Welcome Back
Important Information for the return to school - 31 January
Our Vision: To grow Catholic, Christian young people,
who are confident, connected lifelong learners, inspired by the teachings of Jesus,
and who make a positive difference in their community.
Tēnā tātou
Ngā mihi o te Tau Hou. Happy New Year to you all. Schools remain open at all traffic light settings and we are looking forward to seeing everyone at school next week. Teachers have a staff only day Thursday 27 and Friday 28 January and will be welcoming learners at school Monday 31 January.
An update to the community on COVID-19 Requirements under Red traffic light settings
Masks - these are now mandatory for staff and students Year 4-6 when inside. We ask all children to supply their own mask however we will have a few available. If your child does have an exemption please email this information to the school office, office@stjamescatholic.school.nz. All parents and visitors to the school are required to wear a mask.
Before and After School Expectations - Whānau are asked to drop off and pick up their child from the main school gate on Albert Street and to wear a mask when doing so. Staff will be at the gate. Families of new children and Learning Space 10 families may meet at the office Monday morning and we will take learners to their learning space. Again at 2.50pm, the end of day staff will bring learners to the bus shelter and wait for parents. If you are running late or you need to collect your child from school during school hours please pop into the office to sign your child in or out. Please do not go directly to their learning space.
School starts at 8.50am. We ask that children do not arrive before 8.30 am. Before 8.30am this is Teacher’s time to prepare for your child’s learning. Any children arriving at school before 8.30am will not be supervised. If you require before or after school care please contact Nippers who operate from our School Hall. For more details or an enrolment pack please contact 06 356 7926 (Nippers Office) or 021 645 806 (on-site) or nippers@inspire.net.nz.
Events and activities - The Ministry of Education is recommending we do not hold events or activities that involve large numbers of students, ie gatherings, assemblies when in Red traffic light settings and there should be no non-essential visitors on site. Non-curriculum related events can only go ahead if My Vaccine Pass requirements are adhered to.
Contact Tracing - A reminder to please ensure you sign in with the NZ COVID QR Code located at each school entrance or use the COVID 19 Check-in function on the school app if you have to come into the school grounds.
If your child is unwell - please stay home and if COVID-19 symptoms are present please get tested and not return until a negative test is received and you are symptom free for 24 hours.
I wish to assure you that our hygiene measures remain in place. Children are encouraged to wash their hands after hanging up their bags each morning, to use the hand sanitisers at the entrances into learning spaces, to regularly wash and dry hands, and are encouraged to cough and sneeze into their elbow.
Our focus as always will be to support the learning and wellbeing of our rangatahi and tamariki and we continue to be here to support you as well. Please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s kaiako/teacher or myself, if there is something you need assistance with. These measures will remain in place while we are in Red traffic light settings and we thank you for your support of this current and ever changing environment. We respond to the advice of the Ministry of Education to maintain the health and safety of our kura. We really appreciate your understanding.
2022 School Organisation - Here is our plan for teachers and classes to begin term 1 2022. Christine Cosgrove will remain as Acting Principal. Andrea Cawood and Naomi Scott will be Assistant Principals.
This year we have one teaching team, Christine Cosgrove Team Leader (Curriculum), Andrea Cawood (Literacy Leader) and Naomi Scott (Numeracy Leader).
Our transition to school programme Te Pihinga continues in Learning Space 10.
LS 1 Yr4/5 Amy Cousins
LS 2 Yr 4/5 Whaea Hilary Autagavaia
LS 5 Yr 6 Andrea Cawood
LS 6 Yr3 Trish Symes (Mon-Thur) and Raymond Bennett (Fri)
LS 7 Yr 1/2 Tracey Gunn (Mon-Wed)/Bronwyn Bateman (Thur-Fri)
LS 8 Yr 2/3 Naomi Scott
LS10 Yr 0/1 Claire Dillon
First day of Term 1 - Monday 31 January 2022 Checklist
Please ensure all learners have:
A mask for Year 4, 5 and 6 learners
Their sunhat
A water bottle (water only)
School Stationery (please bring all stationery)
Swimming Togs and Towel every day
Sun screened prior to arriving at school
Swimming - while the school pool is closed to the school community after hours under Red traffic light settings it is able to be used under education settings, however the pool will not be open to the whole school for lunchtime swims.
We farewell Mrs Meagan Gooding who resigned at the end of Term 4. Meagan was a learning space teacher in Te Mahuri and most recently we acknowledge her contribution she made as a Specialist Teacher supporting our staff of High Needs Learners. We value your contributions you have made to Hato Heemi and wish you all the very best Meagan for your future endeavors.
We welcome Mrs Trish Symes and Mr Raymond Bennett. Both Trish and Raymond have been long term relievers here at Hato Heemi, know the St James’ Values and have done a great deal of teaching for us over the years.
New Facebook page - you will be aware that St James’ Catholic School has a new Facebook page. Please Like this page so we can continue connecting with you.
Property Development - You may have seen that we have had some property development late last year. The bike shelter, storage shed and shed beside the caretaker’s shed have been demolished. Plans are currently underway for a replacement caretaker’s shed. Once construction is complete the shelter shed and storage sheds will be replaced with purpose built storage.
Carpark - Just a reminder that the school carpark is closed from 8.25-8.50am and 2.30-3.10pm no Entry or Exit during these times. We will be closing access to the carpark during these times as we have had a few near misses with people exiting and reversing out of the carpark. We thank you for your support in keeping our tamariki safe.
If you have any questions I invite you to contact me, 357 9719 or office@stjamescatholic.school.nz. We look forward to seeing you all next week.
Ngā Manaakitanga
Christine Cosgrove
Reminders
Contact details - please remember to update your details if you have a new address, email address or phone number. Please contact the school office via email office@stjamescatholic.school.nz and these will be updated.
School App - please remember to update your Alert Subscriptions for your child's 2022 learning space on the School App. You can access Alert Subscriptions from the menu at the top Left hand corner of your screen. Click on the groups/learning spaces you wish to subscribe to.
Dates for Your Diary
Please keep checking the Events Calendar on the school website. All coming events will continue to be updated here. Add to my Calendar.