Newsletter Term 2 Week 4
St Mary's School Blenheim Friday 27th May 2022
MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
This is always an interesting time of the year. Seasons are changing, for some slowly and for others far too quickly. Matariki is on the horizon and Queen's Birthday is thrown into the mix as well.
More importantly to all of us in this Catholic school is the short time between some major events within our church and liturgical calendar.
During the Christmas holidays Jesus Christ is born to two loving parents who offered themselves to God to support his son on earth who walked among us and taught us how to become more human and enjoy the gifts and talents God has provided for us all. Soon after we mourn the death of Jesus as he was Crucified on Cross and at the same time celebrate his life and the ultimate sacrifice he made for us all.
Now we are heading into Pentecost, the Birthday of the Church and another celebration of the gift that God has provided for us to come together as a hapori whānui and be as one.
Although all events occurred in different years they all have a huge significance in our faith filled year. As a school the children are now learning about the Pentecost and starting preparations for the Mass here at school. The learning and understanding for each child will be different just as their faith journey is.
Thank you all for supporting your children throughout their time here at school with their faith journey and with their understanding.
At the end of the last staff meeting I asked the staff to reflect on three questions. They are still in the staffroom and they are questions we will start to ask ourselves everyday.
They are as follows:
Have you been a good memory for someone today?
Who has been Jesus for you today and how have you been Jesus to others?
Whose feet have you washed today?
These questions sit at the core of who we are as Catholics and the Gospel Values and beliefs we have about our faith and becoming more like Jesus.
I discussed these questions with the Year 8 class as well when we were having a chat on Thursday.
The challenge I left them and also to you is to ask yourself the same questions each day.
God Bless you all,
Yours ‘In Christ’s Light’
Paddy Dowling
TE WHETU O TE MOANA l STAR OF THE SEA - MARLBOROUGH CATHOLIC PARISH
Parish Newsletter - No.18. 29 May 2022
Parish Newsletter - No.17. 22 May 2022
Parish Newsletter - No.16. 15 May 2022
JOHN DEW NEWSLETTER
20 May 2022 Issue No. 267
Kia tau te rangimārie ki a koutou
Over the next two Saturdays I will be privileged to be engaged in what we have called “SYNOD DAYS,” on Saturday 21 May in the Diocese of Palmerston North and on Saturday 28 May in our own Archdiocese of Wellington.
I am very much looking forward to these days of prayer, listening and discernment. I am also excited about what the whole Catholic world is currently engaged in. I'm excited because I see this process of synodality as a way that we, the People of God, clergy and laity together, are listening to the Holy Spirit and to one another. I believe that this Synodal process enables us to take responsibility for one another as disciples, it is about building one another up in the love of Christ and being supportive of one another as we walk through life together.
I hope that these two Synod days will remind us of what the Second Vatican Council called the Church to be in the world today, that is:
• A community of witnesses, drawn together by the reality of Jesus, inspired by the word, nourished and celebrated in Eucharist;
• oriented towards the poor, the marginalized and those on the edge;
• embracing and ecumenical, engaged with our world, society, including other faith traditions; • simple and humble and style, mindful that the mission served is not our own but that of Jesus himself;
• on a journey like pilgrims, both holy and sinful, always open, under the guidance of the Spirit, to the necessity of conversion, and
• ecologically integrated, embracing stewardship of creation and the common good-as emphasized by Pope Francis in Laudato Si.
On our discipleship journey we need the support of one another, remember that through our Baptism we are all the People of God. As we prepare for and engage with one another over these next two Saturdays I ask for your prayers for the success of these days, that all who will be present from both dioceses will be guided by the same Spirit who guided the early Christian disciples as they prayed and discerned how to live the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Your prayers will be greatly appreciated.
With thanks and every blessing
Nāku noa. Nā
+ John
MESSAGE FROM THE ATTENDANCE DUES TEAM
Message from The Attendance Dues Team
Just a friendly reminder that full payment of the Attendance Dues for 2022 is due by 31 May 2022. If you are paying by regular instalments, payments should be set up to close the balance by 30th November 2022 or by arrangement with the Dues team.
The Term 2 invoice will be emailed to all families shortly. Please check that the invoice has not gone to your Spam/Junk Inbox and that all your children are listed on the statement.
Financial assistance is available to families experiencing financial hardship (loss of income/redundancy, family reasons, etc.). It is a condition of the assistance application that the family has an affordable regular payment in place.
If you have any questions, please contact us:
Phone: 0800 462 725 Email: dues@wn.catholic.org.nz Text: 021 08907902
EXCITING NEWS FOR TWO STAFF MEMBERS
Early this week Miss Nicole Cochrane accepted a job at Tua Marina School starting in Term 3 for the rest of 2022.
Nicole has been with us since Term 2 in 2021 and has been a positive asset to our staff and school community. We wish Nicole all the best as she continues to grow as a teacher.
We are also very pleased to announce that Mrs Samantha Sutherland has been employed to fill the role made vacant by Nicole. Mrs Sutherland or Mrs S as she is known by the students has been with us over the last two years relieving and working in a fixed term capacity. We look forward to seeing more of Mrs S and having her smile radiate across the school as she actively engages with our tamariki.
Congratulations to you both.
TEACHER ONLY DAYS
Teacher Only Days
This term we have two Teacher Only Days, days of professional development provided by outside agencies. The first is a continuation of the work we are doing with advancing our pedagogy in Mathematics. The second day is the start of a Religious Education paper through Tu Kupenga. We will be combining with the teaching staff from St Joseph's School, Kaikoura to complete the paper. We will be studying TH504 Catholic Social Teaching.
This is held at the core of who we are as a Catholic school, guides us in decision making and gives a solid grounding for all thinking and behaviour.
