Newsletter Week Four Term Four
St Claudine Thevenet 8 November 2022
Message from the Principal
Kia ora Whānau,
As we journey through November we as a Catholic Community keep those who have gone before us in our prayers. It was wonderful to begin the month with our All Saints Day Parade. So many students took the time to learn about a saint, dress up as them and share their learning with others. The Rata Whānau were particularly well represented. Well done.
The student council are busy preparing for their special festival- for those who have been at St Claudine’s for a while you will remember our 50cent Day and Whānau Fiesta – Sadly in 2020 as Covid came to visit we were unable to have our community join us for this event- Our Student Council thought about how we could engage our community as we remained distant- our Digifest was born. Our students developed online processes to allow our families to purchase special crafts made by our students. They created their click and collect strategy and developed so many skills in the process. This year we are so looking forward to welcoming our community back to school with the new festival created by the 2022 Student Council. In this newsletter you will see the first flyer with the date so you can begin to make your plans to join us. The Student Council will continue to update you weekly.
Each class teacher will also contact their class parents to explain what they are up to and to see if any of you may be available to help them out in a range of ways.
This event is a major undertaking for the Student Council along with classroom teachers, Learning support staff and Admin staff- we are so looking forward to celebrating with you.
It is so nice to be able to enjoy the warmer weather and to see students outside enjoying fresh air and sunshine. It is compulsory for our students to wear a hat when playing outside and it would be a great idea for them to have sunblock applied before they leave for school. We have supplies at school to reapply when necessary.
Ngā mihi nui
Sue Jury
Principal
Holiness
For weeks 3 and 4 of this term our faith focus is on “Holiness”. To understand ‘Holiness’ in relation to our own lives we need only look to Pope Francis’ teachings on the "call to holiness in today's world" from the document "Gaudete et Exsultate" ("Rejoice and Be Glad"), for guidance. In it he reveals to us that God calls all Christians to be saints — not plastic statues of saints, but real people who make time for prayer and who show loving care for others in the simplest gestures. That the call to holiness is a personal call, something God asks of each Christian and which requires a personal response given one’s state in life, talents and circumstances. “We are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves,” Pope Francis said. “Do not be afraid of holiness. It will take away none of your energy, vitality or joy,”
We want our students to understand that being ‘holy’ is about putting God first, trusting him and not earthly wealth or power, being humble, living simply, mourning with and consoling others, being merciful and forgiving, working for justice and seeking peace with all. We want our students to recognise that ‘Holiness’ exists in their own lives, be it through prayer or the simplest gestures of love, care and compassion they show towards others. Through Jesus and in Jesus, we want them to rejoice in the fullness of a Christian life as children of God.
Wendy Wilson DRS
Mrs John
Welcome Baby Emryn
All the students in Rimu Toru were thrilled and delighted when Mrs John surprised them with a visit and brought baby Emryn in to meet them. They did an amazing job of containing themselves so as not to frighten the baby and had lots of wonderful questions for Mrs John. One of the most important ones being “When are you coming back?” They have been missing her, so it was very reassuring for them to see her and the baby they watched grow inside her for almost nine months. The staff were equally delighted to see Mrs John and baby Emryn, with lots of cooing and clucking heard throughout the staffroom visit!
What a delight and a blessing, thank you Mrs John.
A message from the Rata Whānau
Striking Skills
Now that the grass has dried up we can finally get out onto the field for PE sessions. Rata hub have enjoyed developing our striking and catching unit. A focus for Rata hub is developing the gross motor skill of hand eye coordination. We have had lots of fun developing this skill when using softball and cricket bats. Check out some of our skills!
Touch
Touch Rugby - Last week was the first game of Touch rugby for the season. Rata hub players have been so excited for their matches. Some of us are new players and others returning for another season. Here’s what they had to say about touch rugby.
"Touch is fun. You have to score tries. In my team is Marta Sa, Lyon, Eli, Lewis, and Izzy." - Eseta
"We play touch rugby on Fridays near Junglerama. I like playing because it’s lots of fun." - Penelope
"I was kicking the ball. Then I tagged someone." Faamanuia
"My dad helped to coach. It was lots of fun." Ieremia
"I like to get the ball when I play touch. You have to run the ball to the end and then put it down." Uaneca
"My favourite part of touch rugby is that you get to touch people. It’s like tag. You get to score tries." Marta Sa
All Saints Day
We had a fantastic celebration of the Saints on the 1st November.In Rata Hub, we learnt about the Saints and shared information about our special Saints that we dressed up as.
Here's what we had to say -
"St Dominique was a scientist. He is the Patron Saint of scientists. He was so clever. I like science just like St Dominique" - Brady
"My Saint taught people about Jesus. It's Saint Claudine. She is special at our school." - Mia
"My favourite Saint is St Rose. She helped the plants. She loved helping people." - Brooke
"St Margaret of Scotland was a princess. She looked after people." Myra
"St Francis looked after animals so I brought my tiger. St Francis could speak to the animals." - Zoe
"I live in India. I'm Mother Theresa. I help people who are sick. I look after them." - Leizel
"St Helena is nice. She looked after the people in the Philippines. She gave people money who didn't have money." - Kiana
"St Roch helped people who were sick. The dog brought him bread and when he licked the bread, he felt better. The dog healed St Roch. He's the Saint of Dogs. That's his story." - Finn
"St Rose looked after all the garden and the flowers. My sister Isobelle is St Philomena. She got shot by an anchor but then she rose up to be in heaven with Jesus." - Matilda.
"St Therese went to school for 11 years. Her second name was St little flower. She shared her love for God." - Moli'a
"My Saint was called George. He was a knight. He slayed the dragon." - Faamanuia.
"My Saint is Saint Patrick. He got captured by pirates but God told him to escape. He got on a row boat and he escaped back to his home with his family." - Lewis.
"St Joseph is special because he was Jesus' Dad." - Carlos.
All Souls Day
Prepare Ye the way
Planning for 2023
As we begin our planning for 2023 we would like to remind families to let the school
know if they will not be returning next year. If you are not in Year 8 and you are
moving on from St Claudine’s please send student’s name, year group and where
the student will be enrolled for 2023 to principal@stclaudine.school.nz.
If you have a child turning 5 next year please collect an enrolemnt pack from the
school office as soon as possible. It is really helpful to have indicative numbers when
preparing classes.
Sunhats
Term dates 2022
Term One - Wednesday 2 February- Thursday 14 April 2.40pm
Term Two- Monday 2 May- Friday 8 July 2.40pm
Term Three- Monday 25 July- Friday 30 September 2.40pm
Term Four- Monday 17 October- Thursday 15 December 12.30pm
2023
Term One - Wednesday 1st February - Thursday 6 April 2.40pm
Contact Us
Email: office@stclaudine.school.nz
Website: https://www.stclaudine.school.nz/1/pages/1-welcome
Location: 14 Rata St, Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt 5014, New Zealand
Phone: +64 4 9399189