Newsletter - Week 9 Term 3
Newsletter 28 21 September 2022
Principal's Message
Tena koutou katoa
It is nice to be back home after being away for a while. Rotorua seems a lot warmer than the southern places I visited over the last couple of weeks.
It was a busy week last week, particularly Friday. It was great to see our children participating in the local gymnastic competition and they did very well bringing home lots of winning ribbons.
On Friday we also hosted a Technology Day for our Kahui Ako. This is the second event we have had this year, with the sport and cultural day hosted in Tauranga earlier this term. We had Catholic Schools from Opotiki, Mount Maunganui, Papamoa, Tauranga, Putaruru, Tokoroa, Aquinas and John Paul College. It was a huge success with our team gaining second place in the technology competition.
Next term JPC is hosting a Kahui Ako Ahurei. Most of the schools in our Kahui Ako are participating and we will be entering Junior and Senior Kapa haka groups. We are all looking forward to this event.
And the third activity that our children were involved in was the Mini Marathon. We had a large group of children participate in this (201). It was a fabulous event and enjoyed by the children.
Last week our Senior Kapa haka group was invited to the hospital to share Te Wiki o te Reo Maori with the staff, patients and manuhiri. Our children performed beautifully.
Next week is Showtime and our children have been practising hard for the show. Jane Trask, our Director, has done an awesome job working with our children. Thank you to the parents who have been helping us with sewing and costuming. Both night shows are fully booked so sorry, there are no door sales. There are still tickets available for the matinees but the Wednesday show is almost booked out too.
Today I was host to forty children who have been doing amazing things during the term, at the Principal’s luncheon. It is always a great occasion.
Our Filipino Community is inviting us all to Mass to celebrate the feast day of San Lorenzo Ruiz who is Filipino’s first Saint. Mass is at 10.30 am this Saturday at St Mary’s Church and fellowship and lunch are at 12 Noon in the Church Hall.
Just a reminder that we have our Fun Run at the beginning of Term 4. Please get in behind this and encourage your children to go out and get sponsors. These don’t need to be huge donations as they all add up. This is a major fundraiser for us.
This week your child will bring home a form regarding class placements for 2023. These forms need to be returned to the blue box in the school foyer by the last day of term. If you have a preschooler aged 4 years, and you intend to enrol him/her at St Mary’s, please fill in an enrolment form which you can pick up from the office. Places are filling quickly in our new entrant classes, so if you would like a space for your child then you do need to enrol now.
Students are to start Term 4 in full summer uniform. Our Uniform Shop is open Mondays (8.30-9.00am), Wednesdays (2.30-3.00pm) & Fridays (8.30-9.00am) during term time. The girls’ summer dresses are currently only available from our school uniform shop.
Summer uniform is:
Boys - Grey drill shorts and a royal blue short-sleeved polo shirt.
Girls - Blue check dress.
All students need a royal blue sunhat.
Feilding Red woollen school jersey.
Black sandals for footwear (no socks to be worn with sandals).
We also sell school uniforms via our school website. You can order and pay online and pick up your uniform from the school reception after you have been notified by email that the uniform is ready to pick up. Hopefully, this will be easier for those parents who find it difficult to get to our uniform shop.
A reminder that we have a holiday next Monday to honour our Queen’s passing. Hasn’t she been a great example of a servant leader?
Have a great week.
Ngā mihi
David Macmillan
Principal.
Parent Online Safety Meeting
Our school is hosting an online safety meeting led by Netsafe staff Tuesday 27 September at 5:45pm. It is important to be informed, and this is a chance for our community to hear from experts. Please use this link to book your spot at no cost. This is an open event so please encourage your friends and whanau to come along.
Parents of Year 3 students are invited to attend a quick meeting to hear about our 1:1 device programme which begins from Year 4. This meeting will begin at 5:15 and conclude in time for whanau to be at the Netsafe meeting.
Mask Wearing
After careful consideration and consultation with our staff, we have decided to make mask wearing optional at school. If you would like your child to continue wearing a mask while at school, please have this conversation with your child at home. We will support your decision as best we can.
Thank you for your support with the mask wearing. We appreciate the team effort to keep our community safe.
Kia noho haumaru
DIRECTOR OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Today is the feast day of St Matthew. Matthew was a tax collector and was despised by lots of people. Pope Francis once encouraged people to pray for tax collectors. He said they would not win any popularity contests, but were vital for the functioning of a fair society.
