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Tēnā koutou katoa, Kia orāna,
What a wonderful day our School Fair turned out to be! It was so much joy to see our community come together — families, friends, past students, and neighbours — all joining in the fun, laughter, and shared spirit that makes Red Beach School so special.
The stalls were buzzing, the entertainment was fantastic, and the smiles said it all. A huge thank you to everyone who contributed time, energy, and resources to make the event such a success. Special congratulations to our Community Committee team who pulled the whole event together. We raised valuable funds toward our new canopy project, which is planned to be installed next year — an exciting addition that will provide shade and shelter for our students for many years to come. See more on the Twighlight Fair below from the CC.
We were saddened by the recent passing of former Principal Gary Holbrook, who led Red Beach School from 1996 to 2004. Gary’s leadership, vision, and genuine care for students and staff left a lasting legacy within our school. He guided the school through a period of growth and change, always keeping the wellbeing and success of our learners at the centre of his work. His contribution to Red Beach School will always be remembered with deep gratitude and respect.
As we look ahead, planning for 2026 is well underway. To help us with preparations, we’d appreciate hearing from any families (other than those with Year 6 students) who know they will not be returning next year. This information helps us plan classes, staffing, and resources effectively.
Ngā mihi nui,
Julie Hepburn
Principal
Julie Hepburn
Principal
Red Beach School
What's been happening and what's coming up......
Horizons
Our Horizons groups have been actively engaged in a range of enriching learning experiences across the school. Students have been extending their understanding of algebra and geometry in Maths, investigating concepts of electricity in Science, programming Edison robots in Technology, and developing their journalism skills through Writing. We were also delighted to participate in the recent local children’s art exhibition at Silverdale Mall, where our students’ creativity was proudly showcased.
Year 6 Public Speaking Stars Shine at Lion's Speech Competition
We are incredibly proud to celebrate the achievements of two outstanding Year 6 students, Caden Smith and Finn Janus, who recently represented our school in the Lion's Speech Competition. After impressing judges and audiences alike in our own school’s speech finals, both boys advanced to the interschool stage.
In front of a panel of external judges, Caden and Finn presented their speeches with clarity, confidence, and poise. Their preparation and delivery showcased the high standard of speaking and critical thinking nurtured at our school.
Finn delivered his speech on fitness with passion and purpose, making a strong impression on all who listened. Caden, speaking on the topic “Why being a big brother to twins has made me a better person,” captured the audience with his heartfelt and thoughtful reflections. His ability to blend humour, honesty, and insight into his personal experience left a lasting impact.
We are thrilled to announce that Caden was awarded the Lion’s Speech Cup - a remarkable achievement and a well-deserved recognition of his hard work.
Congratulations to both Caden and Finn for their incredible efforts. You represented Red Beach School school with pride and excellence.
Halloween-Themed Wheels Day!
We’re excited to announce our Halloween-themed Wheels Day on
Friday, 31st October!
Bring along your bike, scooter, skateboard, roller skates, or roller blades and join the fun — there will be awesome prizes up for grabs!
Get creative by decorating your wheels with Halloween flair. (note: This is not a mufty day).
- Years 0–3: Morning tea
- Years 4–6: Lunchtime
Please make sure all wheels are stored safely in the bike racks or in Rooms 19 & 20.
Don’t forget your named helmet and closed-in shoes — safety first!
We can’t wait to see your frightfully fantastic wheels!
ACROSS THE SCHOOL
Junior School Y 0/1
Rooms 7,8 and 3 are off to the Honey Centre!
As part of our learning about minibeasts, the classes are investigating what it means to be an insect and some different insects and other creatures that we find in the world around us. So far we have learned about bees - how they live, how they make honey and how important they are to our world.
Year 2/3
Year 2 /3 classes have been learning about economics, money and relating it to how we have needs and wants in life. We need certain basic things in life e.g. shelter, food, medicine. And then we want things like toys and treats. We have learn’t about using money and working out amounts of money linked to our Maths Curriculum.
Here are some Yr 2/3 classes’ work around our Needs and Wants learning.
Rm 1 had a go at designing a small stall/shop in partners to sell items to classmates. The classmates had some pretend money to buy the items with. The shop sellers had to give change and sell their items. Some shops were selling food, clothing, devices and toys that they had drawn on card. We talked about which items were needs- food, and which items were wants- treats like toys.
