St Joseph's Newsletter T3 Wk 4
17 August 2022
Principal’s Piece
Kia Ora Koutou
Mauri mahi, mauri ora
Do the mahi, get the treats
In recent weeks we have been able to watch our Commonwealth Athletics compete in Birmingham. For the athletes it’s been a lot of hard work to make it to the start line and the treats are the medals at the end of the race. Our students have also been putting in the mahi for our school Cross Country. From the start of the term the students have been running around the roads of Fairfield in preparation. Yesterday the school Cross Country took place at Porritt Stadium. It was an opportunity for the students to put all that hard work into practice. Well done to all those students that completed the Cross Country and a Special mention to those who got placings.
This week in the playground we have our Sports Energizers running activities for the students. Today there was soccer and frisbee on the field. We are really lucky to have secured money from the Te Manawa fund to help provide these opportunities for our students to be out there and active. My thanks to Sara Ryan from Sport Waikato for her help in making this possible. Over the coming weeks we will have more sporting opportunities for the students during their lunchtimes.
We are very excited to take part in the Waikato Catholic Cultural Hui Te Hui Ahurea on Friday 26 August to be held at Elim Church, Te Rapa where our Kapa Haka showcase their talents alongside nine other Catholic Schools. We would love you to join us!
Just a reminder that Monday 29 of August is a Teacher Only Day. There won’t be supervision on this day and parents will have to make other arrangements. This is an accord day as part of the Teacher’s Collective and is the Government's response to solving teacher workload. The last of the Teacher Only days as part of this agreement is in Term 4.
Don’t forget that the Junior Cross Country is this Friday on the field. I look forward to seeing you there.
Kia manaaki te Atua koutou katoa
Grant Stuart
Tumuaki / Principal
Gospel Reflection
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C Sunday, Aug 14, 2022
Gospel Reading
Luke 12:49-53
Jesus has come not only to bring peace but also division.
Background on the Gospel Reading
Having reminded the apostles and the crowd that facing the coming judgment takes patience, Jesus now goes on to speak of how difficult it will be to wait. He tells them that he has come to set the earth on fire. Recall that in chapter 3 of Luke's Gospel, John the Baptist tells the crowd that he is baptizing with water, but someone mightier is coming who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. The fire Jesus speaks of here is the distress caused by the coming judgment. It is also the fire of the Spirit that Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, will describe descending on the disciples on Pentecost. That fire will strengthen them to go out to the whole world to preach the good news of Jesus' Resurrection.
Jesus will be the first to experience the distress of the coming judgment. His baptism will be the conflict into which he will be immersed as he approaches Jerusalem and his death on the cross. His followers will not be spared that distress. The angels at Jesus' birth proclaimed peace on earth, and Simeon, holding the baby Jesus in the Temple, said to God: “Master, now you may let your servant go in peace.” Here Jesus tells the crowd not to think he has come to bring peace; he has come to bring division. Simeon said as much when he turned to Mary and said that the child was destined for the rise and fall of many and to be a sign that will be contradicted. Peace is the ultimate end of the Kingdom of God, but peace has a price. Jesus is warning the crowd that wherever the Word of God is heard and acted upon, division occurs. Fathers will be divided against sons and mothers against daughters.
The coming judgment forces us to look at the implications of our commitments. As Jesus warned in last Sunday's Gospel, a commitment of faith requires us to change our attitude toward material possessions and to take even more seriously our moral responsibilities. Here he reminds the crowd that those who commit to him will find it affects the way they relate to friends and family members. The angel who announced the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah said John would go before Jesus to turn the hearts of fathers toward their children. But a commitment to Jesus forces us to change the way we live our lives, and this can put strains on relationships.
We don't expect to hear such difficult words from Jesus in the Gospel. But it is good to be reminded once in a while that the decision to do the right thing, the good thing, is not always easy and without conflict. Jesus himself did not make easy decisions and avoid conflict. In today's reading, he reminds his followers to be prepared for difficult decisions and conflict as well.
News
Teacher Only Day - Monday 29 August - School Closed
BOT Election Results
BOT Casual Vacancy
St Joseph’s Catholic, Fairfield School Board
Casual vacancy for a parent representative
A casual vacancy has occurred on the school board for an elected parent representative.
