Term 1 - Week 8 - March 2023

Principal's Update

Kia ora e te whānau,

FUN RUN

On Friday 31 March we have our (hopefully annual) FUN RUN! Last week Ms Burgess and I mapped out our course - 1 lap for the juniors, and a double for the seniors.

I’m looking for some parents to support with helping to keep everyone safe. If you are a parent who would like to be involved please let me know and I’ll work with the P.T.A. to ensure we’ve got this event running smoothly! Click here and I’ll be in touch.

Key info:

Please go to www.schoolfundraising.co.nz and sign up your child (or family) to get fundraising online - we are so keen to enhance our outdoor space!
At 12.30pm we welcome you onsite to have a picnic. This is a family friendly occasion so pack a picnic basket and come and relax with us all
At 1.15pm we will start getting the children ready in groups - please support us in this process
At 1.30pm we will sound the horn to begin the fun run. It’s not a race, so no worries if we have some tight spaces. We will take our time and enjoy the event
I expect we will be finished by 2.00pm but you never know! You are welcome to take your children home when we’ve finished but you must sign your child out with their classroom teacher before taking them off-site
If you are not coming, we will carry on looking after your child as per the norm
We will try and take photos of the event, but please also feel free to photograph your child and family, and share these with us. It’s a fun celebration and family photos of days like this are really special.
Children should wear as much white as is possible to school on the 31st - we want to see the paint on them!
Don’t forget to fundraise!

Any questions, please feel free to email me directly or call the office. We are looking forward to a fun-filled afternoon.

CONGRATULATIONS to our top ten fundraisers so far - please see below for these amazing efforts!

RETREAT
As I write this, I am on a retreat with the CCPPA (Canterbury Catholic Primary Principals Association). It’s always a great chance to connect and recharge, and I’m grateful that our board supports and encourages this time away. Our key talks are based around: Thought Leadership, Concepts of Performance, Systems Thinking, Lens of Reflection, and we also have a mass at Our Lady of the Snows, and discussion time with Bishop Michael.

Ms Burgess is the appropriate point of contact if an urgent matter arises which is beyond the classroom, and I look forward to seeing you all again in week 9.

SERVICE
As Catholic stewards, we are called to a life of service. It’s important we consistently (and in good faith) reflect on what this means to us and how we can action this in the best way. Often we have gifts that people love to see/hear, or a skill they want to develop that supports others. A lovely example recently was a bunch of children who asked to start up a cooking club. Ms Byrne is now running this once a week and we’ve got muffins and other goodies set up ready for when children forget lunchboxes or when there is a sudden need in the community. The children immediately thought beyond themselves with this baking - amazing!

Another example was on St. Patrick’s Day, with Caitlyn and Leo dancing around the city and bringing joy to a very diverse group of Cantabrians (schools, pubs (!!) and elderly home). I saw these two at Victoria Care, and their service brought much needed happiness to the dementia ward. Well done Caitlyn and Leo.

If you’ve got a child who has been involved in service around town, I’d love to hear about it - this is a huge part of our charism and we are living the spirit of our Mission Sisters when our children contribute to society. Same goes for our whānau - please do let us know if your wider family is out and about supporting those in need. We would love to celebrate this.

City2Surf

Congratulations to Alex, Leo and George who absolutely ACED the City2Surf on Sunday. With the 6km route turning out to be 6.5km, they had to really dig in for the last 500m! They crossed the line in well under one hour - so impressive!

See you in Week 9 - from Mrs Lowe in Methven!

Upcoming Events

Wednesday 22 March - Susan Ross Uniforms on site selling uniforms. POSTPONED TODAY DUE TO WEATHER. WILL BE NEXT THURSDAY*

Monday 27 March - Last day for PTA Spring Bulb Orders

Monday 27 March - CLEAN Senior Jackets into the office ready for printing

Tuesday 28 March - BOT meeting onsite 6.00 - 8.00pm

Thursday 30th March - *Susan Ross Uniforms onsite.

Friday 31 March - School Colour Fun Run 1.30pm - 3.00pm

Thursday 6 April - Last Day of school term 1.

