St Benedict's School Pānui ā-rorohiko (Online Newsletter) Term 4, Week 8, 2024

Upcoming Events from our Calendar

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Term 4, 2024

Week 8 
Friday 6 December     Parent thank you morning tea
                                            Cake making  Year 7/8
                                            Choir performing Carols 12pm in Khandallah Village
                                             Mariachi Band 2pm
Sunday 8 December    Khandallah Rotary fair (12:15pm - 12:45  on stage) Kapa Haka
                                             6:30 for 7pm start - Onslow Community Carols (Choir) 

Week 9
Monday 9 December House Captain Voting 1:45pm
                                             Reports go home
Tuesday 10 December  SNAG Golf Room 6-9
Wednesday 11 December Annual Parent Meeting @ 6:30pm (Library)
Thursday 12 December SNAG Golf Room 12 -13
                                              Get set, Go! Mānuka
Friday 13 December End of Year Mass @ Church 11 am leave on bus
Sunday 15 December Year 8 Leavers dinner

Week 10
Monday 16 December Big Day Out
                                              Classes for 2025 shared 
Tuesday 17 December Morning  in New Class
                                             Whole School Christmas Carols and Year 8 Prizegiving @ 6:00pm  St Francis of Assisi                                                          Parish Church

Wednesday 18 December House Carols / Poroporoaki @ 12 noon (Top Field)
                                                    School finishes 1pm

Term 1, 2025

15 January - School office opens

30 & 31 January - Whānau meetings

30 January - FWFC second hand uniform sale / New items also available

Monday 03 February - Term 1 begins

Tuesday 04  February St Benedict's School Jubilee 2027 brainstorming session 

Items found in the School APP
School Notices
Teacher Messages

Documents Section
Syndicate Newsletter  Term 1 and 2 
2024 School Dates
Winter Uniform Order form
St Ben's Handbook
Road Patrol Roster 

Widget link
Newsletter
SchoolDocs (Board Policies) 
Account information
Absences notification and rate of absences. 
School Calendar
MyKindo for lunch orders
HoK Facebook and Instagram

School Board Update

The board looks forward to seeing everyone at the annual parents meeting: 6.30pm Wednesday 11 December.

Tumuaki Korero

Tēnā koutou e te whānau ō Hato Penetika,

Invitation to Jubilee planning meeting
2027 marks St Benedict's 75 Jubilee. We want to make sure that our Jubilee year is full of celebration and ensure that all that have attended St Benedict's have the opportunity to be part of these celebrations. To get our planning off the ground we are holding a brainstorming session on the 4th of February 2025. The session will start at 7pm and will be held in the library. All are welcome! Please RSVP to me directly.

Thank You Morning Tea Tomorrow
As we reflect on the year, we are filled with gratitude for the incredible support that surrounds our school community.  To our Board,  FWFC, MOE support services, local businesses, and our wonderful whānau – thank you for the many ways you contribute to making our school a vibrant and thriving place for our tamariki. We are looking forward to celebrating you at our Thank You morning tea tomorrow.

For those who can not join us please know that we deeply appreciate all you do for us. Whether it’s through volunteering your time, sharing your expertise, donating resources, or simply cheering us on, your efforts do not go unnoticed. Together, we achieve so much more for our students and their learning journeys. 

End of year mass  invitation
Next Friday is our end of year mass at 11:30am in St Francis of Assisi Parish Church. Please join with us as we reflect on 202 4 and look forward to 2025. 

The below information is repeated from the last newsletter for those who may have missed it.
Class organisation 2025
With the information we have about our enrolments for 2025 we have confirmed the following class organisation.
Mānuka – Phase 1 of the revised curriculum
Year 0/Year 1 class
Year 1 class
Year 2 class
Year 3 Class

Kōwhai- Phase 2 of the revised curriculum
Year 4 class
Year 4/5 class
Year 5/6 class

Kauri- Phase 3 of the revised curriculum
Three Year 7/8 classes

Report Changes
To ensure whānau have enough time to discuss and respond to our end of year reports we will be giving these out on the 9^th of December, a week earlier than last year.

The reports will not include your child’s teacher for 2025. This will instead be sent out on the 16^th of December via our student management system. Visit to new classes will happen on the 17^th of December.

Enrolments for 2025 Please ensure that you have completed enrolment papers for your pre-school  tamariki who are joining us in 2025. 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 so we can accommodate these new enrolments.

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

Furniture looking for a home

As many of you know we have limited storage space in our school. We have identified some furniture that is surplus to our requirements but still has life left to give. We have desks that would be great for tamariki bedrooms. We also have shelving that, with some upcycling skills, would look amazing. Feel free to come up to school to take a closer look. Photos attached of the furniture we are looking to rehome. 