Year 4 / 5
This term, our Year 4/5 students have kicked off Genius Hour—a fantastic opportunity to dive into areas that spark their curiosity and creativity! Over the next four weeks, students are exploring exciting options like drama, gardening, music, French, robotics, and clay art. After their very first sessions, the classrooms were buzzing with enthusiasm and fresh ideas! We can’t wait to share their amazing progress—keep an eye out for HERO posts in about three weeks as we celebrate their learning before launching into new options for the second half of the term.
Year 6
This term, our Year 6 students are learning about the world of electricity as part of a Horizons science rotation. So far they’ve explored how to build series and parallel circuits, discovered what makes a good conductor or insulator, and learned all about static electricity. The students have also created their own electromagnets and even tried their hand at making a lemon-powered battery! It’s been fantastic to see their curiosity and enthusiasm as they participate in these hands-on science experiments.
MOTUORA
Motuora have been so lucky to have Auckland Council coming to school for Adaptive Trikes sessions. We have so far done two out of the six sessions and the learners have loved exploring all the different types of bikes and trikes on offer, including handcycles and recumbent bikes. We have been learning different skills such as, weaving in and out of cones, changing direction and listening to instructions. We cannot wait to do more sessions!
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Community Committee
Court Cover Fundraising Update
Thanks to past fundraising efforts and BOT grants, our court cover is fully funded! Now we’re aiming to raise $30,000 to fit it out for year-round fun — day or night. Our top priorities are outdoor lighting, a PA system, and safety pads, with surface improvements also on our wishlist.
We’re excited to share that we raised over $24,000 from the Twilight Fair, and together with around $2,500 from Beats by Bingo, that takes us to over an amazing $26,500! 
Our goal is so close!
But we’re not ones to rest on our laurels — we’ll be using the rest of the year to beat that target and get a head start on next year’s fundraising. With Friday tuck shops, the end-of-year disco, and our famous Christmas tree sales still to come, there’s plenty more fun (and fundraising!) ahead.
None of these events can happen without people to run them — so if you’ve ever thought about getting involved, now’s the time!
We Need YOU!
Want to be part of the fun? Got hands, heart, or a keen attitude? Brains or brawn, one-off or long-term, social media whiz, admin ace, fundraising hero, tea-maker extraordinaire, or just someone who loves to pitch in, whatever you bring to the table - we want you!
If you want to see new things happening at school, be part of the solution — get involved, have a laugh, and make a difference.
Farewell to Amazing Committee Members
At the end of this term,we’ll say a heartfelt goodbye to Lily, Anita & Ange. These incredible wahine have been at the heart of the Community Committee over the past few years — thank you for everything you’ve given to our school, and good luck navigating the teenage years!
Twilight Fair Wrap-Up
What an amazing evening! The Twilight Fair 2025 was one of our biggest and brightest yet, full of sunshine, smiles, and an incredible community spirit.
A huge highlight again this year was the Kids Inspiration Stalls. These stalls are a unique aspect of our fair that sets our school apart by showcasing the creativity and initiative of our tamariki. An extra special shout-out to Eme, Caden and Sierra, who represented our school so beautifully in their interview on More FM, talking about what makes these stalls so special.
There are so many people to thank for making it all happen:
- Our wonderful school staff and teachers for their time, enthusiasm and energy.
- The parents who supported our student-run Kids Inspiration Stalls — 39 of them this year!
- Our school community, for the generous mufti donations, volunteering on the night, and coming out in force to support the event.
- Our talented entertainers, who kept the crowds smiling and the vibes high all evening.
- And of course, our Community Committee, who put in the hours of mahi in the lead up to the event.
Huge Thanks to Our Sponsors
We couldn’t have done it without the incredible generosity of our sponsors. Their support makes events like the Twilight Fair possible, and we encourage everyone to support these amazing local businesses wherever you can!
- Primary Sponsor: Megan Taylor – Bayleys
- Secondary Sponsors: Paramount Construction, WashWorks, The Legal Team
- Tertiary Sponsors: Orchard Financial, PB Software Consultancy, The Flooring People, New World Orewa, iCreate Building
Special Thanks to these legends who donated their time, goods, and services:
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Provider of the Junior Bouncy Castle: Happy Hearts ELC
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Our Print Partner, Pinc Printing
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Food Providers: Ripe Deli, Four Square Red Beach, Hannah’s House, Bunnings Silverdale, Pak’nSave Silverdale, Woolworths Orewa, Pete’s Packaging, Gilmours
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Silent Auction & Raffle: The Avenue Hair Studio, G. Nancy, Phoenix & The Fox, Northern Union, Edwards & Co, Joe’s Garage Silverdale, Forty Thieves, Red Beach Pharmacy, Sweet Moments Group, Underground Skate, Voices of Hope, Chiropractic for Life, Studio Pilates Silverdale, Chipmunks Whangaparāoa, BFT Whangaparaoa, Romeo, Good Hub, Hoyts, Mega Zone, Milky Lane Gelato Silverdale, Northern Arena, Burger Fuel
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Dunk the teacher machine: Shout out to Silverdale School who kindly lent this to us even though they had their own Country Fair on the next day.
