Newsletter Week Two Term One

Principal's Message

NEWSLETTER WEEK 2 TERM! 2026

Week 1 was very busy as children and staff returned to school. I have to say that children slipped back into school routines very quickly this year, which made for a smooth and easy start to 2026. Waitangi Liturgy was a lovely celebration. Thanks to the children from Totara 3 and Totara 6 for leading this.

We have our first School Mass for the year at St Mary’s Church this Friday, February 13th, at 9 a.m. You are all welcome to attend.

This Friday, we will finish the day with an inter-house tug-of-war competition. It will be great to see children dressed in their house colours. At lunchtime, children can change into their house colours. If you are not sure of the house colours, here they are: Mackillop blue, Mill Hill red, Pompalliier green, and Whakaue yellow.

Many children read many books over the holidays, as evidenced by the number of holiday reading logs returned so far for the draw. Thank you for your support. We will have our draw at school soon. Please ensure holiday reading logs are returned to the school.

And finally … THE COUNTDOWN IS ON .... 24 days to our Gala Day, Friday, March 6th. This is an important date on our calendar, and we need EVERYONE to help ensure the gala's success. A gala information sheet will be sent home with your child on Friday.

Have a great week.

David

TERM 1 DATES.

13th February, Friday, Start of Year Mass 9 am

18th February, Wednesday, Ash Wednesday Liturgy

19th February, Thursday, Commissioning Mass Rotorua

23rd to 27th February, Years 5 and 6 Camp

6th March, Friday, Gala Day

11th March, Wednesday, School Swimming Sports Years 4-6 only

17th March, Tuesday, Maths Whizz visits classrooms

20th March, Friday, St Joseph’s School Mass

1st April, Wednesday, CBOP Swimming Sports

2nd April, Thursday, School Holidays start. Easter takes place during the holidays.

Director of Religious Studies

Thankyou to Mrs Martin and Mrs Bowen for organising the Waitangi Liturgy, hosted by their students in Totara 3 and Totara 6.

This Friday, 13th February, we will celebrate our Opening School Mass at 9:00 am. We will give each of our new students a set of rosary beads as they continue their faith journey with us. Whanau are most welcome to join their children on the altar for a blessing at the end of Mass. Please join us if you are able.

Wednesday, 18th February, marks the beginning of Lent. We will gather in the church for a Liturgy where ashes will be administered, helping us to understand and reflect on the beginning of this special season in the Church calendar.

On Thursday 19th February, we will celebrate a Commissioning Mass for our local Catholic schools with Bishop Richard. This special occasion blesses and sends forth our staff, leaders, and student representatives as we begin this school year. It affirms our call to serve, teach, and lead with faith, and marks a public commitment to the shared mission of Catholic education within our schools and parish community. Everyone is warmly invited to join us at 6:00 pm at St Mary’s Church.

This week, Natalie Weaven led our staff prayer with a focus on kindness, which inspired me to end with this reflection. Here is a lovely quote to guide us into the rest of the week: “Gratitude grows when we choose kindness each small act has the power to touch a heart and gently change someone’s day.”

Enjoy the rest of your week.

God bless

Lorna Dobson

DRS

School Camp 2026

School Camp is coming up.

Request for payment notices will be sent out this week with students. THANKYOU to those who have already paid😁

If you would like to start an automatic payment plan please let the office know or Margo Mason admin@stmarysrotorua.school.nz

This fee is a donation, so you are able to claim a rebate through your tax return.

Lucky books

Lucky book orders due back 20 February 12 noon, no late orders please. Please ensure that your

child’s name and classroom number are on the order form otherwise the order will remain in the

office. There are 2 ways of paying either 1) through the loop system which is on web page LUCKY

Book Club | Scholastic New Zealand and selecting the parent’s tab, or 2) paying cash and sending the

money and order form to the school office. If the order is a gift, then please mark this clearly and

you will be contacted to collect the order from the office.

Lucky books donate the school 15% of the total amount spent to purchase extra books or on

classroom resources.

There is a promotion with this issue to get up to 3 free books, which is only available using the LOOP

system to order and pay, and can only be used once per customer. The LOOP system will direct you

to the selection of free books to choose from.

1 free book when $20 is spent

2 free books when $50 is spent

3 free books when $75 is spent

Thanks

Jenny

UNIFORM SHOP

We need you! If you have time to spare half hour before school on a Monday/Friday 8.30-9am or Wednesday 2.30-3pm, we would love to have you volunteer in our uniform shop. All training would be given and if we get enough helpers we can alternate week to week. Please contact the office if you are able to help.

RAISE THE ROOF 100 BOARD

Since September 2024 the 100 Board has raised over $14000 for the Roof Fund. It costs $10 per month (paid by direct deposit) for 1 number and there are 100 numbers. There is a monthly draw and $850 goes to the roof and $150 to the person holding the drawn number. The draw is held at the fundraising committee meeting and an email is sent to everyone.

The available numbers are 40,69, 86, 88, 95, 100.

Please contact

Rosemary Nugent

Ph 021660854

Email bronug@gmail.com

Summer sport & other tournaments information is up on the website. Good luck to all participating in a sports this term. Please remember our values and fair play.

Term 1 Summer Sports Registrations:

Netball Term 1 & 2 2026

Netball will start in Term 1 and finish half way of term 2.

Cost $45

Starts Monday the 2nd of March.

For all information and to register. Click here to register. Closes 10th of February

Cricket Term 1 2026

Cricket is all on a Thursday for all levels, Hardball, Incredible and Supersmash.

Years 0-3 Super Smash click here to register.

SPORTS PHOTOS

Please keep sending in and taking photos of our children playing sports. We love to see them and they all get used for the magazine pages at the end of the year. Please send to schooloffice@stmarysrotorua.school.nz

GALA 2026

The Gala date has been set for Friday 6 March 2026!

This is the major fundraising event for the school and our children each year.

We really need support from the school community to make this Gala happen!

Can you volunteer some time? Such as on a stall, to set up/pack up, organise in the lead up. Do you have a connection with any business/individuals that may be able to provide sponsorship? Such as monetry, raffle items or vouchers for experiences, dining, beauty, accomodation.

Please reach out via email (stmaryspta@stmarysrotorua.school.nz) or come along to our Gala Planning meeting on Wednesday 4 February 2026 (School Staffroom)

We thank you and look forward to hearing from you.