St Teresa's School Newsletter

What a fantastic performance from our students and staff in the school production! Congratulations on all your hard work and for letting your talent shine on stage. A big thank you also to our wonderful whānau for helping with practising lines, listening to songs, preparing costumes, and being such a fabulous audience.

The performing doesn’t stop there – our choir is heading to the Michael Fowler Centre on Monday evening to take part in Arts Splash, and our tamariki are also busily preparing for the upcoming Kapa Haka Festival. Both of these events are wonderful opportunities for our students to shine and to celebrate their talents and culture with the wider community.

Alongside these exciting events, we are also asking for your voice in shaping the future of St Teresa’s. Our community consultation questionnaire is now open, and your feedback will directly guide the development of our next three-year Strategic Plan. These plans make a real difference – many of the wonderful improvements you see around our school today came from our last consultation process. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey and have your say. Together, we set the direction for our tamariki.

Finally, I’m looking forward to seeing you all at our Spring Gala this Sunday. It promises to be a fun day out for the whole family and is an important fundraiser for our wee school.

Ngā manaakitanga,
Lindsey
Tumuaki

Weeks 7 and 8

Sunday 24th August

Sping Gala

Monday 25th August

Arts Splash Choir

Tākitimu Technology

Tuesday 26th August

Livewires

Friday 29th August

Daffodil Day - Wear Yellow Accessories Gold Coin Donation

Tauwharenīkau Assembly 9am

Saturday 30th August

Confirmation

Monday 1st September

Tākitimu Technology

Tuesday 2nd September

Board Meeting 6pm

Thursday 4th September

South Wairarapa Kapa Haka Festival

Friday 5th September

Tākitimu Mass 9.30am

We warmly invite all our school whānau to join us in celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation on Saturday 30th August at St Teresa of Avila Church.

This is a very special occasion for Tyler, Neo, and other young people from across the Wairarapa, as they receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit and are confirmed in their faith.

We are blessed to have Archbishop Paul Martin presiding over this beautiful celebration.

📅 Date: Saturday 30th August
⛪ Venue: St Teresa of Avila Church
🙏 Celebrating the Confirmation of our tamariki alongside the wider Wairarapa Catholic community

We would love for our school community to come together in prayer and support for our candidates and their whānau as they take this important step in their faith journey.

🌟 Harry Hiace Has Arrived! 🌟

What a fantastic day we had on Monday when our brand-new school minivan, Harry Hiace, rolled into St Teresa’s for the very first time! The sun was shining, the music was pumping, and the children were full of excitement as they explored, pressed buttons, and even gave the horn a good beep.

Harry Hiace has already been on a few adventures, and we have plenty more outings planned for the rest of the year.

A huge thank you to Gina and Matt Condor at Wairarapa Motors for going above and beyond – not only helping us secure the van, but also covering the cost of the signwriting, upgrading all the bells and whistles, and pledging to look after Harry’s servicing going forward. Their generosity has been truly incredible.

We are also deeply grateful to our Board, FOSTA, Pub Charity, Trust House, and Rotary for their generous contributions towards making this dream a reality.

This has been one of the quickest projects to come to life, and it’s a true reflection of the strength, generosity, and spirit of our amazing community. Together, we can achieve great things!

Spring Holiday Hub Club - Booking Open

📅 Dates: Monday 22nd September – Friday 3rd October 2025

⏰ Time: 8.30am – 3.30pm
💲Cost: $40 per day (full days only)
📍Open to: All children in Years 1–8
✅ OSCAR Accredited

Bookings are open until 3pm, Friday 19th September 2025.
Please note: Bookings are only confirmed once payment is received.

CLICK HERE TO MAKE BOOKING

Come and join us at our St Teresa's School Spring Gala 2025. (It's a little bit earlier this year - almost spring!) It is going to be another fabulous Gala!

* Date: Sunday 24 August 2025

* Time: 11.30 am to 2 pm

* Where: St Teresa's School Featherston, 63 Bell St and the ANZAC Hall opposite

We will have lots of plants and seeds for your spring planting, a great mix of stalls, baking, delicious preserves, a variety of food trucks, coffee cart, raffles, cafe, baking, white elephant, children's games. art, jewellery and more!

We look forward to seeing you there!

The St Teresa’s Spring Gala is run by our fabulous fundraising team to raise funds to benefit all our students.

Event link https://www.facebook.com/share/1B2Hhw5Luo/

Our Waiorongomai students have been busy completing their Hands of Christ challenges, putting our school values of Love, Faith, Justice, and Humility into action.