The board has decided to fill the vacancy by selection.
If 10% or more of eligible voters on the school roll ask the board, within 28 days of this notice being published, to hold a by-election to fill the vacancy, then a by-election will be held.
Request for a by-election should be sent to:
Gabriel Brdanovic
Chairperson
St Joseph’s School Board of Trustees
88 Clarkin Road
Fairfield
HAMILTON 3214
by: 14 September 2022
School Uniform
We have some good news regarding our school uniform! All items of the uniform can now be purchased via the school. We are no longer selling any uniform items at NZ Uniforms in Hamilton.
Please use the Kindo app to purchase items and these will then be sent to your child's classroom. If you need to try on items, please come to the school office after 9am and we can help you with this or you can call on 855 5434 to arrange a time.
Please be aware that there may be limited sizes of certain items.
School Uniform Items and Prices
Student Well Being
Our school is now able to offer the services of a Counsellor and Pastoral Care Worker. The Pastoral Care Worker is working with different classrooms on programmes like Friends for Life, Seasons for Growth and Fun Friends. There will also be some parent sessions available too.
Our Counsellor will work more closely with individuals and small groups. If you wish to make a referral to the counsellor for a student please fill in the following form:
READ-ATHON 2022! PTFA Fundraiser
We are asking our amazing students to put their reading skills to good use to raise money for this PTFA fundraiser!
Our Read-athon will take place in Weeks 4&5, starting Monday 15 August. Children will have lots of reading opportunities at school, and will be reading at home too.
Year 0-3 children will have a bookworm chart to colour in, and Year 4-8 children have set an individual reading goal. We are asking children to seek sponsorship for their reading efforts.
Children will read, read, read for two weeks, and then sponsorship money can be paid in cash, by Kindo or to the PTFA account.
We have a range of prizes to motivate the children, including individual prizes for top sponsorship amounts, class prizes and lots of spot prizes too.
Please support this fundraiser! Our PTFA are raising money to contribute to out-of-class activities coming up in Terms 3&4, such as Year 0-3 gymnastics lessons, Year 0-6 swimming lessons, Year 4-6 camp and an exciting trip in the planning for Year 7&8. We really appreciate your support so that we can provide stimulating and challenging activities like these for our students.
Thanks for your support!
Sports
Year 4-8 Cross Country Results 2022
Congratulations to all the Year 4-8 students that competed in the school cross country and obstacle course at Porritt Stadium. We were very fortunate to get through the races before the rain arrived. The students can be extremely proud of the effort they put in. The results were:
Year 4 Boys: 1st - Hunter Johnson, 2nd - Max Richardson, 3rd -Jason Cuttance
Year 4 Girls: 1st - Lucia McLauchlan-Hillary, 2nd - Katana Hardman, 3rd - Eva Colville
Year 5 Boys: 1st - Kayden Thompson, 2nd - Christian Jermy, 3rd - Sam McCarthy
Year 5 Girls: 1st - Emily Wetere, 2nd - Olivia Breen, 3rd - Sophia Lee
Year 6 Boys: 1st - Zach McLauchlan-Hillary, 2nd - Blake Robinson, 3rd - Billy Stewart
Year 6 Girls: 1st - Olivia Moore, 2nd - Maggie Mutter, 3rd - Holly Gera
Year 7 Boys: 1st - Archie Mason, 2nd - Tommie Parrott, 3rd - Daniel McPeak
Year 7 Girls: 1st - Caitlin Richardson, 2nd - Shelby McLeod-Dunn, 3rd - Sophia Mohacsi
Year 8 Boys: 1st - Dylan Robinson, 2nd - Angus McDiarmid, 3rd - Ryan Coombe
Year 8 Girls: 1st - Tessa Scott, 2nd - Bella McLauchlan-Hillary 3rd - Taylor McCarthyRound the Bridges
Entries are now open for Round the Bridges.
We have registered the school for those who would like to enter with us. All race options are available.
Please click the link and use STJOES2022 as the group code. Race bibs will be issued to the school and given to your child once received.
https://eventplus.net/RTB22?code=STJOES2022
Group code : STJOES2022
Netball
Silver Ferns fans - do you have a netball loving child between 5-12 years old? Here's their chance to learn from the nation's best!
