Kia ora koutou

We had a really special family event last Friday evening. It was lovely to meet and chat with many of you - and to celebrate the Advent season with carols and a nativity play. Advent is the time in our church’s calendar that is focussed on preparing for the birth of Jesus. Thank you for joining us, and thank you to the Parent-School-Link (PSL) group of parent volunteers for organising this event.

Heads-up:

1. Your child/ren’s report/s will be sent home with them before the end of the term.

1. Your child/ren’s 2023 class/es will be emailed to you on the last day of the term. At that time, we will also invite you to book time to meet their class teacher and visit their new class on our Whanau Day, Thursday 2 February 2023

1. During 2023, we will be holding three Teacher Only Days:

1. Monday 24 April (for teachers to learn about the refreshed NZ Curriculum)

2. Friday 30 June (for staff to attend the Kāhui Ako Mid-Winter Hui)

3. The third day will be later in the year - and we will let you know the date once we hear from the Ministry of Education.

On these three days, SFDS will be closed, so you will need to make arrangements for childcare.

Staffing and Inclusion Updates

I am really happy to share with you that we have made some key staff appointments over the past week.

We have appointed a new teacher, Aleksandra Zajac to the part time position of Specialist Teacher for our tamariki who are assigned additional support within the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS).

Deputy Principal Sarah Fountain is to be the overall lead of the Inclusion portfolio while Sandra is on maternity leave. I know that many families whose children have diverse and complex needs will be relieved to know that such a capable and experienced teacher and leader, who already knows all of our children, will take up this important leadership role in our school.

Sarah will oversee all support programmes and lead our Teaching Assistants. She will set up timetables, help to plan support programmes, as well as prepare applications for funding support, etc. Families with children who need additional support can be confident that there will be a smooth transition into 2023, with support continuing seamlessly and teaching assistant programmes continuing.

Sarah will continue as Deputy Principal, and move to leading the Ranginui team in Year 7&8.

Ronan Kelly will join our Leadership Team as the Team Leader in the Year 4-6 team. Ronan is a very capable teacher and will bring a wealth of experience to this leadership role.

Now that we have finalised these key positions I am pleased to be able to announce our classes for 2023. You may notice a few changes in the level of some teachers:

Trees

Recently we have organised a professional survey of all of the trees within the SFDS property to check that they are in good health and are safe. Most of the trees are in a healthy condition, but a number of them need to be heavily pruned in order to improve the health of the tree, make them safe, and to isolate them from nearby buildings.

Our goal is to preserve as many of our trees as possible. However, one particular tree (the pohutukawa tree outside the main entrance in the photo), while beautiful, is a hazard for us. The tree roots have begun to invade our school drains, and are beginning to cause damage to the public footpath outside the fence. It is possible that it will also be impacting the council drains. We have been advised that this will worsen over time as the tree continues to grow larger. Unfortunately the professional recommendation is to remove this tree entirely. The plan is to do this over the summer holidays, we will make sure that there is a suitable solution for shading that area. Please feel free to be in touch if you have any concerns about this.

Take care and God bless over the next week.

Ngā mihi nui kia koutou

Mary-Angela Tombs

principal@sfds.school.nz

Tumuaki / Principal

2023 SACRAMENTAL PROGRAMME

Forms were sent home yesterday with your child.

END OF YEAR CEREMONY

The End of Year ceremony will be held Monday 19 December at 6pm at the St Francis de Sales Church.

The PSL will be holding a sausage sizzle beforehand. $2 per Sausage! This will be from 5pm in the school courtyard. Gluten Free and Vegetarian options available.

The Board of Trustees will be providing a light refreshment as the community gathers before the ceremony for a koha.

SCHOOL LEAVERS – NOTICE RE EZLUNCH / KINDO SCHOOL SHOP

If your family is leaving our school and has been using ezlunch or Kindo, please make sure to stop any regular automatic payments that have been set up before the school year finishes. You may also need to transfer or close your account which can be done as follows:

• Not sure if your new school is using Kindo? If you’re not sure if your new school is using Kindo, you can either ask them directly or go to “My Details” in your Kindo account and click on the list of schools to see if your new school is listed.
• New school IS using Kindo. If your new school is using Kindo, simply click on the new school from the list in “My Details” of your Kindo account and you’ll be attached to the new school’s menu. Any balance on your Kindo account will remain available to spend with the new school.
• New school is NOT using Kindo, or you no longer need Kindo. If you need to close your Kindo account, use the “Close Account” button within the “My Details” section of your Kindo account. You can either withdraw your account balance or choose to donate your balance to the school. Please note that all withdrawals will be made via electronic payment to your New Zealand bank account. Kindo is unable to process cash withdrawals.

If you are wanting to withdraw your Kindo account balance or make a donation that exceeds Kindo’s threshold (currently more than $10,000 total within one year), Kindo may need to undertake some identity checks on you to comply with its obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering Financing of Terrorism (CFT) Act 2009.

Please action the withdrawal or donation in your Kindo account as outlined above and if these AML checks are necessary Kindo will advise of the next steps required in this regard. Kindo has endeavoured to make this process as pain-free as possible and appreciates your patience.

SCHOOL DONATIONS AND CHARGES

Thank you to all the families that have paid or are making payments towards their school donations and charges for activities. You can now access and pay any donations or charges through your Kindo.

While we acknowledge payment of the donations are voluntary; we rely on these donations to provide facilities for the children.

