St Benedict's School Pānui ā-rorohiko (Online Newsletter) Week 7, Term 4

School Choir Performance

Children's Nativity Play – St Benedict’s Church

Planning is underway for the final nativity play at St Benedict’s church at the 6pm Christmas Eve Family Mass.  We need lots of angels, shepherds, wisemen, inn-keepers, animals, and of course Mary and Joseph. If you (we want to involve anyone who has ever been in a Nativity Play at St Benedict’s church) or your child would like to be involved, please contact Andrea Lai at calai@outlook.co.nz or on 021 0826 7019. 

There will be a practise on Sunday 17 December after the 9:00am Mass.

Catholic Character- Time of Giving

 This Christmas many families are under pressure due to inflation and the cost of living crisis and they can’t afford to buy necessities for their families. 

Christmas is a time of giving, so St Benedict's school is partnering with St Vincent de Pauls to make family packages to help families in need. 

We ask for you to donate food, eg. tin cans, mince pies, Christmas cakes, chocolates, pre-packed foods for those in need this Christmas. 

You can either bring it to the office or place it in the box  under the Christmas tree by the entrance in the foyer. Please bring your donations in Week 7-8.  

Let’s all give what we can to help people in need so that they may have a Merry Christmas.

Written by Nisha, Ria & Nayomi

Tumuaki Korero - A word from our Principal

Tena koutou e te whānau,

We warmly welcome the following students to Room 2: James (brother of Thomas), Caleb (brother of Aedan & Zoe), Poppy (sister of Willow), Harry (brother of Alex), Joshua (brother of Max) and Hamish (brother of Eleanor).

School Curriculum Refresh

The refresh of the New Zealand Curriculum, called Te Mātaiaho, started with the release of the Aotearoa New Zealand Histories Curriculum in 2020. This curriculum is organized around the concepts of Know, Understand and Do. These concepts are attached to progression outcomes that all tamariki are expected to achieve by the end of a phase of learning. It is expected that all schools will be in a place to deliver the Aotearoa New Zealand Histories Curriculum in 2023. Our school has implemented the new curriculum throughout 2022 and we believe we are in a great place for full implementational in 2023. The Aotearoa New Zealand Histories document is available to view here

Starting in 2023 we will provide opportunities for whānau hui to ensure you understand the upcoming changes and can confidently discuss your child’s learning progression. The refreshed curriculum is expected to be implemented by 2026. 

The aim of the curriculum refresh is to:

 “move us from an outcomes-focused curriculum to a progression-focused curriculum. It is designed to make it easier for teachers to create rich and responsive learning, and puts ākonga – their voice, wellbeing, and aspirations, at the centre of curriculum design.

Designed to be cumulative and increasingly complex – the progression approach replaces year levels and achievement objectives with five phases of learning (Y1-3, Y4-6, Y7-8, Y9-10, Y11-13). These phases of learning are the signposts that guide the learning pathway. Each phase of learning contains progress outcomes that describe what ākonga should understand, know, and do at each phase of learning.”

                                                                                    https://curriculumrefresh.education.govt.nz/whats-changing

 The next two areas of refresh are the Mathematics and Statistics and English. These have been released for testing by a small number of schools in September 2022 and have now been released for feedback from the wider education sector.

Check out https://curriculumrefresh.education.govt.nz/whats-changing if you’d like to know more.

School Organisation for 2023

The refreshed curriculum is organised around five phases of learning. Within primary school these phases are Year 1-3, Year 4-6 and Year 7-8. Our intention going forward is that each syndicate will be organised to reflect these phases of learning as much as we can depending on year level numbers.

Manuka Syndicate (Year 1-3)

Room 2 NE/Yr1 Anne Minto (Syndicate Leader)

Room 3 Year 1/2 Rachel Kriechbaum

Room 4 Year 2/3 Mike Havell

Room 6 Year 3 Fiona Barnett

Sarah Wood Kāhui Ako Across School lead/Better Start Literacy Facilitator/Syndicate release.

Kowhai Syndicate (Year 4-6)

Room 5 Year 4 Nicole Simson

Room 9 Year 5 Emilia Speirs

Room 8 Year 5/6 Clare Short

R00m 10 Year 6 Cheryl Taylor (Syndicate Leader/DP/SENCO) Rebecca Haswell

Kauri Syndicate

Room 13 Year 7/8 Rebecca Blackwood (Syndicate Leader)

Room 12 Year 7/8 Fiona Bolger, Molly Kelly

Room 11 Year 7/8 Jacqui Miranda

We are very excited to welcome Rachel and Emilia on to our staff for 2023. I know you will welcome them just like you have welcomed me in to our community. They have both prepared a brief bio to introduce themselves to you.

