To all our Waitohu whānau we wish you a safe and happy festive season. We look forward to connecting again in 2026. Ngā mihi nui for all of your support throughout this year.

YEAR 6 STUDENT CELEBRATIONS
This week we have celebrated each of our Year 6 students with a special lunch and assembly on Wednesday. Today we celebrated Year 6 Award recipients as part of our final assembly. It has been wonderful to have these moments to reflect upon and congratulate all our Year 6 students for their presence and contribution to Waitohu School. We wish each of our graduating students all that is great ahead - arohanui.

SIGNED 2024 HURRICANES JERSEY RAFFLE WINNER

Congratulations to upcoming Hurricane Adam Doar from Room 12 for winning the awesome signed Hurricanes jersey. What a brilliant Christmas present!
A huge ngā mihi nui to Caleb Delaney, current Hurricanes loose forward and lock who generously gifted Waitohu School with this jersey. We look forward to supporting the Hurricanes and the Hurricanes Poua during 2026. 

ATTENDANCE
To provide you with absolute clarity, we are emailing you updates of your child’s attendance, twice a term (mid and end of term). This Monday, you will receive an end of year update. Celebrating great attendance with your child or noting improvement is needed, is the aim of these emails. If improvement is needed, we are here to support. 

LETTER TO THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION
My Ōtaki-Kāpiti principal colleagues and I have written a letter to the Minister of Education. I share this with you for your information: Ōtaki-Kāpiti Principals' Letter to the Minister of Education

SCHOOL SPORTS UNIFORMS

Please return all sports uniforms to the office (they don’t need to be washed).

If your child has been given a change of clothes from the school (labelled Waitohu), could you please return them to the office tomorrow, as we are running very low of spare clothing for children who need it. Thanks.

Lost property and scooters were displayed in the hall on Tuesday. All left over items are in the lost property cupboard at the back of the hall, for you to check . All items left over will be given to charity at the end of the year.

 

Interviews
Tuesday 3 February and Wednesday 4 February - Student-Parent-Teacher Interviews

(Instructions for online bookings will be provided with your child’s end of year report and are available on our school website)

Classes begin Wednesday 4 February

    Term 1      Wednesday 4 February - Thursday 2 April
    Term 2      Monday 20 April - Friday 3 July
    Term 3      Monday 20 July - Friday 25 September
    Term 4      Monday 12 October - Friday 11 December

The Waitohu School office will be open on Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 February 2026 for stationery sales between 9.00am-3.00pm. Eftpos will be available. 

ABSENCES
Before 9.00am, please phone 364 8272, text 027 545 0530 or email absences@waitohu.school.nz to inform us that us that your child is away and the reason for their absence.

FUNZONE DEC 2025 - FEB 2026 SCHOOL HOLIDAY PROGRAMME

Enrolments are open for a fun packed Funzone School Holiday Programme running from Wednesday 17 December - 3 February 2026 (closed for public holidays). They have a variety of on site and trip activities planned. Childcare subsidies and various discounts are available. Contact Funzone on 0800 543 9696, email info@funzone.co.nz for more information. Please see the attached poster for programme details.
OSCAR approved and WINZ subsidies apply.

ŌTAKI COLLEGE ENROLMENTS FOR 2026

For those wishing to enrol children at Ōtaki College in 2026, there is an online enrolment form available on the College website, or you can go directly to https://otakicollege.school.kiwi/ to start the enrolment process. If you prefer to fill in a hard copy form, this is not a problem. Forms can be downloaded in pdf form from the College website, or collected from Waitohu School or Ōtaki College offices.

Just in time for those last-minute gifts, the Ōtaki Market will be brimming with festive stalls, local art, food, and crafts. Shoppers can enjoy a cheerful community atmosphere, and, best of all, a free photo with Santa, including Santa's Sleigh. 

Just in time for those last-minute gifts, the Ōtaki Market will be brimming with festive stalls, local art, food, and crafts. Shoppers can enjoy a cheerful community atmosphere, and, best of all, a free photo with Santa, including Santa's Sleigh. 

Join the Kāpiti Bike Bus in the Christmas on the Coast Parade

If you cycle or want to cycle to school please join the Kāpiti Bike Bus ‘ride-along’ at the Christmas Parade on Saturday 13th December.  It’s a great chance to be a part of the Festival, and for parents to meet up with the Bike Bus team and learn how easy it is to set up your own cycle-to-school Bike Bus. To register please click on this link. 

 There will be some special Christmas treats for all, and it will be a great way of sharing with the Kāpiti community that cycling is a great way of starting every school day. 

Ngā Manu Nature Reserve is getting ready to provide summer fun for the upcoming holidays. The star of summer fun is Mahira, the cheeky kea!

 

More info and ticket bookings can be found at Spend the day at Ngā Manu | Kāpiti Coast | New Zealand – Nga Manu

The Star of Christmas
This Christmas morning on Newstalk ZB – it’s The Star of Christmas singing competition on The Crazy Kiwi Christmas Kids Show! The grand prize? A Prezzy Card!  If you can sing and are under 13, email a recording of yourself singing a Christmas carol to christmas@newstalkzb.co.nz before the 16th December.
If you're selected as one of the three grand-finalists, you'll join live on Christmas morning for a Christmas carol sing-off. One singer will ultimately be crowned our Star of Christmas. 
*Please note, this year, the competition is open to individual singers only. To qualify, entrants must be under the age of 13 and be available to join us live on air (via phone) on Christmas morning. 
If you have any further questions, feel free to contact producer Sam via email (christmas@newstalkzb.co.nz) or call Sam directly on 020 4000 6246.

Kia ora

In early January 2026, Kāpiti Coast District Council’s contractor will begin laying a new pipeline between the existing Waitohu Reservoir and the new Ōtaki Reservoir.
The work is expected to take six months.

The new pipeline will replace an ageing pipe and future proof the area for a possible second new reservoir.

The pipes will be laid mostly along the berm on Waitohu Valley Road from the existing reservoir to the reticulation network on Te Manuao Road. Traffic management will be in place. At the worksite, traffic will be controlled by traffic lights and flow past the work on one lane. Construction has also started on a new pump station on road reserve near 57 Waitohu Valley Road.

This pipe upgrade will make water supply more resilient. It’s part of Council’s commitment to providing excellent water services to the community.

The contractor Mills Albert is planning to work from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday.