Marsden 2026 – Starting School Information
Welcome back to school and a warm welcome to all new students and their whānau joining Marsden in 2026. Please find information regarding the start of the school year below.
For specific information pertaining to Preschool, Primary or Years 7-13, please see:
Important dates
Please take note of the important dates, including term dates, parent events, performing arts and sports registration deadlines.
You can find all events and activities at any time on the School Calendar.
Term Dates
Please see our 2026 term dates here.
Attendance on Monday 26 January 2026 is required for:
- all Year 7 students (8.30am–3.25pm)
- all students new to Marsden in Years 8–13 (1.30pm–3.25pm)
- our Head Students’ Committee (8.30am–3.25pm)
All students in Preschool, Primary, Middle School and Senior School return on Tuesday 27 January 2026.
Whole School Pōwhiri
Parents/caregivers are warmly invited to our whole school Pōwhiri followed by kai on Tuesday 27 January 2026, 8.45-9.30am in the Marsden Auditorium. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to rsvp@marsden.school.nz with your name(s).
Staff
We are very proud of our exceptional team of teaching and support staff.
For queries throughout the year, your first point of contact should be:
- Preschool: Head of Preschool, Dr Helen McConnell
- Primary: Your child's classroom teacher
- Years 7–13: Your child's Form/Tutor Teacher or Year Level Dean.
Staff email addresses are in the format: firstname.lastname@marsden.school.nz
You can find our Staff Directory here
| Senior Management Team 2026 | Deans 2026 | |
| Paula Wells - Principal
Jenny Caldwell - Deputy Principal, Head of Senior School Penny Hogg - Business Director |
Charlotte McCarthy - Year 13 Dean Milan Kostanich - Year 8 Dean |
The Hauora Team
Student wellbeing is central to life at Marsden. Alongside teachers, Deans and Heads of School, our dedicated Hauora Team supports students to live positively and flourish.
| Counsellors: |
Sarah Richards
Kaye Wilmshurst |
Confidential student support services. | |
| Nurse: |
If students become unwell during the day or require first aid treatment, our onsite nurse is available from 9.30am–2.00pm daily (term time). |
||
| Chaplain: |
Spiritual guidance and faith-based discussions. |
Parents/caregivers are welcome to contact the Hauora Team at any time.
Uniform
Marsden students wear their uniform with pride.
Please find details of uniform for Preschool, Primary, Years 7-11 and Years 12-13 here.
The Marsden School uniform is available from NZ Uniforms, 168 Thorndon Quay, Wellington, phone (04) 238 4727. NZ Uniform's business hours are:
- Monday – Friday 9am – 5.30pm
- Saturday 9am – 4pm.
The sales staff in the store have our uniform guidelines and are happy to do fittings. Uniform can also be viewed and ordered online.
There is a Facebook group, called ‘Marsden Uniform Resale’, for families to buy, sell and swap uniforms outside of the framework of the school. This is only open to Marsden parents/caregivers.
Sun smart policy and hats
- Preschool & Primary: Bucket hats must be worn outdoors in Terms 1 and 4. This includes PE lessons, outdoor activities and break times.
- Years 7–13: A Marsden cap/hat is strongly recommended for outdoor activities in Terms 1 and 4.
Hats and caps are available from NZ Uniforms.
Transport
Students from across the Greater Wellington region travel to Marsden each day. Metlink operates several Marsden-only school bus services from suburbs across the city, with all buses arriving and departing from the Vera Street entrance. These services are paid for using Snapper cards.
Our privately operated Hutt Link provides a direct connection for families travelling from Lower Hutt and Eastbourne. The service travels through Hutt Central, Petone, Thorndon and Wellington Railway Station before heading to Karori, making it an easy and reliable option for students living along this corridor. This service uses the RollCall app, which gives families live updates when students tag on and off the bus, so they know their child has arrived safely.
Please find more information, maps and timetables here. If you have any questions, please email transport@marsden.school.nz or call (04) 476 8707.