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Year 8 Retreat

Year 8 retreat with St Brigid’s. The year 8’s had an enjoyable day meeting together to reflect on their time at primary and intermediate school, and discussing their transition to college. Thank you to Pa Alfred who led the liturgy for the students and for the parish gifting each student with a special lapel pin to take with them on their journey.

Years 6 & 7 Retreat

Years 6 and 7 enjoyed a day retreat in Island Bay at the Home of Compassion.

Focused on forming our 2025 leaders, the tamariki enjoyed gathering as a new leadership group.

Room 2 visits Malvina Major

Room 2 loved visiting Malvina Major on Tuesday. Our tamariki had made gifts for the residents and prepared songs to share. Thank you to Anne and Jane for the efforts in setting up this visit. 

Thank you for visiting Malvina Major today.
We are truly grateful for your kindness and enthusiasm. The children’s visit brightened our resident’s day and they enjoyed the Christmas carols, delightful stories, and the thoughtful gifts.

I’m also glad the children had fun exploring our village pond, spotting the turtles and goldfish.

Albie Calope (Village Manager - and Cressie's Dad) 

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Speech Competition

Thank You to Whānau

A heartfelt thank you to all our whānau for your tremendous support in preparing your tamariki for the Year 1-2 poetry recitation and the Year 3-8 speech competition. Our kaiako have thoroughly enjoyed listening to the creativity and effort put into each performance that was shared in class. All of our tamariki should be very proud of themselves for taking the leap in to public speaking. 

We are delighted to share the names of our poetry representatives and speech participants in each category. Additionally, the winning speeches are available to view below. 

Year 1:  Violet, Georgia , Evie, Mavis.
Year 2: Max, George, Anna.
Year 3:Benjami, Ollie, Leon, Madeline.
Year 4: Beau, Agustin, Robbie, Miriam.
Year 5: Benjamin, Lucy, Siobhan, Summer.
Year 6: James, Oscar, Ellie, Harrison.
Year 7: Flynn, Henry, Leah, Amara.
Year 8: Isabella, Grace, Charlotte, Abigail.

Sports Updates

Sports Uniform/Sportswear 

Mānuka Syndicate (Rooms 2-5) to wear sportswear on Thursday.

Kōwhai Syndicate (Rooms 6-9) to wear PE uniform on Tuesday.

Kauri Syndicate: (Rooms 12 & 13) to wear PE uniform on a Thursday. 

Regional Athletics 

Congratulations to the students who represented St Benedict's at the Primary Sport Wellington Regional Athletics last week.  

Oscar - Quoit - 1st Place, Long Jump - 2nd Place, 60m Sprint - 1st Place, 100m Sprint - 2nd Place
Peyton - Vortex - Year 4 Girls 
Harrison - Vortex - Year 6 Boys - 3rd Place
This is a huge achievement and we are very proud of your tamariki.

ASC Holiday Programme

Kia ora e te whānau,

We’re excited to announce our upcoming holiday programme, crafted to keep our tamariki engaged, active, and learning over the break! This year, we’ll have a blend of on-site activities and trip days, creating special memories each week.

Spaces are limited to 20 tamariki, so please see the brochure and complete the attached registration form to secure a spot for your child/children.

To register, scan the QR code on the brochure or click this link below:

https://forms.gle/KHehoTk3SmL5LSHfA

Student Celebrations

Congratulations to Zoe who was recently awarded the Onslow Gymnastics Club's Cup for Gymnast of the Year for 2024, Zoe was also Top Gymnast for Step 2. 

Congratulations to Immy who was awarded Top Gymnast for Step 3 for 2024 also at the Onslow Gymnastics Club.

Congratulations to Isabella who won the 2024 "Most Determined to Succeed Award" in her Netball Academy. 

Support Child Cancer Foundation

Once upon a time there were two little girls with exceptionally long hair.

Initially they dreamed of being Rapunzel and growing it down to the ground, but a chance encounter with a little girl in the playground recovering from cancer set them on a different journey. It set them on a quest to grow their hair as long as they could so they could donate it to make wigs for children who had lost their hair to cancer treatment.

They faced challenges such as broken combs, tears and tantrums and many, many, many, many bottles of detangling spray. All of which pales in comparison to what some children face as they fight for the day they can grow their own hair back and not rely on a wig to feel like every other child in a playground.

So here we are, with hair that has NEVER been cut. Specifically 8 years of growth for Gini and 5 years growth for Cara and both of them facing the first hair cut of their lives.

What can you do to help spur them on in their quest… and not have them back out at the last minute? You can make a donation to the Child Cancer Foundation, to help the foundation continue the good work they do supporting children and their families fighting cancer.

