Newsletter Week Six Term Four

NEWSLETTER WEEK 6, TERM 4, 2025.

There were several extra activities happening, both in and out of school last week. Lauren Martin and Mr G were at Legends of the Peak, where a number of our students were participating. By all accounts they had a lot of fun. Delwyn Bowen, who leads our Young Vinnie group, took a van load of Young Vinnies to the Mount, where they met up with several other Young Vinnies from other Catholic Schools. And the PTA’s ‘Formal” Disco was a roaring success. Thanks for supporting this, and a big thanks to our awesome PTA and staff who helped to make the disco such a success.

On Monday, we had a very successful Teacher Only Day. Thank you for finding alternative arrangements for your children.

We are hosting our Grandparents/Grandfriends Day on Friday. Here is the timetable for the day. A shared morning tea will follow Mass in classrooms. Please bring a plate of food that can be shared in your child’s class at morning tea time

Friday's programme is:

9.00 am: Mass

10.15 am: Shared morning tea in grandchild’s/friend’s classroom. Children can show their guests around their rooms.

10.45 am Playtime

11:00 am Morning tea for students

11.15 am Classes resume

12.30 pm Lunch as normal

Please keep Natalie Weaven, teacher from Kakano 2, in your prayers as she and her family grieve the loss of Natalie’s grandmother. She has had to travel back to Brisbane to farewell her.

Arrangements are underway for the Year 5 and 6 camp for next year. It will take place from February 23rd to 27th. Three classes will stay together for two nights, and the other two classes will stay together for the other two nights during that week. The camp is at Tui Ridge, and there will be lots of action-packed activities for our children. If you are a parent of a child in Year 5 or 6 and would like to help at camp, you will need to be Police-vetted. Please pick up a form from the office.

One of our mothers in our community is very sick, and her husband has had to stop work to support her during this time. There is a Give a Little page set up to support the family. Here is the link to the page. Please help support Hennie and her family on her cancer journey. Please keep Hennie and her family in your prayers.

A couple of reminders:

1. GRANDPARENTS/GRANDFRIENDS MASS: Friday, November 14th at 9.00 am

Join us for Mass. We would love to see as many grandparents and grandfriends as possible there with us.

1. ATHLETICS FOR YEARS 4 TO 6

Interhouse Athletics Day 2025. Our annual Athletics Day for Years 4 to 6 students will take place this Wednesday, 19th November. Please ensure that your child is at the Athletics Track on Devon St by 8.45 am. (The track is next to the International Stadium).

Have a good week.

David.

TERM 4:

Friday 14th November Grandparents' Day

Wed 19th November Athletics Day for Totara Team

Thursday, 20 November Celebration of Learning

Friday 21st November JPC Orientation Day for Year 6 students

Friday, Nov 28th Ahurei; Senior and Junior kapa haka perform.

Tuesday 2nd December Year 6 Big Day In

Wed 3rd December Kakano team Big Day In and Totara team picnic

Friday 5th December End of Year Mass

Monday 8th December School Prizegiving

Thursday, 11th December, Missioning of our Year 6 students and the last day of school

Yesterday, the teachers started planning for our 2026 RE theme ‘The Dignity of all people’ -Te Mana O te Tangata. Our Cross Theme is Justice. Justice means giving each person what they deserve because every person has God given dignity. It is about living rightly with God, others, ourselves, and all creation. Justice includes God’s love (aroha) and mercy. Justice is an important part of our faith and calls us to take action. God asks us to live fairly and respect all life, knowing that we are all connected. We are feeling inspired to integrate our new theme across all areas of the curriculum.

This coming Friday, 14th November, we celebrate our Grandparents and Grandfriends with Mass at 9 am. Everyone is warmly welcomed to join us for this special occasion. Here is a prayer for our Granparents and Grandfriends you could say with them this week. Loving God, We thank You for our grandparents and grandfriends for their wisdom, kindness, and the love they share so freely. Bless them with good health, joy, and peace in their hearts. May we always treasure their stories, learn from their example, and show them how much they mean to us.Together, may we continue to grow in faith and love, as one family united in You. Amen.

I look forward to seeing some of you at Mass on Friday. Have a wonderful week.

God bless

Lorna Dobson

DRS