Term 2 Week 4 Newsletter #09

Term2 Week 4                                 26 May 2022                                       Newsletter# 09

Principal’s Message

Tena Koutou Katoa    Talofa Lava    Kamusta    Malo el lelei    Mauri    Hello Everyone

Over the last two weeks, we have noticed more absence of children through illness; not Covid. Currently we have very few cases of Covid attached to school but we have had some of our teachers away. Fortunately we have been able to get relievers to cover this, however, it has not been possible to get the same person everyday. This is where our ILEs are working so well as they have been able to carry on their teaching and learning programmes despite the absences. I would, however, like to acknowledge Fleur de farias who has been such a constant reliever in Aroha Year 0-2. We are blessed by her continued love of teaching and support of our school.

Last Friday’s Religious Education Teacher Only Day was of great value. Not only was it knowledgeable, it also was reflective and in some ways retreat-like that left teachers feeling more refreshed at the end of the week. We were pleased it wasn’t a school day as the weather was awful and a good day for our children to be at home; warm and dry.

Last night, a group from our school community gathered to discuss our school centennial in 2023.  This was a first meeting to brainstorm and get the community’s ideas about what we might do for such a memorable event. We are hoping to bring past pupils and staff together, across all ages, to celebrate. If there is anyone who would like to be part of this organising group, we welcome you to join us.

As you will know, next Friday’s teacher only day has been postponed until Term 3. In some ways this is a good thing as we would not usually have two teacher only days in a term. This term we have two more long weekends with Queen’s Birthday and Matariki celebrations. We are fortunate to be having a warmer autumn so I hope you can find time to enjoy it as a family this weekend.

Stay safe and God bless.
Ngā mihi nui

Ursula Hall
Principal – Tumuaki

The Feast of the Ascension: 

Dear Lord Jesus Christ, 
Right before your Ascension into heaven you told your apostles to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth upon receiving the Holy Spirit. 
May I be similarly inspired to spread your Gospel message in word and deed, according to your will for me. 
And may I do so prudently and joyfully, with your help, your guidance, and your grace! 
And remembering this glorious event, help me to seek what is above, Heaven, where you are seated at the right hand of God the Father!

Amen.                                           

KEY DATES

     KEY DATES  TERM 2

Please note these dates are subject to change For further dates see calendars on the Skool Loop app or at: www.stjosephs.co.nz

Special Catholic Character

We celebrated the Feast of the Ascension as part of our School Assembly last Monday. The Mission students from Te Rōpū Arahi re-enacted events where the women and the disciples witnessed the Risen Jesus and then His Ascension to heaven. The Feast of the Ascension is today, 26 May, which is 40 days since Easter Sunday, and at the weekend parishes will celebrate The Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord for Sunday Masses. 

Values Awards from Monday’s Assembly:
Jessica Lapwood: AKO / To Learn – For her stunning RE Artwork of Deborah from the Book of Judges
Vaiola Stefano: AROHA – For showing love and support to our Aroha students when teaching cultural dances.
Natalie Tran: AROHA – For showing love and kindness to others.

Sacramental Programme 2022: St Patrick’s Parish Pukekohe is running a Baptism Programme for school age children starting who are not yet baptised. There will be an introductory meeting in the Parish Hall on Sunday 29 May at 9.00am after the 8.00am Mass. The programme begins on 12 June.  Please phone Lizzie Farrell 021884703 or Fleur de Farias 0272286053 for further information.

New Bishop of Christchurch
Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Michael Gielen as Bishop of Christchurch. Bishop Michael has been a good friend to our school; opening our new Euphrasie Block in 2021 and taking some of our Year 8 Retreats prior to becoming a Bishop. We wish Bishop Michael many blessings in his new ministry. 

School Board News

School Board Elections 2022:

This year our next triannual School Board Elections will be held in September. Every board member brings their own unique set of skills and experiences to the board. As a member, you will need to work well in a team and have good communication skills. You may have financial skills and experience in managing people, knowledge and understanding of particular communities within your school, or experience working within the school and wider community. Please consider standing for our School Board elections later in the year. 

If you would like to contact the Board directly at any time, please do so through bot@stjosephs.co.nz

School Notices

COVID Reminder: As we head into winter we have a number of children at home sick at the moment with various illnesses.  Please remember to let the school know if your child has tested positive for Covid, as we are still required to inform the Ministry of Education. Thank you.

Term 2 Policy Review 

SchoolDocs: Policies and Procedures: 

https://stjosephspukekohe.schooldocs.co.nz/1893.htm

In Term Two, the focus continues to be on Health and Safety Management. Not all policies are reviewed by parents. This term parents are invited to comment on the following topics: Healthcare: Medicine, Managing Minor/Moderate Injury, Managing Serious Injury and illness, and Infectious Diseases.

Search for the policy (under the school emblem), click on the topic name link, read through the policy then click the red UNDER REVIEW flag (top right hand corner of the page) and submit your feedback. We consider all feedback given.

