Newsletter 13 December Term 4 2022
St Brendan's Catholic School
Welcome, nau mai, afio mai, namaste, konnichiwa, nĭ hăo, talofa, komosta, vanakkam, auybowan,
Dear Whānau & Parishioners,
2022 has been another year of change and challenge for our community, nationally and globally. In the Southern Hemisphere it is a particularly busy time, end of the school year, beginning of Summer holidays and the countdown to Christmas. However, it is also an opportunity to reflect and celebrate. He whakataukī:
Titiro whakamuri, kōkiri whakamua.
Look back and reflect in order to move forward.
At one of Pope Frances’ November audiences, he said: "... Each and every person is needed in order for the journey of fraternity and peace to progress. I can give my hand, but if there is no hand from the other side, it doesn't do anything. ..." At St Brendan’s we value our community and appreciate your ongoing support. You continue to be so generous with your time and talents, support fundraising and contribute donations.
Last night our graduating Navigators celebrated with families and the St Brendan’s team. This was an opportunity for our Year 8 students to reflect on the past eight years. During the evening our students showcased their dancing, each student received a special leavers certificate and the Year 8 awards were presented. Today’s Leavers’ Assembly acknowledged our graduates. We are very proud of all they have achieved, the service they have given to our school and the legacy they leave behind. Each team has enjoyed a GRACE celebration, the culmination of our House points system linked to being a Positive Behaviour for Learning School, PB4L. Tomorrow we will announce our 2022 winning House!
I thank our two 2022 fixed term Explorer teachers, Mrs Zeenat Mahmaud and Miss Xueping Yuan. Both colleagues will be moving away from Wellington. And, we thank and farewell Mrs Kaori Takechi from our St Brendan’s team. Kaori has been a member of our learning support team for the past two years, she has provided in class support and has also worked with students to complete two significant school murals. We are grateful to these professionals for joining our team to support the ongoing learning journeys of our students. We wish them good luck and God’s blessings for their future adventures.
All students have had the opportunity to visit their 2023 team and classroom on multiple occasions to support positive transition. These visits have supported students to get to know their new teacher, class peers and physical environment. Forming classes is an intricate process where many factors are taken into consideration. Learning, social, behaviour and emotional needs are all put into the mix to ensure we make the right decisions for each child.
End of year learning posts were able to be accessed from Friday afternoon. We aim to inform you clearly about effort, progress and achievement across all learning areas in relation to the Curriculum. Please ensure you print to/save as PDF your child's/ren's school report/s so this can be accessed by you subsequently should it/they be needed. This will need to be done before 31 December when Hero will roll to 2023. You can do this by accessing Hero through a web browser at go.linc-ed.com. The screen is very similar and supports printing either by clicking the Print icon, or by using Ctrl+P / Cmd+P to use the browser's print functions. The phone app does not support printing. You can also print to / save as a PDF. Our students were proud of the opportunity to include their student voice as part of the reporting process. Students will also enjoy talking to you about examples of their learning from the year as their books and work on display comes home.
I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to everyone who has supported our St Brendan’s School community during 2022. Our Parent Teacher and Friends committee has continued to fundraise successfully and our Board has provided effective governance of our school. We have numerous community volunteers who give generously of their time to help in a variety of ways, and members of our Parish also provide support. We are blessed with a dedicated and professional staff at St Brendan’s. From our terrific teaching team to our skilled support staff and tutors. Collectively everyone is dedicated to providing a wonderful learning environment.
We look forward to welcoming returning students and families back to St Brendan’s in 2023. For those graduating, or leaving, we wish you God’s blessings and all the very best, please know our gate is always open to you and your families.
May the peace and joy of Christmas bring you and your families happiness throughout the coming year.
Wishing you safe and enjoyable holidays. Merry Christmas and God Bless,
Veronica Sawers,
Principal
YEAR EIGHT AWARDS
2023 DATES
We encourage all families to visit before the first day of our 2023 school year. There are two opportunities for you to pop in to meet teachers, visit classrooms, drop off stationery and emergency kit/s and bring a family photo:
Monday, 30 January 2.30-4.30pm, or,
Tuesday, 31 January 9-11am
Term 1 Wednesday, 1 February 2023 - Thursday, 6 April 2023
Term 2 Wednesday, 26 April 2023 - Friday, 30 June 2023
Term 3 Monday, 17 July 2023 - Friday, 22 September 2023
Term 4 Monday, 9 October 2023 - Friday, 15 December 2023
Teacher Only Day - Monday, 24 April 2023
Teacher Only Day - Friday, 20 October 2023 tbc
OFFICE NOTICES
- Stationery lists will shortly be uploaded to OfficeMax, Qizzle and The Warehouse for stationery purchases online. Stationery Lists will also be provided to The Warehouse in Upper Hutt for in store purchases.
- Medications will be sent home on the last day of school with a new 2023 Medical form for next year if medications are required at school in 2023. These will need to be back to the Office on Wednesday, 1 February 2023.
- Please inform the Office of any changes to contact details.
- Bee Healthy bus will visit in Term 1 2023 from Thursday, 2 February to Thursday, 23 February.
Location: 56 Palmer Crescent Heretaunga Upper Hutt 5019
Phone: (04) 939 1909