Kia ora e te whanau

Despite a somewhat disrupted academic year in 2022, as expected, it is pleasing that our students have returned to school refreshed, reenergised, and ready to set their goals for 2023. In the coming weeks, once NCEA results are finalised, we will be having our Academic Blues Assembly on Wednesday, March 29th. However, it is important to acknowledge the 2022 NCEA results as they currently stand. Results are down on previous years as we take into consideration the toll three years of Covid has taken and the inclusion of students in individual learning plans, students who left school part way through the year and students enrolled in alternative education:

University Entrance pass rate: SPC 66.7%; National 49.1%

Level 3 pass rate: SPC 75%; National 67.6%

Level 2 pass rate: SPC 91.7%; National 74.2%

Level 1 pass rate: SPC 73.8%; National 64%

We are thankful that on Tuesday we were able to gather as a school community to dedicate our 2023 school year to God at our Opening Mass, and celebrate the Mass with our students, staff, Board members and guests, including current and new families to our community. A big thank you to all who participated and contributed to the Mass, and to Father Jaime who led the Mass and continues to support our College with his service.

Our school motto, Charity Fulfils the Law, calls us to follow God’s commandment to love God and love they neighbour, it encourages each of us to embody the values of community, commitment and compassion. This year we will be continuing to focus on putting our faith into action through our servant leadership council and community service programmes, whereby students are encouraged to strive to be Rosminian and Mercy people who see the need and respond with compassion. Our first project will be Work Day on Wednesday, March 8th, where all money earned will be distributed to worthy charities.

At the Mass our 2023 student leaders were blessed and received their Year 13 badges. This team of student leaders have willingly offered their skills and talents in the service of others. They will build on the legacy of those who have previously served in these positions and they, in turn, will leave their own legacy for others to continue.

Our 2023 student leadership team is:

• Head Girl – Rachael Miller
• Head Boy – George Hedley
• Commitment Leader – Kate Perkins
• Community Leader – Shanae Allen
• Compassion Leader – Marielle Penus
• Head Boarders – Charlotte Anderson and Connor Swain
• Student Board representative – James Mackareth
• International Student Leader – Depp Chantaraviroj
• Rosmini House Leaders – Rebecca McBeath, Molly Haisman, James Mackareth, Howell Orolaza, Sophie Aynsley, Rachael Miller, Charlotte Anderson
• Finlay House Leaders – George Hedley, Caleb McRae, Mary Salvana, Alexine Rivas, Lucy Morrison, Marielle Penus, Meg Clarkson, Flynn McHaffie, Lauren Stevenson, Depp Chantaraviroj, Georgie Crowley, Connor Swain
• McAuley House Leaders – Ethan Friend, Shiya Roger, Dixie-Leigh Burr, Jacob Hayward-Waddell, Ruby Taylor, Isabella Gordon-Glassford, Jacob Walker, Lauryn Pinckney
• Pompallier House Leaders – Sara Chisholm, Jude Ballantyne, Anthony Sneddon, Jessie Andrew, Luca Patching, Kate Perkins, Jenna Ward, Charleigh Sanson, Frances Shallard, Batt Othavorn, Luke Shallard, Shanae Allen

I wish this team of student leaders all the very best for the year ahead and look forward to working alongside them.

Charity Fulfils the Law

Tara Quinney,

Principal

The start of year subject donations and cost forms were not mailed out at the end of last year with all the usual paperwork. This is because we have changed from our Edge student management system to KAMAR. In line with this we will be doing things a little differently in the finance area going forward.

Normally we would send out those forms at year end and ask them to be returned when the students started back for the year. Unfortunately, not everyone returns the forms in a timely manner and sometimes not at all. When this happens, it proves to be really quite difficult when we are trying to load all those subject donations and other charges onto student accounts and we were finding we were still doing this process well in to the middle of the year.

This year with the implementation of KAMAR we will wait until the timetable settles, usually around the beginning of March, and then we will load on all the student subject donations and other usual charges like the rock magazine etc to the school accounts. The timetable is linked to each student account to ensure the correct donations/amounts are charged. Request for payments will then be emailed out for payment or part payment by instalment. If there is an item on the request for payment that you do not wish to pay for (donation) or receive (Rock magazine) then you will need to contact me, and we can remove those charges.

All the balances and credits from Edge have been transferred over to KAMAR and any payments since December have now been allocated in KAMAR. You can continue to make regular payments/instalments to school, and these will be allocated to school accounts. The account will sit in credit until such time as this year’s items are charged and we will then allocate the credit balance to those items and in due course send out requests for payments.

Paula Robertson

Business Manager

execofficer@stpetersgore.school.nz

Kia ora e te Whānau,

As we’ve watched the events unfold on the North Island in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle, we have all been very aware of the importance of being in touch via mobile phone and the internet. These tools are almost indispensable to us now. This is one of the reasons that our rangatahi at St Peter’s are allowed to bring phones to school and to use their devices for learning.

Part of our responsibility as a school is to also teach our ākonga the safe and correct use of these devices and the multitude of platforms associated with them. St Peter’s is therefore delighted to welcome back John Parsons, the internationally renowned cyber-safety expert, next Tuesday 28 February. John will meet with all ākonga during the day and will then be available for whānau that evening.

All parents and caregivers are invited to come and hear the latest information on how to keep our rangatahi safe. While you may have heard John speak previously, I can assure you that every year he brings new information and strategies with him relevant to our local context as well as the international context. Our young people are vulnerable both as creators and subjects of online videos, posts and memes. The personal and legal ramifications of their online behaviour on their lives and futures is a real concern and John can help to answer questions, provide safeguarding measures and allay fears.

We look forward to seeing you in our school Chapel at from 6.30pm on Tuesday 28 February for a 6.45pm start. When John’s session ends at 7.30pm you are welcome to connect with your child’s Dean and other kaiako who will be there and happy to catch up with you in an informal setting.

Ngā mihi nui,

Bridget Ryan,

Deputy Principal.

The St Peter's College Annual Work Day is being held on Wednesday, 8th March. This event is a great opportunity for students to support worthy causes both locally and abroad by doing paid work for the day. Students will be receiving their Work Day forms next week which will contain all you need to know.

If you know of any available jobs or projects, please let us know as we are always looking for ways to involve our students in this worthwhile tradition.

Brendan Terry

Director of Religious Studies

Mikee Omega was third in the open section for muffins and Troy Watson Olsen was third in the open section for scones at the recent Gore Garden Club Harvest Show. Well done to both of these Year 11 students for competing against the public to achieve these awards.

In the "it's never too early" pile, Money Hub have great resources for students looking for merits and excellences in their internal assessments.

MoneyHub has 10+ NCEA resources to help everyone attain merits and excellences - check it out and prepare for upcoming internals and externals with confidence.

https://www.moneyhub.co.nz/resources-for-ncea-students.html

Roger from the RockShop popped in earlier this week and kindly donated a guitar to the school through their Heart and Soul programme, with another couple on the way too! We so appreciate the support from the team at RockShop - they really value music education in schools.

Click the link below to vist Rock Shop website:

https://www.rockshop.co.nz/

As a Catholic school, we believe that the sacraments are an important part of our students' spiritual growth and development. In partnership with St Mary’s School and the Gore Parish, we are offering the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Confirmation and First Holy Communion to students.

One of our youngest International Students, Kritchanut Hametirundorn (Rain) has celebrated his 12th Birthday while studying at St Peter’s College.

Mrs Sinclair and his classmates in 8P showed Rain a variety of New Zealand Birthday games including Pass the Parcel and Pin the Tail on the Donkey.

Following an enthusiastic Happy Birthday song, Rain got to blow out his candles, make a wish and share his Birthday cake with the Class.

Happy Birthday Rain!!

I will be running a trip for Year 11's and 12's in conjunction with Otago Boys High School. The students will have the opportunity to complete a 4 credit internal related to the geological features we will be visiting (this is over and above the many opportunities your children will have to gain the credits required to pass their respective Level).

The trip gives students with an interest in geology to visit first hand and learn about them from our tour guide and ex-Science teacher who specialises in this field. Many of the sites visited also have huge cultural significance. One of the highlights for me when I last went on this trip was to visit the GNS Headquarters in Wellington and then go out into the field to measure and observe some of the evidence from past earthquakes. This visit hasn't yet been confirmed but we are hopeful it will be possible.

The cost of the trip is approximately $1700 with an initial deposit of $200. The cost will depend on how quickly we can book flights and the total number of students on the trip (max 20).

