St Teresa's School Newsletter
Sunday 20th September
Welcome to our latest newsletter
It has warmed my heart these past two weeks to see the blossoms coming out, as spring has really started taking hold. I have been watching the cherry trees outside my office window with a bit of trepidtation after their rather drastic haircut in the last school holidays, worrying about how well they were going to bloom this year. I am pleased to see that most of the trees are covered in pretty pink blossoms.
With the blossoms now out, it is time to take a new photo of the front of our school to update our website etc. It has been over a year now (almost two) since the front of the office building was updated, and I am proud to say that it finally promotes that we are a Catholic school! We have a beautiful big wooden cross on the front of our school, thanks to the hard work of Tom Sargent. It is the hope that further signage will be up before the end of the school year. Watch the space!
In the week just gone, we celebrated Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori - Māori language week. The students were encouraged to use some key phrases in their everyday conversations, with the students in Tauwharenīkau leading the charge. Our morning paepae is another way we have been promoting Māori language across our kura, with a structured time of welcoming and prayer, including karakia and waiata. I love walking around the school hearing the different waiata being sung, and the ākonga speaking in te reo Māori. Feel free to hang around in the mornings and join in this special and sacred time of our day from 8:45am.
Continuing our Māori language focus, we are looking forward to performing at the Wairarapa Kapa Haka festival on Thursday 24th at Wairarapa College. Check out Hero for all of the details (more details will be posted tomorrow - Monday). We are performing at 10:10am. Please feel free to come and watch to support your tamariki as they perform on the big stage.
This week we welcome the Catholic Review team - Zita Smith and Andrew Herrick. Please join us for a special mihi whakatau on Monday morning at 9am in the quad, to welcome them into our space. Remember, you have the opportunity to have your say about our kura from 8:30am on Tuesday morning, so feel free to pop in for a chat with the team.
Finally, I would like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who came to support our Arts Show - The Art of Belonging. The tamariki had all worked so hard on everything that they shared, which could be seen in the fantastic artwork that was on display at the back of the hall, as well as in all of their performances. The art show provided an opportunity for the students to demonstrate our Catholic Social Teaching principles through participation, community and the sharing of their gifts and talents. We were able to showcase our belief that everyone has gifts to share and that, by using these gifts for the benefit of others, we contribute to the common good. Ka pai tō mahi ngā tamariki! Good work everyone!
Ngā mihi maioha,
Liz Lark
Tumuaki Principal
I am planning a day of jobs on Friday 2nd October - can you help?
We have lots of jobs in the process. If you have put your name down, can you please contact us as soon as possible so we can get these jobs completed.
🧰 Garden Box Stain - to match our beautiful new cross, I would like to stain the garden box at the front of our school.
🧰 Pātaka Kai - this needs to have it's painting finished, and to be installed, so we can share our surplus food with those in our community who need it most
🧰 Mosaic - a job that I have been really struggling to find time to get to, is the creation of a mosaic welcome for our new garden area. Please talk to Liz about the vision - especially if you have some knowledge about creating mosaics
🧰 Wood Chip - as you have probably noticed, there is a giant pile of wood chip dumped by the PE shed. This has all come from the trees that were trimmed/removed in the last holidays, and is destined to go under the feijoa and citrus trees at the back of the field to keep the weeds down. If you are able to help move this pile, either with a trailer or by wheelbarrow, we would really appreciate your help.
🧰 Furniture and Bits and Pieces Moving - the upcoming building work in Remutaka and Tauwharenīkau has been postponed until the end of Term 4. Keep an eye on the newsletter for the confirmed date if you are able to help move furniture closer to the time.
It is that time again when we reach out to our community to gather feedback about our school. This information will inform our next strategic plan - the vision for our school for the next two years.
Questions include:
- What we do well at St Teresa's School
- The aspirations you have for your young people
- The aspirations do you have for our school moving forward
- The faith-life of our school
Please follow THIS LINK to fill out the survey and have your say before the beginning of Term 4 - Monday 12th October.
This survey is anonymous, however if you would like to be entered into the draw to win a $50 gift voucher, please enter your email address in the last question.
Thank you in advance for your participation. Your thoughts and ideas can help our school grow even stronger.
Contact Us
Email: office@teresas.school.nz
Website: https://www.teresas.school.nz/
Location: St Teresa's School Bell Street, Featherston, New Zealand
Phone: 027 733 1636
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/St-Teresas-Featherston/100057033717170/