Newsletter Term One, Week 6
Bishop Edward Gaines Catholic School
Principal's Message
Talofa, Kia ora, Malo e lelei, Habari, Hello,
The weather has been fantastic this week. It has been particularly hot and we need to remind our tamariki to wear their hats outside. Our students do drink a lot of water in this heat so that is great to see. Our Friday Fun this week will be.....'the great cool down'! We will have water play and water games after lunch. You may want to send a spare pair of clothes for this!
We currently have a several positive cases of covid in our school community and these families are isolating at home. We all continue to be vigilant and practice sensible hygiene to help keep each other safe. We pray for those in our community affected by Covid and hope that they can return to a life more normal as soon as possible.
Thanks to Angela, Alistair and Liz for organising new bark this week for our junior playground and sand for our sandpit top up!
Pre-schoolers from The Ark Kindy came to our school today to experience a day at a Catholic School. They got to go inside our Church and hear a little of what our Church is all about, participate in a 'bear hunt', listen to stories and play some games and activities with our senior student leaders, and of course were well fed! Thanks to our awesome teachers and teacher aides who organised a fun experience for these children.
Our school lunches are going well. We are so fortunate to be getting free lunches in schools. This makes a big difference for families and is one less thing for parents to have to organise.
What does this mean for my child?
This means your child will be able to receive a free healthy school lunch everyday at school.
The menu is a two week cycle and our lunches are made fresh each day, at Forest View High School and delivered to us.
What if my child cannot eat the food on offer due to allergies, religious reasons or other reasons?
If your child requires a specialised diet for whatever reason, please fill in this form and send this back to school. This will ensure every student at Bishop Edward Gaines has access to their free lunch.
See below for the lunches menu.
This week our senior students worked with Mr Billing on building pest traps. They are looking rather good, and on Friday Mr Billing will be back to help finish the last of them. This is an awesome opportunity for our students to work alongside a scientist and be part of designing , building and using a useful piece of equipment.
Special mention: Thanks to the St Pius Catholic Women's League who have generously donated $500 to our school. This donation will be spent on our 'Mary Garden' redesign. Which is now being actioned. Thanks to Joyce who has been volunteering her garden skills for our school too.
Next Thursday is St Patricks Day and we will have our annual mufti day to raise funds for Caritas. So students can wear green on this day! Then on Friday we celebrate our St Joseph Mass here at school with Father Fernando. St Joseph is the patron Saint of the Josephite nuns, who helped to start Catholic Schools in Australia and Aotearoa.
Please mark in your calendars our date for our Whanau Hui 24th March 6:00pm in the staff room. This is an opportunity to form a PTA or FOTS and brainstorm our community's wish list! We will also have our Strategic Plan available for our community to review and comment on.
I want to say thank you to all those in our community who offer their time and help to making our school a great place to work, learn and play. Your effort, contributions and time is much appreciated, and indeed is what makes the difference. Thanks also to our fantastic office staff, Annie and Caroline who do so much behind the scenes to make sure our students needs are met. Susan Nelson our LSC from Rotorua who works with targeted groups, and Gail and Irene who work alongside our students to assist with their learning. Our wonderful teachers Lucy and Sam, who plan and deliver a rich and integrated programme for their classes and Liz our cleaner, who goes the extra mile.
The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26
Ma te Atua koutou e manaaki—God’s blessings,
Bernadette Hall
Pest Traps
Outdoor Play
Thank you.
Sandpit Top Up
Catholic Character
Who is St Joseph?
St Joseph the worker, in the New Testament, Jesus earthly father and the virgin Mary's husband. St Joseph is the patron of the universal Church in the Roman Catholicisim, and his life is recorded in the Gospels. Joseph was a descendant of the house of King David. It was St Joseph who inspired Mary Mackillop as she began her order of sisters-the Josephites. Their main goal was to educate children and they literally build schools with the help of Father Tennison Woods. Mary Mackillop came to NZ several times and help start schools here. She was canonized a Saint in 2010 and is now called St Mary of the Cross Mackillop.
Who is St Patrick?
Patrick was never canonized as a Saint. To be canonized means the Pope recognises at least two miracles the person has performed or been witnessed. He was a 5th Century missionary to Ireland and later became a bishop there. He brought christianity to parts of Ireland, hence why he is a patron Saint of Ireland. St Patrick prayer:
"God's might to uphold me, God's wisdom to guide me, God's word to speak to me, Gods shield to protect me..afar and near, alone and in a multitude".