Friday 7 April. Good Friday - school closed

Term 2

Monday 24 April - Teacher Only Day - School Closed

Tuesday 25 April - Anzac Public Holiday

Wednesday 26 April - First day Term 2

Monday 1 May - PTA Meeting at school - 6.45 in staffroom

2023 Term Dates

Term 1 2023 - Tuesday 31 January to Thursday 6 April

Term 2 2023 - Wednesday 26 April to Friday 30 June

Teacher Only Day - Monday 24 April 2023

Tuesday 25 April - Anzac Day Holiday

Term 3 2023 - Monday 17 July to Friday 22 September

Term 4 2023 - Monday 9 October to Tuesday 19 December TBC

Anxiety

We have noticed that post covid there has been a small but very real increase in general anxiety of children, especially around illness and separation from parents. We don't think this is unexpected or unreasonable, and we are searching for ways to support this anxiety for both your children and your family as a whole.

As a starting point, we've been in touch with Mana Ake (a school well-being service) who have offered to run a community information evening around attendance with the underlying theme of anxiety.

Jonathan Crosby and Victoria Holden will facilitate this presentation focusing on how emotions work in our brains and bodies, emotional coaching techniques when discussing worries with tamariki, and some simple tips when it comes to encouraging school attendance.

This will be held at St Peters on Wednesday the 5^th of April for a brief but quality 30min time slot starting at 6.30pm. Jonathan and Victoria will also remain after the presentation to hear any further questions.

Please RSVP by email tracey@saintpeters.school.nz by 1 April.

Congratulations

to the Walk and Wheels Week prize winners.

RE Update

During Lent we use many Caritas resources to complement the RE programme. This wonderful collection of ideas and prayers is an invaluable resource to enrich each child’s understanding of the Sacred season of Lent.

Some of the main ideas this Lent are:

Matau Update

Matau children have been enjoying moving classes for R.E. to do the lessons with their year group. They have managed transitions well and the movement between classes has been smooth. We have been learning that we are a part of God’s family and that He loves us and and wants us to love others.

Every second week we have a kapahaka session where we learn new kupu and waiata. This week we had a go with poi while learning the song ‘E rere taku poi’.

Tangaroa Update

SCIENCE BADGES

Student’s interested in extending their science knowledge have again this year the opportunity to do so.

Year 4 - 8 students can work towards a range of certificates and badges. These are completed in the student’s own time at home, with completed work presented to the teacher for sign off.

For more information, take a look at the following site: https://sciencebadges.co.nz/

If your child would like to work on these please contact Jillian Mitchell (jillianm@saintpeters.school.nz). Close off is Thursday 30 March 2023.

In the email include the name of the challenge they will be working towards and confirm that you consent to the cost associated with this being added to the school account.

MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT CHALLENGE Badges 2023

Interested students undertake in-depth mathematical investigations independently, or co-operatively, over an extended period of time developed within classroom programmes or in students own time. During a typical year over 400 schools and in excess of 2500 students are participating in the programme.

To find out more about the badges go to the below website and scroll down to the badge descriptions.

https://www.maths.org.nz/

If your child would like to work on a badge please contact Tracey Burgess (tracey@saintpeters.school.nz)

In the email include the name of the badge(s) and confirm that you consent the cost of each badge being added to the school account.

Closing date for orders is Thursday 30 March.

This year all students from Year 4 to Year 8 have online access to Mathletics and e-ako maths adventures. These programmes have been set up so students have the same username and password for each website. These programmes support the teaching and learning in the classroom. Students can access both programmes at home. Students have been give their login details to use at home.

We have nineteen students entered in the The Bebras Challenge 2023.

This challenge introduces computational thinking to students. It runs in over 50 countries and is designed to get students all over the world excited about computing. Each participant gets 45 minutes to answer a set of multiple-choice questions that focus on computational and logical thinking skills.

We have sixteen students entered in the 2023 Problem Challange.

Problem Challenge is a mathematics problem solving competition aimed primarily at children in years 7 and 8. It is organised by John Curran and John Shanks, retired members of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Otago. Children participating in the competition attempt to answer five questions in 30 minutes on each of five problem sheets, which are done about a month apart starting in April.

PB4L Update

Last week Mrs Lowe, Mrs Mitchell and myself attended a professional development session on Bullying in schools and how to keep your environment bully free.

