St Benedict's School Pānui ā-rorohiko (Online Newsletter) Term 4 reminders

Upcoming Events from our Calendar

Recurring events

Thursday Library Liturgy (click here for schedule) 

School office  open - 5 & 6 October 

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 (Year 1-3 Athletics will be held in Week 8). 

Week 3

Labour Day Public Holiday 23rd October 

Teacher Only Day 24th October - School closed for instruction 

Week 4

All Saints Liturgy @ 10:00am 1st November  (@ School) followed by Parent thank you morning tea RSVP to office. 

School Board Mid-Term Elections

Nomination round
Our school will be undertaking a mid term parent election for two School Board vacancies. This process has started with the issuing of nomination papers to our caregiver community.

We have employed CES to undertake the election process on our behalf. This year with legislative change, our nomination form and full instruction on how to place your nomination into our own School’s Election website will be emailed to you if we have your email address in our database or you will receive it by post if we don’t have your email in our database.

Nomination papers will also be available at the school office. The school will send those on to CES for processing upon receipt from candidates.

Nominations close on Wednesday 11th October at 12 noon. Election day is Wednesday 15th November.

We look forward to your participation in this process.

Wayne Jamieson
Returning Officer
CES

Congratulations to our Artists

Tumuaki Korero - A word from our Principal

Tēnā koutou e te whānau,

Interested in meeting new community members - Try the Spring Fling

Many a lasting friendship has been made attending a  HoK event and the upcoming Spring Fling is an opportunity to meet members of our community  without having to run the BBQ or bake cup cakes! See the HoK update below for further details. 

Enrolments for 2024...

Our enrolments are open for 2024. Please ensure that you have completed enrolment papers for your pre-school  tamariki who are joining us in 2024. This allows us to plan a great transition from Early Childhood Education to School through a series of visits. Equally if you have whānau or friends who are considering enrolling their tamariki, please encourage them to make appointments next term so we can accommodate these new enrolments. 

Have your plans changed...

for 2024? Our community is very dynamic and has many ties to places outside of Wellington.  This can mean that your family may be facing an unexpected move for 2024. If you suspect you will be moving on from St Ben's in 2024 please let us know.

Class Organisation for 2024

The overall classroom structure for next year will look very much like our current one. Next term all teachers will be 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. 

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

Book Character Day 10th November

We will be holding our Book Character dress up day on the 10th of November. Check out last years video for inspiration. 

St Benedict’s Speech Competition

The St Benedict’s Speech Competition takes place on Friday 24th November.  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 write and present a speech which is 1-2 minutes long.
• At Year 5 and 6 write and present a speech which is 2-3 minutes long.
•  At Year 7 and 8 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 begin working on their speeches during the holiday break and early next
term. Preparing for speeches will replace homework over this time.

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.

Helping Our Kids

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

Teatowel fundraiser

HOK is delighted to once again offer customised tea towels as our end-of-year fundraising activity.
 
As attached, each school house has a tea towel in their house colour with a self-portrait of everyone
from that house. They are a lovely souvenir of your time at St Ben's, and the perfect Christmas gift
for those hard-to-buy-for people.
 
You can see samples at the art show this week, and copies will also be circulated by your class reps
via email. 
 
Tea towels cost $15 each. Use the form below to let us know how many tea towels you would like to
order, and for which school house. Pay into the HOK account (12-3141-0352804-00) by 13 October,
using your name as the reference. Tea towels will be delivered early November in time for
Christmas overseas mail! 
  https://forms.gle/t6LDtmiBp2KbcKxK7  
Please contact HOK if you have any questions at hok@st-benedicts.school.nz.

Unclaimed Cup Cake container.  Please collect from the office.

Entertainment Book

Promotion Dates:  Thursday, 31 August 2023 at 8:00 pm - Monday, 25 September 2023 at
2:59 pm
Offer Name: When you purchase a 3,12 or 24 month Single City Membership your new Membership will be upgraded to a Multi City Membership for FREE!
The Offer: When you purchase a 3,12 or 24 month Single City Membership between 6pm AEST / 8pm NZST, Thursday 31st August 2023 and 11.59am AEST / 1.59pm NZST, Monday 25th September 2023 your new Membership will be automatically upgraded to a Multi City Membership for FREE. Multi City Membership gives you access to 20 cities across Australia and New Zealand.

Based on the price of a 3 month Single City membership purchase. Offer excludes
Entertainment Merchant waitstaff offers and Corporate Partner offers. Offer cannot be used
in conjunction with any other offers, special promotions or discounts.

Lost Property

School sports jacket, size Large.  Please call the office to collect.

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

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.  For further information about our Call Back Days please visit the following link  https://stbenedictsnz.schoolzineplus.com/newsletter/article/477 

Call back day one TOD/Retreat Monday 29 January 

Call back day two Whānau Conference Day Tuesday 30 January 8:30am-5:30pm

Call back Day three Syndicate/Leadership and Class meetings 31st January

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
•    31st May Curriculum Refresh day (Teacher Only Day)

 •   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

•   25th October Curriculum Refresh day (Teacher Only Day) 
•    28th October Labour Day
•    18th December Last Day of School

384 half days