St Benedict's School Pānui ā-rorohiko (Online Newsletter) Week 4, Term 1 - Copy

Catholic Character

This Wednesday we celebrated Ash Wednesday in our school library. This was a lovely ceremony led by Mrs Miranda and Mrs Taylor with a group of Year 7 students. You might like to use the below video during your whānau pray time this week.

Newsletter Highlights Video

This weeks message is bought to you by our Year 6 students. 

School Picnic Friday 10 March

We are so excited to be able to celebrate our school picnic at Eastbourne on Friday 10 March. This is a non uniform day and Tamariki are encouraged to wear sun smart comfortable sports  wear. 

The whole school will travel to Eastbourne at 9:15am. Whānau are  welcome to meet us there.

Events: Sandcastle competition.  Your child is welcome to bring props and tools to make their sandcastle.   Unfortunatley due to the date change we are unable to use the swimming pool.

Your child will need:

• a big packed lunch and a drink bottle filled with water
• personal sunscreen
• sun hat
  
• school bag
• optional: props and tools for making a sandcastle. 

Whānau can take their tamariki home from 2pm.  Please ensure your class teacher has ticked your child off as collected on their class list before leaving the picnic. Buses will be provided for tamariki going back to school.

Tumuaki Korero - A word from our Principal

Tena koutou e te whānau,

Thank you to all who partcipated in the opening mass at St Francis of Assisi Ohariu parish on Sunday. It was a beautiful service lead by Fr Pete which honoured the occassion of the three worship communities gathering in one space. A special thank you to our students who welcomed the parish into the church with a guard of honour. 

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EOTC and Camp 

This week our Year 7 and 8 students have been out enjoying the local environment. Our Year 8's were a lot closer than planned as the road to the Raukawa camp was washed out during Cyclone Gabrielle. Thanks to a herculean effort from the YMCA and our teachers we were able to swap to a new venue, Camp Kaitoke. We look forward to sharing some photos from the camp in our next newsletter. 

Our Year 7's have been up Mt Kaukau, out at Pataka and today in the centre of the city. 

Thank you to the teachers for their work in preparing and running these events and to the Parent helpers who have supported the teachers. 

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Monday 27th February Non-Uniform day for the Catholic Schools affected by Cyclone Gabrielle

The New Zealand Catholic Primary  Principals Association has launched an appeal for the Catholic Primary Schools that have been affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. The NZCPPA is working with diocesan representatives to determine schools that need support of any kind. NZCPPA will be providing that support through our NZCPPA Welfare Fund directly to schools to help them manage their self identified needs. The advice we have received at this stage is that money is the best option.

Our tamariki are to wear non-uniform for the day and bring a donation to support this fundraiser. We hope to raise $500 to support our fellow Catholic Schools. 

Assemblies and House Meetings

This year we will have assemblies every second week alternating with fortnightly House Group meetings. The first Assembly, Room 9's,  will be held on Monday 28 February at 1:45pm in the library. 

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

Paid Union Meeting 1st March 1:30pm

As many of you will be aware the Teachers and Principals Collective agreements are currently under bargaining. Both sectors of our education system received an offer prior to Christmas which they are now meeting to consider. As all our teachers are union members our school will be closed for instruction on the 1st of March from 1:30pm to allow our teachers to attend this important meeting.  We appreciate our communitie's supportive actions of picking up your children early on this day. Thank you to our awesome support staff who will provide limited supervision for those who require it. In order for us to provide safe supervision  please complete the Google Form here 

Teachers love what they do but lack of funding means that they don’t have the support they need to make sure every child has access to quality education. 

The model used to determine staffing levels has been in place for 25 years. The urgent need for fundamental changes was highlighted in the 2021 Pūaotanga report. The Wāwāhi Tahā campaign calls on the Ministry of Education to implement these changes and to take bold action to ensure that all children have the education they deserve.

Netball Season

2023 School Netball Season

(Sign ups and Information)

Netball registrations are now open for Year 1-8 for the 2023 season. Please complete the attached form. One form per player you wish to register please. (NB: If you played last year the year 1-2 sessions are different this year, they are run in term 2 and we have to register in teams of 3-6 players, each time must have a star helper and parent helper per team).  Please message the netball co-ordinator with any questions.

https://forms.gle/6EdLahXBqNdT2cEHA

Registrations close:         

Friday 10^th March

The netball guidelines with more information are available online: http://www.st-benedicts.school.nz/?page_id=3646.  Parents need to agree to the guidelines when registering players. These guidelines are final and by registering you are agreeing to follow them.

Netball fees for 2022: Year 5-8 $55, Year 3-4 $50, Year 1-2 $45. Fees must be paid before the 24^th of March. The netball bank account number is: 12-3141-0242445-02

Preseason training: Run by senior students from WGC and supervised by netball co-ordinator.  Coaches and parents are welcome to learn new drills and assist. These trainings are optional but a great way to refresh skills before the season starts.

Monday 4^th April –    4-5pm year 5/6, 5-6pm year 7/8

Sunday 16^th April –  2-3pm year 5/6,  3-4 pm year 7/8

Sunday 23^rd April -   2-3 pm year 5/6,  3-4 pm year 7/8

This will be my last year co-ordinating netball and someone will need to take it on for netball to continue next year. If you are interested in helping co-ordinate netball this year please get in touch through the email below. Your help would be gratefully received!

Please read the Netball Policy above.  Any questions or if you require any further information please contact netball@st-benedicts.school.nz

Helping Our Kids

Term 1 2023, Week 4 newsletter

HOK Survey - we have TWO questions for our school community about fundraising
Please follow this link and give us your ideas by 5 th March.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZGGBCSD 

Thank you for supporting the Quiz Night!

HoK’s fundraising kicked off on 19 February with the annual quiz. Congratulations to the Quizee
Rascals who were victorious on the night - a respectable 10 points ahead of their nearest rivals.
A big thank you to:
 Sarah Southee for organising
 all those who helped run the quiz on the night
 the parents, caregivers and whanau who came along
 1841 for hosting
 our wonderful sponsors!
We raised $2,741 which will go towards improving your children’s experience at St Benedict’s!  

Frosty Friday is BACK
Friday 3 rd March at lunchtime. $2 for a sausage, $1 for an iceblock.

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

Entertainment Book

Wider Community Notices