Nga mihi nui ki a koutou. Greetings parents, students and members of the Berkley Normal Middle School Community. 

I'm loving seeing the energy and excitement around school lately, as we prepare for a number of events.  The term two calendar is always full of WIMS events and we have had a number of students represent Berkley already this term, with more WIMS days coming up.  We have 38 students working hard to be ready for the annual Sports Camp week, which will be held at Totara Springs in week 9.  We also have nearly 200 students (that's a quarter of our school!) involved in our 2025 school production of Camp Rock, which we will proudly present in August at Clarence St Theatre.  In addition to all that, we have a number of teams and individuals, just named this week, to attend the 2025 AIMS games late in term three.  I'd like to acknowledge how impressed I am of all our students dedication and commitment to these sporting and art pursuits, which they are managing on top of their academic requirements - you should all be very proud of yourselves.

We are incredibly proud of our students who have recently participated in the Lit Quiz events.  We had two teams enter the Waikato schools event, along with 54 other teams earlier this term.  Our 'Quizzards of Oz' team placed 1st overall at that event, which gained them a place at the NZ National Final event in Wellington, where they had another outstanding performance and placed 4th overall in New Zealand.  Huge congratulations to Elliott Nicholson, Isla Duggan, Morgan Foley and Eva Hilton.

There are some more exciting opportunities coming up later in the year which students have been told about this week. We are pleased to be offering our international language trip to Noumea again this year as well as the chance for an outdoor experience in northern Coromandel with Hilary Outdoors.  There is more information on these trips further below, or students can collect an information sheet from the school office.

This year we have been doing a lot of proactive work to monitor and manage student attendance and help families manage absences where there are any difficulties or issues.  We are very pleased to see our year-to-date attendance rates looking much higher than the same period in 2024.  I would like to ask for your support in ensuring your child is arriving at school on time as we are seeing the number of late students creep up again.  We expect all students to arrive at school in time to make their way to class and be ready to start the day by 8.45am.  If you have any questions about attendance matters, please contact our school office.

With the change in weather upon us, we are seeing a number of colds and other mild illnesses at school.  Sometimes it can be difficult to know when you should keep a child at home or send them to school.  There is some useful information and guidance on the Health NZ website to help you.

We were disappointed to have to postpone the winter dance last night, but given the weather forecast we had to make a call for the safety and comfort of our students, staff and community.  We are looking forward to the event going ahead next Thursday - please remind your child to keep their ticket safe so they don't lose them before next week! 

I hope you all enjoy the long weekend.

Ngā mihi nui,

Nathan Leith

Principal

Registering to Vote

In September this year we will be holding our triannual Board Of Trustees election process.  This is a nationwide process, when all schools run their elections concurrently.  In the past we have posted paper voting papers out to our families, but this year we will be running the election process online.  All parents/caregivers are entitled to cast an individual vote, but to be able to do this we need to have a valid, individual, email address AND mobile phone number on record for any parent/caregiver who wishes to vote. 

We cannot register two parents/caregivers under the same email address, so if you have only supplied one parents' email address to us, or your family shares an email address only one parent will be able to vote.   Another common issue we encounter is emails bouncing back to us because mailboxes are full, so please ensure you mailbox is cleared so you are able to receive new mail.

If you would like to add an email address or phone number to our records, or need to update the information we have for you, please contact our school office by emailing office@berkley.school.nz or phoning us on 07 8566537.

Over the coming weeks we will be checking email addresses and phone numbers and may send a form home with your child if we think we do not have complete or correct details for your family. 

Interested in Serving as a Board Member?

Serving as a board member is a rewarding experience and an opportunity to contribute to the success of our school and our community.  If you are interested in understanding more about the role of a board member, and the process to stand for election, there is some useful information on the School Board Elections website - click here.

Berkley students are invited to register to sit the 2025 University of New South Wales ICAS assessment exams, taking place in August 2025.  

These assessments take place each year in schools throughout Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific region.  They provide an opportunity for all students to gain a measure of their own achievement in an external assessment situation.  Students who register for the ICAS exams will be supervised to sit them at Berkley school on the scheduled date.

All students will receive a certificate which details individual results, as well as how they performed against New Zealand averages.  

