Term 2 Week 8 23 June 2022 Newsletter# 11
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Tena Koutou Katoa Talofa Lava Kamusta Malo el lelei Mauri Hello Everyone
This week we have celebrated Matariki at school. The students have been really involved as tuakana-teina working together on activities supporting our Matariki theme. There has been a real buzz of enthusiasm as I visited rooms to see them working together. There have been arts and crafts, storytelling, music and dance, and so much more. It has been another great opportunity for our older students to show leadership as they work alongside and get to know our younger children. As a result, these relationships are so much stronger and as one young child said, “He knows my name”. How good is that!
Today, Thursday, the week has come together/peaked by welcoming our grandparents/koroua back into school. Last year’s Grandparents’ Day showed us what an important opportunity this was to bring our koroua into the school so that their mokopuna could share their learning with them, and today is no different. We were delighted to see so many in attendance and the joy their presence brought to the children was very evident.
The day started with a welcome and performance by our kapa haka group in the hall. Our grandparents were then able to visit their grandchildren’s rooms where they were proudly shown their learning. Our fabulous PTA parents provided morning tea for them after which Miha Maori, a school Mass in te reo Maori, was celebrated by Pa Rodney Smythe. This is an annual event and every year we are getting better and better at our te reo responses and the waiata is always beautiful. It is a very special Mass for our school community.
On Tuesday, we had some visiting colleagues from another Catholic school in South Auckland. I was delighted to show them through our school and flexible learning spaces. In every class we went into, all the children were settled into their teaching/learning programmes and the school was humming. The feedback I received was very complimentary and I want to acknowledge our teachers and support staff who create such a positive learning environment for our learners.
That evening, we held a zoom meeting for our Year 6 parents to encourage them to leave them here for Year 7 in 2023. Mrs Burns was able to explain how our intermediate team, Arahi, worked and the great opportunities that will be available next year; including winter camp and our 100-year school celebrations. We were able to answer questions about the establishment of St Ignatius of Loyola College and reassure parents that the school will definitely open in 2024 and St Joseph’s School children will have priority to attend. The foundation principal has been appointed and he begins his work in Term 4 at which time I am sure he will want to introduce himself to our community.
On the home front, our fundraising for our Year 5&6/Ako 2 camp is in full swing and the Friday lunch options are proving to be very popular. This camp will take place in Term 4 and is held at Totara Springs in Matamata. If there is any parent, or friend of the school, willing to sponsor or subsidise a child’s camp fees, please contact me or the school office.
Tomorrow, Friday, New Zealand celebrates its first Matariki public holiday. I’m sure you may not need this reminder but this means our school is closed tomorrow so school is not open. I wish you and your whānau a very special Matariki holiday long weekend. I encourage you all to take the time to slow down, share kai, reflect and remember your loved ones who have passed away. Ka pai to ra whakata.
Stay safe and God bless.
Ngā mihi nui
Ursula Hall
Principal – Tumuaki
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 Mānawa maiea te putanga o Matariki Mānawa maiea te ariki o te rangi Mānawa maiea te mātahi o te tau Hail the rise of Matariki
Hail the lord of the sky
Hail the New Year
Feast of Sacred Heart 24 June
Do not let the past disturb you.
Leave everything in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and begin again with joy.
– St. Teresa of Calcutta
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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
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Special Catholic Character
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Miha Māori 2022
As part of this week’s Matariki celebrations, today we celebrated our Miha Māori, with Fr. Rodney Smythe presiding yet again. It has been wonderful to have had his support through the years for this Mass. Fleur De Farias began the tradition of our annual Miha Māori and it has strengthened over time. The school worked hard at learning their Mass responses in Te Reo over the term. I was very proud of all of our ākonga at today’s Mass, especially the mana of our older students, where pride in self, school, church and heritage was so evident. Tino Pai! Tomorrow, as well as being the national Matariki holiday, will also mark the Catholic Feast of the Sacred Heart, when we honour Jesus’ divine love for humanity. Have a blessed Feast day and Matariki weekend with your whanau.
Ms Gallagher-Pile
Director of Religious Studies
 
Family Love: A Vocation and a Path to Holiness As the World Meeting of Families is occurring in Rome the week of June 22-26, we as a universal Church are celebrating The Week of Families. To assist us in pausing and giving thanks for the domestic Church the diocese has prepared a series of activities to help celebrate family life in faith https://www.aucklandcatholic.org.nz/family-week/
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School Board Elections 2022:
This year our next triannual School Board Elections will be held on the 7th 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 September.
https://www.schoolboardelections.org.nz/becoming-a-board-member/
 If you would like to contact the Board directly at any time, please do so through bot@stjosephs.co.nz
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St Joseph’s School Pukekohe – 100 Years 2023! We welcome you to join us at our next Centennial meeting this 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.
