 Newsletter No 05 6 March 2019 |
Kia Ora, Hello Everyone,  GALA DAY TOMORROW Gala Day has finally arrived and we do rely on you getting in behind it. This is one night when we come together as a community and also a night when we raise money for the school. Please tell everyone you can think of about our Gala Day. Our PTA has put in many hours, voluntarily, to make our Gala a success. Please come along and have a great night out. The Gala will go ahead rain, hail or shine; hopefully it will be the shine! Today our children participated in the Ash Wednesday Liturgy. Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent. Lent is a season of reflection and preparation before the celebrations of Easter. By observing the 40 days of Lent, Christians replicate Jesus Christ's sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert for 40 days. Why do we get ashes on your forehead? Ash Wednesday is a Christian Holy Day of prayer, fasting and repentance. ... Ash Wednesday derives its name from the placing of repentance ashes on the foreheads of participants to either the words "Repent, and believe in the Gospel" or the dictum "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." So that is a little info on Lent and you will probably see the Ashes on your child’s head when you pick them up after school today. 'During this season of Lent, students are encouraged to think about those less fortunate than themselves and to take action. Please support your children in this endeavour at school since it is a hallmark of a Christian that we give to those in need without counting the cost to ourselves. Lent is the most sacred time of the year for Catholics as it culminates in our central belief that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again with the promise of eternal life for those who follow Christ. The forty days of Lent are characterised by prayer, fasting and almsgiving’. (From JPC newsletter) Last Thursday we had our Schools’ Commissioning Mass. The Mass was specifically for blessing the staff, students and parents in all our schools. It was great to see a good number of our children and parents there. Thank you parents and children for supporting this. Our Year 5 and 6 students have been involved with water survival skills with Henk Gruepink from the Orange Swim School. Each class will receive ten lessons. The senior school will also get the opportunity to be involved over the next few weeks. The school swimming sports are now March 29th. Our Year 3 to 6 children are involved in this. Hopefully the weather will stay warm and it will be a sunny day. Next week our senior classes start on their camps. The camps are based at the Horo Horo Marae. The children will be introduced to Maori stories, games and art and crafts. Along with these, children will be involved in fun relays, initiative and problem solving games and playing the infamous ‘Survivor’ game. See you all the at the Gala Day tomorrow night with your families and friends. Request for parent help Anyone available to help on Gala night please ring Renee 021902530  MEDICAL UPDATE: 1.Hand, foot and mouth disease is a common viral illness in children 2.Symptoms include fever, blisters, loss of appetite, a sore throat and mouth and a general feeling of weakness or tiredness 3.Keep your child at home if they are unwell or have blisters. 4.Frequent hand washing helps decrease the chance of spreading the infection 5.It is most common in children under 10, and particularly in pre-school children and appears most often in warm weather – usually in the summer or early autumn. 6.The disease is usually mild and lasts about 3–7 days. Call Healthline 0800 611 116 if you are unsure what you should do. Here is an Information sheet re hand, foot and mouth. ShowquestFirst practice for everyone will be Wednesday 13th March @ 7:30am in the school hall. A notice will be sent home to all children involved this week. FROM OUR DIRECTOR OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES A thank you to the students and staff who were able to attend our commissioning Mass last Thursday. It was lovely to see our fellow schools there too. Today students received their ashes as it is Ash Wednesday. This is the first day of Lent, an important time in the liturgical year. Students have made Lenten promises in class and will try to follow through on these over the next 40 days. On Shrove Tuesday, some classes made pancakes. A great way to use up all the fats and sugars in the cupboards. Great collaboration skills needed also!  Ash Wednesday: Why ashes?  Lent in 3 minutes-video Blessings, Bernie Hall, Director of Religious Studies. CATHOLICS RETURNING HOME: You are invited to attend a refresher course for Catholics wanting to return to the practice of their Catholic faith. This will run weekly at 7.00 pm on Tuesday nights commencing 5th March 2019 for four weeks until 26th March at St. Mary's, corner of Seddon and Ranolf Street. For further enquiries, please email Fr. Eamon Kennedy at freamonkennedy@gmail.com SCHOOL LUNCHES : PITA PIT : Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays FRIDAYS: Sausage Sizzle and Juicies available. $1.50 each item. Order from your classroom teacher. GENERAL SCHOOL FEES: Invoices for fees will be sent out over the next 2 weeks. If you have a credit from 2018, this will be applied to this year's fees - so please note the amount stated on the invoices. If paying by internet banking please state YOUR CHILD'S NAME in the reference and FEES so we can apply to the correct child. If there are any queries, please do not hesitate to contact Margo Mason admin@stmarysrotorua.school.nz Online Uniform Sales: Uniforms are available online via our website using paypal. Change of Address/Contact Phone numbers: To advise School absences Leave a message on the answerphone FIREWOOD FUNDRAISER:  GYMNASTICS has started again for the year. Tuesday, lunchtimes in the school hall. Sports NewsSt Mary's App - Download Now Parents, if you don't have the School App please make sure you download this so you do not miss out on sports updates. For all info regarding Sports you can look under the sports tab on our school website or click here TOUCH - FLIPPABALL - CRICKET Click here to view the summer sport WEEKLY DRAWS IMPROVE YOUR SWIMMING WITH SWIM ROTORUA Marist St Michaels Junior Rugby 2019 Registrations Marist St Michaels Junior Rugby- 2019 Registration CRANKWORX The Crankworx Rotorua team wish to advise that the first leg of the Crankworx World Tour is returning to Rotorua in March 2019. This year, as part of the biking festival, there are all new opportunities for local Children aged 14 and under (as at 31st December 2019) to get involved. For those wishing to experience events first hand , the Kidsworx team have created two new children's race formats: “Challenge” events: designed with a focus on participation and fun. Children can only choose to participate in the “Challenge” events or “Race” events, not both. This ensures that those that entrants in the participation events will not be pressured or intimidated by the more competitive focused “Racers”. All Kidsworx events are outside school hours. In addition to the riding events, there are many more opportunities for children to get amongst the action through interactive games and play in the Kidsworx Arena or free-to-access spectator events throughout the week. Click here to view the full flyer on our school website   Holiday ProgrammesTo view School Holiday Programmes please see our school website - Sports Tab or click here SPECIAL MENTIONCONGRATULATIONS to Chloe Dixon who came 1st in the Yr 3/4 short course RATS Duathlon.   Olivia and Conner did the XRace in Napier with their parents. They did very well winning a medal each, well done kids!!  TERM DATES FOR 2019 Teacher Only Days 2019 Public Holidays 2019 Waitangi Day 6 February Talent Wanted – Rainbow Springs Nature Park  We are excited to announce that we are launching Taonga: Treasures of New Zealand, an informative and entertaining insight into precious treasures which have connected Māori to the land and natural world for hundreds of years. Where our guides share the rich history behind a range of treasures including traditional Māori cloaks, weapons, tools, traps and greenstone. We need your help to be talent for two hours to assist with our promotional photos, and in return you can spend the rest of the day wandering around our beautiful nature park and getting up close with our precious wildlife. Details: When: 17 March at 1pm Where: Rainbow Springs Nature Park Duration: 2 hours If you’re interested please email emma.mulder@nttourism.co.nz so we can add you to the talent list. |
