Dear Parents,

What a few days of wild weather we have experienced with strong winds and heavy rain. A couple of trees have been damaged and we have a contractor coming in to clear the debris and assess the health of the other trees on our grounds. A couple of shade sails came down, but weren’t damaged, so we will be able to reinstall these when the weather is a little calmer.

You may have noticed that our gates on Ranolf St are damaged. The damage occurred yesterday morning, not by the cyclone, but by a Waste Management truck backing into them. We will have these gates fixed as soon as we can. It may take some time and in the meantime, we have put a temporary measure in place to keep our children safe.

We had a lovely day on Friday with our first Mass for 2023. The children sang beautifully and were very well-behaved. I was also impressed by the children who read the scriptures and Prayers of the Faithful. Thanks to the whanau who were able to join us with this.

The day finished off with an inter-house Tug of War competition. I enjoyed seeing our senior students leading the chants and cheers and also seeing so many children dressed in their house colours.

Tonight the Commissioning School Mass for schools from Rotorua, Tauranga, Mt Maunganui, Papamoa and South Waikato will be taking place. You are all very welcome to attend this at 6.00 pm at St Mary’s Church.

A number of children read lots of books over the holidays and this was evident with the number of holiday reading logs that have been returned so far for the draw. Thank you for your support with this. We will have our draw at school on Friday.

Today a St John's Educator is in school to train this year’s First Aiders. These children do a wonderful job in the playground each lunchtime.

Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday and in the Catholic Church, Ash Wednesday is one of the most important Holy days in the liturgical calendar. Ash Wednesday opens Lent, a season of fasting and prayer. As a school, we will celebrate Ash Wednesday with a liturgy in our school hall.

This week we welcome Jessica Newman, artist and author of the Journey Project, a fun exploration into the importance of health and well-being. Jessica is working with our Year 4 students and she will be with us until the end of the term. This initiative is a Creative in Schools Project and it is being funded by the Ministry of Education. An exhibition of the children’s work will take place at the end of the term.

And finally … THE COUNTDOWN IS ON .... 23 days to our Gala Day Friday, March 10th. This is an important date on our calendar and we need EVERYONE to help make the gala a success. A Gala information sheet has been sent home today with your child.

Ngā mihi

David Macmillan

Principal.

Thanks to all our whanau who joined us for the start of year Mass last Friday. It was a truly joyous occasion. The singing was magnificent.

Today at 6pm we have the Commissioning Mass. This is a Mass to celebrate the beginning of the Academic Year for our Catholic Schools. We hope to have a number of families and children join us if you are available.

Next week we have a Liturgy planned for Ash Wednesday and will be distributing ashes. Everyone is welcome. Wednesday 22nd February at 9 am.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent. It is the first forty days of Lent leading up to Easter. In the first centuries of the Christian Church, Lent began on the first Sunday of Lent. The celebration of Ash Wednesday was introduced in the seventh Century to ensure Lent consisted of 40 days exactly.

Take care and have a great week.

God bless.

Lorna Dobson

If you would like to join up your child for banking please call at the office for an application form.

Kia ora whanau,

It is 23 days until our School Gala Day! Our main fundraiser for the year. We have a wonderful P.T.A. who are working hard in the background to get things organised to ensure we have a successful event.

A notice will come home with your child, either today or tomorrow, detailing how you can help.

Please read through the notice, pin it to the fridge or on the wall. We ask that different things be donated, if you can, on different days. The notice below gives examples of items that can be donated on certain days in case you are unsure.

We start our collections next Wednesday the 22nd of February.

All items need to be taken to the school hall from 8.30am each day.

Classes that bring in the most items win a special prize.

Nga mihi

Brigitte Holmes

Teacher Rep PTA

Pita Pit school lunches

Phill from Pita Pit has advised the order cut off time for ordering your Pita Pit lunches will be 8:45am on the day of your PP delivery.

Attached is a flyer for any newbies it explains how to open an account with Lunchonline,

Lucky book orders due back 17 February 12 noon, no late orders please. Payment is either cash, and filling in the order form at the back of the catalogue, or using the LOOP online order system using a credit card. If paying by cash please remember to fill out the order form with your child’s name and classroom number otherwise the order will be left in the office.

If the item is a gift then please mark it accordingly and you will be contacted to collect from the office.

In this first edition there is a free book giveaway which is for the LOOP online orders only

Many thanks for your generosity in the past in purchasing books, the school receives 15% of the total spent and allows extra books and supplies for the library and the school.

Sports

Sports Registrations are closed and teams are in the process of being finalised. You should receive an email by the end of the week with team placements.

COACHES NEEDED

Firstly, thank you to all the parents and past students that have put up their hand to coach. Without you our children wouldn't be able to play sports.

• We are in need of coaches for our year 1-2 Touch Teams. x2
• Futsal we are after coach x1

Please, if you know of anyone that would be interested, even a grandparent or Intermediate/ High School Student, Please call the office 073481701

Miniball Registrations for Term 2 and 3 will be open next week.

Junior club tennis starts this week. Children are welcome to come and try for free and all they need to bring is a hat, water bottle and some shoes to run around in.

Our Den is in Peririka Street - Cub section 8 - 11yrs meets Thursdays 6 - 7:30pm. The first 4 nights are free.

Contact 027-490-3124 or 07-348-5853 please leave a message if necessary - all enquiries will be replied to.