Newsletter Week 1 Term 2
St Brigid's School 3 May 2022
Fiona's Message
Tena koutou katoa
Tihei Mauri ora
Ko Maungatapu te maunga e rū nei tōku ngākau
Maungatapu is the mountain that speaks to my heart
Ko Maitai te awa e mahea nei okā māharahara
Maitai is the river that alleviates my worries
Nō Whakatū ahau
I am from Nelson
E mihi ana ki ngā tuhu o nehe o Whakatū ahau e noho nei au
I recognise the ancestral and spiritual landmarks of Nelson
He Katarika whakahīhi ahau
I am a proud Catholic
Ko Fiona Kearns tōku ingoa
My name is Fiona Kearns
E mahi ana au he kaiako
I am a teacher
Nō reira, tēnā koutou katoa
Welcome back and I trust you all have had a wonderful holiday break and enjoyed the beautiful autumnal weather. I noticed that many of our parents had a spring in their step yesterday as they were dropping off and waving goodbye to their tamariki. Children are pleased to be back at school and we are pleased to see them.
For Term Two I will be the Acting Principal and look forward to this role as we wait for our new Principal to begin in Term 3.
Ngā mihi
Fiona Kearns
Acting Principal
Upcoming Events
- Dental Van Visits - Monday 2 May - Friday 6 May
- Whakatau Welcome - Thursday 5 May
Welcome
Basti Tamayao in Room 4
And new entrants:
Lachlan Smith, Genevieve Shaw, Mila Williams and Cian Sloan in Room 2.
We hope you thoroughly enjoy being part of the St Brigid's family.
Whakatau - Welcome- Thursday 5 May
Each term we have a tradition of welcoming all new staff, students, and families to St Brigid's School. Our school welcome for students, families is on Thursday 5 May at 10.10am. If fine then this will be a whole school outside event, in front of the staffroom. If the weather is inclement we will host this inside the library with limited student numbers. This is a wonderful St Brigid’s School tradition which shows the caring and welcoming nature of our school and helps to build unity and share our vision of “learning together with strength of character and gentleness of heart”.
The whakatau will be live streamed on our facebook page.
At the conclusion we invite families and new students to morning tea in the staffroom.
Change to Term 2 Teacher Only Date - Please Read
As we are a Catholic School, teachers are expected to do regular Professional Development on our Special Character. Every third year or so we take part in a university level paper to continue to develop and build expertise and understanding in this area. This year the teaching staff are all completing the following paper
TH504 Catholic Social Teaching
The first day for this will be in the coming school holidays and the second day was scheduled for June 27. Unfortunately it can no longer happen on that date and has been changed to Tuesday June 7, which is the Tuesday after Queen's Birthday. Some parents may see this as an opportunity to have a four day break (now that we can travel everywhere again) and some parents will be inconvenienced by the change of date. For this we are truly sorry.
Catholic Corner
Our Catholic Social teaching principle is “Subsidiarity”. This is being unpacked with students as “We are called to empower communities, to let everyone have a say.” To help students understand this we have a Gospel reading from Luke 22 24-27.
We are asking families to pray as a family and share this gospel and discuss what you think it means.
24 Then the apostles began to argue about which one of them was the most important. 25 But Jesus said to them, “The kings of the world rule over their people. Those who have authority over others are called ‘very important.’ 26 But you must not be like that. The greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the leader should be like the servant. 27 Who is more important: the one sitting at the table or the one serving him? You think the one at the table is more important. But I am like a servant among you!
2022 Sacramental Programme
A beautiful day in the holidays was attended by tamariki from St Brigid’s School and our Parish for the beginning the 2022 Sacramental Programme. There was lots of fun and learning.
A huge thanks to the Youth Ministers who have offered different options for the preparation this year. The session was for those who are going through the programme for three Sacraments (Reconciliation, Confirmation and First Holy Communion). Please keep an eye out in the school newsletter/Facebook/parish newsletter as there will be a separate programme for those who missed out on the Sacrament of Confirmation over the last couple of years.
We ask your prayerful blessings for our tamariki who are preparing for these Sacraments.
Term 2 Schoolwide Curriculum Focus
This term our schoolwide big idea is “Innovation and Enterprise”. All students will be exploring this topic in different ways depending on their ages and needs.
Our focus for the first five weeks for the whole school is
“Devices and technologies are used for design and communication”.
Students from across the school will be reminded of the St Brigid’s School Digital Citizenship Agreement that was signed at the start of the year and what this means for them using devices. It is also an opportunity for parents to have discussions at home about this too. Here is a link to a parent resource from Netsafe which may help with conversations.
Parent Alert - Traffic and Child Safety
We have noticed that before and after school excessive traffic speed and illegal parking of cars on yellow lines has been erratic and dangerous for our tamariki who are on road patrol and those who are trying to use our school crossings.
- Please be a considerate driver and slow down when approaching our school entrances/exits.
- Please do not park on yellow lines and use parks further away from our school gate.
- Please ensure all drivers in your family is aware of this.
We have notified the Wellington City Council and our Community Constable who will be keeping a closer eye on the before and after school congestion.
