcher! Your initiative, teamwork, and perseverance are something to celebrate. Our class has been working hard each week with our Sound Hunter rhymes. Recently we looked at the ‘i’ sound and wrote about it as a class. The rhyme included two big lizards and some insects by the river. They also created some lizards using pastels. The two big lizards are flicking out their tongues. One lizard is long and thin with stripes, and the other is round and green with spots. Oh no! Watch out insects. They look hungry. The spider and the centipede might get eaten. They are shivering and they look worried.   A Message from the West Gore School Board of Trustees,
Hello, Kia ora and Greetings to everyone in our West Gore School Community, As you will know the Government requirement to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi has been removed from the Education and Training Act 2020. There has been an outpouring nationwide from iwi, school boards, the Principals Federation and education professionals expressing opposition to this. The Treaty of Waitangi must have it’s rightful place in our nations legislation as it recognised within our constitution as a founding document of Government. The Government position is that this action releases School Boards of Trustees from a legal obligation to honour the Treaty within schools. School Boards nationwide rejected the inference that to honour the Treaty should be an obligation or undertaken under some form of compliance. We also reject the idea that School Boards can not give effect to the Treaty as that right resides with the Government. School Boards are indeed Crown entities. We believe very much in the principles of partnership within The Treaty and feel their presence within our School identity, curriculum and culture is vital and enriching in the education of all of our students. At West Gore School we will continue on as before in committing to the principles within Te Tiriti as they guide and inform our governance and school programmes regardless of the legislative change. Diminishing the role of the Treaty does a disservice to us all. We will give effect to the Treaty as we always have done. Our commitment is to our students, their whanau, our Māori community, our West Gore School values and to what is right as our tamariki look to their future and their place in it. We thank you for your support. Susan Hasselman. Presiding Member Linda Fraser Principal  Staff Farewell - Megan Johnston It is with mixed blessings we inform you Megan has accepted a promotion at East Gore School, from the beginning of next year. While we are happy for Megan to continue to grow in her profession, we are very sad to be losing Megan from our team and our West Gore community. Megan has wonderful relationships with many of you and your children as you have entrusted her with your new 5 year old starting school. Megan has a lovely ‘fan club’ that visits regularly in the mornings to touch base which is testament to the safety and aroha she creates for children. We will celebrate Megan in our final assembly  Staff Appointment Process
The Board of Trustees is working through the appointment process now and we will inform you when we have our confirmed staffing and class placement of teachers for 2026. Class Placements for 2026 The teaching staff are working on class lists for 2026. Our new curriculum is year level based so it makes best sense to have straight classes whenever we can to cover the curriculum. This will mean there is less flexibility in children's placements than composite classes allow. We will notify you of your child's class in the final week of school along with stationery lists so you can purchase with the back to school deals in January. Leadership day - Year 5 students Our year 5 students will enjoy a day of challenge & leadership activities on Monday at Camp Columba. This is a great opportunity for teachers and all our year 5 group to come together and get to know each other better before their year 6 year next year. We encourage our Year 6 students to take on leadership roles within the school and this day sets the scene for this. Thank you to parents that are accompanying this group on Monday. Launchpad Next week is the last day of launchpad for the year. We are very grateful to our local team of teachers, Merle Barnett, Andrew Dodds, Janice Elder and Valmai Redhead for their dedication and commitment to our children. This team has been coming to west gore for years and have built up significant relationships with our children and families. We are grateful for the care and support this offers many children. Reporting to Parents - December 2nd You will receive your child’s report home on December 2nd. The format will be the same as mid year. We will send an update with the reports explaining further changes to the curriculum announced very recently by the government. We appreciate this is challenging for you to keep up with but be reassured, in spite of the changes your children are receiving excellent teaching and they are making great progress. If, after receiving your child’s report you would like clarity, please make an appointment to speak with their teacher. They will be happy to discuss and explain anything further. You will have received your child’s folder home with two new learning stories this term. These learning stories will reflect the other areas of the curriculum. Please read, respond to your child in the way of a comment and return to school. We have several learning journals not returned. Dolamore Park - Whole School Day - Friday 5th December We are looking forward to this day together with our community. It is a fun day out and we encourage you to come out and join in the fun as your work commitments allow. The children will participate in a rotation of fun activities, enjoy a Mr. Whippy ice cream, compliments of the Home and School and have a surprise event. All children will be travelling on the bus, leaving school at 9.30am and returning before 3.00pm. If you wish to take your child home from the park please inform your child’s class teacher. (More details to follow) Year 6 Graduation / School Breakup Monday 8th December (note change of date), Calvin Church at 6.00pm (Children to arrive at 5.45pm when the doors open) This is a special event for our school where we celebrate and honour our Year 6 students graduating from West Gore. We encourage all families to attend and feel it is important we honour our leaving students as a school community. All our children are part of the ceremony to honour the year 6 leavers. There are also class awards and it is disappointing when children are not there to receive them. School Rumble Thursday 11th December (from 2.00pm – 3.00pm) - Students to set up from 1.30pm This day is always a highlight for all our children. Year 6 students have the opportunity of buying a desk to sell their own goods. They pay $5 per table top and sell goods they have made or their own treasures to the other children in the school. The prices range from 10 cents with a maximum of $2.00 per item. This does not include commercially purchased goods but things like headbands, books, toys, sweets, drinks etc. You are welcome to send your child along with a few coins to make some purchases. As a guide, $2 - $5 would buy a child several bits and pieces. It is a good idea to send them with a purse / wallet for their money and a bag to put their purchases in. Teachers will hold on to this money for safekeeping in the morning. The Year 6 students decide on the charity they are going to support each year with their $5.00 desk fee and children then keep their own profits. This is a great opportunity to see the entrepreneurial skills of our senior students. Do come along and enjoy the buzz of this fun afternoon. Last day of school Just a reminder we finish on Friday December 12th at 12 noon. Buses will not run at this time so we ask bus families to collect their children at this time please. Beginning of School - 2026 School will commence on Wednesday the 4th of February 2026. Enjoy your weekend. Nga mihi Linda Fraser Principal |
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