St Teresa's School Newsletter

It has been a joyful and busy fortnight at St Teresa’s!

Congratulations to our students who recently completed the Sacrament of Reconciliation – a significant milestone in their faith journey. We are very proud of you all.

Grandparents Day was a wonderful success, beginning with a beautiful Mass celebrated in our parish church. Well done to our students who participated in the liturgy – you did us proud, and we’ve received so much positive feedback from parishioners, whānau, and members of the wider diocese who were in town for a spiritual retreat and joined us on the day. It was a truly special event and will now be an annual tradition! Thank you to all who attended and made it memorable.

Excitement is building for our upcoming school production – rehearsals are going brilliantly, and our students can’t wait to take the stage. Tickets are on sale now – don’t miss out on what promises to be an amazing show!

Important updates are included below, including:

Tākitimu whānau – key information about proposed changes to NCEA that may affect our rangatahi in the coming years.
School Board Elections – nominations are now closed. Find more information below.
Spring Gala – Sunday 24th August: We are looking forward to this fun and festive day for our school and community. Mark your calendars!

Ngā mihi nui,
Lindsey Dailly
Tumuaki

Weeks 5 and 6

Wednesday 13th August

Production Dress Rehearsal

Thursday 14th August

Production Evening 6pm

Friday 15th August

Production Matinee 1:30pm and Evening 6pm

Monday 18th August

Year 6 Technology Taster Day

Friday 22nd August

Remutaka Mass

Sunday 23rd August

Spring Gala 11.30 - 2pm St Teresa's School and The Anzac Hall

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

📅 Thursday 14th August – Evening Show at 6.00pm

📅 Friday 15th August – Matinee at 1.30pm and Evening Show at 6.00pm

🎟️ **Tickets are on sale now** from the school office – $5 per ticket (cash or electronic transfer). Preschoolers are free! All proceeds will help towards the cost of lighting, sound, and props.

Please check the Hero app for information about your child’s costume. We can’t wait to see the talent shine on stage!

FOSTA will also be running a stall with goodies to enjoy during the performance – so come along, support our tamariki, and enjoy a fantastic show!

Yesterday, our whole school had the wonderful opportunity to attend an interactive musical performance at Anzac Hall, as part of the Martinborough Music Festival. We were joined by students from other Featherston schools for this special event.

The talented musicians led our tamariki on a musical journey, exploring key musical concepts, the elements of music, and the families of instruments. The performance was highly interactive, with students enthusiastically singing, chanting, and using body percussion to participate.

It was an inspiring and engaging experience for all, and a great way to deepen our students’ understanding and love of music. A big thank you to the Martinborough Music Festival team for making this event possible!

At the close of nominations, as the number of valid nominations was fewer than the number of vacancies required to be filled, I hereby declare the following duly elected:

Nicole Robinson

Luke Dalton

Emma King

The board has decided to fill the remaining vacancy by selection. If 10% or more of eligible voters on the school roll ask the board, within 28 days of this notice being published, to hold a by-election to fill the vacancy, then a by-election will be held. Request for a by-election should be sent to: Presiding member Bot-Chair@teresas.school.nz

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!

You can help by donating items for the grocery raffle or potted plants, volunteering on a stall, or helping with setup the day before. A form has been sent home—please return it by Wednesday 20th August.

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/

Have Your Say!

This week, the Minister of Education has announced a significant proposal regarding the future of our national qualification, NCEA. Consultation on this proposal is now open, and over the coming weeks, schools, families, and communities are invited to have their say on what this could mean for our young people.

For our school community, it’s important to note that any changes will not affect students currently in Year 9 or above. However, our current Tākitimu Class (Year 8 students) will be the first cohort to experience the proposed new qualification system, starting with a Foundational Award in Year 11. We encourage our intermediate whānau to take a look at the consultation documents and provide feedback.

At St Teresa’s, we remain committed to delivering high-quality teaching and learning for all our students. NCEA continues to be a strong and respected qualification, and we will keep our community updated as the proposal develops.

Have Your Say

Visit the Ministry of Education’s website to view the proposal and submit feedback:
Consultation on proposal to replace NCEA – Ministry of Education
You can also email questions to: NCEAconsultation@education.govt.nz
Webinars begin from 11 August – sign up on the consultation page above.

This is a key moment to help shape a qualification system that reflects the aspirations and diversity of our learners. We encourage all parents, particularly those with students in Tākitimu, to have your say.

We are thrilled to share that Holly from Movin’ March visited our school to present us with a special prize for our outstanding participation in this year’s event. Thanks to our tamariki and whānau, we recorded the highest number of students biking, walking, and scooting to school in the region – ka pai koutou!

As part of our prize, we were gifted a brand-new scooter and helmet. Our team carefully considered who should receive this, and we’re delighted to announce that Alyssa was chosen as the lucky recipient. She’s been enthusiastically practising her scooter skills on the courts at lunchtime – well done, Alyssa!

A reminder to all students – you’re welcome to bring your wheels to school for a fun and active break time, but please remember: helmets are a must! Let’s keep moving and stay safe while enjoying the outdoors.

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.

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.