Our school has already had a meeting with the Wellington City Council to discuss what can be done to ensure all our tamariki are kept safe around school and they have advised they will be conducting a camera survey to collect data on the traffic issues.
We will keep you updated on the progress of this.
Road Patrol (Parent help needed)
Thank you to the wonderful parents who do supervision of the patrols.
If you can spare 20-25 minutes a week to do a morning shift on either Thursday and Friday morning or 10-15 minutes for an afternoon shift any day of the week please contact Fiona D'Souza fionad@stbrigids.school.nz
Many thanks
St Brigid's School Uniform Expectations
All students are required to wear the correct school uniform, including school shoes, at all times when travelling to and from school.
Parents/caregivers must reinforce with their children the expectation that the correct uniform will be worn at all times.
Please note the following for Term 2 and 3:
Shoes - traditional black school shoes, full black sport shoes.
Socks (unisex) - Knee length - navy with burgundy stripe with garters.
Hair - must be kept neat and tidy with hair tied back if it is shoulder length or longer.
Thank you for ensuring your child's uniform is maintained in a tidy and presentable condition.
Senior Kapa Haka 2022
Kia ora te whānau
I am pleased to announce that Senior Kapa Haka will start up again in week 1 of Term 2. Our sessions will run on Wednesdays 8.30am - 9.30am in the school library. We will be working towards the St Brigid's Kapa Haka Festival which is being held at Amesbury School on Saturday 24 September. Senior students from Years 5-8 are encouraged to join this group. Please email tania@stbrigids.school.nz if your child is keen to join.
Junior Kapa Haka 2022
Please contact tania@stbrigids.school.nz if you are interested in helping out.
Miniball/Basketball
Just a reminder that the draw for the next 2 weeks has been emailed to parents/players and it can be accessed directly by joining the Nairnville Recreation Centre facebook page.
Parents will receive an invoice from the St Brigid’s School office for payment for Term 2 miniball/basketball league this week.
Netball
Netball skirts will be handed out to students this Thursday, 5 May.
Scholastic Lucky Book Club - Issue 3
A copy of Issue 3 of the Lucky Book Club brochure will be sent home this week with students. To purchase any books just note the 3-digit code next to the title.
Visit https://mybookclub.scholastic.co.nz/Parent/ClubManagement.aspx, type in the postcode 6037 and find St Brigid's School on the dropdown list, then follow the instructions from there. Orders are to be made by Wednesday 11 April.
Cool Kids child and adolescent anxiety program
Guitar Lessons
Eileen Brown offers weekly Guitar lessons during school times.
If your child is interested in learning starting Term 2, 2022, please contact Eileen on 027 3396943 or Email : eileenvbrown11@gmail.com. Students should be at least 7 years old to start learning the instrument. All Styles taught including Rock & Pop, Pop, Traditional, Classical, Notation and Theory. Lessons are fun and enjoyable 😊
Visit us on www.drumorguitar.com or our Facebook page : Bill and Eileen Brown Music Tuition.
Contact Us
Email: lynne@stbrigids.school.nz
Website: https://stbrigids.school.nz/
Location: 9 Phillip St, Johnsonville, Wellington 6037, New Zealand
Phone: +64 478 6516
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1428952763904874
St Mary's College Open Day 31 May 2021
Dance pointe Academy New Zealand
DancePointe Academy has a new ballet class on a Saturday for 5-6 year olds along with after-school ballet and tap classes for all ages from 4 years to Adult Ballet. After-school week day classes at Sts Peter & Pauls, Saturdays at St Johns Johnsonville.
Contact Sharon
www.dancepointe .co.nz
mobile 021-2151222
Blue Dragon Book Fair at Ngaio Town Hall
Saturday 28 May 9am to 4pm AND Sunday 29 May 9am to 2pm.
Please come and buy books, puzzles/games, DVDs and CDs. Children’s books are $1 each. Other books are $3 (and $2 each, after the first five books purchased). We have a huge number of top quality books and other items. Come and buy for yourself or for others.
All proceeds will go to the Blue Dragon Children's Foundation, which helps to break the poverty cycle for Vietnam's poorest children. This includes street kids, children with disabilities, children from rural families living in extreme poverty, and victims of human trafficking and slavery. Last year we raised $18,000 – we hope to do at least as well this year.
If you have good quality books to donate, please be in touch. We are particularly happy to have more children’s books.
Dinah Dobson, trustee (027 686 4554) Blue Dragon New Zealand, www.bluedragonnz.wordpress.com
FOOTBALL SKILLS TERM 2!
Kelly Sports are back in term 2
Held in the "Green Room", Wests Rugby Clubrooms, Ian Galloway Park, Wilton
FRIDAY'S 3.30PM-4.30PM
Aimed for beginners or those just wanting to have fun, an 8 week football skills programme covering both individual and team skills including:
Game rules, Ball control, Dribbling, Passing, Tackling, Defence, Team work, Goalkeeping, practice and warm up drills.
It is ideal to improve skills and confidence and have as much fun as possible!!
Starts Week 2 of term 2 – Friday 13 May 2022
To Book go to www.kellysports.co.nz