We are very fortunate at St Peter’s that this issue is not one we face very often. However it’s good to be informed and to continually develop ways to keep our school environment safe and nurturing. Please read over the ideas presented below so that you can discuss these with your children including ways to handle conflict.

Here are the main ideas from this PD:

What is the difference between being rude, mean or bullying?

Office Updates

School Uniform Sale today- Susan Ross

We have made the decision to postpone Sue Ross from today due to the weather and re book for Thursday 30th March.

Senior Jackets -On Monday 27 March could senior students who are wanting the 'senior' print added to the back of their jacket bring their CLEAN jackets into the office. They will be returned on Thursday 30th with Sue Ross. These students are able to wear another jacket if required until their jacket is returned. Please ensure they are named and they must be CLEAN, for the print to adhere well.

Absences

We have refined our communication processes, to make it easy for parents to communicate with the school office. We therefore have several options for leaving absence messages:

- via our SchoolAppsNZ - PLEASE CHANGE TO THIS APP NOW

- email the office

- on our school phone (follow the prompts)

Please remember when informing the office of an absence include:

1. Child's first and last name. (this is the most important)

2. Child's room name

3. Reason for absence (e.g. sick, at doctors, away for long weekend)

If you do not leave a reason for your child’s absence from school - we must mark your child as “absent without explanation’. This information is forwarded to the Ministry of Education at the end of each term and is tracked throughout your child’s school life.

Holidays or time away from school

If you are taking a continued absence or a family holiday, we require you to ‘request leave’ from the Principal, please submit this in writing / email, prior to the event. It is then up to the Principal to approve the leave. This information is stored for auditing purposes. If you have any questions then please email office@saintpeters.school.nz. This information is audited by the MoE.

School Forms

2023 General Information form Please click on this link to fill in the general information form. This form is required for all children attending school - it is vital for all our school students to have accurate medical and health and safety contacts on file.

2023 Digital Technology Form For all students at St Peters in year 4 – 8 please click on this link and complete the digital technologies form. Children in year 4-8 are not able to use a device onsite if this form is not filled in.

PTA Update

We have some great socials planned this year and it’s never too soon to get these locked into your diary. The Quiz Night is confirmed for Friday 27th October at the Opawa Community Hall again. We are also hosting a Family Games Evening on Thursday 1st June. This is for both parents and children and will be a great deal of fun with some yummy refreshments. So watch this space for further information.

Fundraising goals. This year the funds raised through PTA events will continue to go towards the resurfacing of the asphalt court area in a purpose specific and safer sports surface. It is hoped this will be backed further with grant approval. We are also looking at changing the old curtains in the Tangaroa block and replacing them with suitable blinds like the rest of the building. Thirdly, we have an exciting project of getting some ‘Outdoor Reading Pods’ made for the school. A multipurpose and functional outdoor breakout space for children to utilise.

Spring Bulb Fundraiser - Final orders to be in by Monday 27th March. Delivery is around mid April, date TBC. Order forms can be returned to the school office or emailed to the pta@saintpeters.school.nz Payment is to be made to the PTA account by 27th March - 03-0866-0328568-00. Please reference your name & ‘Bulbs’ alongside your payment so we can easily identify it. It is often easiest if you collect the money from your orders and then make one payment directly into the PTA account.

The school Colour Fun Run is fast approaching on Friday 31st March. The PTA will be supporting the School with this event and we will have a Sausage sizzle on the go and Ice blocks for sale. So please bring some extra change along to enjoy these treats on this fun afternoon, both will be $2 each. Please let the PTA know if you are able to offer any help on this afternoon. Remember all are welcome, parents, grandparents, wider whanau.

The second hand uniform shed has had a good sort out as we fully transition to the new uniform at the end of the year. Excess items have been donated to another school for ongoing use. We are no longer collecting items of the old school uniform other than PE gear.

Please do reach out to the PTA if you have any questions surrounding school life, support networks or wider school community queries. We hope to have some social events for parents organised soon, so please do come along and introduce yourselves, it is such a good way to meet other families as we appreciate school pick up and drop off can often be a rush.

The next PTA meeting is on Monday 1st May. PTA meetings are held in the school staff room at 6:45pm and are open to anyone to attend. We would love to see some new faces and it is a great way to get to know the St Peter’s School community more.

Any PTA questions or queries, you can always email - pta@saintpeters.school.nz