St Peter's School Newsletter
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Term 4 Week 7 Nov 2020
Principal’s Update
Tena Koutou Katoa
Congratulations
We would like to extend our congratulations to Meghan Sauni and her family as they await the arrival of their second baby in June 2021.
We would also like to congratulate Tash Matsis and Stephan Boulton who are expecting their first child in May 2021. Exciting times for both families as they prepare for their new arrivals.
School Reports
School reports are going out today, so please check your child’s bag if your child has not handed it to you.
End of Year Liturgy and Prize Giving
Our end of year liturgy and prize-giving is tomorrow 10th December, starting at 6pm in the church. The celebration usually takes about an hour. All children are expected to attend and need to come in tidy school uniform. Children will sit with their whanau groups at the front of the church and we ask that they are seated by 5.45pm.
The end of year liturgy and prize giving is a special occasion that marks the end of our school year and a time when we come together to celebrate achievement and to farewell those who are leaving our school community. At this prize giving a small number of certificates will be awarded to each year level. These certificates will recognise achievement, progress and effort across the curriculum. Although not every child will receive a certificate at this prizegiving, I will take this opportunity to acknowledge the success of all of our learners. Throughout the year the success of all children is celebrated and recognised at our school assemblies, with students receiving values and Principal awards.
End of year picnic at Orton Bradley Park
On Friday the 11th December we will be heading to Orton Bradley Park for our end of year school picnic. The bus will be leaving school at 9.30am and should arrive at Orton Bradley Park around 10am. As mentioned in previous notices, if you plan to join us on the day you need to be aware that Orton Bradley Park is a protected site and, as such, they charge a small entry fee:- children $1, adult in a car $5, a car load of adults $10. The school will cover the entry cost of all children traveling by bus.
The bus will be leaving Orton Bradley at 2pm to return to school. If you are joining us on the day and wish to take your child home with you, we ask that you let your child’s teacher know before you leave. In line with our school policies parents will not be allowed to take children from other families home with them, unless permission is sought prior to the day. This must be in written form and given to your child’s classroom teacher.
The weather forecast is very changeable at the moment, so please ensure that you pack appropriate clothing for all weather. Children are to wear mufti and they will need extra layers in case the weather changes. They will also need a sunhat, sunscreen, a large lunch and full water bottle. I am sure it will be a fun day and we look forward to seeing you all there.
Last day of school
Our final day of school is Monday 14th November. This will be a final clean up day and school will finish at the earlier time of 2pm. Children can be picked up from midday. If you intend on starting the holidays earlier and plan on keeping your child at home on Monday, please let your classroom teacher know. Thank you to those who have already contacted the school to advise us of this.
I believe that there has been a long tradition that on the last day of school some year 8 leavers get other students to sign their school shirts. If your child is a year 8 student leaving school this year and wishes to have their shirt signed by their friends on the last day of school, I ask that you email your child’s classroom teacher to give your permission for this to happen.
Thank you
As this is our last school newsletter for the year, I wish to take this opportunity to thank you for all your support during my time at St Peter’s. It has been lovely getting to know you all. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here and wish you all the very best for 2021.
Wishing you all a very happy and safe Christmas break.
Ngā mihi nui
Stephanie
He taonga te mokopuna, kia whāngaia, kia tipu, kia rea.
A child is a treasure, to be nurtured, to grow, to flourish.
Upcoming events
Term 4 Dates
Wed 9 Dec - Christmas Family Afternoon (1.00 - 3pm)
Wed 9 Dec - Year 8 Celebration (5 - 7.30pm)
Thurs 10 Dec - Prize giving (Starting 6pm in St Peter’s Church)
Friday 11 Dec -School Picnic
Mon 14 Dec - Final day of school/clean up day - 2pm finish
Term Dates
Term 4, 12 Oct - 14 Dec
2021 Start date: - Thurs 4 Feb
DRS Update
On Monday afternoon last week, all whanau groups met to remember and celebrate one of our former parish priests Father Tom Power. Father served the Beckenham parish for many, many years and was a strong advocate for our school.
This prayer was written by Romina and Louise in the Dwyer whanau group.