If you have any queries, or if payment at this time causes difficulty, please speak to Suzanne in the office to arrange payment options

WELLBEING

We have continued to work on developing a model for wellbeing in our school. We are looking at ways we can incorporate our school vision - Love of God, Love Learning, Love of Life - as this is an important aspect of our school.

We plan to ask the students to create a picture or symbol of what the motto would look like if they were to draw it. We would like to extend this invitation to you, our whanau and community.

If you would also like to create a picture/drawing/image, then please feel free to do so and drop it into the office (or scan and email through). We will gather all ideas and then plan our next steps.

ICAS TEST RESULTS

Congratulations to the following students who received awards in this year's ICAS Tests.

Maths:

Merit - Aris T, Tom K, Isaac L

Credit - George T

Distinction - Willow SE

Spelling Bee:

Merit - Giuliana DG

Credit - Rose M

Writing:

Merit - Lilly M

Credit - Fionuala M

Distinction - Rose M

English:

Credit - Fionuala M, Lilly M

TOUCH RUGBY

Congratulations to the Year 5/6 Jets and the Year 7/8 Rockets who both won their grade this season, a great achievement!

Congratulations also to the following players who received awards (MIP - Most Impressive Player, MVP - Most Valuable Player)

Year 1/2 Zippers: MIP - Wills R, MVP - Kit SG

Year 3/4 Chasers: MIP - Lucas L, MVP - Jack C

Year 5/6 Jets: MIP - Zane H, MVP - Enzo H

Year 5/6 Lightning: MIP - Harvey L , MVP - Mateo L

Year 5/6 Turbo: MIP - Hazel S, MVP - Cora DG

Year 7/8 Speedsters: MIP - Claudia S, MVP - Daniel N

Year 7/8 Rockets: MIP - Lola D, MVP - Luca H

A huge thank you to all our coaches and managers this term, the teams are lucky to have you!

We raised just over $3000 for our tamariki and we could not have done it without the help of our amazing school community!

Thanks for donating, buying and selling raffle tickets and for coming along on the night!

A huge thank you to our Local community businesses who also donated or helped out towards the evening, New World Island Bay, Island Bay & Strathmore Butcheries, KoruHub, Beach House & Kiosk, The White Room Gallery and Natty. Please pay it forward and shop local!

Special thank you to our PSL Race team and Pit Crew who pulled together and did something amazing! Cant wait to see you all at the next PSL event! Make sure to sign up and stay connected.

If you are happy to help out at the end of year ceremony please email us on psl.sfds@gmail.com

For information on how to get to KINDO Click here to view. From there you are able to pay your school donations, (there is an option to make part payments) uniform and any other school charges or sign ups for sports and extra actvities.

Supporting other children through Kindo
Kindo is adding a new feature to your myKindo portal enabling you to gift to others... starting with KidsCan. You will be able to buy lunch, shop and pay for our school items as normal, and you will now see some KidsCan donation offers on the checkout page.
Kindo will provide the donation receipts so you can claim back the 33% tax rebate – or sign up to TaxGift or Supergenerous to gift the rebate too.
If you have any questions or feedback, please email hello@mykindo.co.nz

*********************************************************************************************

In term four, the focus is on the Safety On and Off School Grounds sections.

Term 4 review topics

· Health, Safety, and Welfare Policy

Board review

· Alcohol/Drugs and Other Harmful Substances

Board review

· Digital Technology and Cybersafety

· School Bus Transport*

· School Swimming Pool / Swimming Off Site*

Board review

Please feel free to have a look at this on the Schooldocs site and give us your feedback.

Kelly Club

Join us for a fun filled Pre-Xmas and January School Holiday Programmes, they are packed with lots exciting days including:

Pre-Xmas holiday Programme – From Mon 19 Dec – Thurs 22 Dec

Super Summer Fun Day, Santa's Little Helpers Day, Xmas Party Day plus a trip to Mini Golf and lots of more Xmas fun!

Jan 2023 Holiday Programme – Mon 9 Jan – Mon 30 Jan 2023

Slimetastic Day, It's Game Day (with Inflatable & Giant Games), Movie Madness Day, Postively Pawtastic Day, H20 Let's Go Day, Child VS Wild Day, Wet N Wild Day, plus trips to:
The Kelly Sports Carnival Day (held at Ngatitoa Domain, Porirua), Bowling, Wellington Zoo, Laser, Force, Mini Golf, Roller Skating, Picnic in the Garden plus lots more!! (check centre for trip days as each centre differs)

Kelly Club is available at the following: Kelly Club Amesbuy, Kelly Club Churton Park, Kelly Club Kelburn, Kelly Club Island Bay, Kelly club West Park.

To Book go to www.kellyclub.co.nz

*********************************************************************

TAKE YOUR CHILD TROUT FISHING

WHERE CAPITAL TROUT CENTRE

(Landfill Road, Owhiro Bay)

WHEN 11th December 2022

A fishing experience for children aged 2 to 11 years.

You must have a Capital Trout Center licence/registration form.

Get your licence/registration from:-

Capital Fishing, 49 Ghuznee Street (off Cuba Mall)

or

Hutt Valley Hunting & Fishing, 8 Te Puni Street, Petone

The Centre is manned by volunteers from the Wellington Flyfishers Club and is funded by your donations

Your donation is appreciated

***********************************************************************************

YOUTH GROUP

Our last session for 2022- Live Action Cluedo, 7pm at the Island Bay Presbyterian Church, Dec 16th. Youth Group will recommence in Feb 2023, for year 7 and above, alternating between the Catholic and Presbyterian church buildings in Island Bay. A space for fun and games, faith conversations, and reflections on life.