Newsletter 22 November Term 4 2022
St Brendan's Catholic School
Welcome, nau mai, afio mai, namaste, konnichiwa, nĭ hăo, talofa, komosta, vanakkam, auybowan,
Dear Whānau & Parishioners,
We are now over half way through Term 4! We can take a moment to reflect on the wonderfully successful five weeks we have had at St Brendan’s, filled with such a variety of learning experiences for our team. However, we cannot pause for too long as we have so much to look forward to in the second half of the term. Please check the Term calendar for upcoming dates and events. This week our Navigators will enjoy a sports exchange with St Joseph's Upper Hutt, our Adventurers will have fun at Maidstone Max and to acknowledge the amazing service of our Year 6 Road Patrol team, they are off to the movies!
We hope you can join us at all of our end of year events:
Tuesday, 29 November Open Afternoon
- We value positive transition at St Brendan’s. We will be sharing information with you about each of our three teams this week and welcome you to come in and meet with us/explore our classrooms from 3pm.
Monday, 5 December Giving Gratitude Liturgy and Morning Tea at 10am
- An opportunity to gather as a school community to connect with all family and friends. Join us for prayer, song, reflections and performances by groups of students followed by morning tea in our school hall. From journeying with us during different Alert levels, to supporting learning programmes, Education Outside the Classroom and sports teams. From being generous with your time and talents, to supporting fundraising and contributing donations. An occasion enabling us to express our gratitude.
Thursday, 8 December Christmas Cushion Concert from 5pm
- Explorers, Adventurers, Navigators, ArtSplash Choir, Kapa Haka and our Samoan Group will perform. We will also be inviting you to join us singing some Christmas carols.
Tuesday, 13 December Year 8 Leavers’ Assembly at 9.30am
- Our full school community will gather for this special assembly to farewell the St Brendan’s class of 2022. This will also be an opportunity to acknowledge the recipients of school awards, with the whole school and community present.
Thursday, 15 December Celebration Mass, Our Lady of Grace at 11am
- As a Catholic School we are blessed with the opportunity to also celebrate with our Parish, families and friends at our End of Year Celebration Mass. This special Mass includes our Christian Living Awards, and presentations and farewell to our Year 8 leavers and their families.
- Our 2022 school year finishes at 1pm.
School Values Students accumulated enough House points to earn the ‘C’ for Compassion in our St Brendan’s ‘GRACE’ values, congratulations to everyone for earning House points. Last week everyone celebrated by having fun with food technology - lots of yummy cooking and baking! We are counting down with enthusiasm to our final ‘GRACE’ celebration later this term.
It has been and will continue to be an exciting and busy term! Some highlights:
- Our Navigators had two further fabulous days of Education Outside the Classroom. A three part rotation supported by the YMCA which included dance, fun play and skating. Then at Titahi Bay which included learning to surf! We extend our gratitude to Vanessa Smith-Graham and Sarah Chard for organising these opportunities, and we thank the wonderful group of parents who supported the team. Experiences which will be memories to treasure.
- Kathy Cutler supported our St Brendan’s Athletics team at TMP last week. Our students represented St Brendan’s with pride, celebrating their achievements and many personal bests! Thank you and congratulations.
- Sara Williams coordinated our EPro8 teams. The EPro8 Challenge is an inter-school science and engineering competition. Every year over 25,000 students from throughout New Zealand take part. Our students have already participated in the within school event and last week had the opportunity to participate at the inter-school event. These events are designed to promote science, engineering and problem solving. Our students were complimented by members of another local school on showing their GRACE values in action.
Did you log into Hero?
Curriculum learning posts were shared, Monday, 31 October. If you read and commented/acknowledged on the post/s you went into the draw to win one in another round of four prizes which were drawn at assembly on Friday, 11 November.
Congratulations to our Term 4 winners, Madison W’s family who won the $100 Daytona voucher, Fotu’s family who won the $50 Monterey voucher, Elaina’s family who won the $30 Fig Tree voucher and Isla’s family who won the $20 Warehouse voucher.
Every Day Matters - Student attendance has been in the media recently. The Ministry of Education and the Education Review Office continue to collate attendance data. Here at St Brendan’s we support students to make friends, keep friends and connect with peers. We ensure school programmes are motivating, fun, relevant and something not to be missed. We help families manage barriers like breakfast, lunch, transport options, and uniforms with utmost discretion. We welcome you to make contact with us if/when we can help.
Did you know:
- If students have one week off every term, over ten years they will miss a year of school.
- Being at school everyday matters because of the sequential nature of learning, especially in literacy and numeracy.
- By law, students must attend school and
- One of the highest predictors of education success is attendance levels at school.
Every family wants their children to be successful in learning and in life. By working together we can reverse the trends in attendance.
Welcome On behalf of our whole school community we extend a warm welcome to Myla and family who recently joined our Room 12 learning team.
God Bless,
Veronica Sawers,
Principal
VERBAL BOUQUETS AND THANK YOU'S
Athletics and EPro8 helpers.