Advent Mass attendance.
It was wonderful to see all of you at our Advent mass. We had 83% of our students present, which is about 15% more than our normal Mass attendance.
Our small team of readers did particularly well considering the size of the congregation and Father Dan who celebrated with us commented on the wonderful community spirit in the church.
Thankyou everyone!
First Reconciliation and Holy Communion 2021
The parish are now taking enrolments for next year’s First Holy Communion programme.
Letters will go out to all families tomorrow whose children will be in years 4/5 for 2021.
If you would like your child to be enrolled, could you please fill in the forms asap, and either get back to the school office by Friday 11th December, or to the Parish office (70 Spencer Street) before Wednesday 23rd December 2020.
Matau Team Update
Tuna and Hoka children visited the Essie Summers rest home last Friday. Residents were
delighted to hear our children share the nativity story and sing carols.
Well done everyone!
Office Update
Stationery for 2021
We will be using OfficeMax myschool again this year. The lists are now live and you will find them on https://www.myschool.co.nz/. The room your child will be in for 2021 will be in your school report. A pamphlet has been sent home with your child/ren this week. All new pupils in 2021 will be contacted by email.
School Library
It's never too late to return overdue books. Please search around your child's bedroom and locate any St Peters stamped library books and return them as soon as possible. All books that have been issued to children and not returned will now be charged a fee of $20 for the lost item, this has been added to your school account. Please see Sara in the library to discuss any concerns 8.30am - 9.30am.
Parish Office have advised of a New Bank Number for Attendance Dues - The parish has a new bank account number to pay into for School Attendance Dues. Please update your payments to the new account number. The old account will not close immediately, to allow time for you to do this.
See below the letter from the Parish regarding 2021 attendance dues
Board of Trustees
Principal Update
As you are all aware the St Peter’s School Board of Trustees are currently in the process of re-advertising the position of Principal following the resignation of Stephanie Kitto. We were unsuccessful during our first round and have since re-advertised. We have also explored the option of bringing in a Relief Principal for Term 1, 2021 to help us transition to the new Principal in time for Term 2
The St Peter’s School Board of Trustees are delighted to announce that Maire Bowler has agreed to take up the role of Relief Principal for Term 1.
Maire, a very experienced Deputy Principal, currently working at St Francis of Assisi, is a Special Education Needs Coordinator (SENCO) and has experience as an Acting Principal. Maire also taught at St Peters and has many years’ experience working within the catholic education system.
In addition to this Jo Earl, who is the current Principal of St Francis of Assisi has agreed to provide a mentoring and supporting role for Maire and the wider school across Term 1.
As you can appreciate, none of this would have been possible without the support of the St Francis of Assisi School Board of Trustees and that of Jo and her team.
I am sure you will all join me in welcoming Maire to St Peter’s and look forward to meeting Maire in the new year.
The St Peter’s School Board would like to wish our children, staff, parents, caregivers and wider school community a Merry Christmas and a happy and restful new year. The board would like to acknowledge the amazing response to Covid -19 in the first part of the year, it was a real team effort. We would also like to thank Stephanie Kitto, our principal for her time with us. We wish her well on her return to Otago. Thank you also to the PTA for all the hard work and fund raising for the school in 2020. Finally, thank you everyone for your efforts, support and contributions to St Peter’s, it is appreciated. We look forward to 2021 with enthusiasm
2020 BoT uniform review
The feed back from you on the displayed photos, prices and uniform samples has been sent back to the board. From this point the board will decide if they will adopt the new uniform.
For parents requiring new uniform items for the start of 2021 you could look at the 2nd hand uniform we have available (contact the PTA on pta@saintpeters.school.nz) and continue to purchase the existing uniform.
If the new uniform is adopted we will have a gradual change of uniform taking 2-3 years to completely faze out the old uniform items.
PTA update
New Bee Bots and mats
Purchased with a generous donation from ENGCO consulting engineers.
Community Updates
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Book in on any of their public courses and use code LM2020 to get 20% off the course cost. Public courses run once a week out of the Riccarton Training Room – www.factco.nz/course-schedule
