Newsletter Week 6 Term 1 2023
St Joseph's Catholic School Morrinsville - March 7th
Principal's Message
Tēnā koutou e te whanau (greetings everyone) and welcome to Week 6! It is wonderful to see our children are now well settled into their classroom environments and routines, and super engaged in their learning! Thank you for supporting your child in ensuring they are at school every day, because every day counts. Time is certainly flying by; we are almost at the midway point of Lent, and are now also on the downhill run to the end of Term One! Of course, that begins with our most special holy time of Easter.
Please note that the last day of this term is Holy Thursday (6th April) and Term 2 commences on Wednesday 26th April due to Teacher Only Day on Monday 24th April which is then followed by Anzac Day on the 25th.
Whilst we would all agree that time seems never to slow down, it is important that we prioritise the time we have for what is really important … starting with yourselves. When you allocate time to fill your own bucket you’ll more easily be able to fill the buckets of others. A great starting point is through prayer and reflection and every Monday morning at 8am, the teachers at St Joseph’s do just that. We gather to pray and reflect, and this is a wonderful way to set us all up to begin the new week. Last week, Miss Phayer led our gathering and reminded us all of the importance of being grateful, no matter what we are dealing with in our own lives. The prayer she shared with us was an excellent reminder to always see the cup as 'half full', and not 'half empty'. I’m sure you will all agree!
God grant me the serenity to
ACCEPT the things I can not change;
Courage to CHANGE the things I can;
And WISDOM to know the difference.
LIVING one day at a time;
ENJOYING one moment at a time;
ACCEPTING hardships as the pathway to
PEACE
AMEN
Ash Wednesday
A beautiful whole school Ash Wednesday liturgy took place in Week 4, led by Deacon John and organised by the amazing Mrs Van Eijk. Deacon John commented on how knowledgeable our tamariki were when it came to answering questions about the Lenten season. Credit to our teachers! We are now over quarter of the way into this 40 day journey where prayer, fasting (abstaining from something to reduce distractions and focus more on God) and ‘almsgiving’ (giving/charity) are the three foci. Thank you for supporting your children during this very special time of faith for us as Catholics.
Almsgiving for Flood Victims!
An overwhelming response of generosity was received throughout the week of our Goods Drive for those most affected by the recent floods. Whether you helped through your donation of goods, money, or assisting at the Parish Centre, it was very much appreciated. It was also an amazing response from our students and staff with our Bright Day Friday which raised an incredible $750 towards this cause! These funds have been deposited into the Catholic Caring Foundation for disbursement.
Uniform - Thank you for your support!
It has been impressive to see the improvement in the way our St Joseph’s uniform has been worn. Well done! Hair is looking well groomed, uniforms in general are tidy with girl's hems in tact, and extra items for the most part, have been removed. As mentioned to the children, it is fun for special occasions to wear fancy jewellery, nail polish, fake nails, make up, shoes of choice etc etc. And whilst school is a special occasion for sure, these items are not part of, nor have ever been part of our St Joes uniform. We really appreciate the full support of parents/caregivers on these matters.
PFC (Parent Fundraising Committee)
This week the PFC AGM was held at school. What an amazing team! Thanks to Andrea Livingston, and the crew for the huge contribution you have made over the past year. The school are incredibly lucky to have such a dedicated group. Later this month, the PFC are organising a School Picnic evening and this is a great chance to meet the members, along with other families in our school community. Thursday 30th March - save the date! Check out the flyer in this newsletter for more information.
Congratulations Father Mark
Finally, a big congratulations to Father Mark for reaching a fantastic milestone of 15 years of priestly ordination! We are certainly blessed to have you as our Parish Priest, and appreciate all the effort you put in to shepherding us with such compassion. It must be a daunting challenge to spread yourself evenly across all three parishes and schools, yet you seem to manage this with ease. Ngā mihi maioha Father Mark, thank you very much, and well done on behalf of us all. Best wishes for the next 15 years!
Have a fabulous week and may God Bless each and every one of you.
Ngā mihi niu kia koutou katoa.
Andrea Devane, Principal
Policies at St Joes via School Docs
At St Joseph’s School we utilise an online policy and procedure service called School Docs. Their service provides robust policies and procedures created with expert input and wide audience review. Our policy documents are tailored to our school and are accessible to our school community allowing you to comment on policies and procedures online.
School docs run their review in a three year schedule. Each term we have a number of policies to review and your input is valued.
Term 1 Policies under review:
Student Attendance
Enrolment
Uniform / Dress Code
You can provide feedback to the Board by reviewing them online by following these instructions:
Visit the website http://stjoes.schooldocs.co.nz/
Enter the username (stjoes) and password (faith)
Use the search bar to find the relevant policies for the current term as listed above
Read the policy
Click the Policy Review button Select the reviewer type "Parent"
Enter your name (optional)
Submit your ratings and comments
PLEASE NOTE - Possible Industrial Action - Thursday 16th March
As you are may be aware, primary teachers, who are currently in pay negotiations, rejected the latest pay offer and are currently voting on industrial action, with a possible strike in two weeks time on Thursday 16th March. Primary school principals also rejected their second offers in February and will also be participating in the ballot. We will know more on the outcome of this in the next few days and we will keep you informed as need be.
