St Benedict's School Pānui ā-rorohiko (Online Newsletter) Week 8, Term 3

Catholic Character

Social Justice Week runs from 3 - 9 September 2023

Social Justice Week in 2023 is the beginning of something very special. For the next three years the focus will be on peace and responding to conflict. The overarching tagline is:

‘Imagine Peace for All / Pohewatia te Rangimārie mō te Katoa’.

Each year there will be a unique focus and for 2023 it is:

‘Peace begins with you! / Ka tīmata tonu te Rangimārie i roto i ā koe!’.

Key Message Te Kupu Matua

Pope Francis encourages us to look back over the past few years and to consider what we have learnt and more importantly what we can do differently. He reminds us that it is time to build a better world and that we need one another to do this. When there is unfairness, inequality, or injustice in the world, this leads to conflict, fighting and at times a sense of hopelessness. Pope Francis asks us to think about how we can make the world a better place. How do we make sure that everyone is cared for, that everyone is treated fairly, that we live peacefully and care for creation. When we can do this, he reminds us that we will be active participants in building God's kingdom.

Family Mass

Family Mass  10:00am Sunday 17th September. Parish church of St. Francis of Assisi Johnsonville.

Anyone who would like to participate in this mass please contact Pat Collier.

tchpat.collier@gmail.com

On the day please bring food for a shared lunch.

The children will receive an iceblock after lunch.

Also we encourage you to bring an item of non-perishable food for families in need.

These can be placed in the basket before mass and will be presented at the offertory.

Tumuaki Korero - A word from our Principal

Tēnā koutou e te whānau,

Arts Exhibition

There is an excited buzz in the air as our classes get ready for the Art Exhibition. Our tamariki are proud to share their art works with you and their wider family. Please feel free to  bring extend whānau along to view the Exhibition. The Exhibition will be available for viewing from 3pm-6pm on Thursday 21st September and will include art work from Year 1 to Year 8. This years theme is Famous Artists and all classes have created artwork in the style of their chosen artist. 

This event aims to allow our tamariki to experience what it might be like to have an art piece in a gallery. We expect your favourite art piece to be that of your child's! Beyond that we ask that you view the Art Exhibition as a whole, much like our production last year, as a whole school collaberation that celebrates our learners of all ages and art abilities. 

Thank You to Help Our Kids

Thank you to HoK for the wonderful Fathers Day Breakfast celebration held last Friday. The weather was stunning and the event raised close to $3,000. The St Ben's staff so appreciate the energy and commitment of our HoK volunteers. Their next meeting is being held this Sunday and new members are always welcome email hok@st-benedicts.school.nz for further details. Many a lasting friendship has been made over the BBQ at a HoK event or even at the upcoming Spring Fling, see the HoK section for more details. 

Academic, Sporting and Arts  Achievements

We have had a busy few weeks with our students gaining recognition in the NIWA Science Fair and Mathwell competition as well as Academic Scholaships. We have also tasted success at the AIMS games and in our local theater productions (see the Congratulations section for details).  For a school of our size our students consistently punch above their weight academically and we see this continue throughout their College education. 

Academic Scholarship Success

Congratulations to Jack who was awarded one of the two academic scholarship to St Patrick's College for 2024. 

NIWA Science Fair Winners

Congratulations to the following students and Ex-student on their recent success at the 2023 Science Fair.  NIWA Wellington Regional Science & Technology Fair had 271 entries from 28 schools in the Wellington region this year. NWRSTF provides students with a larger stage at the regional level to present original research and celebrates the hard work and novel discoveries of young scientists who bring a fresh perspective to significant global challenges.   

Isabelle Aduna - Year 9 (former student) 

• Royal Society of NZ Wellington Branch Prize for the runner-up best overall exhibit - Won second overall
• Te Herenga Waka -- Victoria University of Wellington Faculty of Science Prize
  
• First in Class 3
  
• Engineering New Zealand
  
• The Institute for Environmental Science (ESR)
  

Kathryn Mostert - Highly Commended

Sebastian Davy 

• Highly Commended
• Engineering New Zealand

Jack McDougall

• Highly Commended
• NumberWorks'nWords

Mathswell 

Once our intrepid mathematicians had got through the challenge of finding a park at either Victoria University or Wellington College the real battle of minds got underway. This year we had two teams in both the Year 7/8 competition held on Wednesday 30th and the Year 5/6 competition. Our teams were regulars on the top 15 leader boards with teams for each night being chosen to compete in the cup round. A special mention goes out to the Year 5 team who achieved second place in the Plate Competition. Thank you to the teachers  and  the whānau who supported them on the night. It was a very exciting event to be part of and I was immensly proud of our St Benedict's Community. 

