Kelburn Normal School
Ngā Tātarakihi o Ahumairangi
Our School
Kelburn Normal School is a vibrant, creative and highly regarded primary school, situated in an attractive suburb right on the fringe of Wellington’s cultural and business centre.
Kelburn Normal School is a full primary, with a roll of just under 300 children aged from 5 to 13 years. We have four teams: Tupu, Whanake, Whānui and Māia with three home learning teams each.
Our students are consistently above average in academic achievement compared to students of similar schools in New Zealand. We are continuously identifying ways of further improving teaching programmes to meet the individual needs of students. Evidence shows that when our children go to secondary school they are well prepared to succeed. See Our Kaupapa for more information on our approach to learning.
Everyday School Information
On this page you will find some useful information for parents, caregivers and students of Kelburn Normal school. For syndicate or classroom specific information, please see the Team pages.
A typical day at Kelburn Normal School
Drop off and Pickup
Please note the following for where it is appropriate to park around our school. Read me.
8:30 am
The bell rings, when school is open for students to enter the main building from the Link or via the outside stairs. (All children have to supervised by their parent or caregiver until that time. Staff are often in meetings prior to 8:30 am.)
8:50 am
The bell signals the start of school. Students arriving after 8:50am, MUST sign in at the office.
11:00 am
Morning Tea.
11:10 am
Break / Play time.
11:40 am
Students return to their team's area for learning time.
1:00 pm
Eating lunch. Lunch options
1:10 pm
Break / Play time.
1:40 pm
Students return to their team's area for learning time.
2:50 pm
Pack up/road patrol – pack up time, notices, reflection, reminders – Road patrollers make their way to the office for their duty.
3:00 pm
End of school – students should leave the school grounds by 3:15pm unless they are supervised by their parent or caregiver or are officially attending After School Care.
Ensembles and School Clubs Timetable
Tuesday
Orchestra
8.25 - 9.30am
Mahler Room
Code Club
1:10 - 1:40pm
Te Whare Toi
Kapa Haka Juniors
1:40 - 2:15pm
Hall or Karaka
Year 1s to 4s
Wednesday
Piccolo
8.30 - 9.30am
Mahler Room
Year 4s, 5s, 6s
Tui Choir
8.50am
Karaka
Year 2s and 3s
Chess Club
1:10 - 1:40pm
Māia area
Eco Club TBC
1:10 - 1:40pm
Whānui
Thursday
Friday
Little Xylofun
8.30 - 9.10am
Mahler Room
Year 2s and 3s
Senior Kapa Haka
8.30 - 9.30am
Hall
Year 5s - 8s
Our Extra-Curricular Activities
For more details on our performing arts groups please click here.
For sports activities at KNS please click here.
For other opportunities for our students to take an active part in our school community click here.
Late Arrival to School
If students arrive to class after 8.50am, they (or their parents) MUST sign in at the office. This is a ministry requirement so attendances can be confirmed, and is important for the safety of students.
School Absences
If a student is going to be absent from school please check out details on our contact us page and follow the instructions.
For extended periods of leave, please email a letter of explanation to admin@kelburnnormal.school.nz and copy your child’s teacher and/or the principal in.
School App
Our school app etap @school mobile can be downloaded:
or access via a browser:
Etap @school caregiver login
Once you received your login details (check the spam folder if necessary) follow these instructions to login and reset your password:
School Newsletter - Bird's Eye View
Our Newsletters are accessible via our @school app (see above), on our Home page and News page. Team Newsletters are published each term and can be accessed via the app, Home page or Team pages (Tupu, Whanake, Whānui, Māia).
School Assemblies
About every second week there is a school wide assembly which parents are welcome to attend. This takes place in the school hall on a Friday between 10:15am – 11.00 am. Each assembly is hosted by a different team and is advertised in the school newsletter and on our Facebook page.
Term Dates
(also published on our footer)
Term 4 2024
Monday 14 October - Wednesday 18 December
Teacher Only Day: Tuesday 29 October
Public Holiday:
Monday 28 October - Labour Day
Term Dates 2025
Term 1 2025
Monday 3 February - Friday 11 April
Teacher Only Day: Friday 21 March
Public Holidays:
Thursday 6 February - Waitangi Day
Term 2 2025
Monday 28 April- Friday 27 June
Public Holiday:
Monday 2 June - King's Birthday
Friday 20 June - Matariki
Term 3 2024
Monday 14 July - Friday 19 September
Teacher Only Day: Friday 29 August
Term 4 2024
Monday 6 October - Thursday 18 December
Teacher Only Day: Tuesday 28 October
Public Holiday:
Monday 27 October - Labour Day
After School and School Holiday Care
For parents requiring after school care for their children Kelly Club provides an after school care programme out of the school hall. For more information go to After School Care and Holiday Programme page.
KNS Clothing
Kelburn Normal School branded clothing is available – you can order this at the office. Up-to-date product and price lists are available from the office. We try to keep the sports t-shirts in stock at all times as these are required when students play sport in competitions away from school. The polo shirt is also readily available.
Road Patrol Support
The pedestrian crossings near the school are patrolled from 8:25am – 8:50am and 3:00pm – 3:20pm. This is run by parent volunteers to decrease the cost of paying staff to supervise the students who man the road patrol. Without the volunteers this service is a costly exercise for the school. If you can go on the roster during the year, please contact the PTA.
Our Year 6-8 students provide road patrol service – training is usually given at the end of each year for the following year and it operates on a roster basis.
Contacting Teachers & Staff
During school time (8:50am – 3:00pm) staff members will be focused on teaching and learning and will not be responding to emails or telephone calls. If you have an urgent message, or a message about end-of-day pick-ups, please contact the office to deliver this message. If it is not urgent, send an email. Please be aware teachers attend meetings after 3pm and often do not get the opportunity to check emails until after 5pm or early in the morning. Further details click here.
School Donations
Each year the Board of Trustees needs to determine how much funding is needed to operate the school, and sets a budget accordingly. Funding is made up of a combination of government funding, international student fees, parent donations and fundraising. Annual parent donations are required to help the school to provide additional resources and meet any shortfall in the operational grant. For further information about parent donations, please refer to BOT documents.