Term 4 week 4 Newsletter #19

Term 4 Week 4                          10 November 2022                                       Newsletter# 19

Principal’s Message

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

It’s Week 4 already and we are almost halfway through our final school term for 2022! I am delighted to say our attendance has improved this term and we are regularly having over 90% student attendance most days. This is the first time we have had these numbers since the pandemic began.

I have heard from two members of our community about children waiting outside our locked school on Seddon St early in the morning.  Our caretaker, Mr Jones, arrives at 7:30 am (Monday – Thursday) and opens the driveway gate for staff cars to enter. We do not encourage children to arrive before 8:00am when the teachers arrive as they are not supervised. Early children can come in then and wait in front of the school but they should not be left on the side of the road.  All children should arrive at school at 8:30 am ready to start the day on time at 8:45 am. Too many are arriving late Over the summer break, we are having our front entrance improved to widen the area from the road to the gate. We are hoping this will make our entry safer and enhance our school frontage.

Great things are happening at St Joseph’s School! In the last two weeks all of our children have participated in a Super Smash Skills programme (an introduction to cricket), we held our annual Y5-Y8 Athletic’s Day where students competed for their Houses; including Y4 sprints, and Y3-Y6 competed in the Franklin Touch rugby competition. Our youngest students, in Aroha, presented an All Saints Liturgy for our school and a highlight had to be our School Assisted Mass last Sunday. It was great to see our children involved in so many aspects of the Mass and our Parish church packed to capacity. It was a very special celebration. Many thanks to Mrs Gallagher for preparing the Mass so well. 

This week our Y5&6 Ako 2 students attended camp at Totara Springs in Matamata. Mrs Burns, Mrs Hartland and I drove down after school on Tuesday to join them for the evening. They were having so much fun! Isn’t it wonderful that we can still provide these experiences for our children? It took a lot of parent support and fundraising to make this camp possible for all of our children and we are thankful that we have such a supportive school community. Special thanks to Mrs Egelmeer and her team, and those parents who gave up their time to make this happen. The children arrived back yesterday exhausted but happy.

Next week we celebrate Miss Sarginson’s graduation as a fully registered teacher. Nicole has been part of a provisionally registered teacher programme over the last two years working alongside her tutor teachers. We are delighted to be able to keep her as a teacher at St Joseph’s in 2023 and congratulate her on graduation.

Mr Wearmouth, St Ignatius of Loyola College’s foundation principal, is working from Room 1 in our school some days each week. He tells me places for 2024 students are filling up fast and they are now two thirds full.  St Joseph’s families who are considering enrolling need to apply now before spaces are filled or you might miss out – spread the word. Inquiries regarding enrolment at St Ignatius College need to be sent to enrolment@saintignatius.school.nz. Heads up! Next Friday 18th we have our final Teacher Only Day for the year. School will be closed for students. Teachers will be strengthening their collaborative practice pedagogy. Thank you for accommodating us on this day by keeping your children at home.

Enjoy your weekend everyone. God bless.
Ngā mihi nui

“When charity and union of hearts reign in community, the Lord is there.   
Guard this precious treasure well.”

Euphrasie Barbier 1867

KEY DATES

          TERM 4 KEY DATES

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

Values Awards

Jason Cha and Yash Singh – for your service to the school and parish doing AV for the last two Sundays.

Rupert Archer – For being courteous and respectful by using his own initiative to help a teacher carry her bags from her car to the classroom. 

Matias Jimenez Malaver and Jack France – Arahi / Leadership : for being prayer leaders at Mass for the very first time

Year 8 Parents – Letter to Child: Parents and Caregivers of Year 8 students, please be advised that for our Year 8 Retreat on 6 December, your child will open a letter from you. This letter is about your fond memories of them and your hopes for them. Please start thinking about what you will write and we will advise soon about when it’s due. Many thanks.

Carol Evening: Save the date for our School Carol Evening – Wednesday 30 November. There will be a 5pm picnic on the field, followed by Carols in the hall at 6pm.

School-Assisted Mass: Last Sunday’s School-Assisted Mass was well-attended with a great turn-out of students and whanau. It was wonderful to share Eucharist again as a school and parish community. Congratulations to Bronson Tuhaka who received the Sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation at this Mass. Thank you to all who participated.

All Saints Day Liturgy:Our Aroha Team led our All Saints Liturgy last week. It was a joyful celebration, reminding us that we are all called to be saints. Thank you to the Aroha teachers for their preparation.