Faith – Ollie has been attending Sunday Mass, showing his commitment to prayer and worship, and valuing his place in our parish community.
Love (Aroha) – Lilly has been caring for her pet Turbo by taking him for a walk, showing responsibility and kindness. She also created thoughtful Easter parcels with bookmarks and hand-coloured decorations, which she gifted to whānau and friends. Her creativity and generosity are beautiful examples of living out love.
Humility – Lilly also helped prepare a family meal, making schnitzel for tea. By serving others in this way, she demonstrated the importance of helping and contributing at home.
Faith – Gino shared a prayer at Friday Night Club, thanking God for creation. His growing passion for faith is an inspiration to us all.
Perseverance (linked to Justice & Humility) – Gino also completed the Kids’ Magic Mile at the Wellington Marathon. Even though he came last, he showed courage and determination, reminding us that it’s not about being the fastest, but about never giving up.

These stories show how our students are truly becoming the Hands of Christ in their everyday lives.

✨ A reminder: completing your Hands of Christ challenges will earn you a special badge at the end of the year. Keep going, tamariki — we can’t wait to celebrate your achievements!

Help Shape Our Next Strategic Plan

At St Teresa’s, we are starting work on a new Strategic Plan for the next three years. We want to hear from you – our whānau, parish, and community – so that together we can set the direction and priorities for our tamariki.

Our current plan has already led to many great improvements, such as:

Strengthening our Catholic Character and faith life.
Lifting student learning in reading, writing, and maths.
Supporting wellbeing for both staff and students.
Growing stronger connections with whānau, parish, and iwi.
Making our school environment better and more sustainable.

These successes show the impact of planning together – and now we need your voice again. Your feedback will directly influence the next plan and ensure that it reflects what matters most for our tamariki.

➡️ Complete the questionnaire today and be in the draw to win petrol vouchers! Link https://forms.gle/nfxZLUnhZ13XpsNN6

Thank you for helping us shape the future of St Teresa’s.

SchoolDocs is a website for our policies and procedures. We invite you to participate in the Term 3 review:

Child Protection
Abuse Recognition and Reporting
Food and Nutrition
Safety Checking
Police Vetting
Missing Student Procedure

To take part follow these steps;

Visit the website https://teresas.schooldocs.co.nz/
Enter the username (teresas) and password (ontrack).
Follow the link to the relevant policy as listed.
Read the policy.
Click the Policy Review button at the top right-hand corner of the page.
Select the reviewer type "Parent".
Enter your name (optional).
Submit your ratings and comments.

This week the Year 6 students set off for their technology taster day. They had a lot of fun trying new things. First they learnt all about sewing by making Christmas decorations. Then went on to designing and creating paddle boards at woodwork. It was wonderful to see them working hard, problem solving and letting their creativity shine. Thank you to Louise for spending the day with them.

At St Teresa’s we are proud of the dedication of our teachers, support staff, and principal who work every day to give our tamariki the very best education. Right now, educators across Aotearoa are calling on the Government to properly value education and invest in our future through the NZEI “Back Our Future | Kimi Haeata” campaign.

The campaign asks for:

A teacher aide in every classroom, so every child gets the support they need.
Fair pay and secure conditions for teachers, support staff, principals, and ECE colleagues.
Restored funding for te reo Māori learning, upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Protection of quality early childhood education, with qualified staff, pay parity, and improved ratios.

These changes would make a real difference at St Teresa’s, supporting our staff and ensuring all children can thrive in line with our values of love, faith, justice, and humility.

You can show your support by signing the petition here:
👉 Back Our Future | Kimi Haeata Petition

Together, we can help make sure our tamariki – and all children across New Zealand – get the future they deserve.

Headlice (nits) are a common issue in all schools and can affect children of any age. No matter how old your child is, we ask all whānau to regularly check your child’s hair for signs of headlice and take prompt action if any are found.

Important: Children should not return to school until their hair has been treated. Treatment involves applying an appropriate product (available from pharmacies or supermarkets) and combing out eggs and lice daily for at least 7–10 days.

According to the Ministry of Health, effective treatments include over-the-counter options like dimethicone-based products, or using the wet combing method with conditioner and a fine-tooth comb. All family members should be checked, and bedding, hairbrushes, and hats should be cleaned to avoid re-infestation.

For more advice, visit: www.health.govt.nz/headlice

Let’s work together to keep our tamariki healthy and comfortable at school. Thank you for your support.