Newsletter Week 1 Term Four

Principal's Message

Newsletter Week 1, Term 4 2026.

I hope your child enjoyed the two-week break. It certainly flew by! The entire year has passed quickly, and the final term is now upon us. It will be a busy one as well. Thank you for ensuring your child returned to school in their correct summer uniform. A few parents have asked about footwear: students may wear black leather shoes, with boys wearing winter grey socks and girls wearing white ankle socks.

We welcome many new entrants on Monday. We also welcome Jaime McMillan, who previously taught at Otonga School and will be teaching our new entrants in Kakano 1. Welcome to St Mary’s, Jaime! I hope you and your daughter, Aubri (who is joining us in Year 3), enjoy being part of the St Mary’s community.

A huge thank you to Deb Woodhead, our caretaker, for making sure our school grounds look top-notch for the start of Term 4. A great deal of work has gone into the gardens, lawn maintenance, the school pool, and various other projects.

Speaking of the pool, it is now open and ready for swimming! A special thanks to our caretaker, Deb, for getting it prepped. The water is sitting at a warm 30 degrees, making for great swimming conditions. Please ensure children bring their swimming togs on their class's scheduled swim days.

We had a wonderful celebration at Sunday’s 10.00 am Mass, where some of our children were baptised into the Catholic Church: Mia, Vaidyn, Sayrus, Bir, Hardil, Akeesa and Lucy. We welcome them into our family of faith.

October is the month of the Rosary. Our School Rosary is held every Thursday at 12:15 p.m. in the school hall—you are very welcome to join us.

Notices:

Grandparents / Grandfriends Mass: Friday, November 13th at 9:00 a.m. Please join us for Mass—we would love to see as many grandparents and grandfriends as possible!
Athletics for Years 4 to 6: Interhouse Athletics Day 2026 will take place on Wednesday, November 25th.
Summer Uniform & Sunhats: Students must wear full summer uniform for Term 4. Our Uniform Shop is open on Mondays (8:30–9:00 a.m.), Wednesdays (2:30–3:00 p.m.), and Fridays (8:30–9:00 a.m.) during term time. Girls’ summer dresses are currently available exclusively from our school shop. Please also remember that children must wear school sunhats throughout Term 4.

You can also purchase uniforms online via our school website. Simply order and pay online, then pick up your items from school reception once you receive an email confirmation. We hope this makes things easier for families who find it tricky to visit the uniform shop during opening hours.

I am looking forward to an awesome Term 4!

Have a great week,

David

TERM 4:

Monday 12th October: Start of Term 4

Saturday 24th October: Chess Power Finals

Friday 6th November: Legends of the Peak

Friday 13th November: Grandparents' Day Mass and Kakano Fun Run

Saturday 14th November: Pasifika Festival at the Village Green

Wednesday 18th November: Students’ Celebration

Thursday 19th November: PTA School Disco

Friday 20th November: JPC Orientation Day for Year 6 students

Tuesday Nov 24th: Ahurei Performance

Wednesday 25th November: Athletics Day for Totara Team

Friday 27th November: Year 6 Retreat and Year 5 Leadership Day

Tuesday 1st December: Year 6 Big Day In

Wednesday 2nd December: Kakano team and Year 4 Big Day In and Totara team picnic

Thursday 3rd December: Interschool Athletics

Monday 7th December: End of Year Mass

Wednesday 9th December: Year 5 & 6 Lake Day

Friday 11th December: School Prize Giving & School Tryathlon

Monday 14th December: Missioning of our Year 6 students and the last day of school. Also meet your 2027 teacher.

School Calendar - Click Here to View

MARG'S SWIM SCHOOL

Learn to swim recommences Monday 19th October 2026

At St Mary's Primary School with heated pool.

Non Confident - to - Confident Swimming and Water Safety

Phone Marg 0274599286

Email boiellem3@gmail.com

Please include your phone number with an email.

Director of Religious Studies

This past Sunday was a truly special occasion as we celebrated the baptism of seven of our children. It was a beautiful reminder of hope, commitment, and community. Please can we uplift these young ones in our prayers, asking that they grow in grace, wisdom, and love. May their faith journey be filled with joy and light, and may our church family continue to surround and support them every step of the way. Congratulations, Lucy Boswell, Sayrus Saluja, Birpartap Sran, Hardil Singh, Mia Vaidyan, Akeesa Karunathilaka, and Amira Hettiarachchige.