School Board News

SchoolDocs: Policies and Procedures for parents to review

Go to https://stjosephspukekohe.schooldocs.co.nz/Logon

Community username: stjosephspukekohe   Community password: mission

Term 4 Review: Digital Technology and Cybersafety

  Instructions for reviewers

1. Follow the link to each policy.
2. Read the policy.
3. Click the red Policy Review icon at the right-hand top corner of the page. A new screen will appear.
4. Select your role (board member, staff member, or parent/caregiver) from the drop-down list.
5. Enter your name (optional).
6. Submit your ratings and comments.
   If you don’t have internet access, school office staff can easily provide you with printed copies of the policy and the review form.

This Policy will be confirmed at our 23rd November School Board Meeting.

School Notices

NEW ENROLMENTS 2023

If your child, or someone you know, is turning 5 years old next year, 

we need them to enrol at St Joseph’s School now!

Knowing how many children are coming helps us to plan ahead for our staffing.

Other enrolments are welcome at any time.

Please contact the office stjoesoffice@stjosephs.co.nz 

2022 School Magazine Orders: Purchasing our annual school magazine is a lovely record of your child’s year at school. The cost of $25 has been added to your school account however the purchase is optional. If you do want to buy this year’s magazine, payment will need to be made by November 24th. The magazine is printed in December and distributed at the end of the school year.

Stall Leaders: Our School Fair is on the 11th March 2023 and we are after more stall leaders. A stall leader organises the stall, what the stall needs and those who will help run the stall on the day. It does not mean you need to stand on the stall for the entire day. If you cannot help by being a stall leader we will be looking for people to man stalls, security teams, set up and pack down teams, plus others in the new year. If you are keen to take on a stall or to help in any way please email Jenni at pta@stjosephs.co.nz 

We need stall leaders for the following:  Produce, Cakes, Popcorn, Candy Floss, BBQs, Hot Chips, Other food (feel free to give me ideas), Face Painting/Crazy Hair/Nail Polish, Devonshire Tea,  Drinks,  Lollies, Bottle Game, Rides.
Thanks Jenni Logan

Teacher Only Day Friday 18th November – NO SCHOOL!!

School Events 

Tree Planting with Mr Jones: Thanks to Farrell         
Nurseries for providing us with some more trees
in our playground. Our turf area is looking really
lovely and it is great to see the children enjoying it.

Pukekohe Intermediate Tech Open Evening: Parents and whānau of Year 7 & 8 students are invited to the technology hub on Wednesday 23 November from 3:30 – 5:30pm. A notice has come home with your child. Please RSVP so the school knows how many families will be attending. 

Athletics Day: Last week on Friday 4 November we had Athletics Day. This was the first time it has been held for a couple of years and it did not disappoint. The children competed with great sportsmanship and competitive drive. It was wonderful to see all of the house colours running, jumping and even flying through the air. Please keep a look out for a notice coming home to those students who will be representing our school at the North Group Athletics Day on Thursday next week.

Mission Day 2022

Less than 2 weeks to go until Mission Day! Guess the number of lollies is already on sale before school. 

What you need to know:All Parents and whānau are welcome to attend. Tokens will be on sale from Monday next week, 14 November. 1 token = $0.50

Bake Sale: We will be having a bake sale on Mission Day which will be cash sale or tokens, for those parents that want to come along and see the treats available. 🙂

How you can help: We will need a couple of year 7&8 parents to help us on the day. Please let your kaitiaki teacher know if you can help on 23 November between 11:30 and 2:45. 

We have had a great response with the toys for Mission Day. Thank you for your generous donations. 

Raffle Items – We are still seeking items to be donated for our raffle. If you have any new items, from either your business or that you have access too, please drop off in the school office. 

In particular we are seeking the following: 

Gardening – any gardening supplies (seeds, gloves, pots, tools)

Boys & Girls – any treats that boys & girls would like  (new toys, stationery, games, books, treats)

Please do not feel you need to go out and spend heaps of money on these items. If everyone pitches in a little bit, we will be able to provide some really awesome raffles. 

Thank you for supporting our school’s Mission spirit.

Check out some of the flyers the students in Arahi have made to advertise Mission Day.

Community Notices

Glenbrook School Cyber Safety Evening: Our neighbours at Glenbrook School are hosting a cyber-safety evening on Thursday 10th November beginning at 7:00 p.m. This evening is presented by Rob and Zareen Cope who have created a documentary after all 4 of their children asked for personal devices

Seasonal Work – manual labour: If there is anyone looking for some casual work from the beginning of November. This involves lifting and physical work. Would suit strong youth or others. Call Elvie for more information. Phone 0275709555.