Gini and Cara thank you for your support.   

FWFC

Kia ora e te whānau ō Hato Penetika,

Friends and Whānau Fundraising Committee update:

Frosty Friday raised close to $800! All money raised will go towards the school canopy project. Huge thanks to our sponsors for this: Gipps St Butchery in Karori, Real Time Survey and Proper Crisps. Thanks also to the team doing the mahi on the day led by the amazing Jacinta Schultz. 

Join us! We have an exciting year of events planned for 2025 and we can't do it without the support of our amazing community. With a number of committee members stepping down at the end of the year, we would love for you to join! Please get in touch with any committee member or email: sarah.garty@hotmail.com   

FWFC on your socials: follow us on social media for all the latest info on upcoming events and key dates:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stbens_fwfc?igsh=MXBuaDhtdWFoNDJvZQ==Our username is: stbens_fwfcFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/St.Bens.School.FWFC?mibextid=LQQJ4dOur FB page name is: St Bens Friends & Whānau Fundraising Committee

Any comments or questions on FWFC, please get in touch: sarah.garty@hotmail.com  

Entertainment Book

active High Performance sunscreen 

We have the popular Johnson & Wilkins Ltd SPF30 sunscreen available at the office.

100ml - $20 & 500ml - $65  www.activesunscreen.co.nz 

School dates 2025

We have finalised our dates for 2025. The downloadable PDF  below will give you a printable calendar for your fridge.

Since the Board set the dates, the Ministry of Education has announced there will be two mandated teacher only days to support the new curriculum during the year. Schools will be able to choose when those days occur and need to give a term's notice to their communities.

We have not yet set these dates, as we are still waiting for information on the official providers we can work with for structured literacy in Years 4-6 and the new mathematics and statistics curriculum for Years 0-8, as well as their availability.

Finalised school dates for 2025 are
Professional learning – Leading by Learning 28th January with Geoff Childs
Staff Retreat 29th January with Pa Gerry Burns

30 and 31 of January Whanaungatanga meetings and Staff meeting days 

Term 1   Monday 3 February –11 April ( Easter and Anzac Day in holidays)
Term 2  28 April- 27 June (Includes Matariki and Kings Birthday)
Staff call back day in school holidays Friday 11 July
Term 3 s 14 July – 19 September Kāhui Ako Teacher only day  1st August
Staff call back day in school holidays Friday 3 October
Term 4  6 October- Wednesday 17 December (Includes Labour Day)

ADW Attendance Dues

Homestays - St Patrick's College

St Pats (Wellington) is reaching out to families who are keen to host international students in 2025. We have students coming for the whole year (from China), and are keen to find them a good home. We are also expecting various groups (staying from 9 days to a whole term from March onwards).

Starting in 2025 St Patrick's College is increasing the homestay fee to $360 /week, $75 for 14 nights or fewer (and $120 if hosting 2 students; this only applies for short stays)

If you or anyone you know is interested in hosting next year, please contact me. Happy to send you more information or ring to discuss further.

Carolina Miranda

International Student Coordinator

Tel: 049393070 9 (EXT 264)    Mobile: 0211684265

Nairnville Whànau Day

Nairnville Recreation Centre is hosting a Whānau Day in your neighbourhood on Sunday 8 December @ Nairnville Recreation Centre, 10am - 2pm, FREE entry.  Family activities, games and inflatables, food trucks, and more.
Club Active instructors will also be teaching special, free classes to get the whole family moving and laughing from 11.00am. We would love to see you there - all ages are welcome.
More details on the Wellington Recreation Centres Facebook page.

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

Yummy Sticker Promotion

Thank you to our wonderful families for collecting 'Yummy' stickers during their annual promotion.  Ms Kelly is very happy to be spending the $407 you have helped us earn on new sports equipment.  Hopefully this promotion will be run again in 2025 so keep saving those stickers.  

Berry Whānau Give a little

Wider Community Notices

Going overseas this summer?

New Zealand Traveller Declaration

Going overseas this summer? Everyone travelling into, or returning to, New Zealand must complete a New Zealand Traveller Declaration. 

The New Zealand Traveller Declaration collects travel, customs, immigration and biosecurity information and aims to improve the safety and security of New Zealand. It replaces the paper card you used to fill out on the plane.   

To make your arrival easier, do your digital declaration before your flight to New Zealand. It’s free to complete.

If you’re travelling as a family or group and completing multiple declarations, the NZTD app allows you to copy your travel details into another declaration, making it easier to complete multiple declarations for the same journey. The submitted declarations are then all easy to see within the app.

Head to travellerdeclaration.govt.nz today!