Monday 15th December, 2025

Kia ora koutou

It’s been such a fabulous last few weeks at school. Routines have carried on in the classrooms, until they did some fun Christmas activities today, and there has been a lot of swimming! Thanks to all the parents who were able to come to Beach Education last week. It was a fun day of learning, and swimming.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas, and hope you have some lovely family time in the holidays. We are looking forward to some time away with our families, and then coming back fresh in the new year.

It really is a privilege for me to be able to work at Omihi. Working alongside such wonderful staff, and teaching your wonderful children, plus having a supportive community around us. We truly feel like one big whānau.

Ngā mihi
Maree Lucas
Tumuaki/Principal
principal@omihi.school.nz

School Notices

Canterbury Honda Omihi School Trail ride
We are excited to have Canterbury Honda on board again for 2026. We have locked our trail ride in for Sunday 8th November, 2026.

Prize giving
Tomorrow is our final day of school for the year. We have our prize giving at 9.30am, and we welcome all of our community along to this. We will farewell our students at the end of prize giving, and it is your choice to either take them home straight away, or some families have a play at school before they go. If it’s a nice day and you have a pool key (or join with a family that does), you might like to stay for a swim.

Omihi bus 2026
The bus run for Term 1 will be south, north, then Reeces Rd. As the north and south bus run is so large, we will continue for them to be the first bus run in the morning and afternoon.

Hurunui Council summer pool parties
The Hurunui Council are running their summer pool parties again this year. They are running it at our Omihi School pool on Thursday 22nd January from 10.30am - 12.30pm. It’s free, and they have a sausage sizzle as well. We hope to see you there!

Stationery lists
Stationery lists for 2026 are available on the Office Max MySchool website. Please order these so they arrive in time for the start of the year.

Bikes at school
We start school on Monday 2nd February. Children are allowed to bring their bikes and helmets to school in week 1 as we will be training for the triathlon. This is on Thursday 5th February at 1.30pm, at our school. We welcome parents to come and watch. The leaders from each race in Year 5-8 will go on to the Kowai triathlon on Thursday 12th February in Amberley.

St John sessions
St John will be running first aid sessions with each class on the morning of Thursday 5th February.

Evans’ farm walk
On Tuesday 10th February, we will be doing a walk on the Evans’ farm, as part of our ‘Belonging to our community’ inquiry. Please let Maree know if you are able to help with transport and be a parent helper on the trip.

School uniform
We have received a small amount of size 8-10 navy skirts to sell. These are $10 each. Please contact Bryleigh in the office if you would like any. Bryleigh will be back in the office on 26th January if you need any uniform in the new year.

School lunch orders in 2026
From Term 1, Lunch Online is being taken over by Ezlunch. Ezlunch is part of the Kindo platform and is trusted by schools and families across New Zealand. Ezlunch continues to work with the same providers, so we will continue to have Subway or sushi available on alternating Wednesdays. Families who currently have Lunch Online accounts will receive an email from Ezlunch in January with new login details.

Food Truck Friday
We are collaborating with Farmstrong to bring you Food Truck Friday 2026. We welcome the whole wider community on Friday 6th March. There will be a variety of food trucks, and Kelly Fletcher will be playing live music for us. Bring along your picnic rugs, and enjoy a local night out.

Community Notices

Foodbank Christmas hours
As we head into the festive season, we know Christmas can be a challenging time for many whānau, with extra costs and pressures adding up. Our local foodbanks are here to help wherever possible.

InspirePantry Foodbank will be closed from Friday 19 December 2025, reopening Tuesday 20 January 2026. The other Hurunui foodbanks will remain open over the Christmas and New Year period. With InspirePantry closed, please note that Living Waters (Waikari) and Amberley Area Foodbank may be busier than usual. If you need support, please get in touch with the foodbanks as soon as possible.