St Benedict's School Pānui ā-rorohiko (Online Newsletter) Week 1, Term 4
Catholic Character
Support Life Sunday 2022
Weekly Reflection
“Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway. In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”
Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Tumuaki Korero - A word from our Principal
Tena koutou e te whānau,
Welcome back to what will be a very busy Term 4 as we prepare for production on the 8th and 9th of November and our usual end of year events. Tickets for the production are available from our school office now.
We warmly welcome the following children and their families into our school community: Olivia, George, Georgia, Room 2, Kindrick, Room 5 and we also welcome back Melanie, Rm 12 who has returned from overseas.
Changes in 2023...
As those who have been up to school lately will be aware, we will be saying farewell for 2023 to Mrs Gillian Grice as she goes on maternity leave at the end of this term. I know you will keep Mrs Grice and her family in your prayers as they welcome baby number 2 in January 2023. We will also be farewelling Mr Paul Cunningham as he and his family return to Canada for 2023. We will miss Mr Cunningham and wish him all the best for carving up the snow fields in 2023.
We are currently advertising for two teachers in 2023 and will share an update on this once we have finalised this.
Enrolments for 2023...
Our enrolments are open for 2023. Please ensure that you have completed enrolment papers for your pre-school tamariki who are joining us in 2023. 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 this term so we can accomodate these new enrolments.
Have your plans changed...
for 2023? Our commnity 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 2023. If you suspect you will be moving on from St Ben's in 2023 please let us know.
Term Dates 2023
Term 1: Feb 1-6 April
Term 2: 24 April-30 June
Term 3: 17 July-22 September
Term 4: 9 October- 15 December.
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.
Mā te Atua koutou e manaaki, e tiaki hoki,
May God bless and care for you,
Tania Savage - Principal
Green Day
Thank you to those who contributed to raising money for the Cerebral Palsy Association.
We raised $344.10
Syndicate News – Term 4, 2022
Welcome back to Term 4. We hope that you have had a nice break and that the weather starts to
warm up now that we are in Term 4.
Please remind your children to bring a school sunhat with them each day, Term 4 is “No Hat, No Play” term. We know that at this time of the year we are moving closer to the sun so there is a much bigger risk of over exposure to damaging UV rays. Along with the sunhats please protect your child's skin by applying sunblock each day.
Curriculum this Term
The Arts
This term sees the return of our School Production “ Rock Bottom”. We are all very excited about
this and all classes are hard at work practicing for this wonderful event. Tickets will be on sale
from the office starting in Week 1.
English: Structure Strand
The English focus this term is on structure. Students will look at how authors organise their
writing, using a range of appropriate structures. As authors, the students will practise this and
focus on the structure of sentences and paragraphs, also how different genre involve a different
structure.
The St Benedict’s Speech Competition takes place on Friday 2nd December. 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-point 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.
Mathematics
Mānuka
Our Number focus continues to be addition, subtraction, the foundational skills for multiplication,
and the strategies and basic facts that support computation within groups to 10 and beyond. We
will also look at the measurement of Time and Money.
Kōwhai
The main emphasis in Mathematics will be Number and Algebra, Statistics- Probability and
Sequential patterns.
Kauri
We will be focusing on algebra and probability this term, as well as consolidating concepts and skills from earlier in the year and expanding our number knowledge.
Te Reo
Whaea Adrienne will continue to work with classes on a fortnightly basis.
Physical Education / Sport
This term we have coaches from Kiwi Hoops coming in to work with Rooms 5-13 on a Thursday and Manuka Syndicate have Get Set Go also on a Thursday at school.
Religious Education
We begin with our focus being on the Communion of Saints and our celebration of All Saints Day
and then we turn our focus towards Advent and Christmas.
Music
Every class will have a music lesson with Mrs Rebecca Haswell on alternate Fridays, beginning with Kōwhai Syndicate in Week One and Manuka and Kauri in Week Two.
Integrated Topic studies
Mānuka
Our initial integrated inquiry is Zero Waste, with a focus on recycling, reusing - and reducing to
the point of bringing a zero waste lunch to school! Now there’s a challenge! Later in the term we
will begin to celebrate our Advent and Christmas traditions.
Kōwhai
Our integrated topic this term is connected to our Religious Education Liturgical year focus of
Advent and Christmas. We will be looking at how Christmas is celebrated around the world.
Kauri
This term we will be focusing on an integrated inquiry centred around Health and Religious
Education. Students will learn about physical changes during puberty, but also about the emotional
and social changes that students commonly go through at this time. We will explore and discuss
how life is a journey with various stages, how we are unique and have been created by God, and our
care and respect for God, ourselves, and others.
Kind Regards
Staff of St Benedict’s School
Scholastic Book Club
Scholastic brochures were distributed this week and all orders are now due at the school office by Friday 28 October.
This year we would prefer if people paid online with a credit card, although if needed you can still order with cash (correct change, please). Return any cash orders to the school office.
