Ellerslie School

Talofa lava Ellerslie Aiga,

Manuia le Vaia*o o le Gagana Samoa! (Happy Samoan Language Week!)

This year's theme is:
‘E afua mai i mauga tetele manuia o le nu'u – From the high mountains are the blessings of the village.

Samoan Language Week has been lots of fun at Ellerslie School. Throughout the week, students have been learning Samoan greetings, songs, dances, and language. Many students also joined in lunchtime activities such as mindful colouring and Samoan dancing.

Today, Madara led our school in a Samoan loku (prayer) at assembly, and members of our Pasifika group performed a beautiful Siva Samoa. It was wonderful to see so many students dressed in their cultural attire and to hear Samoan greetings being shared at the front gate.

Fa'afetai tele lava to everyone who helped us celebrate Samoan Language Week and embrace Samoan culture.

Manuia le a*o! (Have a great day!)

Congratulations to this week's Certificate of Merit recipients from this morning's assembly - Week 7, Term 2 - 2026. This week's focus was Be Confident - by not being afraid to make mistakes. Well done everyone!

Don't forget we have raffle tickets for sale! Mel and Kirsten from our Volunteer Hub are out and about this morning selling these - only $3 each or 2 for $5. Be in to win some fabulous prizes! Winners will be drawn at our annual Trivia and Karaoke Fundraiser on 20 June - theme "Back to School"!

Congratulations to this week's Certificate of Merit recipients from this morning's assembly - Week 6, Term 2 - 2026. This week's focus was Be Creative - by developing original ideas. Also pictured are STEAM awards. Well done everyone!

Ellerslie School Online Food Fundraiser

Stock up on these delicious dumplings and buns, samosas, sauces and condiments to make easy lunches and dinners in the school holidays at home or if you are going away, and they are always great to have at any other time! All you have to do is click on the link of the food you would like to buy. Buy from one or all of them!

1) Frozen Asian Dumplings and Steamed Buns
- to be collected from school with no charge for delivery
https://ellerslieschooldumplingsbuns.raiseit.co.nz/cx1looznhw

2) Samosas (all meat samosas are Halal)
- to be collected from school with no charge for delivery
https://fundraising.surti.co.nz/t/ellerslie-school/

3) Pepper and Me - Salts and Sauces
- will be posted directly to you with a postage charge
https://pepperandme.co.nz/FUNDES5/26

You can collect dumplings/buns and samosa orders from:
- Ellerslie School Staffroom
- Thursday July 2nd
- 2:45pm - 6:00pm
(we are unable to keep orders at school after this time)

All funds raised will be used to build an exciting new bike track at school for our students to use during the day and our local community to use after school, the weekends and during school holidays.

Congratulations to this week's Certificate of Merit recipients from this morning's assembly - Week 5, Term 2 - 2026. This week's focus was Teacher's Choice. Also pictured is a certificate from last week, and our Travelwise stars. Well done everyone!

Last week, our student leaders had the opportunity to attend the annual National Young Leaders Day (NYLD) with many other learners and leaders across Auckland. This year’s theme was about facing fear. Many speakers, like William Pike, Graci Kim, Lola Fisher, Eteroa, and Riley Eliott shared their encouraging stories and their uplifting messages. This annual event empowered and inspired our ākonga that it’s important to face our fears.

Our student leaders came back with energy, confidence and motivation to create positive change with great spirit and courage, be bold and fearless in doing what is right. We’re so proud of our ākonga who represented our school with heart and ambition and we can’t wait for the many different initiatives coming up for our school.

Just like what William Pike said, “ Being brave doesn’t mean you’re fearless: great leadership involves facing fear and taking action.”
-- by Ysabel M (Year 8 student leader)

Happy Pink Shirt Day Ellerslie School. What an incredible way to finish our Pink Shirt week at kura today! 💖

A huge thank you to everyone who supported Pink Shirt Day this week, from wearing pink, joining in our activities, spreading kindness, and helping us create a school environment where everyone feels safe, valued, included, and respected.

We would especially like to acknowledge our amazing Pink Shirt Day Committee for all of their hard work behind the scenes to organise such a meaningful week of activities and events for our students. Your leadership and commitment to promoting kindness and inclusion across our kura has been outstanding.

A big thank you also to the teachers and staff who gave up their time to support the lunchtime activities throughout the week. These opportunities helped create spaces for connection, fun, and whakawhanaungatanga amongst our students.

As we wrap up Pink Shirt Day, we also encourage our community to continue supporting the incredible work of Voices of Hope. Their mahi supporting mental health awareness and wellbeing for young people across Aotearoa is so important, and donations can still be made through Kindo.

Pink Shirt Day is more than just one day or one week, it is about the way we treat one another every single day at our kura. Let’s continue to choose kindness, inclusion, respect, and courage in all that we do. 💕

Congratulations to this week's Certificate of Merit recipients from this morning's assembly - Week 4, Term 2 - 2026. This week's focus was Be Compassionate - by supporting other learners in my class. Also pictured are Library awards, Kauri Leadership awards and we welcome two new school leaders - Levi and Mia. Well done everyone!

Another Wonderful Day of Pink Shirt themed activities at Ellerslie School! 💖

Today our students took part in a very special Kindness Rocks! activity.

Students painted rocks with kind messages, positive affirmations, and colourful pictures to spread kindness and brighten someone’s day. It was so heartwarming to see the different ways our ākonga chose to share their creations, some gifted their rocks to friends and classmates, some kept them as reminders of positive self-talk and confidence, and others hid them around the school for people to discover unexpectedly!

Acts of kindness, no matter how small, can make a huge difference.

We were also lucky to have an awesome session with our Jump Jam Leaders, organised by Baxter! The leaders got everyone up and moving as they led us through some energetic Jump Jam songs. There were lots of smiles, laughter, and great enthusiasm from everyone involved!

We are also continuing to support our chosen Pink Shirt Day charity, Voices of Hope. If whānau would like to donate these can be made via Kindo under the “Other Activities” section. Every donation helps support important mental health and wellbeing work.

Don’t forget to wear pink on Friday to show your support for Pink Shirt Day!
Ngā mihi nui,
Bailey Harrison