On Tuesday evening, I attended the Harrisville School Community (HSC) Gala meeting, where planning is well underway for our upcoming Pet Day & Gala. It was awesome to see such a dedicated and hard working group of parents coming together with the shared goal of creating an amazing event for our students and families.

This year’s fundraising focus is to raise as much money as possible to support our families with the costs of sending our students to our Term 1 Camps in 2026. These camps are a valuable part of the Harrisville School experience, and the HSC’s efforts will ensure that every student has the opportunity to take part.

To make the Gala a success, the HSC will need helpers from our school community. Your time, energy, and enthusiasm whether big or small will make all the difference. When the time comes, please consider putting your name down to help out. Every contribution counts! I would like to thank the HSC for their dedication and all the work already going into this event.

The Gala runs alongside our much loved School Pet Day, one of the biggest events on our calendar and a proud part of our school culture. Pet Day is not just a one day celebration. It involves weeks of preparation, with students raising animals to show and creating artwork for classroom displays.

A special thank you goes to Julia Thompson and our teachers for the enormous amount of time and effort that goes into making Pet Day possible. Julia plays a vital role in organising lambs and chickens, supporting families with her knowledge and advice, running the lamb crèche, arranging judges, preparing certificates, and even organising this year’s Group Day at Harrisville School. We are extremely fortunate to have her expertise, passion and commitment driving this important tradition for our school.

Our Pet Day and Gala is a school day  and is held on Saturday 11th October from 8:50am. All students are expected to attend. More information will be sent over the coming weeks.  If you’re thinking about entering an animal, please refer to our Pet Day Information Booklet which can be found by following this link. Animal entries close 4th September. 

At Harrisville School, we take great pride in recognising and celebrating the achievements of our students. Each assembly, we award students who exemplify our school values and demonstrate commitment to their learning and citizenship.

The Principal’s Award is a special certificate given to one student each assembly who has demonstrated excellence in our 4Rs – Respect, Responsibility, Resilience, and Relationships. This award recognises students who consistently uphold these values in their learning and interactions, setting a positive example for their peers.

In addition to the Principal’s Award, two students from every class receive recognition for their hard work and dedication:

These awards showcase the effort, determination, and character that make our students shine. We encourage all students to continue striving for excellence, embracing our 4Rs, and supporting one another in their learning journey.

Congratulations to those students who received awards at our last assembly! 

 Last Friday we held our mihi whakatau, a traditional Māori welcome, meaning “to settle.” We do this each term as a way of welcoming our new students, staff, and their families into the Harrisville School community.

It was wonderful to see so many of you join us to support this special occasion. Thank you for coming along to warmly welcome our new whānau as they begin their learning journey with us here at Harrisville.

We are very grateful with the arrival of our brand new picnic tables. They are already being well used and loved by our students!

This project was made possible thanks to the incredible efforts of our Harrisville School Community (HSC). Through last year’s Pet Day and Gala fundraising, along with the generous sponsorship from families and local businesses, we have two tables with more on the way

A huge thank you goes out to:

These tables are already creating wonderful new spaces for our students to sit, eat and connect. They are a fantastic addition to our school environment.

Ngā mihi nui to everyone who contributed to this project we are truly grateful!

Room One had another fabulous and fun time at the Sharda Centre this week. The weather was absolutely stunning for our visit. During our walk to and from the Sharda Centre we saw an enormous digger hard at work, the beautiful highland cattle, three pukeko searching for their lunch, some numbers on signs and letterboxes and a sign that said Harrisville School on it. When we arrived at the Sharda Centre we were welcomed by a gorgeous, little piwakawaka (fantail) that chirped and sang away to us, in a tree right nearby.

Our main activity was to create a piece of land art using natural resources from the land. The adults collected materials along the way, and then once we were at the Sharda Centre, the children had time to choose some more natural resources. Everyone seemed to have a blast creating their piece of land art, and I must say, all of their art work looked beautiful.

A huge thank you to all of our wonderful parent helpers - Sarah, Pip, Lucy and Arabella. A big thank you to Brooke for also coming along and helping out. Room One are all looking forward to their next Sharda Centre visit in Week 8.

This week our class made the most of the sunshine with a PE lesson all about big ball skills. The children were full of energy as they practiced bouncing and catching, throwing the ball high and catching it again, and joining in relays that used all of these skills. It was wonderful to see their teamwork, determination, and the joy on their faces as they played and learned together. Through these activities the children also showed the key competency of participating and contributing, supporting one another and celebrating each other’s successes.  

Over the last few years, our Board of Trustees work hard to ensure Harrisville School continues to provide the very best environment for our staff and students.
 
As part of this ongoing commitment, our staffroom kitchen is undergoing a full renovation over the next few weeks. During this time, staff will be making use of the hall kitchen for their breaks.
 
It is also great to be able to work with local companies and Harrisville School Families on this project - Rodgers Plumbing, Collet Electrical and Next Level Kitchens. We really appreciate their hard work and support in helping us create another modern, functional and welcoming space here at Harrisville School. I also would like to thank Aqualectrix who look after our water plant and work very hard to ensure our drinking water is always at its best for our students. 

Harrisville School is regulated by an Enrolment Zone which ensures that our classrooms do not become overcrowded. Families who reside within the designated zone are guaranteed enrolment in our school. However, we do consider enrolments from families residing outside the zone if we have vacancies available.

We are happy to inform you that we currently have a few spaces available in various year levels, allowing us to accept out of zone enrolments at any time during the year.

If we do receive more applications than we have available spaces, the selection process will then be done by a ballot. If you are interested in enrolling your child at Harrisville School and reside outside the zone, please get in touch with our school office for further information. We would be delighted to have your child join our school community.

Te Whare Kai has been proudly serving nutritious, delicious meals to students in our community for over three years and are excited to bring this opportunity to Harrisville School on Tuesdays and Fridays, offering students the chance to enjoy a freshly prepared meal from their kitchen twice a week – delivered to the school at an affordable price.

Complete the Harrisville School Lunch Order Form (below). Please ensure all required fields are filled out and submit the form to finalise your order. https://form.jotform.com/242027912255856

One Form Per Student: Please submit a separate form for each child.

Payment Reference: Include your child’s name and class as a reference when making payment.

Absence Policy: In case of absence or inability to collect the lunch, refunds cannot be provided; however, the meal will be given to a student in need.

For more information please contact Mel Simmons, Manager of Te Whare Kai, 0274 193 639 mel@tewharekai.com 

Child Protection 
Abuse Recognition and Reporting
Food and Nutrition 
Safety Checking
Police Vetting
Missing Student Procedure

Harrisville School uses SchoolDocs to maintain a comprehensive, up-to-date set of policies and procedures. These policies and procedures follow guidelines and legislation and best practice and have been tailored for our school. To access our 'SchoolDocs' simply visit www.schooldocs.co.nz, search for Harrisville School. Enter our login name (harrisville) and the password (hv1877)

We would like your input and encourage you to review these policies.

All you need to do is:

Visit the website https://harrisville.schooldocs.co.nz/1893.htm

Enter the username (harrisville) and password (hv1877).

Follow the link to the relevant policy as listed.

Read the policy.

Click the "Start Your Review" button at the top right-hand corner of the page.

Select the reviewer type.

Enter your name (optional).

Follow the prompts to show that you've read the topic and enter your feedback if you'd like to comment.

Agree to the privacy statement and click “Submit Review”.

If you don't have internet access, school office staff can provide you with printed copies of the policy and a review form.