PAPAMOA PRIMARY SOCK HEIGHT RULING SPARKS PTA CIVIL WAR — TWO MUMS NO LONGER SPEAKING AT PILATES

A Papamoa Primary uniform memo specifying that socks must sit "no lower than four fingers below the knee" has triggered what one mother called "the worst PTA blow-up since the gluten-free sausage sizzle of 2022."

Deputy principal Lorraine Whitcombe sent the notice home on Tuesday. By Wednesday three families had pulled out of the bake sale roster. Someone left an anonymous letter in the office mailbox written entirely in capitals.

Parent Kirsty Boland, whose daughter wears what she called "a perfectly reasonable trainer sock," said the policy was bloody ridiculous. "It's twenty-six degrees in Papamoa. I'm not putting my eight-year-old in knee-highs so Lorraine can feel like it's 1987. Honestly!"

Another mum, who asked to be identified only as "someone who used to be friends with Kirsty," said the ankle-sock crowd were "undermining standards." She'd had a flat white with Lorraine on Thursday. Barista Manu, she added, "always remembers her order."

The board issued a statement noting the policy was "long-standing and clearly communicated." A follow-up clarified the four-finger measurement should use "an adult hand, not the child's." They have not specified whose hand.

As of Friday pickup, two mothers have stopped attending Reformer Pilates together. Sock Chat has been renamed "Sock Chat (Respectful Discussion Only)." Three people have already left.