 Newsletter No 20 21 July 2020 |
Dear Parents/Whanau Welcome back to Term 3. We have an action packed term planned with great learning experiences for our students. Our concept for this term is Exploration and the key understanding is ‘going into the unknown’. Classes will study the concept in different learning contexts. This term brings some staff changes: Susan Nelson in Room 2 has been appointed to the Learning Support Coordinator Role covering Abby Sorrenson’s maternity leave. Liz Macaskill has been appointed to take over Room 2. Liz has had management and teaching roles in different schools and has an excellent reputation as being a great teacher. Liz starts with us next week. Kate Keaney heads off to St Michael’s at the start of week 4 and Tai Waititi will be teaching in Room 14 when she leaves. Tai taught at St Mary’s a few years ago before she was appointed to be a team leader at Otonga School. Tai is looking forward to “returning home” to St Mary’s. We are very much looking forward to having her back on our staff. And lastly, Jane Trask has been appointed as a classroom teacher in Kakano 8. Jane has had many years experience in secondary schools and over the last couple of terms has been relieving in the Kakano area. Jane does a great job when she relieves in our school and she certainly has a reputation for being a very hard worker. Jane will commence on 10 August when Kakano 8 starts up. I am sure that you will make all our new staff members feel very welcome. This Thursday we have our Matariki Whānau Evening starting at 5.30pm in our hall. You are all invited to come along and enjoy the evening. Families are invited to come dressed in their national costumes, if they wish. Please bring food for a shared meal. It is helpful if you could also bring a serving spoon. Our Holiday Reading Programme has been running over the holidays. Logs need to be brought back to school by Thursday. We have lots of cool prizes for the lucky draw. All those children who participate are eligible to go in the draw for a prize. Three Way Student/Parent/Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Tuesday 28th July from 3.10 to 5.50pm and Wednesday 29th July 3.10 - 5.35 pm. You need to go to www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and enter the event code bnp5z. The time allowed for each conference is 10 minutes. Please be considerate of the teacher (who needs to keep to the appointment schedule) and other parents who have made bookings. If you feel you need more time for discussion, please organise another time to meet with the teacher. The purpose of the conference is so that the parents/student/teacher can co-construct a literacy goal, maths goal and a values/key competency goal. Have a great week. A mixed bag of weather but the good news is we are over the winter hump and now we are heading towards Spring. A great thought. David Macmillan.  SCHOOL LUNCHES : PITA PIT : Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays FRIDAYS: Sausage Sizzle and Juicies available. $1.50 each item. Order from your classroom teacher. FROM OUR DIRECTOR OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES: Kia tau te rangimārie kia koutou – Peace be with you. This week classes are beginning their learning about Jesus, He is the Son of God and wants us to turn to Him for guidance and peace. On Thursday we have our Matariki Liturgy in the hall at 10:00am, all welcome. The entries for the RE Art competition were fantastic! The variation, creativity, and patience that went into the art was marvellous - and to the children that took the time to participate - thank you so much! We have many of these beautiful art works on display in our school library. BERNIE HALL INFORMATION FOR YEAR 6 JPC ENROLMENTS FOR 2021:
Kapa Haka Registration: PTA NEWS: Advertising: The PTA AGM meeting will be held on the 29th of July at 7pm in the school staffroom. Everyone is welcome, drinks and nibbles provided 'Caring Community' if you, or anybody you know, are struggling or experiencing a tough time, the caring community is available to prepare meals for families in need. This can include but not limited to, bereavement in the family, financial hardship, health struggles. We know times are tough and want to support our school whanau. This is also a confidential service and information is not shared. SPORTS NEWS HOCKEY NETBALL SPORTS DRAWS: SPORTS FEES: Fees are to be paid via the school office or online to the school’s bank account ANZ 06 0209 0229658 00 please ensure you use your child’s name as reference and sport being played as the IMPORTANT: Whaea Leanne - School Sports Coordinator Junior Tough Guy and Gal Challenge Monday 24th August 2019 (8:30am–12.30pm) St Mary’s School will be entering a team for the Junior Tough Guy and Gal Challenge. This is a chance for our kids to get involved in New Zealand’s biggest mud run series in a version tailored especially for them! The Junior Tough Guy and Gal Challenge will include many of the same amazing perks as the adult version, such as outstanding goodie bags, challenging obstacles, incredible venue, hot showers and spot prizes. Cost: $25 per child REGISTRATIONS to be completed by 3.15pm Friday July 31st. The event has a limited number of entries,once the event is sold out there can be no additional entries, so please register ASAP to avoid disappointment. There are 2 Course Options Location To make this a successful & enjoyable event for everyone we will require parent help with transport and supervision. Entering your child yourself SPECIAL MENTION: WATER POLO.... Former students Max Woolford, Imogen Blundell and Maiah Ngawhika also participated in the tournament as players - they were part of the Grade B winning Rotorua Rebels team which was a crowd pleasing result. Former students Alex Cameron and Jasmine Hagan were also involved as coaches. Amazing achievements from our current and past St Mary's students. Well done everyone, we are so proud of you all.   SWIM ROTORUA CLUB CHAMPS.....info to come    GET READY FOR SUMMER AND SWIM WITH SWIM ROTORUA PARKS AND RESERVES : We acknowledge that the past couple of months has been a stressful time for many households in Rotorua, but it has also provided a unique opportunity for people to spend more time in their own neighbourhoods. COVID-19 Alert Levels meant people were using spaces closer to home for recreation more than ever. Our Local Council is running a survey to help Council better understand what our community values about local parks and reserves.  As we reflect back on that time, we want our community to share with us what they noticed about their local parks and reserves. Did you use them for exercise and leisure? Do you use them more now? What did you miss about having a local playground available? Understanding how our community uses local parks and reserves, and what value people place on them, enables Council to effectively plan for future projects and work programmes. We want to hear from you! Please take a few minutes to complete the survey and tell us what you value most about your local park or reserve. We want to hear from young people too! Get your tamariki to create a picture of the park or reserve that they like to use, and what they like most about it and send it in to Council for a chance to win a family pass for the Redwoods Treewalk and Family Aquatic Centre passes. Click here to find out more about the competition, prizes and how to enter.   Bike the Night ....  Bakers Delight:  |