Altherm are looking for future netball stars to join a training session with some of the Silver Ferns, Thursday 1st September, Waitakere Netball Centre 4.00-5.45pm OR Friday 2nd September, St Peters Cambridge, 4.00-6.00pm.
Limited to 60 spots at each session, one entry per person, and only open to children 5-12 years old.
Entries close 12pm Friday 19th August 2022. (Photo credit Michael Bradley Photography.)
T&Cs apply.
AIMS Games
Major Sponsors
We are a residential development company based in Cambridge NZ. As a locally owned business, our primary aim is to develop Cambridge real estate homes for sale with a strong focus on community culture and design. We also provide houses to buy in Hamilton NZ.
CONTACT OUR OFFICE
+64 7 827 0740
Associate Sponsors
For more details, please see the AIMS Games newsletter:
AIMS Games NewsletterNotices
Period Products
St Joseph’s Fairfield has opted into the government initiative to provide period products for students. This initiative aims to provide free period products to children and young people in all schools across New Zealand. Periods are a fact of life for half the population. Despite this, young people don’t always have access to the products they need to feel comfortable at school, engage in their learning, and manage what should be a normal and healthy part of life. If you want to know more, click here for a link to the Ministry of Education information.
At St Joseph’s, we have put in place a discreet delivery system so that girls can take home a monthly allocation of period products (two boxes per month). We know that some girls at this age might feel too shy to openly discuss period products with their peers or a staff member, so we want to make access easy and remove any embarrassment for them.
Click here for more information.
Each girl can fill in this Google Form which lets them select from various products.
COVID 19 - Update
We still have some students showing symptoms of Covid 19 and a number of these children are testing positive. If this is the case with your child, please let us know.
Please email the Principal directly: g.stuart@stjosephs.school.nz or ring (07) 855 5434.
All students who return a positive test result, and their household contacts, need to self-isolate for 7 days, then they are able to return to school provided they are symptom free.
As per Government advice, all students in Year 4 and above are asked to wear masks when they are in class. We do have masks available for students - they can collect them from their class teacher or the office.
Past Student Sporting Achievements
Before and After School Care 2022
Here is the link to find out more details and to enrol for Term Three:
Community Notices
Park Safe at the School Gate
Hamilton City Council is committed to working with parents and schools to explore ways to reduce parking concerns when dropping off and picking up children.
Schools in Hamilton face recurring issues around poor parking and driver behaviour, particularly in the winter months, such as parents parking on footpaths, across broken yellow lines, in front of residents’ driveways and double parking.
“This creates an unsafe environment for children, as well as frustration and concern for the schools and the residents that are living next to them,” said Council’s School Travel Adviser Cam Ward.
“With school rolls increasing and many parents wanting to collect their children by car, especially during these colder and wetter months, traffic congestion is inevitable.
“The majority of parents make smart choices, however most schools experience issues with a handful of parents.”
Some helpful tips for school drop-off and pick-up include:
• Park further away, rather than right outside busy school gates.
• Plan to pick up your children on side roads or in safe pick-up areas nearby.
• Encourage the use of active transport (biking, walking, etc) for those children who live close to school.
• Encourage children to have rain jackets and umbrellas for their school commute.
• If you are collecting your children by car, consider arriving five minutes after the bell when more carparks should be available.
“If more families choose to adopt some of these parking behaviours around schools, it will really help ease the congestion issues we see outside of schools,” said Ward.
Boost your Learning
Does your child require further support, over and above what can be offered at school?
Would your child benefit from bespoke and nurturing learning sessions from a highly experienced teacher designed to accelerate learning and boost confidence? We would love to help. We are a team of dedicated teachers, specialising in English and Maths support, for primary, intermediate and college students. Visit www.boostyourlearning.co.nz for more information or contact Jenny 021 223 3349 to book a free consultation.
Parish Mass Times
St Peter Chanel
Tuesday 9am
Thursday 9am - Liturgy with Communion
Saturday Vigil 5pm
St Joseph's
Wednesday 9am - Liturgy with Communion
Friday 9am
Sunday 9am
2022 Term Dates
Term Dates
Term 3: Mon 25th July – Fri 30th September
Term 4: Mon 17th October – Fri 16th December
Teacher Only Days
Term 3 – Monday, 29 August
Term 4 – Friday, 11 November