Thank you all — your support helps our community shine!
SCHOOL UNIFORM: Link below for our uniform, to order visit: www.argyleonline.co.nz - find Red Beach School in the Upper North Island region schools.
For all sports enquiries, please email Julie Bluck - julie@redbeach.school.nz
COMING UP THIS TERM
Year 5/6 Inter-school Swimming Thursday 6th November
Year 5/6 Inter-school TAG: Thursday 13th November
INTER-SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY
What a day to remember at Shakespear Park for our school cross country at the end of last term! Under blue skies and surrounded by stunning scenery, our tamariki showed incredible grit and determination.
Although nerves were high at the start, each student rose to the challenge—pushing through, cheering each other on, and crossing the finish line with pride. The atmosphere was buzzing with encouragement and support, and the spirit of whanaungatanga was alive in every stride.
We are so proud of every single runner. You showed us what it means to be courageous, resilient, and to give it your all.
Special mention to Harvey White Y6, who came 3rd in his race, achieving our best individual result of the day and our Year 5 girls relay team who came 2nd!
Ka mau te wehi, tamariki mā!
Year 5-6 SWIM CARNIVAL
On Wednesday 22nd October we had our Swimming Carnival at Northern Arena. Our Year 5-6 students did an outstanding job representing RBS with enthusiasm, team spirit, and some very impressive swimming.
Students had the choice of entering competitive or non-competitive races, allowing everyone to take part in a way that suited them best. It was wonderful to see so many giving it their all in the pool, whether racing for fun or aiming for a place in the interschool swimming team.
A special congratulations to the Room 24 team who won the Year 5 relay and the Room 11 boys relay team, who powered through to take out the win in the Year 6 relay. And to cap it all off, our teachers’ team made a splash of their own by winning the final relay of the day!
INTERSCHOOL SWIMMING
Good luck to our 11 swimmers who will be competing in the HBC Primary Schools Swimming Competition at Northern Arena next Thursday: Florence Blackwell, Sienna White, Emerson Gornall, Nikau Peters, Aidan Carr, Jessica Snelgrove, Kenzie Banton, Amelie Cummings, Caden Smith, Harvey White & Connor Ashforth.
INTER-SCHOOL TAG
Good luck to our five teams who will be taking part in the HBC Inter-school TAG Tournament at the Raiders Club Grounds on Thursday 13th November.
FLIPPABALL CONGRATULATIONS
In the last three years, Red Beach flippaball teams have grown into a real force in the pool.
Our teams have consistently shown great skill, teamwork, and determination which has culminated in some fantastic results this year.
Special mention goes to the Red Beach Razor Sharks – winners of the Year 5/6 ‘A’ Grade who were undefeated again this year. A huge shoutout to coaches Marcus Banton and Jason White for your incredible time, effort, and dedication to the team.
And well done to the Red Beach Manta Rays – runners-up in the same grade, only losing to the Razor Sharks! Big thanks to Kieren for coaching the Manta Rays this season.
Great effort from the Red Beach Reef Sharks – a strong season too, finishing in the top half of the Year 3/4 league.
Congratulations to all of our players for their effort, teamwork, and commitment. And to our Year 6s – it’s truly the end of an era. We’re so proud of what you’ve achieved and the legacy you leave behind for future Red Beach flippaballers.
Many thanks also to Daveena Gornall for the time and energy she has put into the Red Beach teams over the last three years.
If you haven’t given flippaball a go yet – why not make next year your year to jump in the pool and try it out? It’s fun, fast, and a great team sport for all.
SPORTS UNIFORM
The Red Beach School unisex sports uniform is available for purchase through the school. Our RBS sports shirts are $40 and the sports shorts are $22. The sports shirt is compulsory for students involved in a Red Beach School sports team however, the sports shorts are optional. Both items are available through KINDO.
YUMMY STICKERS
Well done everyone. Our Yummy stickers have been sent off and we will soon hear how much we have to spend on new sports equipment for our school. Keep on collecting those stickers as we can use them for next year’s promotion. Sticker sheets are available from the school office and below.
