Newsletter
St Mary's Catholic School 3 November 2022 - Term 4 Week 3
Buy your Fireworks tickets here....
Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Sunday, October 30, 2022
Gospel Reading
Luke 19:1-10
Jesus stays at the house of Zacchaeus, the tax collector.
Background on the Gospel Reading
In Jesus' day, tax collectors were not popular people. They were collaborators with the Romans and were despised by many Jewish people. The tax system allowed them to charge more than what was required so that they could make a profit for themselves. Thus, they were considered sinners by their countrymen. Observers in the crowd that day grumble because Jesus dines with a sinner. Throughout Scripture, Jesus' choice of dinner companions set him apart from other observant Jews of his time. In first century Jewish culture, to dine together was to show a bond of fellowship and peace among those at the table. Observant Jews did not generally dine with foreigners and sinners. Yet, Jesus chooses to honour the tax collector, Zacchaeus, by staying at his house.
Even before Jesus comes to his home, Zacchaeus shows himself to be someone in search of salvation. Zacchaeus, described as short in stature, climbs a tree in order to see Jesus. We know from Luke's description that Zacchaeus was no ordinary tax collector; he was, in fact, the chief tax collector and a person of some wealth. In his search for salvation, he humbled himself by making a spectacle of himself by climbing a tree.
Jesus recognizes the faith of this tax collector exhibited in his search for salvation and calls him down from the tree. In the hospitality he extends to Jesus and in his conversion of heart, Zacchaeus is raised up by Jesus as a model of salvation.
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Tēnā koutou kātoa e te whānau,
Tihei mauri ora, nau mai, haere mai, tena koutou katoa, E nga whanau, e nga kaiako, e nga tamariki, e nga manuhiri, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa
Our New Vision
Together with Jesus we love, learn and serve in the Cluny spirit.
Term 4 Sports
Our Term 4 sports have started and thank-you to those that have volunteered their time to support our children. As you can appreciate this Term will go very fast and we have a number of end of year items that are fast approaching. Please make sure you keep an eye on our school website and the school calendar as all the information should be there.
2023 Classes
This year our class sizes may have been considered a little high in some areas of our school. Depending on 2023 enrolments we are hoping to rectify that next year. While we cannot guarantee that some class sizes won’t be large, we are committed to looking at class sizes differently. Our composition of classes for 2023 will likely be two New Entrants classes and two Year 1 classes. We will have four Year 2/3 classes with two of these being in Māramatanga and the other two classes will be in single cell classrooms. We are likely to have four Year 4/5 classes, one Year 5/6 class and three straight Year 6 classrooms. We will keep our community updated as we move through our thinking. I will also keep you updated with staff as to where they will be teaching in 2023.
Class Placements
Teachers and leaders are beginning the mammoth task of putting together class lists for 2023. This will be done based on our social and academic knowledge of your child and also if there are any learning requirements that we need to take into consideration. If you have any queries please feel free to email me. jmurray@stmarystga.school.nz
We ask for your trust and understanding during this process.
Communication Process
A reminder if you have concerns, it is imperative that you speak with your child's teacher first. After that if you feel you need to go to the team leader then please do so. Mrs Broadmore and I will support the school and families once they have been through these channels. We must role model good behaviours to our children and follow the processes.
Financial Support
A Cyber Safety Evening with Rob Cope
Please bring your children along if you can't get a baby sitter. We will have a supervised classroom set up for children to watch a movie or two.
Key Term 4 Dates for the Diary
Friday 4th November
Year 6 Retreat
9th - 11th November
Aroha Team Camp - Tui Ridge
Friday 11th November
Kāhui ako Kapa Haka Ahurei - Rotorua
Hato Maria Senior Kapa Haka Performing
Monday 14th November
Aroha Athletics Day at school
Tuesday 15th November
Transition Day - Aquinas College
New Families Liturgy
Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey Centre
Wednesday 16th November
Arts & Culture Showcase Evening with Special Guest - Jeremy Redmore
Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey Centre
Friday 18th November
Staff Only Day - School is closed
Saturday 19th November
PTA Fireworks
Monday 21st November
South Cluster Athletics
Thursday 24th November
Senior Parent Cyber Safety Meeting
Thursday 1st December
Year 1 Liturgy
Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey Centre
Wednesday 7th December 3 - 6pm
Kanohi ki te Kanohi Whānau Conferences
Thursday 8th December 9:30am
Mass - Immaculate Conception
Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey Centre
Thursday 8th December 12 - 6pm
Kanohi ki te Kanohi Whānau Conferences
Tuesday 13th December
Prize Giving
Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey Centre
Senior Year 4 - 6 9:30 - 11am
Junior Year 0 - 3 12 - 1pm
Wednesday 14th of December
Year 6 Celebrations
- Family Celebration - 8:30 - 9:30am, Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey Centre
- Pool Party - 3:15 - 4:15pm
Thursday 15th December
End of Year School Mass 10 - 11am
St Mary’s Immaculate Church
Friday 16th December
School Finishes for the year 12pm
2023 Term Dates
Monday 6 February - Waitangi Day
Term 2 - Monday 24 April - Friday 30 June
Tuesday 25 April - Anzac Day
Monday 5 June - King’s Birthday
Term 3 - Monday 17 July - Friday 22 September
Term 4 - Monday 9 October - Wednesday 20 December
Monday 23 October - Labour Day
Parent Conferences in 2022
Term 4- Wednesday 7th December, 3 pm-6 pm, Thursday 8th December 12.30 pm-6 pm. SCHOOL CLOSES AT 12PM Thursday 8th December.