This term’s policies will be approved at our School Board Meeting on 22nd June.

Jumping June:   By now you would have received information about our Jumping June event. At St Joseph’s our purpose for participating in this skipping event was for fitness, fun and a worthy cause. There was never any expectation to raise large amounts of money for personal gain (prizes). We have explained to our children that they should be realistic and a small amount is enough. The Heart Foundation will be grateful to receive any funds. Our school fundraising focus this year is our Ako 2 Year 5&6 school camp later in Term 4.

Ako 2 Camp Totara Springs Fundraising Notices:  We have a few initiatives going on this term for our camp fundraising. As you will be aware, our first Hot Dog Lunch will take place this Friday, and then every second week until the end of the term. Hot Dogs will cost $2.50.  Chocolate bars will also be on sale for $2ea.

Another initiative we have going is our Whittaker’s Chocolate boxes being sold for $2.00 a bar. This will continue for 3 weeks and the last day of sales will be the 17th June. If you see anyone selling them from St Joseph’s, buy one, you know you deserve it!

Next Year 2023: St Joseph’s School, Pukekohe turns 100! 
Last night, an initial planning group met to start forming ideas to celebrate 100 years of St Joseph’s School, Pukekohe. We are wanting to hold a memorable event to mark this special occasion across our generations. We welcome you to join us at our next Centennial meeting on Wednesday the 29th of June at 7pm in the school staffroom. We would love to have representation from our foundation families. 

Alternatively, if you want to offer your support in any way we would love to hear from you. We are hoping to get people involved that may have skills in graphic design, advertising/promotion, website creator, signage, photography, or sponsorship. So spread the news and get involved. It is going to be fun.

Please send us an email to 100years@stjosephs.co.nz.

St Joseph’s Development Trust:  The AGM of the St Joseph’s Development Trust will be held at 7 pm on Thursday 9 June in our staffroom. If you would like to attend please let Mrs Hall know principal@stjosephs.co.nz . Thank you.

School Events 

Life Education Trust :  Samuel from Life Education Trust Counties Manukau is currently at St Joseph’s covering topics ranging from empathy to cyber safety. Life Education is a children’s education charity and have been teaching students aged 5-13 health and well-being programmes for over 30 years across NZ.   If you would like to know about the great work they do or support them – you can check out their website here:  https://www.lifeedcountiesmanukau.org.nz

National Young Leaders Day:  On Thursday 19 May, three vans and one car filled with year eights travelled up to Mt Eden to attend National Young Leaders Day. This has been an annual tradition for our Year 8s. This year the theme was resilience and our students were inspired by many young people. Sam Johnstone, who started the Volunteer Army after the Christchurch Earthquakes.  Sam’s kaupapa is using the power of the collective to overcome obstacles – by shifting our belief system about what is possible. He was incredibly inspiring. We were also inspired by former professional boxer Dave Letele (AKA Brown Buttabean). Dave had a tough upbringing but has achieved so much because he wanted to break the cycle and be the best he could be through helping others. His story taught us that through the power of determination, perseverance, hard work, taking that first step and hope anything is possible. There were many other great speakers and entertainment too. This was a very worthwhile day and we thank everyone who made it possible for the Year 8s to attend. 

Samoan Language Week Monday 30th – Sunday 5th June:    
To celebrate the beginning of Samoan language week, St Joseph’s Pasifika performance group has been invited to perform at the Pukekohe Library on Monday 31st May 1:30pm. All are welcome to come and support our amazing performers.

Back to School Campaign 

On Thursday 19th of May a group of Ako 2 students walked up to St Patrick’s Church and participated in the “Back to School Campaign”. We participated in this campaign as a few weeks earlier we had used Speed Guns to check the speeds of drivers driving past our school. Our investigation showed that around 30% of drivers were over the speed limit. 

We wanted to let those drivers know that they need to slow down for the safety of our children. 

Russell from Travelwise/Auckland Transport had talked to us about how WE (the students) can try to get those drivers to slow down by using the “Back to School” Campaign”. This campaign was where we held signs up with clear messages to let the cars know that we are back to school and we want them to slow down. It was great to see drivers acknowledging us by waving, tooting their horns and most importantly slowing down! 

Please remember that our safety is important so please slow down around our school.
Written By: Alisa, Grace & Jhennie (Ako 2 Students)

Learning in Te Roopu Ārahi:  The students in Years 7 & 8 have been busily working away on their speeches. It is great to see so many students sharing their ideas and helping each other to create meaningful, persuasive pieces of writing. There are a range of topics this year, everything from “New Zealand world leading COVID response, why gratitude is important, bullying and many more interesting and relevant topics. We can’t wait to hear the student present. Over the last couple of weeks, the students have also been making use of their new flipped learning screen. Thanks to Mr Muller and Mr Jones, the students have a screen in which they can record their learning and share “how to videos”. This has come in handy when explaining how to solve maths problems with fractions.

Community Notices

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