Tomorrow, Thursday, 15th October, the Tōtara Team will be leading the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. You are more than welcome to join us for this Liturgy in the hall.

We warmly invite all our Grandparents and Grandfriends to join us for a special whole-school Mass on Friday, 13th November. This is a wonderful opportunity for our school Whānau to come together, celebrate, and give thanks for the love, wisdom, and support our grandparents and grandfriends bring to our tamariki. We look forward to sharing this blessed occasion with you all!

I hope you have a wonderful week.

God bless

Lorna Dobson

DRS

Have you got our school app?

Our school often posts alerts with information for families. We encourage all of our community to install the SchoolApps app and then link to St Mary's Catholic School Rotorua. Please subscribe to your children's classes and any sports teams to keep informed.

Year 6 Orientation Day

Year 6 students are to come to school as normal. Parents are responsible for organising transport for their children to and from John Paul College.

If transport is an issue, please see the school office, and we will do our best to help find a ride for your child.

SPORTS NOTICES

Term 4 Summer Sports Registrations:

Summer Sports registrations are open. Information is up on the website. Please remember to register so your child does not miss out on a team and remember our values and fair play.

Term 4 Netball

Registrations are closed please see office, we may have space in the teams.

Term 4 Touch Rugby

Registrations are closed please see office, we may have space in the teams.

Term 4 Futsal

Registrations are closed please see office, we may have space in the teams.

Legends Of The Peaks Forest Run

Click here to register

Date: Friday 6th November 2026

Location: Event HQ, Waipa MTB Carpark, Rotorua, Waipa State Mill Rd

Cost: FREE!

Who: Year 1-6

Registrations close - 3.15PM Thursday 15th of October

Tennis BOP Tournament

When: Friday 30th October 2026

Where: Rotorua Tennis Club

Time: 8.30-2.30pm

Cost: $12

Postponement date: Tuesday 3rd November

Click here to register

Term 4 Cricket

Smashplay - Years 1- 3

SmashPlay is an updated version of our previous SuperSmash programme and will be held at Smallbone Park on Thursday evenings.

SmashPlay Registration - Please No Payments to school

Incrediball - Years 3-5

Our popular Incrediball programme is back for another season at Smallbone Park on Thursday evenings.

Incrediball Registration - Please No Payments to school

Harrows - Years 4-6

Registrations are closed please see office, we may have space in the teams.

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

Golf

This term we will not be taking students out to golf on Tuesday afternoons during learning time. However, we will continue to organise school teams for events, such as the Fluro Golf Fun Days, CBOP Golf Competition, Girls' Golf Fun Day, throughout the year. Please regularly check the school newsletter for these events.

There are coaching sessions after school if your child is interested in playing golf at Lakeview, Rotorua and Springfield golf courses. Also, Future Geyserland Hub, is a junior membership to play at all three courses here in Rotorua. Please contact your local golf course for more information.

UNIFORM SHOP & OPENING HOURS

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.

Online Uniform Orders:

Just a reminder that there is a 3 day turn around for online uniform orders.

Orders will be sent home with your child when complete - unless other arrangements have been made.

Uniform orders can be done through the school website only. (Private messaging and emailing staff are not options). The uniform shop is open Monday and Friday 8.30 - 9am, and Wednesday 2.30-3pm - and is looked after by very kind volunteers.

Pola Fleeces can be brought from the Warehouse, click the link below:

https://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/p/schooltex-st-marys-rotorua-polar-fleece-top-with-embroidery/RM110109095_BURG-1M.html

Lucky books

Lucky book orders due back 23 October 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.

There is an offer to get up to 3 books free but only if you order through the loop system

1 free book when you spend $25 +

2 free books when you spend $50 +

3 free books when you spend $75 +

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

Please be aware that the book orders will not be available until the week commencing 16 November, sorry if this causes any inconvenience

The Ezlunch and Kindo Team

We’re excited to share some tasty news with our St Mary's Catholic School family!

From this week, school lunches are available 4 days a week through Ezlunch — giving you even more choice when it comes to healthy, convenient lunches for your tamariki.

Here’s what’s on the menu: