St Benedict's School Pānui ā-rorohiko (Online Newsletter) Week 5, Term 4

Teacher Only Day 18/11/22

Tomorrow the school is closed for instruction for a Teacher Only Day. We look forward to seeing you all on Monday 21 November. 

Catholic Character

On 22nd November, Tuesday Fr. Pete will administer the sacrament of Reconciliation to the students of St Benedict’s from Year 4 and up.

This service will be held at St Benedict’s Church at 11am.

Advent Reconciliation service is an opportunity for us to join each other in asking for forgiveness and healing during this important time of the year. The sacrament of reconciliation figuratively wipes the slate clean in any liturgical season, but the Advent season is a time to prepare our hearts for Christmas.

School Uniform

School uniform Price review

The school has been informed by our main uniform supplier Moana Clothing Ltd that they have had to review the prices of some of our uniform items.  Therefore there has been a slight price increase on some uniform items.

Order form for PE Uniforms
The school is currently taking orders for PE Uniform items.  Ordering will be open until Friday 9th December.  Items will be delivered at the beginning of Term 1, 2023.

Please go to this link below to order

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfMmxhAVMFNlOttz3gMzHqDa51CZXtUBafigOrDgUUx1qY2QA/viewform

Students are expected to have a PE uniform from Year 3.  The PE top is compulsory and is to be worn with either the PE Shorts or tracksuit pants.  The PE jacket is optional.

Northern Zone Athletics

Well done to all athletes who made it through to the Northern Zones Athletics day. We had a beautiful day in Newtown and our competitors made us proud. They represented our school well by trying their best and cheering on their fellow competitors.

Congratulations to the following athletes who made it through to the Interzone competition at Newtown Park on Tuesday 28th November, 9am-2:30pm. Year 7 girls and boys relay team, Year 8 boys relay team. Albert O’Brien, Chloe Park and Sophie Dravitzki for discus, Xander Breslin, Albert O’Brien and Aston Jetley for long jump. Kit Hanlon and Aston Jetley for high jump. Winston O’Brien, Charlie Smith, Albert O’Brien, Octavia Burns, Skye Pinto and Isaac Willoughby for long sprints. Joseph Byrne, Skye Pinto, Octavia Burns, Isaac Willoughby and Alice Mazur for short sprints. Oscar Cakebread, Jack Robilliard, Octavia Burns, Charlie Smith, Albert O’Brien, Hamish Burns and Kit Hanlon for the middle distance races.

We wish them all the best.

Paul Cunningham

Production 2022

A HUGE THANK YOU to all of the teachers, staff, families and especially to the students for another successful whole school production. It was great to have everyone back together again to celebrate the talent in our community and the performing arts. The energy around the school was high and positive in the weeks leading up to the show and there are still songs being sung in the corridor even after. Thank you again to all of the support within the community to put on this great production! 

We will have more photos and video available in the next few weeks. In the meantime here is a sneak peak from our dress rehersal. 

Tumuaki Korero - A word from our Principal

Tena koutou e te whānau,

Book Week

There has been a real buzz in the air with our focus on Book Week this week. Our dress up day on Tuesday was a big success and today we host Apirana Taylor as well as take part in a book swap. We are so lucky to have a dedicated library space that is supported by our School Librarians and Donna our Librarian. Thank you to the Librarians who have set up activities throughout the week and our House Captains who ran the Book Character Parade. 

Class Placement 2023

The overall classroom structure for next year will look very much like our current one. All teachers are currently involved in the placement of students into classrooms for next year as they bring knowledge of who works well together, who might benefit from being in a separate grouping etc. Much time and effort is dedicated to getting a good mix for everyone as we look for:

• A mix of students’ learning abilities, behaviours and dispositions
• A good gender balance
• The age range of students
• Specific needs of students
• Friendship groupings

Occasionally parents may email me with a specific need they would like us to take into consideration when making these placements. We will always take this into account but cannot guarantee they will be reflected in the final decision as this must take into account the balance and needs of all students. For example, it is not possible to accommodate specific requests for individual teachers you or your child might like to have. We aim for a consistency of learning programmes and behaviour management across the school which provides an assurance to parents of a unified approach and quality experience for all students. 

Rise of illnesses

We continue to have a steady rate of COVID cases within our community. We do hope that, if there is a case in your whānau, you let us know and continue to monitor closely the rest of the household for symptoms through testing. This allows us to inform members of our community who are immuno compromised. Our expectation is that if a case is in your household you will test your tamariki before sending them to school. We still have testing packs at school if you require them. As we have proven throughout this year keeping tamariki at home who have cold and flu symptoms enables us to keep our school running. 

Over the next few months, it would be a great idea to check your tamariki are all up to date with their vaccination schedule. Both chickenpox and measles can be life altering viruses for young children, those who have vulnerable immunity and those who are pregnant. They are easily mitigated with free vaccination. Currently we have a small number of cases of chickenpox.

Roofing replacement update

Currently our roofers have completed the creation of a platform to the left of the school buildings and secured scaffolding above the Junior playground. This process took five days and during this time the junior playground was out of bounds. The playground is now operational as the scaffolding has been secured above it and will not be used again until the later part of this term.  The below diagram gives you an idea of where the scaffolding is going over the next 7 weeks. 

Nicholson Road

Thank you for the improved efforts of safe parking on Nicholson Road over the past few weeks. If you have a new member of your whānau picking up your tamariki please make sure they understand that the pick up drop off areas on Nicholson and Everest are not available to park in. 

Sun Safe at St Ben's

Reminder: We’re a Sunsmart School. As a Sun-Smart School St Benedict’s:

•  Requires all students to wear a school sunhat which shades the face, neck and ears whenever the students are outside and involved in school activities during Terms 1&4.
• Encourages students to protect themselves with sunscreen during school trips and recommends students bringing their own sunscreen to reapply during the day.
• Encourages students to wear clothing that protects their skin when they are on school trips and are exposed to the sun for extended lengths of time e.g. sports days or picnics. (White would be the preferred colour of long sleeve tops under the sports top.)
• Encourages parents and teachers to follow the above and be positive role models when participating in school activities.
• For school picnic and camps only – encourages students to wear swimsuits that cover as much as possible when swimming outdoors e.g. long sleeve rash tops.

  
Mā te Atua koutou e manaaki, e tiaki hoki,
May God bless and care for you,
Tania Savage - Principal

EPIC Gratitude

Persevering. By Alexander, Stas  & Samantha  Room 7

We read a Māori legend from Porirua: Awarua the Taniwha of Porirua.  Awarua was special to Porirua. A street is named after her. Awarua was brave and she would not give up. She would persevere with trying to fly even though she had tiny wings. Her friend Rereroa was an albatross who trained her how to fly. 

Awarua smashed into the maunga Whitireia, there is a gully there now. She also crashed across the top of Mana Island, now the mountain is very flat.  It made us think of our school value of Perseverance:

• You should always be proud of yourself!
• Practise and you do better.
• Sometimes your dreams don’t happen  but remember that you try.
• Do the best that you can. Never give up. 
• Help your friends and don’t laugh at people.
• It doesn’t matter if you didn't complete something, you should be proud of what you did.
• Do it, give it a go, try it.
• If we can practise we can do anything.

We weren't born knowing how to read. But we practised like Awarua practised to fly. We wanted to share what we learned about our local history with our school community because it helps us to help others, and it helps us to persevere!

Book Character Day

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Clay Carving

A big thank you to Mike, Grandfather of Tallulah who gave up his time to teach his clay carving skills to Rooms 5, 6 and 7.

Term 4 Events

Generally all events are in our St Bens calendar which you can add to your own Google Calendar through this link. 

We are introducing some changes to the end of year events due to the very crowded nature of this term and the response we have to attendance at these events historically. The Annual Parent Meeting is being retired with parts of this meeting being added to our end of year Carol Service. Information about school organisation and academic achievement, usually shared within the meeting, will now be shared through our School Newsletter.

November 2022

18th Teacher Only Day  school closed for instruction

22nd 11am Advent Reconciliation @ School whānau welcome

24th Year 8 transition to St Patrick's College, St Mary's College, St Catherine’s College and Wellington Girls College

24th-25th Mrs Savage @ Catholic Principals Retreat

28th Year 7 Retreat @ Huntleigh Girl Guide Centre

29th PSW Interzone Athletics @ Newtown Park 9am-2:30pm

December 2022

1st PSW Interzone Athletics @ Newtown Park 9am-2:30pm PP day

2nd School Speech Competition 9-12:30pm 

       Frosty Friday

5th  Year 6 Retreat - Home of Compassion 

        Year 8 Retreat (Huntleigh Girl Guide Centre)

        Big Day Out Year 1-4 ASB Centre

6th 1:45pm Year 8 Assembly

7th 1:30-3pm Students vrs Teachers Netball with surprise guest

9th 9:30am End of Year Mass @ Church 

         10:30am Thank you Morning Tea for our supporters of our school

10th  6:30pm Year 8 Leavers Dinner Khandallah Town Hall

11th 12pm Kapa Haka Choir performing at Khandallah Fair

         Choir performing Ngaio Community Carols

13th Big Day Out- Year 5-8 – ASB Centre

         10.00-11:15 Manuka Whanau Christmas Celebration @ Church

           Reports go home, including class placement for 2023

14th 9am-10:30pm Visit to new class for 2023

15th 6:00pm Carol Service and Year 8 Prizegiving @ Church 

16th 12 noon House Carols / Poroporoaki @  Turf
           Last day - 1pm finish

February 2023 

1 and 2 of February will have whānau conferences to support a seamless and positive start to the year.  Further information about what will be covered in  these conferences can be found Week 10, Term 3's newsletter.   Tamariki only need to attend school for their 20  minute interview with their family. If you have further questions about this please feel free to contact me directly. 

 Term Dates 2023

Term 1: Feb 1-6 April 

Term 2: 24 April-30 June 

Term 3: 17 July-22 September 

Term 4: 9 October- 15 December.

Congratulations to..

My New Gallery

St Benedict's Speech Competition

The St Benedict’s Speech Competition takes place on Friday 2nd December.  Students are selected
after presenting to their peers to go into this competition. This competition is judged by members of Toastmaster Wellington. The Year 8 winner has their name entered onto the trophy and receives a gift card.

• At year 1 and 2 the students are encouraged to learn a poem and recite it to their class.
•  At Year 3 and 4 they write and present a speech which is 1-2 minutes long.
• At Year 5 and 6 they write and present a speech which is 2-3 minutes long.
•  At Year 7 and 8 they write and present a speech which is 3-4 minutes long.

The speech can be on a topic of their choice and can be to persuade, entertain or inform their
audience. Props can be used but no slides or power-points displays.

We encourage students to continue  working on their speeches. Preparing for speeches will replace homework over this time. If this event is new to your family please get in contact with your class teacher to learn more about it. 

Parent Road Patrol Roster

NICHOLSON ROAD
(Mornings and Afternoons)
Parents: Please be present from 8:25am - 9:00am and again from 2:45am - 3:15pm

St Benedict's Sports

Northern Zone Athletics

Well done to all athletes who made it through to the Northern Zones Athletics day. We had a beautiful day in Newtown and our competitors made us proud. They represented our school well by trying their best and cheering on their fellow competitors.

Congratulations to the following athletes who made it through to the Interzone competition at Newtown Park on Tuesday 28th November, 9am-2:30pm. Year 7 girls and boys relay team, Year 8 boys relay team. Albert O’Brien, Chloe Park and Sophie Dravitzki for discus, Xander Breslin, Albert O’Brien and Aston Jetley for long jump. Kit Hanlon and Aston Jetley for high jump. Winston O’Brien, Charlie Smith, Albert O’Brien, Octavia Burns, Skye Pinto and Isaac Willoughby for long sprints. Joseph Byrne, Skye Pinto, Octavia Burns, Isaac Willoughby and Alice Mazur for short sprints. Oscar Cakebread, Jack Robilliard, Octavia Burns, Charlie Smith, Albert O’Brien, Hamish Burns and Kit Hanlon for the middle distance races.

We wish them all the best.

Paul Cunningham

Lost Property

Helping Our Kids

Entertainment Book - BLACK FRIDAY SALE!
Two for one membership deal!

For the first time ever when you support our school's fundraising and buy and Entertainment
Membership between 6.00pm Thursday 24th November and 6.00pm Monday 28th November
(Australian Eastern Daylight Time) you’ll receive a second membership FREE.
Yep, that’s double the fun, double the dining, and double the savings!
 
This year's Entertainment Membership is packed with hundreds of 25% off or 2 for 1 offers
from all your favourite local restaurants, takeaways, attractions, shopping and more. Plus, for
only $69.99 you only need to use your membership twice and you’ll save what you spent on
it. So order now to get double the savings!
 
Most importantly, 20% of every Entertainment Membership purchased through us goes
directly towards supporting our school's fundraising!
 
Thank you so much for your support ��
Order here at our fundraising page:  https://subscribe.entertainmentnz.com/fundraiser/10422e1

FROSTY FRIDAY
We’re planning a frosty Friday and sausage sizzle on 2 December!

The HOK committee is made up of parents from the school who volunteer their time to make stuff

happen. 

HOK are always on the lookout for fresh ideas and new members. Let us know if you want to join our next meeting at school and see what we do and how we work. Contact Johanna (HoK secretary) for details: johanna_reidy@hotmail.com

Entertainment Book

Wider Community Notices