- Community Engagement

- Sustainable Operations.

Please see the school calendar, at the bottom of the home page of our parent website MyMarsden, for school event and activity dates throughout the year. 

Please find the 2021 Term Dates here. 

The Preschool day begins at 8.15am and we encourage you all to arrive before 9am. Children are to be collected by 3.30pm.   

You will be given the timetable for the term, including specialist lessons, excursions, and any important dates.  

Please remember Term 1 is a ‘sun-smart’ term. Sunhats are compulsory for outdoor play, these can be purchased from NZ Uniforms.  

Please refer to the Preschool Handbook (flipbook version) or PDF for further information. If you have any questions, please contact me at helen.mcconnell@marsden.school.nz    

The Preschool teachers and I look forward to welcoming you all in the new year and working alongside you in 2021. 

Helen McConnell 

 
The school day for Year 1-6 students begins at 8.45am and finishes at 3.15pm.  

You can find a copy of the latest Primary Handbook here. 

The staff and I look forward to welcoming your daughter to school and working alongside you this year.

Ngā mihi 

You are invited to attend the following event: 

Marsden International Students’  Welcome Event   

Wednesday 17 February

5.30pm - 7pm 

Marsden Cultural Centre.

This event is to welcome our Marsden international sisters and to allow all Homestay families to meet each other. All Marsden International Students and their host families are invited. Please indicate your acceptance of this invitation, with the number of people attending and any dietary requirements, by emailing rsvp@marsden.school.nz by Wednesday 10 February.

If you have any questions please contact me by emailing caroline.robertson@marsden.school.nz 

Mrs Caroline Robertson

Your daughter will have a student buddy for her first few weeks at Marsden and we encourage her to ask questions. A good idea is for her to go through the school calendar for the upcoming week with her buddy, so her buddy can explain the events coming up. All staff and students are here to help her settle in. Things may be different at Marsden than at her previous school. Please assure her that she is not expected to know everything, she can observe and participate as best as she can to start with. For example, we don't expect her to know all the songs and actions straight away!

We have a second-hand uniform Facebook group, ‘Marsden Uniform Resale’, where good quality pre-loved uniform is offered for sale to Marsden parents and caregivers. This is only open to Marsden parents and caregivers and you need a Facebook login to access it.

Students from Year 7 upwards are required to bring their own digital devices for learning.  We recommend a laptop for Years 7-13. If Year 7 to 9 students currently have a tablet or Chromebook they can continue to use these across their subjects. The iCentre has a range of devices that can be issued on a day to day basis. New students, please bring your device to school when you start so that we can organise logins for you. 

Primary students are not required to bring stationery except for a pencil case. In Years 3-6 students are welcome to bring a device such as an iPad, or laptop to use in class.  Please discuss with your daughter's teacher if you need further advice. 

We have a number of ways of keeping you up to date with what is happening at Marsden.   

MyMarsden – This is the online website for parents/caregivers, students, and Old Girls (see image of the MyMarsden home page above). Please scroll through the menus to familiarise yourself with the school information available (iSITE has much useful information, also the 'Schools' pages). MyMarsden is where you will find the weekly message from the Principal, and all the day to day bits of information to help with life at Marsden e.g. notices, the school calendar, school news, uniform details, stationery/digital device details, the link for the MyMarsden Portal, a link to the Marsden Sport website, exam information, career information, staff email addresses and Old Girls information. MyMarsden can be accessed from the top right hand corner of our website.  The direct link to MyMarsden is here.

MyMarsden Portal – This portal gives you access to your child’s timetable, subject list, and reports. Your accounts – invoices and receipts are also available here. Each parent/caregiver who has indicated to the school that they wish to receive student/school information, will have their own login. New families to the school will receive login details via an email when they have enrolled. You can access the portal from the MyMarsden home page (green button with spider web on it).

Police vetting    

In an emergency the school will look after all students until they can be collected by an authorised individual. Please note that in a civil defence situation, only caregivers or those people specifically named as emergency contacts can collect a student from school. This applies to all students from Preschool to Year 13. It would be particularly helpful if one of your emergency contacts is someone who lives locally. 

Each year you are asked to check and confirm your contact details, the emergency contacts you have provided, and relevant medical details relating to students. Please take the opportunity to update this information with the school so that it is accurate in case of a civil defence emergency.

Safety around cars    

The safety of our students and staff is paramount.

Please do not drive onto the school grounds when delivering or collecting children. Students must be dropped outside the school grounds at all times unless exceptional arrangements have been made in advance and agreed with the Principal or Director of Primary. Our road ways are used throughout the day by pedestrians, including our younger students, so if you are driving onto the school grounds for any other purpose please use the Marsden Ave entrance only and adhere to the speed limit (walking speed only).   

To maintain safe walking routes for students at the beginning and end of the school day: 

- the Vera Street entrance is closed between 3pm–4pm

- the Donald Street entrance is closed between 8am–4pm

- the Marsden Ave entrance is closed between 7.45am-9am and 2.45pm-4pm. 

Please also respect our neighbours and their rights to quiet enjoyment of their properties. Turning in, or driving onto, their driveways or garden areas should be avoided. Many roads adjacent to the school feature broken yellow lines - which means stopping or parking is illegal – doing so causes obstruction or danger to other road users, whether these are drivers, cyclists, pedestrians or buses. Please observe all such traffic signs at all times.