To order and pay with a credit card, go to mybookclub.scholastic.co.nz
All orders earn rewards which buy books for the school library.
Congratulations to..
Albert O'Brien
Albert is both the Inter-Regional Primary and Intermediate Schools Cross Country Champion AWD - 1km 5.19 mins. Albert has been training hard every Tuesday and Thursday afternoons with the Olympic Harriers running club coaches, John Cope and Craig Holden, since the beginning of Term 1. Albert has also been supported by his training buddy William Tuck, who has been his buddy runner for an number of events. In Nelson Albert was supported by Mia Holden. Albert we are so proud of you.
Former Student
Xara Jetly played for NZ for Indoor Cricket as Captain for the World cup and they won beatting Aussie in the Final. Xara was also awarded as Player of the World and was selected in the World team.
St Benedict's Speech Competition
The St Benedict’s Speech Competition takes place on Friday 2nd December. 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 continue working on their speeches. Preparing for speeches will replace homework over this time. If this event is new to your family please get in contact with your class teacher to learn more about it.
EPIC Gratitude
Production practice
On Tuesday we had our first whole school run through. Here are some pictures of our younger tamariki getting in the groove of their dance. Thank you to everyone who took part in the production practice and made it such a success.
Production
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
| Term 4 | 2022 | |
| Thursday | 20 October | Stevens family |
| Friday | 21 October | Subra family |
| Monday | 24 October | Labour Day - School closed |
| Tuesday | 25 October | Taylor family |
| Wednesday | 26 October | Tocker family |
| Thursday | 27 October | Tralli family |
| Friday | 28 October | Treder family |
| Monday | 31 October | Tuck family |
| Tuesday | 01 November | Tunley family |
| Wednesday | 02 November | Van Staden family |
St Benedict's Sports
Touch Rugby
Is your child interested in playing Touch Rugby in Term 4? Total Touch holds a competition for school teams on a Monday afternoon/evening at Alex Moore Park in Johnsonville. The competition runs for 6 weeks from 31 October to 5 December 2022. It is a great team sport and a fun game for all ages!
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 $165 so this amount will be split between the number of players in each team (likely be between $20-$25 per player). Registrations close on 24 October.
All teams will need a coach and a manager. For the coaching you don't have to know a lot about the game, generally just a few basic rules. If your child is interested in playing or you are keen to help out with the coaching please contact me at lizziemid@gmail.com and I can help you form a team (depending on numbers).
Lost Property
We have a size M and L unnamed P.E. jacket and a number of unnamed sweatshirts in the office, please claim if you think one belongs to your student.
size 6 - x1 / size 8 - x3 / size 10 - x1 / size 12 - x 1 / size 14 - x1
Helping Our Kids
SECONDHAND UNIFORM SALE – THANK YOU!
With the generous help of a number of parents the second-hand uniform sale was held on Sat 15
October and raised over $700.
Thank you to families that have donated good quality items. We have a LOT of summer tunics in
stock so if you are looking for a spare tunic for Y 1-6 do have a look at the second-hand items which are available via the office.
We are running low on summer boys polo t-shirts and shorts for Y1-6 and will be running another
sale in January before school starts back. If you have some good quality items your children have
outgrown then please drop these into the office - they will be gratefully received.
A reminder that we cannot resell the branded PE jackets or white PE shorts so please do not donate
these items.
UNIQUE CHRISTMAS GIFTS USING DESIGNS FROM YOUR CHILD’S OWN ARTWORK
St Benedict’s students have been busy creating art work that can be made into affordable calendars, cards, diaries, mouse mats and sketch pads.
Each product is made from your own child’s art. These make unique Christmas gifts for family and friends and are perfect for posting overseas.
$4-5 for each item goes back to HoK which we put towards improving your child’s/children’s learning experience at St Ben’s.
Follow these instructions to place your order online:
1/. Go to www.kidsartworks.com
2/. Use the Entrance Code: KZ2044
3/. Enter your child’s room and name when prompted
The order is open from Monday the 17 th of October until the 7 th of November. Payment can be made over the website via credit card or account2account.
If you have any questions please contact Michelle Bowmaker on wlgbowmakers@outlook.com
Frosty Friday
We’re planning a final frosty Friday and sausage sizzle on 2 December!
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
Attendance Dues
Message from The Attendance Dues Team
Now that we are sending all invoices/statements by email to families, please contact us if you have changed your email address so that we can update your account. Invoices will still be posted to families without an email address.
The Term 3 invoice will be emailed to all families shortly. Please check that the invoice has not gone to your Spam/Junk Inbox and that all your children are listed on the statement. If you have not received any invoices this year, please contact us.
Financial assistance is available to families experiencing financial hardship (loss of income/redundancy, family reasons, etc.). It is a condition of the assistance application that the family has an affordable regular payment in place.
If you have any questions, please contact us:
Phone: 0800 462 725 Email: dues@wn.catholic.org.nz Text: 021 08907902