We are looking forward to working alongside another Catholic kura as we grow relationships and become closer partners in Catholic Education.
Dates:
Friday 3rd June - DMIC
Friday 8th July - TH504 Catholic Social Teaching
BOARD ELECTIONS 2022
Elections for St Mary’s School Board PARENT REPRESENTATIVES will be held in Term 3.
This is an opportunity for parents that have a genuine interest in the governance of our school to make a commitment to help shape the education provided at St Mary’s School.
We would like our Board to be representative of our community and we require a balance of skills and experiences.
You don’t need to be an expert in education and there is plenty of training offered. If you are interested in finding out more, please contact either
Principal Paddy Dowling (principal@stmb.school.nz) or
Board Presiding Member (Chair) Nigel Mitchell (chairperson@stmb.school.nz).
You are welcome to come along to observe our next Board meeting on Monday 13 June at 6.30pm in the school staff room.
Please advise Nigel if you will be attending.
The following are the likely dates for our Board Election:
Nominations open: Friday 15 July 2022
Nominations closed: Wednesday 3 August 2022
Voting issued: Wednesday 10 August 2022
Election Voting closes: Wednesday 7 September 2022 - 4pm
Board Takes Office: Wednesday 14 September 2022
St Mary’s School Board currently has the following members:
Principal: Patrick Dowling
Staff Representative: Tracy McCone
5 Parent Representatives: Elena Filipo, Ross Frater, Kate Gaines, Nigel Mitchell, Megan McKendry
4 Proprietor Representatives: Rodel Daquioag, Father Michael McCabe, Andrew Stanley, Richard Vercoe(The Proprietor reps are appointed by the Wellington Archdiocese)
UPCOMING EVENTS
- NYLD - Christchurch, Student Leaders - 1st - 2nd June
- Teacher Only Day - 3rd June
- Queens Birthday Public Holiday - 6th June
- Board of Trustees Meeting - 13 June
- Matariki Public Holiday - 24 June
- End of Term - 7th July
- Teacher Only Day - 8th July
- Board of Trustees Meeting - 22 August
- 150th Jubilee - 21-23 October 2022
WHAT'S BEEN HAPPERNING AT TE KURA O HATO MERE ?
WATER SKILLS FOR LIFE PROGRAM
SPORTS NEWS
MARLBOROUGH FUN DUATHLON SERIES
Kids Duathlon
Kids are split into two age groups
5-9 years and
10-12 years.
Age is taken at day of event.
Start time: 11.30am
Each age group will race a different distance
5-9 years will do a 500m run (1 lap), 1.5km ride and finish with a 500m run
10-12 years will do a 1000m run (2 laps), 2.4km ride and finish with a 1 lap run of 500m.
A $1000 donation will be made again this year to the school that has the highest percentage of entrants based on their school roll.
Entry fee is $10 per child
For more information visit Marlborough Fun Duathlon Series Website
WINTER TENNIS
Winter tennis and coordination training in St Mary's hall after school on Wednesday and Thursday.
This is through terms 2 and 3.
For more details contact
Glen Cameron
0211157239
BASKETBALL
Basketball Term 3
PRIMARY SCHOOLS GRADING GAMES
Year 3 and 4 Grades – Mini-Ball: We will be running a skills session for all of the players on Wednesday 22 June. The aim here is to teach some of the basic skills and rules of the game and give coaches/parents some tips as well. We encourage all teams and their coaches to attend.
Mini Ball Girls: Wednesday 22 June 3:30pm – 4:15pm
Mini Ball Boys: Wednesday 22 June 4:30pm – 5:15pm
Year 5 and 6 Grades – Pro-Ball:
Girls teams will all be entered into one grade therefore we will not be running any grading games for girls. (*If there is a large number of team entries grading may be required – we have set aside Wednesday 29 June for this)
Boys teams will have grading games in one session on Monday 27 June. These will be short format (approx 7 min) games on a round robin type basis. Games will take place between 3:30pm and 5:50pm.
Year 7 and 8 Intermediate Grades –
Girls teams will all be entered into one grade therefore we will not be running any grading games for girls.* (*If there is a large number of team entries grading may be required – we have set aside Wednesday 29 June for this.
Boys teams will have grading games in one session on Monday 4 July. These will be short format (approx 7 min) games on a round robin type basis. Games will take place between 3:30pm and 5:50pm.
Games played:
Monday 3.45 – 6.00pm Year 5-6, 25th July-26th Sept
Wednesday 3.45 – 5.00pm Year 3-4, 27th July-28th Sept
Friday 3.45 – 7.30pm Year 7-8, 29th July-30th Sept
Where: Marlborough Lines Stadium 2000
Cost:
$90 Intermediate 5-on-5
$80 Primary Year 5/6 4-on-4
$70 Primary Year 3/4 3-on-3
Mouth guards must be worn by all players
Please click the link to fill out the Basketball Registration Form
https://membership.mygameday.app/regoform.cgi?formID=102697
as well as completing the St Mary’s School Permission Slip
St Mary's School are looking for parents, caregivers or teen's who are passionate about basketball and would like to help with coaching or managing our fabulous teams in Term 3.
Please email lisa@stmb.school.nz
WATER POLO
DANCE
COMMUNITY NEWS
SUBWAY LUNCHES - WEDNESDAY
If you would like to order, please bring the filled form and money into the office on Wednesday morning or you can order online!
Orders must be done before 9.00am on Wednesday mornings.
Online order instructions here
Due to the minimum wage and the price of supplies increasing, all prices will increase by 50c starting in term 2.
OUR SPONSORS
CONTACT US
Email: office@stmb.school.nz
Website: https://stmb.school.nz
Location: St Mary’s School Blenheim 3 Stephenson St, Blenheim, New Zealand
Phone: +64 3 578 9494
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stmarysschoolblenheim/