All our Navigator camp helpers: Troy Martin, Jeremy Grout, Jemma Lynch, Santell Pickett, Nick Banks, Chris Leach, Michelle Wos, Summer Pere, Mike Daisley, Mona Kruse Hurnen and Sarah Smith.
WALKING HAND IN HAND WITH CHRIST
STEWARDSHIP KAITIAKITANGA
Rooms 6 and 7 have been putting into action being responsible guardians and caring for their school community. A group of children have been regularly using the litter pickers at break times and keeping our school litter free.
SACRAMENTAL PREPARATION PROGRAMME 2023
Enrolments for the 2023 Sacramental Preparation Program are now open for those candidates who would like to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Confirmation and First Eucharist.
Enrolments can also be submitted on-line at www.olov.org.nz/sacraments/. Enrolment forms are also available in the foyer of both churches and the School.
Though enrolments close on 3rd February 2023 please endeavour to enrol before the 18th December as this allows time over the January period to undertake preparation work. The Programme starts on February 12th as the Reconciliation portion happens over Lent. Any enquiries please contact Fr Tony or Jenny Mahony, the Sacramental Programme Co-ordinator.
FUN QUIZ
Upper Hutt Catholic Women's League in conjunction with Ulysses Wellington held a successful quiz night on Friday, 11th November in our school hall. All proceeds will go to the Muscular Dystrophy Children.
The Kotahitanga Annual Appeal helps fulfill Catholic Social Services mission to reach out and serve those on the margins.
To find out more about the appeal visit their website here.
BOARD NEWS
Kia ora koutou St Brendan’s whānau
It's with great pleasure that I am able to write on behalf of the board in this newsletter.
Christmas is fast approaching and we can almost see the end of the school year. It was lovely to see the Navigators return from camp with stories to share which no doubt will be one of the many fond memories of their time at St Brendan’s.
The teachers continue to keep our tamariki busy with their learning - taking them on trips outside of the classroom, continuing with projects and rehearsals for the Christmas Cushion Concert. We wish the Navigators well on their sports exchange this week. The Adventurers are also lucky enough to be visiting Maidstone Max this week. We as a community are so fortunate to be able to offer these opportunities. A big thank you to the staff and parents that are helping to make this happen.
At this time of the year it is especially important that we remember the importance of taking time to be present in our busy world. I hope that you all have some time with your whānau over the weekend, be it relaxing or supporting one another - perhaps even on the sideline at a sports fixture.
Many thanks on behalf of the Board
Ngā mihi
Philippa Freeman
SCHOOL NEWS
SCHOOL UNIFORM
We are experiencing varied weather conditions at the moment. Please ensure your child/ren are dressed for the weather. Additional layers of clothing under the uniform cause students to overheat in the afternoons. All students need to bring a water bottle to school daily to keep hydrated.
Students are reminded to wear our St Brendan’s school uniform in a way which reflects our GRACE values. It is a health and safety expectation that all students wear a wide brimmed hat daily during Term 4, students not wearing appropriate hats must remain in the shade during break times. It is recommended that all students apply sunscreen before coming to school and then reapply during the school day. Please refer to our current school uniform guidelines for more information.
THANK YOU
WOW!!! Thank you all for the cans you donated to Orongomai marae food bank on our non-uniform day! There was enough cans to fill the boot of Mrs Puki’s car and some had to go on the back seat!
The people who co-ordinate the food bank were so appreciative and were blown away with our donation.
Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. Deuteronomy 15:10
ATHLETICS
Last Tuesday, 21 students made St Brendan's proud by participating in the Inter School Athletics at TMP with 12 other schools. We all did very well and got amazing results. The results will be posted soon. Everyone had so much fun and all the people who got top 3 placings get to go to Regionals in Masterton. We all can't wait till next year.
By Charlie S and Jaxon
ZESPRI YOUNG AND HEALTHY VIRTUAL ADVENTURE
Congratulations to Room 11 for completing all 7 legs of the Zespri Young and Healthy Virtual Adventure - we learned about the importance of exercise, what we eat and drink and the role of mindfulness. Wearing pedometers and recording our data each day, we have virtually walked through parts of Italy, Greece, Turkey, Japan, China, New Zealand and New York City.
EPro8 - ADVENTURERS
On Thursday, 17 November we set out feeling very excited heading out to Avalon intermediate representing St Brendan’s. We arrived and were shown different tools that we could use in our build. Out of the 4 choices we chose the car. We had two and a half hours to get as much as we could done. The challenge was to make a car that could move and draw a line on the road. When we got to the wheels we got a bit stuck but Lily and Matthew found a solution. Near the end we started to slow down a bit and we got stressed. We didn't end up finishing but we tried our best considering none of us had done it before. In the end we came 6th out of 15 and we tried our best and didn't come last. We had fun and we would totally do it again.
Isabelle, Lily, Sylvie and Matthew.