Waipa Fun Run
What a wonderful occasion it was to see the spirit of St Joseph’s School in its entirety last Sunday as 36 budding runners took to the streets of Cambridge in the 2km run. With plenty of vocal support from our superstar supporters, it was no wonder our children did so well! A grand achievement by our entire team who all finished without a hitch. A special congratulations to our 12 runners who made top 10 with three of those achieving TOP 3. WOW!!! Head to our Facebook page to view more photos. Thanks to our friends at St Peter's Catholic School in Cambridge for organising this event.
Lewis Verner - 1st YEAR 3-4 BOYS!
Emma Butler - 2nd YEAR 7-8 GIRLS!
Ryan Mourits - 3rd YEAR 7-8 BOYS!
Nieve Wilson - 4th YEAR 3-4 GIRLS
Finn Wilson - 6th YEAR 7-8 BOYS
Elliot Corlett - 7th YEAR 3-4 BOYS
Ella Vowles - 7th YEAR 3-4 GIRLS
Ben Livingstone - 7th YEAR 7-8 BOYS
Emily Vowles - 8th YEAR 7-8 GIRLS
Tegan Smith - 9th YEAR 7-8 GIRLS
Karsen Smith - 9th YEAR 3-4 BOYS
Breah Hunter - 10th YEAR 5-6 GIRLS
Thanks to Meredith and her superb organisational skills ensuring the success of this event.
Ryan Mourits
Emma Butler
Lewis Verner
Spotlight On Staff
Our school is lucky to be working alongside the Confucius Institute in Auckland who have connected us with our Mandarin Language Assistant, Zhijing. Miss Guo will be working within our school this year allowing us the opportunity to learn Mandarin and gain knowledge of Chinese culture. “Hi, my name is Guo Zhijing. I come from China. I am very happy to be here in beautiful Morrinsville. I am looking forward to spending time at St Joseph’s School, teaching a range of ages and sharing my Chinese culture with the children!
Miss Guo is hosted for the year by a local Morrinsville Family, and her work time is shared between our school and Morrinsville Intermediate. If you are able and willing to provide Zhijing with a kiwi experience to enhance her time here at anytime during the year, we would love to hear from you. Zhijing is easy going, and all the students love her!
AIMS Games Information Meeting
Well Done! Congratulations to our CORE Value and Classroom Achievement Recipients
Communication in School
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the classroom teacher either by email or through Seesaw. Also, ensure you have 'liked' our St Josephs Facebook page as we make regular posts via that platform.
Update Us Please
Have You Had A Change of Details? It is your responsibility to please advise us.
Can you please advise the office (not teachers) by sending a note, phoning or emailing admin@stjoes.school.nz if you have any changes of address, contact telephone details - home - work or mobile plus email addresses. Do you still have your land line???
It is imperative that we are able to contact you should an emergency arise.
Also, if you there have been any changes in your child's health status or emergency contact we will need to update our records. Thank you for your co-operation.
Kennedy and Spider Making It Happen
We would like to congratulate Kennedy Tunnicliffe, along with her pony Riverwood Total Eclipse (aka Spider), for their recent outstanding results at horse show events.
At the NZ Show Horse Council Nationals held in Taupo Kennedy and Spider were placed
- Champion Over Height Lead Rein Pony
- Champion Lead Rein Rider 6 & Under 8 Yrs
Then at the Tauranga A&P Shows they took out
- 1st Open Lead Rein Pony
- Champion Lead Rein Pony
- 1st : Paced & Mannered Pony
- 1st : Rider Class
- Champion Rider
- Supreme Pony Overall
Well done Kennedy for your commitment and obtaining these great achievements. We wish you all the best for all your future events and look forward to hearing about youself and Spider. What a great duo.
Reflection shared by Jemma Van Eijk, DRS
Upcoming Events
- Monday, March 13th - AIMS Games information evening 5.30pm
- Monday, March 13th - Keeping Ourselves Safe programme
- Friday, March 17th - St Patrick's Feast Day. Dress in Green Mufti Day - just for fun
- Monday, March 20th - St Josephs Feast Day
- Friday, March 24th - St Josephs Day combined schools celebration
- Friday, March 24th - Pizza Day
- Thursday March 30th - School Picnic 6pm
- Friday, March 31st - Epilepsy Awareness Purple Day
- Monday, April 3rd - Holy Week Starts
- Thursday, April 6th - End of Term 1 - Holy Thursday
- Friday, April 7th - Good Friday
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Contact Us
Email: admin@stjoes.school.nz
Website: https://www.stjoes.school.nz/
Location: St Joseph's Catholic School - Morrinsville 11 Linden Street, Morrinsville, New Zealand
Phone: +64 7 8895306
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StJosephsMorrinsville/