From the Food for Faith Website: Click here to read on the Food for Faith website
I particularly liked this part...
Instead of simply altering events (removing suffering and pain from our lives) Jesus gives us what we really desire, that is, divine (and human) accompaniment through every suffering, every sickness, every loneliness and every death, as the highway to resurrection.
Too often we prefer the safety of the black and white Old-Testament texts and regulations forgetting that the wisest of Old Testament characters whole-heartedly anticipated a Messiah who would come to us and enter life-giving relationship with us.
When we keep God at a safe and controlled distance our problems mount and multiply. This is inevitable when we overlook the most fundamental fact of our Christian faith: Jesus is God with us, here and now, leading us beyond all that is simply good enough to something much greater.
Bishop Edward Gaines School App
Girl Guides
Are you up for fun, friends and adventure, then Girl Guiding could be for you? We have units for girls aged between 5-17. We also are on the lookout for leaders to support these girls. We have spaces available in our units both in Putaruru and Tokoroa, if you are interested then email Michelle on michellegirlguide@gmail.com to find out more.
Whanau Hui & PTA
We are currently looking for helpers to build some bench seats, help with garden building and contribute to our 'wish list' . The schools annual strategic plan will also be available for our community to read over and view.
Our Super Stars
Mrs Hall has noticed how well you participate in all activities and use kind words towards others. Also for having a fantastic BISHOP attitude!
Meitaki!
Fun Friday Week 6!
The great cool down is this Friday-11th March. We will have water play activities set up for after lunch. Your child may want to bring a towel or spare clothes for this!
Head Lice Treatment
This is a normal childhood occurance, and most children will get head lice at one point or another. We do have a case of head lice in school. Below is a link on how to treat head lice.
Important Dates
Important Dates:
Term Dates
Term One: 1 February-14 April
Term Two: 2 May-8 July
Term Three: 25 July-30 September
Term Four: 17 October-14 December (TBC)
Welcome Liturgy
1 February 9:30am on turf courts
School Mass
11 February 9:30am on school grounds
Swimming Days @ Aquatic Centre:
W 1: 2 February & 3 February 12-1pm
W 2: 8 February & 10 February 12-1pm
W 3: 14 February 12-1pm
W 4: No swimming
W 5: 28 February & 1 March 1:30-2:30pm
W 6: 7 March 1:30pm
W7: No swimming
W 8: No swimming
W 9: 29 March & 1 April 10:00am
W 10: 5 April & 8 April 10:00am
Swimming Sports
3rd March @ Putaruu 7 years and older
Senior Technology Classes
Tuesday at 9:00-10:30am.
Student Led Conferences
24 February 1:30-5:30pm
Preschool Visits
Note changes: Will run each Thursday and Friday from 9:00am -12:30 for the few weeks leading up to the child's 5th birthday. Please let the office know if you are wanting your child to have preschool visits. Also please let others know who may be interested.
Lunchtime Fun Sports for our Tamariki
Every Tuesday and Thursday
Tennis
Monday afternoons (courts opposite our school and bring a racquet if you have one)
Health Nurse Educational Talks to Senior Students
16 February-Talk
16 March-Immunisations HPV/Boostrix for our yr 7s and Yr 8s
Shrove Tuesday & Ash Wednesday
1 March and 2 March
Wheels Day
4 March. Bring a helmet and shoes.
Preschool & Kindy Picnic @ Bishop-Teddy Bears Picnic
10th March 11:30-1:00pm (note change as swimming sports is now 3rd March)
For preschoolers and their families to come find out more about our special character and early literacy programmes.
St Joseph Feast Day Liturgy
18 March 9:30am
Whanau Hui
24 March 6:00pm staffroom-all welcome. Come share ideas for upcoming school projects and meet others in our school community.
Swimming Fun Day
1st April 10:00-12:00pm
Holy Week
10-15 April
Contact us:
Email: office@beg.school.nz
Website: http://www.beg.school.nz
Location: 1 Mossop Rd P.O Box 167 Tokoroa
Phone: 07 886 8021
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bishop-Edward-Gaines-Catholic-School-Tokoroa-310873056309874/