Student ID cards with snapper
Students new to Marsden in Years 7-13 will be photographed at the start of the year and issued a Snapper-enabled student ID card. Please ensure the card is registered online. Lost or faulty cards can be reported to reception (reception@marsden.school.nz or (04) 476 8707. Cards can be topped up at dairies, other Snapper providers and through the Snapper App.
Cafeteria
The Marsden Cafeteria, operated by Fine Cuisine, will be open from Tuesday 27 January 2026 and operates from 8.00am to 1.30pm during term time.
The cafeteria accepts cash or EFTPOS (please note that PayWave is not available).
Preschool and Primary families, as well as families of students in Years 7 and 8, can order lunches online via Ezlunch.
Absences
Please advise us of any absence, late arrival, or early departure by 8.25am. The simplest way to notify us is via the Marsden App or the Marsden Portal. Alternatively, you can email absences@marsden.school.nz.
Parents/caregivers 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 (ea@marsden.school.nz). Where possible, appointments should be made outside of school hours.
Staying up to date
We have a number of ways of keeping you up-to-date with what is happening at Marsden.
Marsden newsletter – We send out a weekly e-newsletter on Saturday mornings, with a message from the Principal, upcoming events, important dates, links to the Year group notices, school news, important dates, and community notices. The Marsden Newsletter is the best way to keep up-to-date with information and events at school. The Marsden newsletter is sent via email and available in the Marsden App. If you don't receive the weekly newsletter, please check your spam or promotions folders, or email info@marsden.school.nz.
If your contact details change, please update us by calling (04) 476 8707 or emailing reception@marsden.school.nz You can also update your details using the Quicklink (Update Personal Information) in the Marsden Portal.
Quicklinks on this website – This is where parents/caregivers and students will find housekeeping information about the school. Please scroll through the menu to familiarise yourself with the school information available to help with life at Marsden e.g. the school calendar, uniform details, after school care, stationery/digital device details etc. Most of this information is also available in the handbooks for Preschool, Primary and Years 7-13.
Marsden Portal – This (login) portal gives you access to your child’s timetable, subject list, attendance records 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 email in the first week of starting. You can access the Marsden Portal from the blue menu bar across the top of this website (desktop) or via the hamburger menu (3 lines) on the mobile site.
School calendar – Term dates, a link to the school calendar and the Year 7-13 timetable can be found here.
Marsden App – We use the Marsden App to send emergency alerts. It is also the simplest way for you to notify the school of an absence. You can access most of the features of the Marsden Portal, along with school details and the weekly newsletter, via the Marsden App. Search for ‘Marsden’ in the App Store or Google Play and allow notifications. By using the Login button, sign into the Marsden Portal to give you full functionality.
News and social media – We share and celebrate school happenings and achievements on:
We'd love to hear from you
It is really important to us to recognise and celebrate the success of our students, so we'd love to hear of students’ achievements in school and external sporting and performing arts activities Please send an email to news@marsden.school.nz with details.
If you send images, please email them in the highest resolution (largest size) option - we then have the option to publish the photos in our annual Word from Marsden magazine, our annual yearbook Te Kura, or use it in other print media in addition to sharing on our website and social media.
Civil Defence and Emergency
In an emergency, students will be cared for 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 live 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 this annual opportunity to update the information held by the school and advise us of any changes during the year so that it is accurate in case of a civil defence emergency.
Emergency Procedure and Communication
In case of an emergency we will endeavour to contact parents/caregivers via email and provide updates on our website. See our Emergency Page for information and other ways we may communicate in an emergency.
Emergency Food Supplies
The school makes provision for emergency situations but relies on parental assistance to help maintain adequate food supplies. Emergency food is required to support the entire school community for a minimum of three days.
At the beginning of each school year, families are asked to contribute two boxes of tissues and at least two food items to the school’s emergency supplies. Each year group is asked to bring something different to ensure there is a variety of food available. For a list of the 2026 Emergency Food Supplies, please click here.
We ask that items be delivered to the school by Friday 13 February 2026. If food/tissues are not received by this date, a small charge will be applied to your account to cover the school’s purchase of the required items.