If you are interested in your child taking part in this amazing opportunity or have any further questions, please e-mail me at jacquithompson@stpetersgore.school.nz

Tuesday was ‘Shrove Tuesday’ or ‘Pancake Tuesday’, the last day in the season of Ordinary Time before the beginning of Lent. The school celebrated with pancakes, jam and lashings of whipped cream after returning from our start of year Mass. A willing and capable group of Year 12 students fed the school in record time.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057593412308

Well done to Briar Sharp; she came 1st and 2nd in the Showhunter Equitation classes on her pony “Imperial" in the Nationals at Christchurch.

Briar also came 2nd in the Pony 90cm-1m Championship Showjumping class after 5 clear rounds on her pony "Second Edition”. Awesome work.

The Otago Southland Secondary Schools Water Ski Championships were held on Sunday, 19th February, at Perkins Pond near Millers Flat, with 24 skiers competing.

This was the fourteenth year this event has been held and the eleventh year as a joint Southland and Otago event.

The event is focussed on water ski slalom in which skiers make their way through a course of six turns laid out with buoys, with speeds ranging from 37 km/h to 55 km/h for girls and 37 km/h to 58 km/h for boys.

The event was open to all students Year 9 and above enrolled at an Otago or Southland secondary school, and under 19 years as of 1st January, 2023, in three age groups for both girls and boys.

Skiers nominate whether they are able to ski the full Championship course or the Novice course.

Congratulations to Connor Sharp who was competing in the Under 16 Boys Championship and came 2nd in the class.

Well done Connor, awesome work!

The Wanaka Challenge took place from Thursday, 16th - Saturday, 18th February at Glendhu Bay, Wanaka.

It is New Zealand’s largest triathlon festival, featuring events for all ages and abilities involving over 2,000 participants, attracting 10,000 spectators and a global audience of millions.

St Peter’s had teams and individuals racing in the Secondary and Intermediate sections alongside hundreds of children from throughout Otago and Southland.

St Peter’s had 3 teams and 3 individuals competing in very hot conditions.

Teams:

Year 7 Girls - Mia Wilkins (swim), Kate Wilson (bike), Lucie Drummond (run)

Year 8 Girls - Augusta Howden (swim), Lola Gray (bike), Bella Davis (run)

Year 8 Boys - Jack Wilkins (swim), Max Wiegersma (bike), Blake Sayer (run)

Individuals:

Under 14 Girls - Jessica Drummond & Charlotte McVicar

Under 16 Girls - Ava Wiegersma

For both the Year 7 and 8 races, the course was a 200m swim, 6km bike and 3km run.

For both the U14 and U16 races, the course was a 300m swim, 10km bike and 3.5km run.

All our students did an amazing job and came away with some excellent results.

The Year7 Girls Team came 2nd

The Year 8 Girls Team also came 2nd.

The Year 8 Boys Team came in 1st

Jessica came 10th and Charlotte 11th in the Under 14 Girls and Ava Wiegersma crossed the line in 6th for the Under 16 Girls.

Congratulations to all these students - what an awesome effort.

A big thank you to all the parents and supporters who gave up their time to get the children up to the event and support them round the track. Thank you.

School Board meeting - Monday, 27th February

John Parsons visit - Tuesday, 28th February

Year 12 Biology trip to Grants Bush - Wednesday, 1st March

Commissioning Mass - Thursday, 2nd March

Year 7 & 8 Retreats - Friday, 3rd March

SISS Triatholon - Sunday 5th March

Year 12 PE Surf Camp - Sunday, 5th to 7th March

Southland Touch Tournament - Tuesday, 7th March

Work Day - Wednesday, 8th March

PTFA meeting - Tuesday, 14th March

PPTA Teacher Strike day - Thursday, 16th March

Year 12 Food Technology Field Trip - Friday, 17th March

Southland Surfing Championships - Saturday, 18th March

Year 11 PE Camp - Monday, 20th March and Tuesday, 21st March

Teacher only Day - Friday, 24th March

School Ball - Friday, 24th March

Loving for Life - Monday, 27th - Wednesday, 29th March

Senior Quad Tournament - Sunday, 2nd - Monday, 3rd April

End of Term 1, school finishes at lunchtime - Thursday, 6th April