Nairnville Athletics

The Year 7/8's went to Nairnville on Monday morning to go through the running and throwing events.  All 3 classes participated and it was a successful morning and trial run for School Athletics, which is being held in Term 4, Week 2. 

Upcoming Events from our Calendar:

Recurring events

Mondays Week 3-Week 9  Kelly Sports Athletics Rooms 6,7,11,12,13 to wear sports uniform.

Tuesdays Week 3-Week 9 Kelly Sports Athletics for Rooms 8-9 wear sports uniform.
                                                     Kelly Sports Gymnastics for Manuka Syndicate - sports non-uniform.

Thursday Library Liturgy (click here for schedule) 

Week 8 

HoK meeting Sunday 10 September 3:00 – 5:00pm email hok@st-benedicts.school.nz for venue details. 

Week 9 Sunday 16 September 11:30am Kapa Haka Festival - Raroa Please vacate your seats at the end of our bracket   to ensure those supporting teh next bracket can get a seat. 

Week 10 

Art Exhibition Thursday 21 September 3pm-6pm Our school will be open for viewing of the art exhibition, a whole school celebration of the artworks of Famous Artists. You are welcome to take pictures of  the art works and share these on social media. Please do not post photos of of staff or  fellow attendees to the exhibition unless you have their explicit permission. 

Term 3 ends Friday 22nd September  This is a normal school day finishing at 2:50pm 

School Holidays Saturday 23rd September to Sunday 8th October. 

ASC Holiday Programme 2nd-8th October - limited spaces still available for some days

Saturday 7 October 2-3:30pm - HOK Second Hand and new uniform sale (Library)

Term 4 

Week 1 Term 4 begins Monday 9th October. 

Week 2 

Year 4-8 Athletics Day Tuesday 17th October PP date Thursday 19th October The Athletics day will be held at Nairnville Park from 9am-2pm. 

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

Inspire Photography - School photos

Hello parents,

We would like to invite you all to view your pictures at Inspire Photography's online ordering site. This gallery and ordering system is live and working as of now. 

The fundraising period for this gallery will finish at midnight on Tuesday 19th September 2023 and orders placed and paid for by this date aim to be dropped off at your school by the beginning of Term 4 2023. Orders to be posted will be processed at the same time as the prints that are to be returned to the school. Digital files are purchased as is and retouching requests may incur fees. 

Please check your order confirmation email closely and get in touch if you are unsure that you wanted to order does not match what you have entered on your order. Please also check your child’s name is spelled correctly and let us know before the fundraising period finishes if not.

Incorrectly-ordered prints cannot be swapped or reimbursed. 

The gallery will remain live and online for up to 12 months after the main ordering period closes, postage and packing fees may also apply as drop off at school is not available with late orders.  The school does not receive any fundraising donations on sales after the main ordering period finishes.

 To view and order your photographs:

 Go to our website at https://www.inspirephotocart.co.nz

1. Enter this access code in the box: kakariki667

If you require help with the ordering ordering process or have any questions around ordering, then please feel free to call or email us: orders@inspirephotography.co.nz. 

Kind regards, The Inspire Team.  orders@inspirephotography.co.nz

04 384 8009

School dates 2024

Each year the Ministry of Education sets down the number of half days that a school should be open for instruction. For 2024 the number is 384.  Prior to school starting the teachers will be involved in three call back days which will focus on the following.

Call back day one TOD/Retreat Monday 29 January will be our retreat and professional learning day. As a Catholic school it is important that our staff are involved in faith nurturing experiences much like we provide for our tamariki throughout the year. 

Call back day two Whānau Conference Day Tuesday 30 January 8:30am-5:30pm
The school will open on Tuesday 30th January for our whānau conferences.  Every family will book a 15-minute slot with each child’s teacher. This is a fairly new process at St Benedict's and you may wonder why we feel they are so important that we are allocating a Teacher Call Back Day to these. We believe that the whānau conferences are a powerful way for the teacher/whānau to build relationships that support the educational success of their tamariki. 

The feedback from this year’s meetings from our teachers was they enabled them to get a real sense of the whānau around the child and to build relationships with whānau quickly. Teachers noticed a considerable reduction in first day anxiety which in turn created a settled environment for the beginning of the school year.  Our office staff found that the return of forms that needed to be completed was much smoother and that they had time to support any queries during this day. While our parents noted that tamariki trepidation about their first day was lessened and they already felt connected to their new teacher. 

There will be a guide document for you to fill out prior to the meeting to facilitate discussion in the following areas. 

• Parent/student ideas about areas of strength and interest.
• Possible areas of challenge or concern for your child in their learning, behaviour or social/emotional needs.
• Any worries or anxiety around starting a new year with a new class and teacher.
• Class routines and PB4L expectations.
• Initial goal ideas for the first term, these will be part of our mid-year reports.
• Shared expectations about Responsible Use of Devices = going through the agreement and signing off by students and parents.
• Consent and health forms.

Any other topics that will assist a positive start to the school year.

Call back Day three Syndicate/Leadership and Class meetings 31st January
Teachers will use the information shared during whānau conference to discuss:

• Possible learning focuses for syndicates throughout the year.
• Review goals set within whānau conferences with previous teacher.
• Plan first week activities that reflect the interest shared in whānau meetings. 

Term One (96)
•    Thursday 1st February First day of school Pōwhiri and beginning of year Blessing Liturgy
•    6th Feb Waitangi Day
•    29th March Good Friday 
•    1st and 2nd of April Easter Holiday no school 
•    12th April Last day of Term 1
Term Two (94)
•    29th April First Day of Term 2
•    3rd June King’s Birthday
•    28th June Matariki
•    4th July Last Day of Term 2
•    5th July Staff only Day Kāhui Ako
Term Three (100)
•    22nd July First Day of Term 3
•    27th September Last Day of Term 3
Term Four (96)
•    14th October First Day of Term 4
•    28th October Labour Day
•    18th December Last Day of School
NB: Two Ministry of Education Curriculum Refresh days to be communicated once the Ministry of Education decides when these must be delivered. 
384 half days

Summer Uniform

Please email your summer uniform requirements to office@st-benedicts.school.nz.  New items will be available at the HOK Second Hand Uniform sale on Saturday 7 October, 2-3:30pm.

Congratulations to....

Assembly Certificate and EPIC Lotto recipients

Congratulations to Addy who has been cast in the role of Tina Denmark, along with two other young actors, as part of the Ruthless production by Kauri Theatre Company. 

Congratulations to Oscar who competed at the AIMS games in Tauranga this week and achieved 1st in 100m butterfly, 2nd in 50m butterfly and 3rd for 200 Individual medley (all of the strokes)! Well done to Oscar!!!!

Congratulations to Hadleigh who was awarded a trophy at the Wests Junior Rugby Club prizegiving for Best Team Player for his team, the Year 4 jaguars.

Congratulations to Aedan and Lachie who received awards at the Onslow Football Club prizegiving recently.  Aedan received, Most Valuable Player and Lachie, Most Committed Player both playing for the Onslow U10 team, the Birlas. 

Tennis Tournament

Wellington & Kapi Mana Primary and Intermediate Schools Tournament

19/20th September - Renouf Tennis Centre  

• Girls: Tuesday 19th September 2023 @ 8:30am  (back up day Friday 22nd) 
• Boys:  Wednesday 20th September 2023 @ 8:30am  (back up day Thursday 21st) 

If you would like to register your child, please email molly.kelly@st-benedicts.school.nz There will be no teacher attending this event so it will be up to individual families to pay the $20 and transport their child to/from the event. 

Touch Rugby

Kia ora all, with summer approaching, St Bens is hoping to enter a few teams in the touch rugby school competition that starts in Term 4.

Touch rugby is a great summer sport for all, which complements a wide range of sports, including for example, rugby, netball, basketball, and football.  The Term 4 competition is on Monday afternoon/evening at Alex Moore Park in Johnsonville and runs for 6 weeks, starting Monday, 30 October. 

Teams can be registered in the following grades:  Year 1/2 Open • Year 3/4 Boys • Year 3/4 Mixed • Year 5/6 Boys • Year 5/6 Mixed • Year 5/6 Girls • Year 7/8 Boys • Year 7/8 Girls.

The fee for entering a team is $185, which is split between the number of players in each team (likely to be about $25 per player).  Each team will also need a coach and a manager.  For the coaching you don't have to know a lot about the game, just a few basic rules.

If your child is interested in playing, please email me at lizziemid@gmail.com, and I can help you form a team (depending on numbers). Please also let me know if you are keen to help as a coach or manager.

For any children who want to have a go at touch rugby without joining a team and/or can’t commit to Monday games, there is also the option to join other St Ben’s players in a fun run around on Sunday afternoons during Term 4 to learn basic skills and have friendly games. Details are TBC but are likely to be at Nairnville at 3 pm.  Please also email me if interested in this.

Lizzie Hunter

ASC Holiday Programme 2nd-8th October

Our inaugural school holiday  programme is capped at 20 children, we have 12 participants registered and space for 9 more. We are now able to take registration for those who would like to use the programme on specific days.  We can confirm this holiday programme will be going ahead. 

Whilst our activity schedule is still being drafted, it is our intention to have one day offsite. There will also be different activities every day, opportunities for free play and a wind down period. Details are as follows:

Time: 8.30am - 5.30pm (everyday) Cost $50 per child per day (non-trip days) $65 per child per day (trip days) Children will be provided with afternoon tea, timetable for activities to be advised.
Finally could you please advise Donna by emailing asc@st-benedicts.school.nz no later than 31 August 2023 if you wish to proceed in registering this program.

Helping Our Kids

Father's Day breakfast 
Thank you to all the fathers and father figures who came along with the children of St Ben's to
attend the annual HOK Fathers Day breakfast. This year was another great success raising close to
$3,000 for the benefit of our students. Thanks to Ian at Khandallah New World for a full donation of
food and supplies for this event. 
Congratulations to Scott Olsen who won the Ultimate Dad raffle. Thanks to O'Reilly's Garage, Huski,
Bread & Buttery Eatery and Finance New Zealand for their support of the raffle. Thank you to Tea Pea
home for supporting the lolly guess - for the first time was guessed correctly by three students.
Finally thanks to all the St Ben's Mums who volunteered to make this event happen, from baking, to
setting up and assisting at the event - we couldn't deliver this event without you. Special thanks to
Tania who volunteered time to support also.

Save the date - Summer uniform sale during Term 3 holidays
Saturday 7th October 2-3.30 pm in the school library. Second hand and new items will be available
for purchase.

The HOK Spring Fling
When: Saturday 28 October 
Time: 7.30pm 
Where: Khandallah Tennis Club, 55 Delhi Crescent, Khandallah
Cost: $20 plus an unwrapped child's gift or non-perishable food item
Cash bar | Nibbles | Music
Join us at the first ever HOK Spring Fling  - a social event for parents of St Benedict's School. Book the
babysitter, ask the grandparents or combine with a fellow family to ensure you can come and
socialise with the school community. Additionally make your contribution to the school gifting tree
for the annual Christmas drive - earlier this year but at a less hectic time. 
RSVP here, and deposit to the HOK bank account

The HOK committee is made up of parents from the school who volunteer their time to make stuff happen – come and join us!  We’re always on the lookout for fresh ideas and new members.

Let us know if you want to join our next meeting to see what we do and how we work.
Contact Johanna (HoK secretary) for details: hok@st-benedicts.school.nz

Unclaimed Cup Cake container.  Please collect from the office.

Entertainment Book

Lost Property

We have had a size Large Sports jacket and a small black case containing two decks of cards which was left at the disco.  Please call the office to collect.

'YUMMY STICKERS’

– Now until the end of Term 3.   

Please remember to save ‘Yummy Stickers’ for your sticker sheet.

Thank you to Isla for her collection of stickers.

We have 3478 stickers so far.

It’s time to start collecting yummy apple stickers and the cut-out labels on the yummy 1.5kg apple bags.  You will find all your favourite yummy apples at your local New World or Pak’n Save (and some participating Four Square stores).

Eat ‘Yummy’ and support our school.  Crunch on apples and collect ‘yummy’ sports money. 

Collect the ‘cut out’ labels from the 2kg bags of ‘Yummy’ apples or individual ‘Yummy’ apple

stickers, available from New World and Pak’n Save stores.  Cash them in for Rebel Sports

gear for our school.  Send all your ‘Yummy’ stickers to the office.  

Collect more sticker sheets from the office or visit www.yummyfruit.co.nz.  Lets get munching.

Last year we received $373 worth of Rebel sports equipment for FREE. 

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

Wider Community Notices

Asthma Study

If you would like to particiapate in the Children's Asthma Study please visit the link for more information.  

St Anthony's School Centenary

St Anthony’s Catholic School, Seatoun, Wellington are gearing up to celebrate 100 years on 13 /14 OCTOBER 2023.  We invite all past and present students, staff, families and supporters to celebrate this amazing occasion.  Please register by completing the registration form here or you can find it on the St Anthony's School Centenary Facebook Page 

If you have any queries please email us at centenary@stants.school.nz or contact Julie O’Brien on 021 377 192.

If you are planning on travelling to join us, there is accommodation held aside at Brentwood Hotel on a first in first served basis. 

Fill out the accommodation form here.