There will also be NO AFTER SCHOOL CARE THIS DAY.
Please follow this link to book a time to meet your child's whānau teacher later this term.
Please note that Mrs Meehan will be in contact with her parents to confirm a time to meet as her parent conferences will be earlier than noted above.
Ngā mihi nui
James Murray
Principal
CATHOLIC CHARACTER
Sacrament of Confirmation
All Saints' and All Souls' Day
On Tuesday 1 November the church recognises All Saints Day as a holy day. On this day the church honours all those who have reached heaven. People celebrate the saints by lighting candles and going to church. Other traditions on this day include reading and learning about the saints, praying to the saints – especially one’s Confirmation Saint – and asking for their intercession so that we, too, might become saints.
Wednesday 2 November is the Feast of All Souls. On this day the Church remembers and prays for the faithful departed. Each class is preparing a Book of Remembrance to think about the people and souls we would like to pray for during November. On Thursday we will recognise All Souls Day during our whole school Mass in the centre at 9.30am. As always you are very welcome to attend and celebrate the Eucharist.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let the perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen
Andrew Chinn
Parish Choir
Pray the Rosary
One of our parents, Koralee Brazendale, has kindly offered to lead a parent group to pray the Rosary every week in our Cluny Chapel.
This is an opportunity to pray together and learn more about how to pray the rosary. Please feel free to come along on Monday afternoons at 2.30pm in the Chapel.
God Bless
Fay Warnock
DRS/Deputy Principal
OTHER SCHOOL NEWS
St Mary's Pasifika Group
We will be performing at the postponed Pasifika Festival on Saturday the 5th November, at Jubilee Park, Te Puke. The Festival commences at 10am and finishes at approximately 3.30pm.
The new order of performances is attached for your information. Please note that our new time slot is now from 12pm, and as these times will be pretty accurate, you will need to be seated at least 5 minutes beforehand if you are coming along to watch.
Come and enjoy a day of Pacific Island dancing, singing and cuisine. We look forward to seeing you there.
Fa'afetai lava
Ia Manuia
Annette Laban
Jeremy Redmore - Special Guest Artist
Last week we were blessed to have Jeremy Redmore spend the day with us. Jeremy is a past student of St Mary's who is now a very successful New Zealand musician, singer-songwriter, producer and author. In his early career Jeremy rose to fame as the main creative force behind the band Midnight Youth. Since then he has released albums as a solo artist as well as a music-themed children's picture book. The workshops Jeremy ran with some of our senior classes last week focused on the creative process Jeremy embarked on when writing his picture book, Sing Like A Unicorn. Jeremy guided us through how he created not only this book, but also a song and mixed-media stop motion music video based on the book. Jeremy inspired us when explaining that Sing Like A Unicorn is a reminder that we are all completely unique and special and how important it is to embrace our individuality.
Jeremy Redmore will be a special guest artist at our up and coming Arts & Culture Showcase on Wednesday the 16th of November. Copies of Jeremy's book SIng Like A Unicorn will be available to purchase for $20 each on the night.
Arts & Culture Showcase
Our Arts evening on Wednesday the 16th of November will showcase the depth of our students' talents across the Performing Arts spectrum. We will have performances from our St Mary’s Choir, Hato Maria Kapa Haka roopu, Pasifika group, and Speech and Drama. Our special guest on the night, Jeremy Redmore, has been practising with our choir and we look forward to hearing their rendition of his song Sing Like A Unicorn. We are also very excited to display examples of our Icon Art which was created in class last term.
The Arts & Culture Showcase will be held on Wednesday the 16th of November from 5:30 - 6:30pm in the Blessed Anne Marie Javouhey Centre. Thank you to children who are performing who have returned their permission slip to the office. We hope you can join us for an evening of fun and celebration!
Aquinas Transition Day
We are very lucky to have the children that are going to Aquinas for 2023 have a transition day. Aquinas have very kindly offered to provide a bus for our children to and from St Mary's. Tuesday 15th November is the transition day. Please make sure children are at school ready to leave at 8.30am.
All other Yr 6 children will be expected to be at school at the normal time.
Bus:
- 2 buses will depart St Mary's at 8.30am.
- All buses are scheduled to leave Aquinas at 12 noon and return to St Mary's
- Please ensure the students and their parents know of this earlier time required to be at school.
Supervision:
We will have Teachers and Teacher aides that will be on the bus and stay and support our learners while they are there.
What to bring:
Wear school uniform - we will be playing games as per the plan attached
Morning Tea
Plan:
Please see attachment
Diwali
Some of our children recently shared what they know about Diwali, the Festival of Lights. Diwali is a festival of joy and enlightenment, a celebration of light over dark, good over evil. The children tried to recreate some of the colourful decorations used in households at this time. Our juniors used bright colours to complete their own beautiful rangoli (a pattern usually created on the floor as a warm welcome). Our seniors designed their own mehndi (temporary body art using henna) after looking at the different shapes and patterns used for this purpose. They painted small clay diyas (oil lamps) using bright colours and decorated them with gold designs and sparkly diamantes and pearls.
Pedal & Spokes Family Cycle Ride
If you would like something fun to do on the 5th of November head to the Historic Village for the Pedal and Spokes Family Cycle Ride.
You can register by visiting the Pedal and Spokes website or by picking up a flyer from your Whānau teacher.
When registering remember to use our St Mary's School Code stm100 so we are in with a chance to win $1,000 for our school!
To hear more about the event watch this clip - thank you Lucy, Maddy and Mollie!
PTA Colour Fun Run
Great fun was had by all at our recent PTA Colour Fun Run! Light showers of rain certainly didn't hamper our spirits as each year group raced the obstacle course on a mission to become as colourful as possible! A big thank you again to everyone for your outstanding effort fundraising for our school. Principal for the day was Mr George McKinnon from Whānau Robbie, who raised the most money, an incredible $1,085, followed closely by our Deputy Principal for the day, Miss Eva Hey. Miss Hey, from Whānau Strange, raised a whopping $1,075!
Our thanks to everyone involved for making our very first PTA Colour Fun Run such a memorable event!
Tauranga Christmas Shoebox Appeal
We are very grateful to the many St Mary's families who supported this year's Tauranga Shoebox Christmas Appeal. This week our super Christmas Elves, Mollie, Maddy, Lucy and Hugo, helped deliver our eighty shoeboxes to the depot. What a wonderful effort! Thank you to Maddy's Grandfather Charlie for helping out on the day, and again to everyone for supporting this great cause.
Whānau Walter writing
2022 Yearbook $10.00
Kale Print have generously offered to print the Yearbook for us this year at a reduced price and this has allowed us to offer the Yearbook at less than half price. We are very thankful to Kale Print for their amazing support.
As an acknowledgement of their support the Kale Print logo will feature in the Yearbook. If you would like to support the Yearbook and feature your business logo then please contact Theresa Dunston tdunston@stmarystga.school.nz or Lisa Broadmore lbroadmore@stmarystga.school.nz for more information.
PTA NEWS
Buy your Taylor Bros Ltd & FORM Fireworks tickets
Buy your fireworks tickets HERE...
If you have a business, or know of a place that we could put our Fireworks posters up, then please pick up a copy or two from the school office.
SPORTS NEWS
North Island BMX Championships
Rico Ryan from Whānau Robbie celebrated success when he competed in the North Island BMX Championships in Taupo last weekend. Rico was so proud to win NI1 on both bikes that he was riding. Lots of training went into this success. The North Island Titles are one of three National rounds in which rankings are earned. 40 of the top 10 year old riders in NZ compete for these rankings. This year the New Zealand Nationals are in Tauranga. Rico dedicates three to four nights a week to training and is away racing most weekends.
Congratulations Rico!
Under 11 Girls Basketball
OTHER NEWS
St Mary’s Speech and Drama Lessons & Scholarship 2023!!!!
Year 6 Speech and Drama Scholarship Applications can also be collected from the office. Speech and Drama lessons are taught by our resident Trinity College Speech and Drama teacher Dee Ellwood. Dee has been teaching for 20 years – six years at St Mary’s. All areas of the Trinity Speech and Drama syllabus are covered across the year: voice modulation, poetry/prose, characterisation, public speaking, theatre performance, reading at sight, improv, mime and much more. Students have the opportunity to enter Trinity College Speech and Drama exams, Tauranga Performing Arts Comps and perform in Term 3’s Speech and Drama Concert. Classes are held during school hours, once a week, for all four speech terms. Class sizes are small and places limited. Enrolments must be filled in via Google form, or handed into the office by Thursday, 1st of December – no later, and Dee will make contact with you before the end of term. Scholarship applications for Year 6 students also due Thursday, 1st of December .
Canoe Slalom Bay of Plenty
Canoe slalom is a great outdoor sport and is well represented in our area. As well as the fun of the sport it teaches safety around water. It is included in AIMS for the intermediates and has its own National Secondary Schools Champs.
NZSO
Please support our Gold Group Sponsors
Contact Us
Email: office@stmarystga.school.nz
Website: https://www.stmarystga.school.nz/
Location: 11 Thirteenth Avenue, Tauranga South, Tauranga 3112, New Zealand
Phone: +64 7 578 8066
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stmarystga/