ALSO
We received a very positive call from a Totara Park primary parent. She was at Epro8 and asked our students to help with tidying up a second workstation (our students had already tidied their own) and she was impressed that they immediately got on with it, without question.
She wished to convey her thanks and acknowledge the helpful and positive attitudes of our students. Well done!
EPro8 - NAVIGATORS
Our Navigators EPro8 team were placed 3rd in their competition. Well done team!
CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR CHARITY
During weeks 4-7 our classrooms are collecting Christmas treats and gifts to donate to a local charity.
If you are able to donate items these would be most appreciated.
COMPASSION "C" CELEBRATION
COLLECTING MARIGOLD SEEDS
The Enviro helpers have been busy collecting all the seed heads from our amazing Marigold flowers from the flowerbed outside Room 8. The flowers grow by seed and have had an abundance of seed heads this season. After picking the seed heads we have been drying them in the sun . They are now ready to be sorted and we will then package them ready to give to anybody in the school community who likes to garden.
ROAD PATROL - ADULT HELPERS NEEDED
We are still in need of adult helpers for our morning and afternoon road patrol teams.
If you, a family member or friend has time to be added to our roster please email Room 11's teacher, Sara Williams s.williams@stbrendans.school.nz
SUNFLOWER SEASON
It’s that time of the year again when you are invited to get your hands dirty and plant Sunflower seeds. Hamish Blundell from Professionals has kindly donated the packets of seeds for you to plant. There will be spot prizes for every photo that is posted on the St Brendan’s Facebook page with Hamish Blundell’s name tagged to the photo. If you are interested in taking part in this Sunflower competition come to Mrs Pullan in Room 7 for a packet of seeds before or after school, this week
Have fun planting.
WEET-BIX TRYATHLON
St Brendan’s is keen for a school team to compete in the Weet-Bix Tryathlon 2023.
We are looking for an adult volunteer to coordinate participation from St Brendan's. If you or someone you know is interested please email Teresa at t.millar@stbrendans.school.nz.
SCHOOL POLICIES: SCHOOLDOCS
SchoolDocs is a website for our policies and procedures. We invite you to visit the site at https://stbrendans.schooldocs.co.nz (note that there's no "www."). Our username is "stbrendans" and password "navigators" to participate in the Term 4 reviews: Health, Safety and Welfare policies, in particular our Digital Technology and Cybersafety.
PTF NEWS
CHRISTMAS RAFFLE
We’re calling for donations please of Christmas themed items –decorations, chocolates, gifts and anything else Christmas related. Please bring your donation for the PTF Christmas Raffle in to the school office before 6 December. Raffle tickets will go on sale from 28 November.
Thank you again for all your support this year.
St Brendan's PTF
COMMUNITY NEWS
HAVE YOU CHECKED OUT THE NETSAFE TOOLKIT YET?
The Netsafe Online Safety Parent Toolkit provides a structured framework for parents to begin a conversation with their young people about the behaviour they expect from them online and the impact their actions can have. It includes practical tools for setting expectations, making an agreement as to what is expected from their behaviour online, teaching online safety concepts, modelling responsible behaviour, and making a plan for when things go wrong. This toolkit is available here.
WESTPAC RESCUE HELICOPTER
When every second counts, will you help the Westpac Rescue Helicopter crew answer the call of a kiwi in trouble? Your gift will help pay for the latest equipment, technology and training so that crew members can have everything they need to bring kiwis home.
If you would like to donate please follow the link:
WELLINGTON CITY MISSION
Christmas is a very special time, and this year will be more so than ever for those coming home. Maybe you are being reunited with family members, who because of the pandemic, have been away and unable to be with family. I'm sure you agree those connections are important.
Sadly, Christmas is not a special time for everyone. For those facing challenges and hardship, it can be a very stressful and lonely time. So, for those doing it hardest, coming home can and reconnecting at Christmas is vital.
The Wellington City Mission is place where Wellingtonians in need, can find a place to come home. A place to receive love, compassion, and reassurance from others.
Our Toy Store will give families the dignity of choice this Christmas and our Social Supermarket will continue to support people and families.
We cannot do this important work alone. If you wish to support our work by donating please follow the link.
MARKET DAY
Summerset at the Course is holding a Market Day on Saturday, 26th November from 9.20am to 12.30pm. We will have lots of white elephant items, cake stall, Christmas stall, card stall, Christmas gifts, clothing and shoes, homemade chocolate, plants, ice creams, dolls, Christmas hamper raffles, name the doll, books and puzzles and DVDs, homemade boxes into houses, sewing items.
DANCE SCHOOL TRIP FUNDRAISING
The 8th Count are a local dance school, who are touring NZ and LA (dancing in Disneyland) in 2023. The fundraising team for T8C tours 2023 have an awesome fun, family Colour Run event coming up on November 26th at Upper Hutt Rugby Fields in Clouston Park.
Location: 56 Palmer Crescent Heretaunga Upper Hutt 5019
Phone: (04) 939 1909