Within Kakano the children have been learning about fairness too, and to think of the ways in which they display fairness at school or at home. Some examples the students came up with were: helping with the dishes or sharing toys with a friend. Pope Francis encourages all children to use the talents God has given them and not to be afraid of dreaming great things!
We still need items for our Operation Shoe Box appeal. Thank you to those who have already donated. You can send your donations to school with your child. All classroom teachers are collecting items. Donations can include - toys, school supplies, hygiene products, clothing, hair accessories etc.
Items NOT to include are: Toothpaste, sweets, lotions and liquids; used or damaged items; war-related items; seeds, gum, chocolate or food items; religious or political literature; medicines, aerosol cans, sharp or fragile items.
Our cut off date for contributions is end of term - 30 September 2022.
God bless
Sara Mines & Lorna Dobson DRS
Altar Serving Training
- Your child/children must be baptised Catholic and completed the Sacramental Programme (First Holy Communion and Confirmation) to be able to be trained.
- Please email the details of your child/children to the Parish Office if interested catholicrotorua@xtra.co.nz
- Please include your name and phone number together with email address.
- Father Prakash is looking at either Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays. Please indicate what day suits best on your email.
- Father Prakash will begin training this week straight after school.
LITTLE RED ROCKING HOOD
PRODUCTION UPDATE:
If you have already purchased tickets for a particular show, and now find you have made a mistake, we may be able to swap them for you. Place your tickets in an envelope with your name and phone contact on the outside, and nominate the performance you do want. We will contact you if a swap has been sorted. All the evening performances have been sold out, but you can still purchase for the daytime performances via Eventbrite.
Wednesday show classes: Rooms 1, 3, 5,14 and 15, and Kakano : K2, K5, K7 and K8
Thursday show classes: Rooms 2, 4, 12, 16 and 17, and Kakano: K1, K3, K4 and K6
SPONSORSHIP REQUEST
Our school production is shaping up very nicely and we are excited for all the children who are participating. As you can imagine there are a number of costs involved in running an event like this. If you would like to be a sponsor, we would gladly advertise your business on the programme for the show.
Please contact David Macmillan or Sylvia Dunkley if you are keen. No amount is too big or too small. Grateful thanks to those who are able to contribute towards this, it is much appreciated. principal@stmarysrotorua.school.nz sylviad@stmarysrotorua.school.nz
Invitation to everyone from Rotorua Filipino Community ...
CHESS CLUB
We are fundraising to pay for the upcoming NZ Nationals being held in Rotorua on the weekend of 22/23 October. We are entering two teams of 8 players, 1 to play onsite, 1 to play online. Also we have up to 10 children playing in the individual championships.
Events:
Bunnings - BBQ Saturday 1 October. Come and enjoy a sausage and drink, and buy a raffle ticket.
Bunnings Cake Stall - Sunday 2 October.
Offers of cake items for the stall gratefully received. These can be dropped off at the main entrance at 8.30am to 9.30am.
With thanks,
Mr G
Year 5 & 6 Camp - Term 4
We rely on parents/caregivers' contributions to enable us to hold this camp. Without your help camp is not possible.
Many thanks to those parents who have paid their contribution already. If you would like to start a payment plan, or have any queries, please email Margo Mason admin@stmarysrotorua.school.nz, or call into the office.
On Friday October 21, we will be holding our sponsored event,
the School Fun Run!
Are you Fundraising?
The effort and enthusiasm from students this far has been fantastic but, as we are still a little way off reaching our goal, we are reminding families that there is still time to participate. The easiest way to do this is through online fundraising, where there is no limit to what can be achieved.
Go to schoolfunrun.co.nz, create a student profile page and share your online fundraising link via SMS, Email and Social Media.
If you are currently fundraising, THANK YOU! We hope you will continue to share your link and fundraising for the school.
Top Class for Week 3 of the Promotion -
Be the class that raises the most money for the week
and win ice cream sundaes for your class Golden Time
SPORTS NEWS
Summer Sports Registrations
Please keep an eye out on our website for summer sports registrations. This will be found under the sports tab under registrations.
We will be offering the following sports: Netball, Touch Rugby, Cricket and Futsal
If you are attending your child/childrens' sporting events and have some good photos to share, please send to sports@stmarysrotorua.school.nz with a notation about the occasion.
Can Your Child Swim
Where: St Mary's Primary School
When: Monday 17 October
- Non-confident to all four strokes.
- Water safety skillsTo enrol please phone Margaret 0274599286 boiellem@hotmail.com