If you have any specific queries throughout the year please contact your daughter's teacher (class teacher in Primary or Form/Tutor Teacher in the Upper School), or your year group Dean. 

Senior Management team

Narelle Umbers  Principal

Margaret Adeane  Academic Director

Anne Field  Director - Pastoral Care

Jennifer Ioannou   Director of Marsden Primary

Hilary Fiennes  Chief Operating Officer

Senior Leaders

Caroline Robertson  Director of International Students

Adair Grant    Director of Student Achievement

Martine Foster         Community Development Director

Rebecca George        Associate Dean with responsibility for Yr7

Jane Hazelton     Associate Dean with responsibility for Yr8

Aylana Wright    Associate Dean with responsibility for Yr9

Anita Stark    Associate Dean with responsibility for Yr10

Anne Field      Dean Years 7-13

Carolyn Towell     Associate Dean with responsibility for Yr11

Tracey Allen     Associate Dean with responsibility for Yr12

Helen McConnell   Head of Preschool 

Inge Doig                 Marketing and Communications Manager

Staff email addresses are in the format: firstname.lastname@marsden.school.nz

You can find our Staff Directory here.

The Marsden Health team is committed to helping students live their lives positively and in all its fullness. We are available for students to catch up with as follows:   

Sophie Bank is our NZAC registered Counsellor and Dr Kerry Schiff is our Clinical Psychologist. Sometimes life feels overwhelming; being a teenager is complicated. If your daughter is feeling anxious, lacking in self-confidence or struggling in a friendship, talking to someone often helps. Sophie and Kerry are experienced at listening and helping to understand emotions. For more information your daughter is invited to confidentially contact Sophie at sophie.bank@marsden.school.nz and Kerry at kerry.schiff@marsden.school.nz    

Our registered nurse Janet Callaghan runs a drop in clinic, for students, from 9.30am – 3pm each day. No appointment is necessary. For more information contact Janet at janet.callaghan@marsden.school.nz or call 476 8792 Ext 819.

Chaplain Sarah King is one of the people at school that you can talk to about big questions like - How do I know God is real? Who is Jesus? How do I pray? Wrestling with doubt and faith is all part of life’s spiritual journey. Sarah is always willing to listen and help explore these big, or smaller, questions. For more information contact Sarah at sarah.king@marsden.school.nz   

Parents/caregivers are also welcome to touch base with us at any time.  

Our Composer-in-Residence programme gives music students the very real opportunity to experience a composer at work. During their residency, the composer takes workshops with the girls and composes a unique piece of music for Marsden.  

We encourage our girls to join in the School Production. Performing as a team in front of an audience builds confidence and great camaraderie. For those not seeking the limelight we offer technical workshops alongside the school production.  

There are opportunities to perform in the Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival, to debate, dance, join Kapa Haka or take Speech and Drama lessons from our specialist tutors.

At Marsden, we believe that sport teaches students about sportsmanship, teamwork, courage and healthy physical activity. We want Marsden girls to be gracious winners and good losers. We’d like all girls to take up a sport in 2021 and we have fantastic programmes to develop their sports skills. 

Marsden Sports website

The Marsden sports website is the best please to find all information about sport at Marsden. This site is dedicated to Marsden sport draws, registration information, news, results, details of the Swifts Talent Centre, our Physiotherapy Clinic and more. Please refer to it throughout the year: www.marsdensport.school.nz/

Sports registrations

For students (Years 3-8) starting throughout the year, sport registrations can be made by contacting Sports Coordinator Kathrynn Petrie on 476 8707 or kathrynn.petrie@marsden.school.nz

If you are starting school during the year in Year 7-13 and would like to join a non-trialed sports team please contact Director of Sports Eliott Brookes eliott.brookes@marsden.school.nz

Years 7–13 Athletic Sports, Newtown Park, Monday 22 February 2021 (Week 4)

Our first Years 7-13 sports event of the year is Athletics, which will be held at Newtown Park on Monday 22 February. This is a fun day filled with lots of school spirit. It is a House competition that allows everyone to compete both on the track and in a range of field events. Students are to wear their House t-shirts and PE shorts or track suits. Sports shoes are a must. Students make their own way to Newtown Park for an 8.25am roll call and will be dismissed from the park at approximately 2.45pm. There is a bus available to take students back to Karori and regular school buses leave Marsden at 3.30pm. You will receive an email to reserve a seat on the returning bus. The day’s activities include the March Past, a sausage sizzle and the highlight is form class and House relays to complete the day. A programme will be included in the weekly Marsden Newsletter and will be emailed to you and will be available on the School App. Parents are encouraged to come along and support their daughters on this exciting and action packed day.

You can find copies of our Year Programmes and Curriclum Overview for 2021 here. And subject selection forms can be printed from this page.

Please find information about buses/transport to Marsden here.

Please email absences@marsden.school.nz or call 476 8707.

You can also communicate your child's absence via the School App. Messages may be left 24 hours a day. Parents are asked not to request leave or time out of school for students during the term unless absolutely necessary. If an absence is required the request should be made well in advance, in writing, to the Principal. Dental and medical appointments and driving lessons should be made outside of school hours. 

Note: Users must remember to tag on entering the bus AND tag off when leaving the bus to avoid penalty charges.

Baber - green

Hadfield Beere - purple

Jellicoe - yellow

Johnson - orange

Richmond - blue

Swainson Riddiford - red

In Primary (Years 1-6) the Houses are:

Fitzherbert - yellow

Innes - blue

Sprott - red