School Jerseys: There are a number of junior jerseys that have been left behind in the classrooms. These can be collected from Mrs Wallace.
Reading Books: Are there a couple of parents available to volunteer to put away the reading books next term for us – Please leave your name at the office if you can help. Thanks
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Grandparents’ Day: Thank you very much to all those who could attend our special day today and warm wishes to all those that could not. It is hard to believe that it has been a year since our last performance and a year since we have welcomed whānau into our school environment. The school was definitely buzzing this morning and it was incredibly heartwarming to see the children holding hands with their special guests, excitedly showing them around. We hope you had a wonderful morning sharing in our learning, sharing kai and watching the performance from our Kapa Haka Roopu. I am sure there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Days like today are remembered forever and make such a positive impact on children’s learning and memories. Have a blessed and safe long weekend. 
 Matariki Week: This week our students have been participating in various Matariki activities. They have worked together in their tuakana-teina groups through six different activities run by their teachers. The tamariki have weaved, danced, sung, built kites, played rakau (stick games), learnt traditional string games, created visual pepeha, learnt about the nine stars of Matariki and much more. We are all very excited to be taking part in New Zealand’s first ever Matariki Holiday and I am sure that they children will have quite a lot of knowledge to share about why we are celebrating Matariki.
  
Jumping June and Fitness: On Friday 10th June the whole school took part in Jumping June, raising funds for the Heart Foundation. What a wonderful day it was! We jumped, we danced, we skipped, we hopped and we bopped. Our Year 7 & 8 students from Arahi, led all of the students through a series of movement activities to get the heart racing and blood pumping. Everyone had such a wonderful time moving together, that it inspired the revival of morning fitness. Now, three times a week the whole school begins their day participating in 15 minutes of fitness.
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NZMSM 43rd Annual Music Competition 2022
Several piano, keyboard and guitar students from St Joseph’s took part in the NZ Modern School of Music’s 43rd Annual Music Competition in Pukekohe on 10 and 11 June 2022. It was a musical showcase with over 400 piano/keyboard and over 200 guitar performances. Congratulations to all students who braved the stage and enjoyed performing. Alisa Cha and Annabelle Shield won the Heather Jones Trophee for Classical Piano – 11 years and Gabrielle Heaton won the Joanne Allen Cup for Classical Piano – 7 years and under. The following students also achieved excellent results:
Keyboard and Piano:
Alisa Cha – Gold medal for “Danube Waves” and Bronze medal for “On Yonder Rock” (piano)
Annabelle Shields – Gold medal for “On Yonder Rock” and Bronze medal for “The Sound of Music” (piano)
Deanna Fermin – Gold medal for “Trampoline” and Bronze medal for “Big Boy Blues” (piano)
Gabrielle Heaton – Gold medal for “Can Can” and silver for “Playing Tag” (piano). She also won a Very Highly Commended Certificate and two Highly Commended Certificates for her pieces on the keyboard
Isla Shields – Silver medal for “Sad and Glad” (keyboard); silver medal for “Luminosity“ (piano), one Very Highly Commended Certificate and three Highly Commended Certificates
Grace Fonseca – Bronze medal for “Polka” (piano)
George Vaughan – one Very Highly Commended Certificate and one Highly Commended Certificate (piano)
Charlie Vaughan – one Very Highly Commended Certificate and two Highly Commended Certificates (keyboard)
Jake William – one Highly Commended Certificate
Ezra Jijo – Highly Commended Certificate
Guitar:
Keith William – Nicole Sims Award Trophy 8 years and under , two gold medals for his two songs . Rock your boat and Michael Finnegan
Lydia Lynch – Speedy Family Trophy , Guitar Sing and Strum , 12 years and under . Two gold medals for Stay Beautiful and Budapest .
Besthope Early Learning Centre is now open!
We are currently taking enrollments, so if you are looking for excellent early childhood care and education for 2-5 year olds, with 100% qualified teachers, please pop in for a visit.
We offer a Christian curriculum and a great transition to school programme for our four year olds.
50% off fees for the first 3 months *for a short time only*
We are open 7.30am – 5.30pm monday to friday.
Located at 117 Seddon Street, Pukekohe Ph: 09 9478399
Email: besthope.elc@hotmail.com
https://m.facebook.com/Besthope117/
Social Worker – Catholic Social Services
Catholic Social Services is a faith-based professional service providing social work, counselling, out-reach and support to individuals and whanau. It has offices in Ponsonby and Otara.
Catholic Social Services has a vacancy for a full-time Social Worker to join the team. The key function of the position is to assist families and individuals in difficulty and at risk by the provision of generic social services, responding to allocated referrals to the agency including family harm referrals from Oranga Tamariki and the Police. Networking and collaboration both within the team and the community is an important requirement.
For more details, and a full position description, please visit the Diocesan website https://www.aucklandcatholic.org.nz/staff-vacancies/
Applications close on 24 July 2022.
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