The subjects available for your child to sit are:

Digital Technologies $22.50 Wednesday 6 August

English $22.50 Tuesday 12 August

Science $22.50 Thursday 21 August            

Maths $22.50 Monday 25 August

2025 Registration Process

There are TWO STEPS required to ensure your child is correctly registered to sit the ICAS exams;

• Register and pay through the ICAS Website  

Our school is signed up for the ICAS Assessments parent payment system (PPS).  Through this system parents can register and pay for ICAS exams online.  Parents MUST register and pay through this process no later than Thursday 31 July 2025.     

Go to the ICAS Website and enter our school code - FSE833.  Enter your child's details, click ‘Save Student’ and then select the subjects you wish them to sit.

• Complete the google form below

Once you complete registration and payment as per step 1. above, you will also need to complete the link for the google form below no later than Thursday 31 July 2025.  The google form is to confirm to us that you have completed registration and payment and to inform us of which exams your child will be sitting at school.  Once this form is completed we will ensure your child is scheduled to attend the relevant exams at school.

Berkley ICAS Registration Form

If you have any questions about the exams, or wish to purchase practice exams from previous years, please go to https://shop.icasassessments.com/.  If you have any general queries regarding the process, please contact the school office via office@berkley.school.nz. 

We have two exciting and educational opportunities happening in term four to offer our students.   

Nouméa - New Caledonia

Dates: 31 October - 7 November 2025

Cost: $3,500.00

Hilary Outdoors - Port Charles, Coromandel

Dates; 2 - 7 November 2025

Cost: $1,300.00

Nouméa 

The Berkley international trip to New Caledonia provides an opportunity for 20 students to spend a week in French-speaking Nouméa.  Based in hotel-style accommodation in the Anse Vata area of Nouméa, students will explore the city, navigate the local transport system, and visit the city market.

Exploring food is a significant aspect of this trip. Students will shop at supermarkets and produce markets for their rations and participate in meal preparation challenges, practicing their communication skills and dealing in the local currency (Central Pacific Franc).

Snorkelling is a highlight, with trips to Île du Canard and Amédée Islet. Colourful fish and turtles are common sightings. The Amédée trip includes a glass-bottomed boat ride, lunch, and dance performances.

Students will have the opportunity to participate in French language preparation classes later in the year.

Hilary Outdoors - Port Charles, Coromandel

Activities run by Hilary Outdoors Port Charles are based around the pristine ocean, rivers and bush environments. 20 students will be chosen to participate in a 6-day, 5-night outdoor education course at Port Charles where they will get an experience of a lifetime.

Students will participate in a course designed to create a unique experience of the outdoors through participating in a number of various activities such as sea kayaking, coasteering, snorkelling, abseiling and an overnight camp to name just a few. The programme is managed by experienced guides and caters to the needs and abilities of the group.

Check this awesome video out and get excited:  Port Charles Video Link 

Students can collect an information sheet about either of these experiences (which includes details about how to apply)  from the student counter in our school office. 

We are very proud to share these fantastic peices of student writing.

A number of our classes have been exploring an inquiry topic of Sustainability and the Environment, along with the role of Kaitiakitanga (guardianship of our natural world).  Below is a brief overview from one of our students, on what they have been doing specifically in Room 13 to support their learning in this inquiry topic. 

Special thanks to Shelley from 'Kids In Nature' who has been amazing in supporting the learning through classroom education and leading us through the gully trap-line setting process.

Our Trapping Experience - By Leon Egger, Room 13

Some nature experts from Kids In Nature came to our class on Wednesday last week to teach us about what they do as Kaitiakitanga (gaurdian and protectors) and how they encourange other others to do the same.  They mainly educated us on the effect introduced predators have on the environment.  They even showed us some taxidermy rats, stoats, ferrets, hedgehogs, possums and feral cats.  I am researching them for my inquiry project now as I'm interested in learning more about what they do in our area.  

Our whole class were lucky enough on Monday to set some traps around Humare Park.  A very small group of us have the privilege of checking and setting the traps at least 1-2 times a week, for the rest of this term.  We heard about how bats are nearly extinct and Hamilton is the only city in NZ with many left.  We are looking forward to helping to make a difference and reduce the predator problems in the gully close to school.