Tēnā koutou katoa! Xin chào!
I’m Emilia Speirs. I’m originally from Vietnam and moved to Te Whanganui-a-Tara in 2021.
I was baptised and confirmed Catholic at a local church near home. I have just finished my
teaching placement at St Benedict’s School and I’m very excited to begin my teaching
journey here. I feel incredibly lucky to be part of a wonderful, caring and excellent school
whānau. Having gained teaching experience in two different cultures I believe that it is
important to acknowledge and value diversity within the classroom and across the whole
school. I love languages and believe strongly in the connection between language and culture.
Outside of school, I enjoy spending time with family and friends. I also love cooking
(especially Vietnamese food), singing, doing yoga and watching detective TV shows. I’m
looking forward to working with the St Benedict’s community and all the excitement 2023
brings.

Kia ora St Benedict’s community, 

Ko Rachel Kriechbaum tōku ingoa. 

I’m very excited to be joining the team at St Benedict’s School as a kaiako in Year 1 and 2. 

I am originally from Palmerston North, which is where I began my teaching career. First teaching the piano, while studying a public relations degree, before going on to become a primary school teacher. I’ve spent the past year teaching in Wellington after returning to New Zealand from London where I was teaching for 7 years. 

I love supporting tamariki to become independent, successful, engaged learners who have high expectations of themselves. I’m passionate about creating a classroom community where children feel a strong sense of self, belonging, unity and well-being.  My favourite part of teaching is getting to work alongside children as they grow and discover things about the world and themselves. 

In my spare time, I enjoy being with family and friends. I love reading, running, the gym, and exploring Aotearoa with my English partner, who is also a primary school teacher.

I’m very excited to meet you all in the new year.

Class Placement 2023

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. 

Roofing replacement update

During Week 9, our last week of school, the scaffolders will start wrapping the building in clear plastic. The roof will not be removed until the new year.   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

Congratulations to Speech Finalists

Speech Finalists

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InterZone Athletics

St Benedict’s had a great day in the sun on Tuesday 29th November at the Interzone Athletics. We had 17 competitors who did their best. There are some awesome up and coming athletes in the Wellington area. 

We had Albert O’Brien qualify for the 60m and 100m AWS run, long jump and quoits. Oscar Cakebread qualified for the 60m and 100m AWS run. And Octavia Burns qualified for the 1500m run. Albert and Winston both ran PB's in the 100 meters. 

All other athletes tried their hardest and showed good determination. A big thank you to parents who gave up their time to marshall and provide transport. Your help made the day possible. So thanks Amanda O’Brien, Marty Burns, Monique Koorey, Tina Robilliard, Richard Bergquist.

Paul Cunningham - Sports Co ordinator

My New Gallery

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

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.

EPIC Gratitude

Thank you to  the team who installed LED lighting across the school. This has raised our lighting provision up to Ministry of Education standards across our school. We are very grateful for the Energy EC Authority loan that has enabled this upgrade 

Thank you also  to the Catholic Character Team who planned a beautiful Reconciliation services for our older students in preperation for Advent. 

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. 

December 2022

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 (see invite above)

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: 26 April-30 June 

Term 3: 17 July-22 September 

Term 4: 9 October- 15 December.

Raroa Music Centre - 2023

RĀROA MUSIC CENTRE REGISTRATION FOR 2023

Rāroa Music Centre offers Saturday morning group music lessons for primary and intermediate school children at low cost ($70 per year + $40 koha or parent volunteering).  We offer music basics, cello, clarinet, drums & percussion, flute, guitar, keyboard, orchestra, recorder, saxophone, ukulele, and violin.

You are welcome to come along to see what it’s all about.  Orientation tours will be held on Saturday 3^rd December between 10:00am – 12:30pm at Rāroa Intermediate School.

To register for 2023 visit our website and enrol online.  Registrations close 18^th February 2023.

www.raroamusic.org.nz

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

Lost Property

Helping Our Kids

Frosty Friday Delicious sausages and iceblocks to round off the year!  A big thank you for supporting HOK and to the following parent helpers today: Dean, Johnny, Kaye, Sarah, Richard, Grace and the many teachers who also helped.

 KAW Children’s Art will be arriving soon and we’ll be in touch with you when your orders
are ready to distribute.

Parent Quiz Night is back! 2023
After a year off in 2022 due to COVID restrictions we’re bringing back the Annual Parents
Quiz - the first of many exciting HOK events for 2023.
This is a chance to get to know parents within your class and the broader school community
as the year kicks off.  The quiz will be at 7pm, Sunday 19th February 2023 at 1841 Bar and Restaurant, Johnsonville.

Tickets are $20 and payment can be made to the HOK account 12-3141-0352804-00 noting
your name and ‘Quiz’ as reference.  There are prizes to be won. Please contact Sarah Southee if you are able to donate anything, big or small for prizes: thesouthee8@gmail.com

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