Newsletter Week 6 Term 1
Sacred Heart School Christchurch - 11 March 2022
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
I would like to start off the newsletter with a massive thank you to our wonderful Filipino community for the generous gesture of gifting 8 beautiful statues of Santo Nino to the school. We are so fortunate to have such a gracious, devoted and supportive Filipino community active in our school and Parish. These beautiful statues were individually handmade and carefully shipped from the Philippines. These will be blessed by our priests and displayed in the classrooms and around the school. Santo Nino is one of the most beloved and recognizable Filipino cultural icons representing the Child Jesus. The annual dancing feast of Sinulog is held on 16 January every year in its honour. Many of our students and parents participate in the festival here each year.
Well, Covid has certainly reached Sacred Heart and I am delighted with the vigilance shown by our families in acting quickly when there are signs in the home. We can be grateful that testing kits are readily available and we do remind families not to send children to school with any sign of illness. We continue to keep the classes well ventilated so an extra layer of clothes is proving to be necessary.
If you do require the Rapid Antigen Tests, they are easily ordered through this site for the whole household https://requestrats.covid19.health.nz/ and can be collected immediately from any testing site.
As of tonight, there will be changes to Isolation periods as follows.
Isolation periods are being shortened. From 11:59pm Friday, 11 March, people with COVID-19 and their Household Contacts must isolate for 7 days, not 10 days.
Household Contacts will need to test on Day 3 and Day 7.
Once you have recovered from COVID-19, you will not need to isolate again for 3 months, if someone else in your household tests positive during that time. This is an increase from 1 month.
More information is available on this excellent site. https://covid19.govt.nz/isolation-and-care/if-you-have-covid-19/
As parents please continue to ...
Be vigilant for symptoms in your children and keep children at home if symptomatic. Covid symptoms include:
A new or worsening cough
Sneezing and runny nose
A fever
Temporary loss of smell or altered sense of taste
Sore throat
Shortness of breath
Less common symptoms include diarrhea, headache, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, malaise, chest pain, abdominal pain, joint pain, or confusion/irritability. For more information, go to https://covid19.govt.nz/prepare-and-stay-safe/about-covid-19/covid-19-symptoms/
If any symptoms develop, please seek medical advice - which is likely to recommend that your child be tested immediately. Please be vigilant of you and your children’s health, and only send children to school who are well.
Together we can minimise the spread of COVID in our school community and the wider Christchurch community.
On Thursday we enjoyed walking and wheeling to school. It was great to meet so many students at Church Square and walk to school together.
Students had lots of fun playing with their wheels during lunchtime too.
Religious Education
Last Wednesday, 2nd March, the school celebrated Ash Wednesday mass via Zoom. Also present was St Peter’s school. The mass was celebrated by Fr Peter and Fr Phil. Students were still able to participate by reading the introduction, gospel reading and prayers of the faithful. This was a wonderful opportunity for us as a school and parish community to gather together using technology. As per the bishop’s wishes the children and staff were not able to receive the ashes, however, each student and staff member received a small black cross that had been blessed by Fr Peter.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the 40 days prior to Easter when we as Christians use this as a period for fasting, almsgiving and praying.
Faith Facts
Snippets from Pope’s homilies and speeches from the past year for advice for building stronger relationships—with God, with our neighbors and with the earth.
Let go of a grudge or two.
Too often, it is the people we love (and see) the most who bear the brunt of our anger, frustration or pure exhaustion. So if you have found yourself sniping at your spouse or being short with your close friends, Pope Francis has some advice: Don’t end the day angry.
“Listen to me well,” Pope Francis said in his Dec. 1 general audience. “Never finish the day without making peace. ‘We fought. My God, I said bad words. I said awful things. But now, to finish the day, I must make peace.’ You know why? Because the cold war the next day is very dangerous.”
If you have found yourself sniping at your spouse or being short with your close friends, Pope Francis has some advice: Don’t end the day angry.
Tweet this
So whether it’s a caress on your husband or wife’s cheek, as the pope suggested, or a conciliatory text to a friend, do not let today’s grudges fester till the morning.
From:
https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2021/12/29/new-years-resolution-pope-francis-242050
Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for World Mission Day 2022
‘Power from the Holy Spirit’ - The third foundation of mission.
In his address on the Feast of the Epiphany Pope Francis talked about the third foundation of mission: “You will receive power from the Holy Spirit”. He said the Spirit broke the bonds of the Apostles’ fear in the first days after Jesus’ death and resurrection. The Spirit prompted St. Peter to give his missionary address to people in Jerusalem, as recounted in Acts, kicking off an “an era in which the disciples of Jesus evangelized the world.”
Pope Francis added that Christians are only able to bear “full and genuine witness to Christ the Lord without the Spirit’s inspiration and assistance.
We welcome all new children and their families to Sacred Heart School
New children in Muriwai (New Entrants)
Hirun
Seth
Anova
Internet Safety
People in New Zealand are losing millions of dollars to scammers each year – and this is just the figures reported to Netsafe so the actual figure is likely much higher. There are often similar characteristics to most scams so Netsafe have put advice together to help you.
Our Facebook Page
Our Facebook page is Sacred Heart School Te Kura o Te Ngākau Tapu, Addington
Click here to check it out.
Make sure you keep up with all communications from school and have the latest update of our School App. Download SchoolAppsNZ from the App Store or Google Play and search Sacred
Please visit https://www.lunchonline.co.nz/ to join up and order for your children.
Upcoming Events
Thursday 14 April - End of Term 1
Monday 2 May - Start of Term 2
Policy Review
We have all our policies and procedures on School Docs. At present we have policies that we would appreciate your feedback on. Please follow the link below and review these policies.
1. Visit the website
http://sacredheartchch.schooldocs.co.nz/1893.htm (note that there is no “www”!)
2. Enter the user name (sacred) and password (heart).
3. Follow the link to the relevant policy as listed.
4. Read the policy.
5. Click the Policy Review button at the right-hand top corner of the page.
6. Select the reviewer type "Parent".
7. Enter your name (optional).
8. Submit your ratings and comments.
School Times
Medication kept at school.
Dental Services
Due to the pressures on our health system from Omicron, we are suspending delivery of Community Dental Services within the Canterbury area effective Thursday 10th March 2022. We will be redeploying our teams to support the delivery of essential health services.
We will be closing our clinics and removing our mobile dental vans from schools over the next few days and redeploying these to help in other areas.
Community Dental Service is suspending some of its services from 5pm Wednesday 9th March 2022 to provide support to the Canterbury health sector in response to Omicron.
We will continue to provide relief of pain clinics by appointment only from Thursday 10th March. You can access these appointments by calling our Contact Centre on 0800 846 983.
For any dental advice please call the Contact Centre on 0800 846 983.
Parish News
For Church Notices Please view the Catholic Parish of Christchurch South website. https://christchurchsouth.org.nz or the New App
Here are the details of how to download our excellent new Parish App. Keep updated on mass times, news and what is happening in the Parish.
Go to the App Store on your Apple or Android device and Search 'Church AppsNZ' to download the app onto your device.
Then search "The Catholic Parish of Christchurch South' to find your church app.